Random TV Seasons Review - Gotham (Seasons 3-5)

Its been a while since I last watched Gotham and with this year being the year where most TV shows and film sagas are coming to an end, Gotham is among them. So what better time to talk about the final seasons than now. As we all know, the show set out as being a prequel to practically any version of Batman in which we find out what could possibly happen in the gap between the Wayne murder and the arrival of the caped crusader. A gap that is often never really explained nor talked about in many mediums. So let us enter the dark, twisted and sometimes over the top world of Gotham and see if it needs a hero or not:



Season 3 - Mad City/Heroes Rise

So in the UK, the season didn't really get broadcast until well after the home release came out which was weird. Still it meant that it could find a place on another broadcaster which for us was E4 (part of the Channel 4 family). Having left the force, Jim Gordon (reprised by Ben McKenzie) works for some of the season as a bounty hunter trying to find fugitives from Indian Hill as well as Dr. Hugo Strange (reprised by B.D. Wong) and his test subject Fish Mooney (reprised by Jada Pinkett Smith). Meanwhile Harvey Bullock (reprised by Donal Logue) and Nathaniel Barnes (reprised by Michael Chiklis) work alongside the force to hold the front line against all known villains though the latter soon starts to become one himself. And finally in the world of Bruce Wayne (reprised by David Mazouz), he discovers even more secrets behind his parents murder while uncovering a conspiracy on a group known as the Court of Owls. You know I'm glad I came back to this when I did because this season is great. Its got a lot more villains this time around that we all know and love and shows Jim and Bruce slowly coming to accept their roles in Gotham despite the chaos that happens within. 9/10


Season 4 - A Dark Knight

The season begins with Penguin (reprised by Robin Lord Taylor) taking over the crime wave by issuing licenses to those wanting to commit crime in Gotham. Desperate to stop him at all costs, Jim pays a visit to a former frenemy Carmine Falcon (reprised by John Doman) to get some help. Instead he gets his daughter Sofia (played by Crystal Reed) who comes out of free will to rebuild the Falcone empire in Gotham. Also during this season, we get Solomon Grundy who in reality is an amnesiac Butch Gilzean (reprised by Drew Powell) who serves as the enforcer of The Riddler (reprised by Cory Michael Smith) and his new accomplice Lee Thompkins (reprised by Morean Baccarin) who becomes for a time the leader of the Narrows. Also later on in the season, we see a trio of villains trying to put Gotham in anarchy and Bruce Wayne gets pushed by the likes of Jeremiah Valeksa (played by Cameron Monaghan who also plays his twin brother) who turns insane by his brother and Ra's Al Ghul (reprised by Alexander Siddig) to fulfil his destiny. One of the best things about this season is how it managed to adapt elements from some of the best Batman stories out there like Year One, The Long Halloween and No Man's Land. It also has probably the best villain team up the series has had so far and also shows us a potential origin story for the Joker who as we all know is often never known to have a name other than his villain alias. There is also lots of character development involved and it ends with an outcome that will make us want to see how it all ends. 9/10


Season 5 - Legend of the Dark Knight

In the final season, Gotham's bridges have been destroyed which has left it separated from the mainland and allowing villains to take over entire burrows and neighbourhoods. In the midst of the chaos, Jim and Harvey work to make contact on the mainland which leaves them with false promises. Meanwhile, Penguin reunites with Riddler and the pair make amends but not before coming across an angry and pregnant Barbara Kean (reprised by Erin Richards) who wants to escape the city like them. Despite it being the final season, we get two more villains introduced in the form of Bane (played by Shane West) and Scarface (played by Andrew Sellon), the latter of which Arthur Penn (also played by Sellon) gets possessed by due to him being a possessed dummy. All ending on a satisfactory note with some familiar costumes being worn and references a plenty to other Batman media. Having recently read the Zero Year Batman story, I was quite looking forward to seeing Gotham's take on it and honestly although adapted loosely, its a very good take on it. Seeing Gotham city at its most vulnerable state where everyone is trying to survive and a few wanting to do anything to do so. It started well, it ends well. All with us feeling satisfied despite being shorter than the similar show but to do with Superman. 9/10

It has overall been a great show that hasn't been entirely perfect, but manages to stand on its own and not be bogged down on all sorts of things. Its also good to see that the show runners realise that there is only so much you can do before it gets repetitive and dare I say it boring. But it ended the way we were all expecting it to end and I hope it continues on in comic book form if nothing else. 9/10