The first episode started off strong but had its problems, primarily being a bit too structured in a way that relied on a specific side character to suddenly spring up out of nowhere when it was most convenient for Penguin. The story oriented itself around Penguin's usual manipulative ways having pursed actions that put him in the deep end against a large crime syndicate family known as the Falcones. He runs through the town in search of a way to escape the inevitable discovery of his actions and that was about it. It wasn't a terrible episode, but I wouldn't say it was a great episode. As mentioned in my previous review on the first episode, that side character just felt too forced and didn't quite have the interest needed to make much of a different outside of being a plot point. Something for the writers to pull out when necessary and then drop after. I before going into the second episode, I had this hope that the side character would've been dropped entirely, allowing the show to focus more on Penguin and rather that first episode just utilising random characters to show the desperate routes that Penguin is willing to go down in search of personal gain. Showcasing his own insanity in a sea of much larger and more powerful criminals. After all, within the world of Gotham, he is just one of many powerful villains that Batman ends up having to deal with.
Episode two felt more like a real series in which things actually happen without it being too much of a controlled narrative. What I mean by that is that the episode moves from one place to the next and its events don't feel like they hold too much of a structure to them that feels fake. It was a significantly more immersive episode as a result. Particularly in following up on some of the events from the first episode, to which the Penguin is now troubled with constant eyes searching around for a traitor. To which naturally Penguin is the most obvious option. It leaves a lot of panic around as Penguin tries his best to stay under the radar, displaying his loyalty to those who he holds absolutely no loyalty to whatsoever in actuality. One event spiralling down into another negative outcome as he yet again tries to play numerous sides. All of which is leading towards a new drug that is scheduled to enter the market, to which he wants in on for the profit. It's claimed that they new drug will completely revolutionise things. We've already seen that Penguin is a bit of a lone wolf, he does what he wants and always finds some lucky way out of it even when the plan doesn't end up exactly as assumed. I do like this side about his character, but sometimes I feel as if he gets away with things a little too easily.
By now there would definitely be more eyes on Penguin, and to some degree in the first episode there was some as Sophia took a look at him and began to question his agendas. As he managed to weasel himself out of that one, it made sense. But the more that Penguin maintains his sudden persistence towards the family, it doesn't really result in anyone else finding irregularities in his appearances. In this episode there's a heist to which Penguin orchestrated, being one of the lone survivors of that heist, nothing really comes from it. Particularly in how Penguin was pretty much the one to set things up in the first place. I do hope to see more tension build up as it becomes clear there's something off with his character. I do hope that the rest of the characters don't hold a strong naive perception of him as things continue to go south. Though one thing I did like was less of a presence from the side character Penguin picked up in the first episode. I still feel he's a bit weak and doesn't offer much to the show. And fortunately his presence wasn't all that strong; however he again was used as a plot tool when convenient.
For a second episode, Gotham still feels really small. There hasn't been much world building to this season so far which is quite surprising. We've seen a really small amount of Gotham and part of me believes this is a result of the show having some connection to the recent The Batman. And is likely to have connection to the following film. Perhaps to keep things connected on a more visual level, the show tries to keep the environments relatively tight. Plenty of interior scenes, to which even the driving scenes feel quite tight and enclosed. I'd really like to see more of the Gotham city and how Penguin interacts within it, but it seems that this season will focus more on his actions alongside the Falcone family, keeping his movement to a general minimum. I guess this also does make some sense when we take into consideration the character's limp which limits his ability to move around a lot. Though it still would be nice to see more of the outdoors, seeing more of the environment that Penguin finds himself in, the chaotic streets of Gotham to which the news keeps referring to as being riddled with increased crime as a result of the end events of The Batman.
These current events also give the question of where things are heading as the show continues to orient itself around two families. The question of that new drug coming into play. Though with the current pacing of the show I suspect it'll be something that comes to us more at the end of the first season. The show holds a much more serious approach to its story telling, and I don't mind that all that much, but again that aforementioned drama and the lack of world building has me feeling a little bit bored. I'll keep watching as I'm sure things will start to pick up, but so far things are definitely quite slow. Despite the few problems I have with the show so far, it has definitely got its strong performances and great directing. Quite a decent amount of effort went into it.