'Gotham': Gordon gets back to work in 'Welcome Back, Jim Gordon'

“Welcome Back, Jim Gordon” was a very wise episode for Gordon’s return to homicide with the GCPD and a good follow up to last week’s “What the Little Bird Told Me”. By having this week’s suspect be fellow cop Arnold Flass, Gordon was allowed to show how spectacularly his previous demotion had backfired. “Welcome Back” also explored some of Fish’s relationships with both Butch and Bullock, which had been hinted in earlier episodes. Gotham is still rough around the edges in some spots but it is beginning to hit its stride.

“Welcome Back” pitted Gordon against the GCPD after his witness in a murder was killed in the police station. This was a smart move for Gotham as it had Gordon, already disliked by his fellow cops, in a direct conflict with them. The situation forced GCPD to make a decision on Gordon, which in turns shows just how influential the young detective has become in his short stay. Gordon’s decision to remain on this case, despite the feathers he was ruffling – including Commissioner Logue’s – showed some of the change he has undergone this season as well.

While Gordon has yet to let a case go this season in his ongoing pursuit of fairness and justice, he may have been more sheepish in pursuing this case earlier in the season. In fact, once Internal Affairs stepped in this week’s case could have become much like Gordon’s continuous investigation into the Waynes’ murder; a sort of on and off affair that is only brought up when it needs to be. However, after the laughable decision by Internal Affairs to call the witness’s death a suicide Gordon knows he must complete this case immediately, regardless of whose toes he was stepping on.

Unfortunately for Gordon he has to turn to Penguin to get the information he needs to go after Arnold Flass and Detective Delaware, who are known to be corrupt vice detectives busting up drug operations only to use them for their own personal gain. And while it is clear that Gordon does not like cavorting with the likes of Penguin, he allows Penguin’s right hand mook, Gabe, to get a little help with the case. What ends up happening quickly becomes one of the more tense moments in the show thus far as Gordon take a stand against Flass in the middle of GCPD. There’s no violence but the standoff between the corrupt and, supposedly’ well-liked Flass and Gordon was a good climax that many of the more action-packed endings fail to achieve. With Captain Essen finally backing Gordon up and arresting Flass it should be interesting to see what the fallout of this will be in the coming episodes.

Gordon will also have to deal with the personal fallout of enlisting Penguin's help. After Flass's arrest Gordon is approached by a distraught Det. Delaware who begs Gordon to keep his family out of any future threats. At first Gordon has no clue what he is talking about but then realizes that Penguin's henchman Gabe did not come by the evidence to arrest Flass in a legal manner. Gordon's regret in using Penguin is obvious with Delaware pleading with Gordon in an alleyway. Clearly this will affect Gordon and his relationship with the Penguin.

Flass, a well known character in the Batman universe, had been in a previous episode as the boyfriend(?) of Kristen Kringle – the object of Nygma’s affections. Despite his earlier appearance, this was the first time (at least I could recall) that the audience knew him as Flass. While his character isn’t explored as more than a jockish, high on the hog cop he could very well make a nice thorn in Gordon’s side for episodes and seasons to come. Flass makes a good foil for Bullock as well, as Flass feels like the cop Bullock could/would have become if not for Gordon.

On the other side of the tracks was Fish. About to receive punishment for her disloyalty against Falcone, Butch escapes his fate and rescues her in the nick of time. In previous episodes Butch had clearly shown his loyalty to Fish but this was the first time it felt the two actually had an emotional connection. Butch especially seemed to be showing how much he cared for Fish and enjoyed her company, which was something more than him just being worried about becoming the prey for Falcone’s henchmen.

Fish’s need for revenge against Penguin is great and seeing Penguin celebrating becoming the new owner of Fish’s club only to have her come in and make him grovel for his life was some nice comeuppance for the more sympathetic Penguin. But Zsasz and his lady henchmen (how has this not been explored yet?!) ruin Fish’s fun and cause her and Butch to flee, which results in Butch basically sacrificing himself to Zsasz to let Fish get away. We don’t know what will happen to Butch, though it seems like Zsasz has kept him alive to torture in future episodes, and whether or not Fish will miss him and/or try to rescue him in the future. Forcing her to make a choice in the matter will further color in evermore intriguing sketch of Fish.

At the end of the episode Fish has decided to flee Gotham after being helped by Bullock. They share a brief kiss, which was very awkward but an interesting wrinkle in their yet-to-be explored relationship. Whether or not their history gets revealed sooner or later is still a mystery but this brief kiss and display of tenderness between the two adds a layer to both characters.

“Welcome Back” also became Bruce’s return to Gotham in the second half of the season. His subplot is still vague and not particularly interesting at this point but being told off by Selina certainly begins the back and forth between the future Catwoman and Batman. Hopefully him rededicating himself to finding his parents’ killers will be handled a little better than it was earlier in the season. Showing Bruce gaining skills he will eventually employ as Batman in a natural way could be exciting but it must be done properly or else it will feel cheap.