MisterGlass

It is a little inconsistent, but at the same time I could see Bullock knowing joie de vivre because it could describe the lifestyles of some of the underworld characters with whom he has associated, as opposed to altruism, which seems to be a rare virtue in Gotham. How the Duchess of Devonshire is connected, I have no idea.

They called them "Juniors". The Fringe alt universe metaphor is apt because there was a mix of very advanced technology and primitive technology there. I think it's working well for Gotham, and I agree that there has always been an odd mix in Batman. Part of that is due to the technology used by Batman and the criminals he fights, much of which seems futuristic relative to the standard of the times. Campy as it was, the 1960s Adam West "Batman" featured a computer that could search for patterns and suggest avenues for research. The Tim Burton/Michael Keaton movies had a Batmobile with audio controls and an onboard computer. A couple of posters mentioned worries of the villains taking over the series, and I agree that could be a problem. Already the Penguin, Falcone, and Maroni are more interesting than the majority of the 'good' characters. I was more worried about this possibility at the start of the series, but now that Bullock and Gordon are coming into their own as partners I think they may be able to keep the series from going in that direction. I would like whatever happens with the villains to make narrative sense.

Penguin: Why then would they react so ferociously? Why do they want me back so badly? Maroni: I know why. Because they know I've got a stone money maker here. A golden goose. They know it, and they don't want us to have him. Right Penguin? Penguin: Honk, honk. Maroni: (beat) What? Penguin: Honk, honk. It's what geese say.

I don't think he did it intentionally, but once he was caught he made the right move in going for broke. Oz has messed up a couple of times now - in front of Falcone and Maroni - but he recovers well, which is as important to his survival as the good decisions he makes. How he tries to recover ground with Fish will be interesting to see. Taylor reminds me a bit of Brad Dourif.

Dear Diary, If you are going to snitch, snitch big. And do it with style.

Oswald has groveling and manipulation down to a science. I have to complement Robin Lord Taylor for working in so many different degrees of inflection to distinguish between pandering, humility, and not so subtle gloating. He presents such different faces to everyone. I do think his behavior in front of the men he bought was legend-building, but he probably enjoyed giving the kiss of death to an enemy. I like the idea that he has been Falcone's man all along. Part of me thinks that he could be sincerely grateful to Jim for saving his life, and having the opportunity to return the favor. Most of me thinks he is keeping Jim around so that he will have someone who cannot be easily intimidated to arrest his adversaries. The secret weapon is doing her job well, and she is someone that Oswald doesn't know. Oh Barbara. I wanted so much for you to be a better character than you have appeared to be, but then you go and walk right up to Carmine Falcone. Not even in a public place, at his home. Can you imagine how many bodies have been carted away from there? At least Montoya and and Allen did something useful, and Montoya apologized. Allies! Hopefully. I laughed at Allen being frog-marched down to the car by Alfred. Harvey may be an unapologetic slob, but this is the second episode in a row where he has made an effort, and it makes him likeable. He was even enjoying the 'blaze of glory' part of the operation. Edited for spelling

He is a good snitch.

Alfred has already hugged Bruce. Twice. First at the Wayne murder scene, and second after Bruce burned himself. Neither were particularly tender, but they were appropriate. As far as female characters on the show, I agree that they are not appealing. In the time that we spend with them, most of the character traits they show are unappealing and horribly repetitive. Montoya has been hamstrung by relationship baggage and a foolish investigation. Essen, as a police captain, is an administrator and supervisor, and his or her personnel have a level of autonomy, so it is not unreasonable that she spend a great deal of her time at the station. When we do see her, she is defending the corrupt status quo, and ordering her people to do the same. Barbara appears to be directionless except for her desire to have Jim open up to her. This in itself is not an unreasonable request, but it is unvarying, and so becomes annoying, much like Montoya's behavior. Barbara is right to ask for a level of honesty from her future life partner, and while Jim may think he is protecting her, others will assume she has information because of her involvement with him. They should make decisions about their lives and safety together. As far as Barbara's call to the papers, it was cheeky and she no doubt enjoyed the chance to flout her knowledge, but the base motive was informing Gotham that children were in danger when the establishment refused to do it. In order to warm to these characters we'll have to different sides of them. With Fish, camp as she is - and I believe that is an intentional choice, for good or ill - she has a goal that does not revolve around Gordon. What she does isn't appealing either, though it is sometimes interesting, and has more layers than what the other female characters do. Mother Cobblepot's actions have also been very specific and focused, but on Oswald. We haven't seen enough from her to see how strictly she'll adhere to her pattern. Selina, the Wayne enterprises 'non board member', and the new Kristin Kringle have potential. Kristin feels like a more real character in a single episode than most of those we have met thus far. Bullock started with a simple premise, and with this episode he has grown in a very interesting way. So has Nygma, who was hampered with the same type of behavioral restriction as the female characters. We need a similar breakthrough with other chracters. I'm optimistic that we will get it, or that the characters that don't work will be discarded. A review I read said Ben Edlund wrote this episode. No wonder I warmed to it.

