Gotham: Selina Kyle

(spoilers for s01e02)

There's still cringe-worthy dialogue, though most of it from semi-significant characters (of previously marvelous actors off stellar shows like Six Feet Under) and some poor character judgement continues to proceed - Alfred the butler being a bit too rough ("No therapist.") towards kid-Batman, but there's a sliver of hope amidst the mess. This week we pay close attention to Cat and her adventures, as some people ("Oh Fudge") start trying to bring in homeless kids off the street for whatever nefarious purpose, but it's a good start. Finally we get to see Jim post-fake murder deal with the 'repercussions' and try to play dirty, while nice (though mostly his girlfriend). It's actually interesting, even if some of it is very stereotypical stuff. I find myself constantly trying to ignore the string of awkward dialogue, though if you think about it it is very comic-book in some ways, but that's not a terribly positive thing. It would help if the actors all took it with the same amount of seriousness.

They're trying to keep a bridge between realistic and not-realistic, but they've got to make a choice soon on whether or not they want to do it like Christopher Nolan, or else they'll lose their way. Despite the quibbles the plot of the episode was certainly more interesting, and there was even mention of a famed villain - the Dollmaker, which hopefully isn't just a random name-drop for the sake of dropping a name. It would defeat the purpose by not having him show up at some point, though I dare say I don't expect to see Jim battling him off in any kind of way.

Sometimes I imagine Ryan from the O.C. is just in some elaborate daydream by Seth Cohen

Besides this I enjoyed Selina's origin story coming into play, and her being more than a mere thief, though one wonders what will become of her in future stories (cliffie has something to say though). The still-alive Penguin is in the background being fairly wicked in his dealings and making me regret Jim not getting rid of him, since you know this will bite him in the ass. All in all much more interesting than the pilot, though it all hinges on if they manage to not thread into too many common tropes.

5/10