Director TJ Scott didn't help matters by having his actors scream their dialog at each other for nearly an hour, particularly the central figures playing the back-story characters of The Riddler and The Penguin. Series has its extremely loyal coterie of fans (evidenced by higher-than-usual ratings for this dreary episode) but its origins premise is showing much wear & tear.
Though this is the start of an arc focused on the heroes, our hapless heroes, especially on the Gotham police force, were relegated to supporting parts while we watch the villains chew the scenery. Clearly once Bruce Wayne finds his feet and develops into Batman the show should right itself, but I dread sitting through too many more transitional clunkers like this one.
Where is the cleverness of the Riddler's riddles? Where is the panache that the late, great Frank Gorshin stamped indelibly on the role (despite many large-screen followups hamming it up like Jim Carrey)? Instead we have yet another TV show that looks dark, metallic and clammy thanks to no longer shooting on film in these HDV benighted times, with characters and action that keep the viewer at a safe distance rather than drawing one in. Story antics get violent of course, but lack the fantasy and strangeness of earlier efforts set at the asylum or featuring more interesting villains than this geeky approach to the Riddler.