When Gotham was first introduced, it’s safe to say that we weren’t really sure how the show was going to work; especially considering the show wasn’t necessarily about Batman. Would a young Bruce work? What about all of his villains? Is Gordon strong enough to be the focal point of an entire show? It’s safe to say that the first half of the premiere season for Gotham answered yes to the majority of those questions.
Gotham led with some seriously uneven first few episodes. The incessant need to slam you over the head with character cameos and references was quite annoying. We all get who’s who in the Batman universe, and if we didn’t, showing tons of characters right off the bat and then leaving them by the wayside for a handful of episodes isn’t helping anyone. The other oddity is how awful Gotham is portrayed in the show. Surely it’s a corrupt and villainous city, but it’s a wonder how anyone is even alive after all that goes down in Gotham on the daily. It really pushes the realm of believability, and Gotham’s Finest don’t seem too urgent to create change. But, if you were able to suffer through the first couple of episodes, Gotham narrowed its focus and honed in on aspects of the show that worked. The later episodes seem to gravitate towards a more interesting subplot with Bruce and the whole mob feuds were streamlined quite a bit. And, if you’ve read any of the reviews of the show prior to this post, you’ll know the best part of each episode is Oswald Cobblepot.
Robin Lord Taylor, the actor that brings The Penguin to life, does such an outstanding job of portraying the character. Often times, he makes the episode and is the glue that holds it all together. His conniving ways and creepy grin is the character that we all love to hate. The portrayal is so eerily fascinating that it’s hard not to want to see more of him throughout each episode. Luckily, he seems to be the main villain through this season and presumably ones to come.
The night is darkest before the dawn with Gotham. Hopefully, you’ve made it through the dark episodes early on and can see the light because the future of the series is decidedly trending upward.
What we liked:
– Robin Lord Taylor playing The Penguin stunningly
– Streamlining episodes allowing for a more coherent plot
– Bruce is getting more interesting as the season progresses
What we didn’t like:
– Fish Moony was pretty “meh†through the season, just doesn’t grab me at all
– Gotham, as a city, is almost overly awful, hardly believable at times
– Instance of showing off everyone in the Batman Universe in an episode is weak
What we want to see in the future:
– More Robin Lord Taylor is always a good thing
– More interactions between Bruce and Selina Kyle would be great
– More interesting “villains-of-the-week†if they continue that trend
