Gotham: Arkham is the 4th episode of the season and has Gotham on the verge of an all-out mob war for control over the Arkham section of the city. It opens up with Cobblepot standing in front of Gordon’s door, and even though Gordon is shocked to see him in Gotham again, Barbara is none the wiser about who he is. Cobblepot maintains this aspect of the situation by introducing himself with an alias so they can all continue talking before Gordon takes him outside. And Gordon is furious about Cobblepot being back because that means Falcone would try to kill both of them if he ever got wind that Gordon didn’t actually kill him. However Cobblepot reassures Gordon and tells him that not only is Gotham his city, his home but that there’s a war coming and Gordon will need him to be his secret agent. And since everyone believes he’s already dead no one will be looking for him. He warns Gordon about an upcoming war since he’s not one of the corrupt cops, and it wouldn’t be long until the first blow would be struck. While walking late at night with his security guard, a politician is accosted by a man claiming to be one of his constituents. He tells the politician that he voted for him in the last election and that he’s been busy working on something that he wants the politician to see. He pulls out an unusual device and after connecting the pieces he hands it to the security guard, who makes the mistake of examining it too closely only to be killed by it. And the fleeing politician has nowhere to go nor does it matter that the assassin did actually vote for him. As the assassin states, it’s not personal, and this hit is just part of a bigger plan. With politicians now being targeted, how ugly will things get before this war Cobblepot is warning about is over?

This would be very entertaining as the GCPD would notice the pattern in the killings and seek to find a way to stop him while trying to discover the next target in a cat and mouse type game. But what would make this intriguing wasn’t just the actions of this killer but the  exploration of the various plans for Arkham including the way the death of the Waynes impacted this. It made their murder in the scheme of this show more titillating and the politics in the city more engrossing as the role of the politicians started to fall into place. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for Gordon’s personal life as he and Barbara would start having problems due to secrets, or to be more specific, Barbara’s belief that Jim killed Cobblepot, and Montoya’s previous relationship with Barbara. I mentioned in my last review how it was distracting at best, and this episode only reaffirmed my stance that this has been the weakest aspect of this series so far. I don’t know what’s ahead for them in future episodes but I hope there are more compelling storylines with them and less distracting ones. For Barbara to know Gotham and the corruption and lies that exist yet believe Jim killed someone without a body, a weapon or even knowing what Cobblepot looked like made it even more implausible considering he’s been the only cop trying to do right in the city. So compared to Cobblepot’s machinations or a young Bruce wanting more information about the various Arkham proposals, this was lacking in depth.

SUMMARY

Gotham: Arkham is a good episode that makes the dynamics of the city more exciting as rival families compete for control over Arkham and setting the stage for more power struggles down the line. The assassin provided enough entertainment as a catalyst for the bigger story taking place this episode. And Cobblepot’s schemes this episode easily makes him the most compelling villain, and even though Fish didn’t have any major progress in her situation, there’s still potential there especially taking into consideration her long game. I still wasn’t feeling Jim and Barbara’s storyline and I hope in the midst of all the corruption in Gotham it could be more compelling, stronger. Overall I really like how things are falling into place and I can’t wait to see how future events unfold.