GOTHAM “The Balloonman” Review


Is this a property that really should exist? Or does it need to be cancelled? Read on to find out.

The official description from Fox:

Detectives Gordon and Bullock track down a vigilante who is killing corrupt Gotham citizens by attaching them to weather balloons. Meanwhile, Oswald Cobblepot returns to Gotham and gets a new job close to an important figure in the underworld in the all-new “The Balloonman” episode of GOTHAM airing Monday, Oct. 6.

It took just three episodes but I’m finally excited about this show. The creators behind Gotham have a daunting task that many different mediums have successfully dodged for decades. They’re trying to fill in the gap of Bruce Wayne‘s (David Mazouz) childfood while fighting a time jump to a present day where we see the legendary character face his parents death in a cowl and cape. And so, in the environment that made the crime of his parent’s murder possible, we see how the other players in and around his life evolve.

Gotham S103_01 Widescreen

In “The Balloonman” we see the labors of the prior two outings germinate into a rather interesting plot. From a mansion outside of the city limites to a familiar police precinct this new vigilante creates some interesting questions. In this iteration of the storied city corruption runs rampant to the point that any normal person would have to wonder: how long will people take it on the chin? And that’s where this narrative comes into play and despite some goofy effects here and there I still walked away from this one smiling.

Gotham S103_02 Widescreen

Ben McKenzie (James Gordon) rules the screen with his at times questionable but always engaging partner, Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue). The villains in this episode got some decent screen-time as Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) began to maneuver past last week’s set back. But it was Robin Lord Taylor (Oswald Cobblepot) that stepped his game up in a release that allowed The Penguin enough room to be himself. Add in the interesting interaction between Erin Richards (Barbara Kean) and Victoria Cartagena (Renee Montoya) and the saga of this town certainly has some legs.

Gotham had en entry that finally left me downright excited for the prospects of the future. There’s a lot of elements that can clearly be played with and I have no doubt that the actors and actresses involved are more than capable to handle their own. Recommended.

OUR RATING
8.5
  • + Strong performances.
  • + The Penguin comes home.
  • + We meet Gotham's first vigilante.
  • + Bullock and Gordon offer solid chemistry.