Gotham: Viper is the 5th episode of the season and has the GCPD trying to combat the spread of a lethal drug that temporarily infuses the user with super strength before death. It opens up with Alfred trying to convince Bruce that it’s a lovely day outside but he’s too engrossed in dozens of folders, trying to get a grasp on the information in all the files. Alfred poses the question of what if Bruce never discovers who killed his parents but Bruce answers that he’s not out for revenge, and so that’s not what he’s trying to understand. He wants to know how Gotham works, and even though he knows that City Hall is corrupt, he doesn’t understand why Wayne Enterprises didn’t do anything about Arkham and wants to get to the bottom of that. There’s a lot Bruce will have to learn about the current state of affairs in Gotham, and with Maroni seeking to grab even more power from Falcone, it’s not as if everything remains stagnant. Feeling empowered from his victory in Arkham, Maroni wants to rob Falcone’s casino, his crown jewel, in order to send a message that he’s taking over Gotham inch by inch. That includes the good, the bad, and the bizarre. Case in point, a homeless guitarist is playing on the street but not for food but to get money for drugs as stated clearly on his sign. So when a hooded man comes along and drops an unusual vial with a viper emblem on it and instructions to breathe it, he doesn’t hesitate in trying it. It does get him high but makes him violent, and ultimately he ends up yanking out an ATM machine from the wall in a convenience store with his bare hands before running away with it on his back. Even by Gotham’s standards a man capable of doing this is bizarre. But with Maroni not done with his war against Falcone how much will the GCPD be able to do to combat this drug being distributed freely to the public while stemming the tide of this war?

And this is where this episode would start to falter because the events being set in motion would require abandoning even simple logic. For example, Fish’s plan could only work if Falcone trusted the one she trained, and the simplicity in which this occurred considering Falcone doesn’t have any intentions on changing his life was surprising for one in his position. Nor has anyone demonstrated any loyalty to him explaining his hold on power but at least that part can be elaborated on later. It’s not just Falcone. Cobblepot was called Penguin in just about every scene in the first episodes yet no one has observed a penguin like figure and connected it to Cobblepot still being alive. However, since I was against the overuse of aliases so early on for characters who haven’t fully adopted those personas I’m more willing to overlook Cobblepot being able to work behind the scenes. And besides, he would play a crucial role in Maroni’s plan to rob Falcone’s casino, which would require him to reveal his true identity to Maroni. This would lead to an intense and entertaining face to face with Gordon, making the entire situation more complicated. And it raised the stakes in the war with Falcone.

SUMMARY

Gotham: Viper is an uneven episode that has some of the best moments so far this season but also has some of the most implausible moments based on the way things were set up in the first couple of episodes. So I enjoyed the connections between the viper drug and the corruption in Gotham as well as Bruce emerging as a stronger character with his own motivations and not just for Gordon to talk to about the death of his parents. The stakes being raised in the mob war is still interesting although some of the details were handled clumsily betraying the enjoyable build up. But overall I’m enjoying everything that’s been set in motion and I’m confident there will be a lot more to enjoy this season.