I'm not sure if I'm more distrubed by Oswald's hair style or his relationship with his mother.

I like that the show took time to explore some of the characters that we see weekly, but still don't know very well. I thought Bullock's backstory played well, and I buy the progression from dedicated to self-protecting. Dan Hedaya was a nice touch as the influential and bitter ex-partner. This carried forward the idea that when genuinely innocent people are suffering Bullock isn't quite as lackadaisical as he is when criminals are in trouble. He put forth real effort in this case. And Nygma? Don't lean in and sniff women as they pass. Giant creeper red flag, not that Ed doesn't have others. It was nice that he contributed to the investigation, though. Oh, Oswald. So dedicated to making an entrance. I suppose now that Maroni knows and values him, he can be a little freer with news of his continued existence. I'm glad Barbara pushed for openness in the first conversation with Jim in this episode. I want her to hold that line. Regarding the therapist, does she seem like a potential Yeah, that was a sad moment. In spite of the progress they've made, I think Bruce is still tied to the notion of Alfred as a servant.

I can picture the Eatha Kitt influence, and that she's ready for her close-up, Mr. Cobblepot.

He would probably tell Alfred to distract the office minder with dense questions while he snoops. Could be entertaining.

I'm counting the 'Scamp' in the pile of victims. He'd seen far too much to survive. His body might turn up buried in a field, but I think he's no longer with us.

Surely Gotham can accomodate Batman and Batmanuel.

Mathis was conspiring with someone. Since she works for Wayne Enterprises directly and was covering up Wellzyne's mess and appears willing to have Jim and Harvey dealt with if they find out too much, it's clear that corruption has seeped into the parent company.

I agree. Alfred has tried very hard to be calm the last several episodes, and there should come a point where he has to make a stand. The Bruce and Alfred relationship will need a few definitive moments as they move toward the looming shadow of Batman.

The Dark Knight Dances? Arkham Side Story? They could push Gordon further into the gray, if he actually did choose to take another life to save himself, and carry out the threat of the first episode. They could also kill off a comic canon character, like Barbara.

The Waynes were compared to pillars of society on par with Falcone. I can believe that they felt safe in their city. Falcone feels competent to deal with whatever arises. If the Waynes did know that there were company irregularities, they may only have feared a legal battle. Bruce is confident in his money and what it can do for him. Money, position, and resources may have given the Waynes a false sense of security too. That would work. He could start out as a mid-level ally of Bruce, and help in the struggle to clean up the company.

I like the impression that Jim and Harvey are finally getting in step as partners. They are and may always be miles apart philosophically, but they were tolerating each other and interacting well. And "What is altruism?" and Jim's accompanying expression was perfect. I was worried about the superdrug part of this episode, but the way Harvey and Gordon reacted to the crazy really did help sell it. I didn't miss Major Crimes or Barbara. Oswald really stuck his flipper in his mouth with Maroni, but he played through it well. His ability to recover from things is what makes him a plausible supervillain. He's worked his way into roughly the same position for Maroni that he held under Fish. Actually, this may be something of a promotion. I agree with everyone else, the scene with Oswald, Maroney, and Gordon was a good one. We're only seen the introduction of the Secret Weapon to Falcone. I think she will work toward a closer relationship overtime, and be a sleeper agent. I think Fish is planning to kill the Russian mobster, rather than ally with him. She is her own sleeper agent there. He is probably her biggest competition for a successor. I may be retconning a bit much, but I tend to think that the files Bruce is looking through are the ones his parents found suspicious. If they were on hand in the house somewhere, that may be why, and if they are already cherry-picked from other mountains of paperwork, it could explain why Bruce was quick to spot the issues. Perhaps Thomas and Martha were investigating irregularities, and that's why they became targets. It may be that Bruce has been homeschooled up to this point. His interactions do not suggest a boy familiar with how children behave, but rather someone who interacts primarily with adults. He may have been more of an apprentice to his father than a schoolkid. I do like that Alfred just sat down and started helping, unasked, and that Bruce was so happy about it. No dialogue needed. Since Bruce will continue to be involved with Wayne Enterprises, clearing corruption out of there may be the best way of protecting him. And ridding his own company of crime is a good start for someone planning to rid a city of crime. It will take years.

