Gotham Season 2 Episode 1 Review

SPOILER WARNING

Bat to Basics?

Gotham

Season 2, Episode 1

Director: Danny Cannon

Stars: Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, Robin Lord Taylor, David Mazouz, Sean Pertwee, Morena Baccarin, Erin Richards

The conclusion of the first series saw the status quo being swept away with the gangsters Falcone and Marone exiting stage right from the series. We also saw the end of Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) and so we open the new series with a lot of characters in different positions now. Mooney was a very annoying character and the war between the gangsters wasn’t very well-realised anyway so the omens for a new season are good. James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) lost his position in the GCPD and his partner Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) was also kicked out, and Bullock is now a bar tender. Gordon’s ex, Barbara (Erin Richards) is now in Arkham Asylum, but determined to hound Lesley Thompkins (Morena Baccarin), Gordon’s current girlfriend. The Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) is now the main ganglord of Gotham, thanks to the absence of Falcone and Marone but in this first episode of the new series, we are introduced to Theo Galavan (James Frain), a seemingly well-heeled man with a dark secret and a crazy sister Tabitha (Jessica Lucas).

Gotham is a very frustrating series: it can’t make its mind up if it’s a police procedural or a young Batman series. This first episode of the new run gives us some more Penguin, which is always a good thing, but the newly permanently psychotic Barbara didn’t ring that true last season and it’s not all that compelling here either. New psychopath Galavan is an intriguing figure but let’s see if the show’s makers are able to mould him into something a little more.

Gotham is a very enjoyable series despite its flaws and the first episode plants a few interesting plot seeds.

JOEL MEADOWS

Gotham – Season 1 [DVD] [2014]