Gotham is a perplexing show. Just when it seems to get everything right it manages to stumble at the least opportune times. At least they know how to keep their audience’s attention. If this show doesn’t end up working, it won’t be because they were they weren’t trying to go big. The audience has already been introduced to many of the iconic villains of the future Batman’s rogue’s gallery and this week was no exception.

Detective Jim Gordon meets a new ally in the fight against crime and corruption in young hot-shot assistant district attorney Harvey Dent, played by Nicholas D’Agosto. In a meeting arranged by by detectives Montoya and Allen, the group conspire to pressure a confession out of tycoon, Dick Lovecraft, to the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne. They feel they have leverage when young Selina Kyle provides Gordon with a sketch of the murderer. Gordon places her with Alfred at the Wayne Manor in hopes of forming a bond between Selina and the victim, Bruce.

This episode is full of memorable moments, however it feels oddly disjointed as a whole. The writers have found a way to introduce Dent through Gordon and the Wayne murders, but it feels like yet another plotline crowding the story. The Penguin figured out that Liza is a mole, but the established mob story was sidelined for weaker characters. Barbara leaves Gordon a “goodbye” letter and suddenly the show had room to breathe a little and focus on the plotlines that are the most dynamic. It is frustrating that the writers are forcing a soap opera angle (adapted from the comics), when they have other areas of the show that have proven to be much stronger. All of these various events occur in a vaccum and instead of pulling the viewer more into the world, it actually serves to be distracting.

Gotham’s Dent is unlike any other interpretation that can come to memory. As played by D’Agosto, Dent is fast talking and hot-tempered crusader whose duality is comically foreshadowed. He flips a two-sided coin, has a rambling ideology, and his face is even halfway masked in shadows at times. But the characterization is extremely forced and the creators clearly don’t understand that sometimes less is more. It is interesting having Dent around without having Batman presence as a barometer to judge his true intentions. Gordon seemed to grow increasingly distrustful of him and it looks as if Kyle’s identity will eventually surface, which will lead to some confrontations in the future.

There was another strand of action following the mob manipulating a mentally unstable bomb expert. The events of the episode serve to funnel the story directly into Arkham Asylum, which will be a whole new storyline on its own. Delving into the famed mental institution will add a new dynamic to the show. The question is how may new faces can the show accomodate without becoming a insane parade of comic book cameos? The show does have 22 episodes to fill in the season, but it does seem like they aren’t confident in their current plot threads.

Fans have finally gotten the moment that they have been waiting for as Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne meet for the first time. The writers found an interesting way to make their paths finally cross. They are forcing their friendship, while forging a new origin for the two which feels fresh. However it is yet to be seen if there future interactions and adventures will play out like Saturday morning specials. It will certainly be a tricky balance. It does look like its only a matter of time before Bruce is introduced to the grit of Gotham streets and will get involved in the action. Hopefully this doesn’t become a crutch for the show.

Overall this was an entertaining episode for Batman fans, yet poses many problems to the future of the show. Gotham struggles with its consistency and adding more variables will only complicate things further. As we inch closer to the midway point for the series, this could be a turning point for the show. Hopefully all the pieces will fall together by season’s end. Let’s see what happens next week.

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