There are so many tonal shifts within one episode of this show that it sometimes makes my head spin. It goes from scene to scene. There is no flow to the scenes so one is often forced to take one mindset when the episode shows one part of the story, and then switch to another when a different part of the story is being told. This is the middle of the season so there should be a firm, established way to enjoy what is happening here.

It's a total mystery why the writers and, well, everyone involved with Gotham can't quite nail down what makes the characters tick. That's what it comes down to for me. What are the motives of these characters? What drives them to take the actions they do? Do any of the actions have an internal logical consistency? I constantly wondered this as I was watching this episode. I don't think it's really a way to enjoy the show as a whole.


In the review for "Rogues' Gallery," I did wonder if we'd ever see Gruber on the show again after easily escaping from Arkham Asylum. The first shot of this episode confirms that Gruber does indeed have plans outside of Arkham though, like the Penguin earlier this season, he makes little effort to stay off the GCPD's radar. His method of villainy has graduated from experiments with electrical probes on insane people's minds to outright electrocution, leading the police to dub him with the not-so-clever moniker "The Electrocutioner." This part of the story is straight in line with the show's procedural element, as Gordon and Bullock once again team up to stop Gruber.

Here's where the story goes off the track for me: The episode works in a past between Gruber and Don Maroni. I would have been fine if Gruber was a token crazy guy, one of many who managed to escape Arkham, and that he had this weird obsession with Gordon. The writers could have run with that, particularly as a natural continuation of what happened in "Rogues' Gallery" and the goodbye letter that Gruber wrote to Gordon. Stooping to Gruber and Maroni being partners and thieves in the past and Maroni's betrayal leading Gruber to spend years in Arkham stinks of a cop out (no pun intended). There was absolutely no prior indication that Gruber had anything to do with the Maroni family so the only purporse for that connection was to incorporate Maroni into the story here.


I'm also unsure about Gordon's exact status. Commissioner Loeb temporarily reinstates him as Detective (through some surprising strong-arm tactics from Gordon himself) and gives both him and Bullock 24 hours to catch Gruber or he's thrown back into Arkham. The time limit doesn't really factor into the resolution of the case, which also lends to the lightweight nature of the case. There is some suspense when Gruber breaks into the police station (which may well be the most unsecure location in Gotham City outside of Gordon's penthouse apartment) and takes out its electricity, but Gruber can't be taken too seriously as a threat when Gordon takes out his electrocution device with a cup of water. Two episodes seems to be the lifespan of many storylines on this show. The end of the episode never really resolves the fact that Gordon remains a police officer, or if he's just going to be thrown back with the wolves at Arkham.



The meat of this episode actually lies, as most of Gotham has proven throughout the season, in the mob storyline. It's gradually growing more complicated, although once again, I question what the characters' motives are. When Penguin isn't laying on a desk in the Gotham City police station, he has time to serve his master Carmine Falcone. This episode confirms my assertions that it is Falcone, not fan favorite Penguin, is the most interesting character on the show. Where Penguin displays almost bipolar personality from episode to episode in order to service whatever tasks he does in a given story, Falcone has only one setting. That's of preternaturally calm and fearful intimidation. He owns whatever room he goes into and acts like a powerful crime boss should act. Where Zsasz wants to make a move, Falcone would prefer to let things play out and strike once he gets the advantage.


There's the question of whether he actually knew beforehand that Liza was the mole in the organization or that he was truly blindsided by that fact. This much is clear: He knew that it was Fish who made the power play on him. And I would put the blame squarely on Fish for that. The power play is too obvious, and using Liza as a "weapon" hasn't worked out the way she thought it would. Falcone disposes of Liza and now has firm control over whatever Fish had to begin with. I was left to still question why exactly Fish is trying to get rid of Falcone. Is it that she wants his powerful position all to herself? If that is the only reason, it stands to reason in wondering what Fish would do next once Falcone was out of the picture. This still isn't too clear. I guess that doesn't really matter now that Fish is once again in the weaker position as it relates to Falcone.



Now if the show could get into how the mob war affects the fabric that perilously holds Gotham City together, it could stand a chance at getting a bit better. I still think there's lots of material to be mined there that the writers haven't bothered to touch. That perhaps the mob war is a result of the city's corrupt institutions willfully ignoring what ills them and so lets the criminal element slowly, but completely, overtake everything. This episode has no trace of that bigger overall picture.