‘Gotham’ episode 8 review: Jim Gordon takes on ‘The Mask’; Bruce Wayne faces bullies

Overcoming a variety of enemies became a significant theme of Monday night’s new episode of “Gotham,” though the sort of adversary changed quite drastically when you were looking across the spectrum from one person to another.

For Gordon, we have to say that his story was by and large not the best that we’ve seen. After we had a pretty phenomenal storyline last week that introduced us to Victor Zsasz, there was nothing that felt special about his journey tonight. The best part of it was the return of Catwoman at the end, and we cannot even admit to being the biggest fan of that character so far.

Plus, part of the other problem was seeing how interesting the other stories were. We’re finding the tale of Liza, the golden child of Fish Mooney, somewhat interesting. We figured out exactly why Fish hates Falcone, and also that Liza, however tough she may be, is not exactly someone who is willing to do anything to get ahead. Fish is using her, but she’s also manipulating and messing with her head in the process.

Meanwhile, who expected Bruce Wayne to beat some kid up with Alfred standing nearby? This was the two sending a message, with that message being “don’t talk about Bruce Wayne’s mama.” This was the show sending a nice wink to us that this version of Bruce does have some of the same darkness that Batman did when we first met him. He likes to fight, and apparently, Alfred of all people is set to become his sensei.

While there were good moments throughout “The Mask,” this also felt like an hour that was definitely one designed to stretch out the season to 22 episodes. Maybe something better will come next time. Grade: B-.

What was your take on tonight’s “Gotham,” and did you find the Gordon story this week a letdown? Share with a comment.