Gotham Review: “The Balloonman” (Season 1, Episode 3)

The choice of airing closer to the Tim Burton Batman tone and aesthetic instead of the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight one is an interesting and bold choice, and not necessarily a deal breaker. It can absolutely work, and once the show becomes more comfortable in that decision I think it absolutely will work. We’re just obviously still building up to that point. We’re only three episodes in, after all, and it’s clear that the writers and showrunners are still deciding where their place is in the Batman mythology.

The performances of Jada Pinkett Smith and Robin Lord Taylor as Fish Mooney and Oswald Cobblepot, respectively, prove that you can evenly balance those two tones. They show that there’s room in the series for stranger characterizations and quirkier choices, if they’re written well. The Ballonman wasn’t particularly strong in terms of writing, but I get where they were going with it, and I admire their confidence this early in the game.

The surrounding stories were easily the most interesting this week. Oswald found his way back to Gotham and went on a bit of a killing spree to get a new job as a dishwasher in a restaurant owned by mob boss Sal Maroni. Maroni is played by Dexter‘s David Zayas, who did a lot of great stuff with the small bit of screentime he was given. I’m pretty excited to see where his character goes from here, especially as things heat up between him and his competition, Carmine Falcone.

There thankfully wasn’t an Edward Nygma scene shoehorned into the proceedings, and instead we got to spend a bit more time with Camren Bicondova’s young Selina Kyle. In just three episodes she’s shaped up nicely as an actress and is fitting in well. Then, of course, there’s David Mazouz and Sean Pertwee as Bruce and Alfred, two characters I didn’t think I’d love spending time with. I was worried that Gotham would spend too much time on their relationship instead of on Jim Gordon’s story, but we keep getting just enough of them to keep their dynamic fresh and interesting and to see Bruce’s first steps towards his destiny without it being too on-the-nose or forced.

Overall, I wasn’t as pleased with “The Balloonman” as I was with “Selina Kyle,” as the episode felt far less focused and obviously had a hard time juggling its ensemble. However, for each cringe-worthy scene between Barbara Kean (Erin Richards) and Renee Montoya (Victoria Cartagena), we were given the gift of a Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) montage, so it all evens out.

Gotham still has its kinks, but sandwiched between the rough patches are moments of true greatness and enjoyable genre entertainment, and you can bet that I’ll be visiting this town of corruption and crazy vigilantism again next week.