I think that Sean Pertwee as Alfred is in the appropriate age range. Alfred does seem to be doing all the housework and cooking right now. It may be that they have shutoff parts of the mansion for the time being, so that he is only maintaining a portion of it. I notice that in "Arkham" he spoke freely to Gordon until Bruce entered, but he then reverted to his role as servant and stood quietly to one side. I could see him being a source for Gordon in the upper echelon as much as Oswald is in the lower.

No Walking Dead spoilers! :-) Oswald is really embracing supervillainry. He's even working green and purple into his suits, with a ruby tie tack. And Peter Humboldt? Agreed spaceytraci1208, Jim is really confiding too much in Bruce, expecially if he is being more honest with him than his fiancee. Looking at the shooter again in Bruce's nightmare, I see nailpolish and arching eyebrows. In spite of the massive build of the shooter, I think someone more petite and fond of big jewelry pulled the trigger.

It's true, the majority of female characters have been location locked. Their locations match their roles relative to Gordon; these are the places where he would normally see them. However, that also means that female characters don't interact much with each other. Montoya and Barbara's meetings have been one-note. It would be a nice to see a setting where more of the characters have a chance to interact.

Agreed, Oswald probably killed him for the shoes and the job. I found a picture of Robin Lord Taylor from the Walking Dead. "Cat-Tween" made it into this week's summary. Does this make Bruce Bat-Tween? The time does feel stretched a bit thin by the time the episode checks in with all the characters, and as a result some subplots are not really moving. I suspect that at some point the herd will be thinned by either Penguin, Fish, Falcone, or a combination of the three. It seems reasonable for Selina to disapper for a while, since she is in theory on the run. If major case receeded a bit, that would make some room to tell a more in depth story. A Fringe alumnus, Clark Middleton, made this episode as the balloon seller.

I agree that the central mystery was not all that interesting, but there were moments to appreciate. It was nice to see Bruce and Alfred have fun, like they are starting to settle into the life they're left with. Bruce is still pushing boundaries by acquiring the police file (how, btw? How much access to Wayne money and resources does he have?) but at least he doesn't seem to be injurying himself. And he's talking a little more freely about his thoughts. The best part of the episode was Penguin's smirking appearance at the door. He was wearing a suit with pointy lapels, even. It is an interesting proposal to have Gordon and Oswald collaborate. Gordon might think Oswald (or Paolo) is the least of the evils running around the city, but Oswald will have to hide the fact that he's willing to kill a man for his shoes. That's not something Gordon would appreciate, and the idea of cooperation with Oswald in anyway must smack a little of the institutionalized corruption around him. But imagine if the reason Oswald rises is a deal he strikes with Gordon. Major Crimes is coming off as easily led, and that is my biggest problem with the characters. Harvey Bullock isn't much, but he can investigate when sufficiently motivated. On the other hand, these two detectives seem to pinball between gossipers in the underworld and Gordon, without much initiative to go elsewhere. Not relevant, but the title "The Balloonman" made me think of "M", which made me think that Robin Lord Taylor has a bit of Peter Lorre vibe as Penguin.

I think part of the old equipment and old station design are to show how underfunded and outclassed the Gotham police are. If they have no real resources it feeds the mentality that they need to compromise. I caught part of a Penguin episode of the 60s TV series recently. I am accustomed to the Tim Burton through Christopher Nolan representations, and I had forgotten just how campy the Adam West version was. Penguin was not only waddling along in a purple top hat, he was squawking under his breath as he moved.