Originally written May 11, 2015
Gotham is a show that is hit or miss in every sense of the word. Throughout the entirety of its first season, there is no consistency to the quality of the show. Even among any individual episode, I was usually always able to find things I loved and things I hated. It’s the kind of show that seems like it’s experimenting with different ideas all the time, but still has yet to find its true footing by the end of its first season.
The concept of the show is that it centers on the people of Gotham pre-Batman. The first episode opens when Bruce Wayne’s parents are murdered, and new detective Jim Gordon is investigating who did it (a storyline that never does get resolved by the end of the season, by the way). Along with child Bruce Wayne and rookie detective Gordon, we also get an insight into the lives of many of the famous villains of the Batman universe, before they have fully become villains. The main ones that season 1 focuses on are the stories of Selina Kyle (Catwoman), Oswald Cobblepot (Penguin), and Edward Nygma (Riddler), although many other villains make cameos throughout the season, including Harvey Dent (Two-Face), Ivy (Poison Ivy), and Jonathan Crane (Scarecrow). Aside from their individual stories, a big focus of the season is also on the gang war between Carmine Falcone and Salvatore Maroni.
Basically, the quality of the show is made up of the sum of the individual characters’ parts. I tended to favor more storylines than I didn’t, but it’s almost pretty even with good and bad. Jim Gordon gives the show a likeable main character, and usually finds himself crossing paths with every other character in some way, usually by putting himself in danger by being one of the only honest cops in Gotham. His partner Harvey Bullock also provides a good counterbalance to Jim’s character, being sometimes dirty while also caring about Jim, and trying to talk him out of rash decisions while also coming to his aid when Jim inevitably ignores his advice. Bruce Wayne also has some pretty fun character development throughout the season, with tiny seeds being constantly planted that will inevitably turn him into the crimefighting vigilante we all love. Bruce’s story is also helped by Alfred, who is actually my favorite character.
The villains usually have inconsistent quality in how fun their storylines are though. Someone like Penguin started out on the show as one of its best characters, but I found myself caring about him less and less as the show went on. He’s still better than some characters, but his charm kind of wore off after a while. However, on the other side of the coin is Nygma, who starts off as a pointless character, randomly appearing to give corny riddles that just come off as fan service. However, as the season progresses we start to see him become crazier, and by the end of it all he has such an enjoyable story to watch. A lot of the other villains that randomly appear seem to be pointless one-shots, but at the same time I like that it’s established that they exist in this universe and will come into play in important ways later on.
The show kind of starts off as an episodic sort of show in the beginning, with a “bad guy of the week” in its earlier episodes. The show starts to abandon that after a while though, and I think it benefits from having more continuous storylines throughout the show. The main storyline that was a through-line throughout the entire season was the gang war though. This was the kind of storyline that neither benefited the show nor detracted from it. It has some interesting moments, and other dull ones. The one big problem with it all is a character that was created just for the show, Fish Mooney. Fish works under Falcone, but is trying to rise to the top by deceiving him. Jada Pinkett Smith plays her, and she’s just furthering my doubt in the Smith family’s ability to act anymore. I hate her character so much, and every time she’s on screen I just want to stop watching. I was constantly hoping for her to get killed off, and I think the show would definitely benefit without her on it. Jim’s girlfriend Barbara also falls into this category, by being poorly written throughout the season. Barbara is basically used as a plot device, with her character just performing actions that are inconsistent but performed for whatever the show needs her to do. Even though her arc doesn’t make sense, she did have her most interesting moments in the final few episodes though.
I can’t truly recommend Gotham, but it’s not a bad show. I get mild entertainment out of it week to week, with it providing just enough enjoyment and interest to keep me tuning in. It’s the kind of show that you continue to watch even though you know it’s not as good as most of the other shows you’re watching. I do think it has future potential to be very good, as long as the writers would just stick to what makes the show good and cut out the parts of it that suck. While it’s not one of my favorite shows, I do kind of like it, and I’ll keep watching it next season.
3/5
