Gotham: Season 5

Don't let Gotham die.

For my immense contempt of the first half of season 4, it ended very strongly and when I heard Gotham's 5th season was to also be it's last I was rather shocked and heartbroken. And they really did everything they could do with wrapping up the series, which is already a huge task to do for any series let alone Gotham, and it ended really well. But damn it I don't want it to end! I've been with Gotham from the beginning admist all the bad mouthing and zero faith in the show, I was there. It's been a great show, the best I could ask for. I was there at the beginning and now, I got to see how it ends. The last season was delivered a cruel and crushing blow from the very beginning, with every season it has been a solid 22 episode runtime, this season originally got 10. Ten. And somehow, I don't know how it got two additional episodes added. So all the stuff I wanted to see could have been shown if they had those 10 more episodes. It's such a shame, so they had to cram a lot into the 44 minute run time so every minute counts! I mean it has to! So we start off almost a month after the bridges blow and war is brewing in Gotham, all the gangs have divided up territories with the GCPD trying to protect civilians and keep crime to a low while waiting for the military to provide aid for the city, and this takes up literally 80% of the series but never does it get old or tired. Cause honestly when you get to that point after seeing everything from the Waynes being murdered onwards you care a lot! Tons happen, some of it taking some cues from the movies but hey I can't complain about that! Plots are uncovered, new characters are introduced, my boys continue to be perfection, and a few surprises are in store as well. I greatly enjoyed this season and it wrapped up everything very well, and there was soooo much to enjoy! I loved the whole Arkham City dynamic with all the gangs, and yeah they pull a Hugo Strange near the end, good ol' Stabby Babs is fun as ever (and simply gorgeous as a redhead), Ed is still same old Ed who gets to play detective a bit, Oswald is still the perfect level of over the top, Bruce plays a big role in protecting the city, and there's some lovely little easter eggs sprinkled throughout! I would be thrilled if they did a continuation or even a spin-off series from this in a year or two, there's a lot you can do and I like the fact they twist the mythos a bit, because honestly there was only one character I did not know in this entire series because I'm such a nerd and know too much about the Batman and his history so it can have it's little surprises and I'm okay with it! If there was only one teeny tiny itty bitty thing I hate is, there's not enough Jeremiah! Cameron Monaghan does such a great job in this series and we really needed more of him! However, that is easily remedied because of something that I've been waiting to happen for a long time. I hold grudges forever and I tasted bliss and joy when Tabitha gets stabbed in the heart by Mr. Cobblepot. Ohhh! Oh, it's sublime!! It was beauty incarnate. It happened 2 if not 3 seasons too late but I never can be too picky about victory! If you've heard me praise and talk about this series enough and haven't watched it, I totally get it! It may not be your thing but if you watch say...4 to 6 episodes of the first season and you kinda want to see what's next give the show a watch. Granted the first season is very case of the week and it starts getting really good when the 2nd season starts, so if you can make it past the first you may stick around to the last. And with tremendous sadness and regret we must leave Gotham but I strongly doubt it will be the last time I see it.

Gotham: Season 4

Ugh, I gotta really learn how to shut the hell up.

It's my fault, I jinxed it. I said Gotham has been solid hit after hit and hasn't done anything to really piss me off and make me want to quit the show. That mostly changed when season 4 hit. I am gonna be real with you, if the level of writing and overall quality of this season was how the show started, Gotham would have been cancelled before I think season 1 would have even finished. I didn't really start liking this season until I think the 16th episode. Out of 22. Mainly because there really wasn't anything happening until that 16th episode, at all. None! Whatsoever! It's like every writer was just in a bad mood writing over half the season, honestly. Anyway, 3 months after Bruce meets Ra's Al Ghul and the virus has been cured, Gotham is still under control of Penguin and in a move I almost swear ripped right out of the 60s Batman show, Penguin actually issues crime licenses, you can commit any crime you want as long as you have a license and there will be no reprocussions, which is a subject I could bitch about for hours but let's move on. So Jim visits Carmine Falcone, Gotham's previous top crime lord in hopes to bring a semblance of order back to the city, where we are introduced to his daughter Sofia. I'm...still arguing which I hate more between her and Tabby. Sofia is the winner of The Biggest **** In Gotham Award, and that's really the huge fact that I hold as the reason this season fell flat for me. Say what you will about Tabitha but I had to deal with her in small bursts, and even then she wasn't supremely bitchy or being insufferably annoying to the point I wanted Victor Zsasz and Professor Pyg to spend a holiday weekend with her in a dark damp room with an assortment of...let's call them toys. You have to deal with her and see so much of her in every episode until #16, and she is a very hateful, spoiled, cunniving, egotistic, and downright unlikable person. I wished for her death more frequently and with somehow even more infuriating rage than Tabitha ever warranted. And another thing that brings it down, there's no villains! They screw the villains! They are supposed to be half of the fun of Gotham! Penguin is still Penguin but he does have sweet interactions with a young boy that are nice, poor Ed actually loses mental capacity and becomes a bit of a dolt which is an A grade way to piss me off, Barbara is boring, we actually get Solomon Grundy who is then completely wasted, yeah we get a bit of Scarecrow who actually goes through several costume changes each of them memorable and striking, and for some weird ass reason like more than half the season is dealing with trying to catch Professor Pyg. Not one, or two episodes, but 4+. Do you see why I say the writers were just in a bad mood? Nothing happens for more than half the season beyond a few cute and humorous moments that I can count on both of my hands. There was one point where even Zsasz was done with this bullshit and just said to a coworker, "Let's go grab a milkshake." and I was like, "Yes! Please Zsasz let's go get milkshakes, this is so f***ing boring!" that is not a good sign!! I have no idea if because of this season they decided to wrap it up next season or not but sweet baby Moses I wouldn't be surprised. Nothing happens, no plot points, (mostly) no character development, no interesting setups or deliveries, it becomes a total drag reeeeaaallll f***ing quick! Until, like I said the 16th episode. Then it was like the writers got their second wind and got rolling again! After the boring bullshit with Sofia Falcone, what do they do? We get Jerome, Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Firefly, The Mad Hatter, and Scarecrow teaming up to do crimes. How can I put this? THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON YOU FU- yeah, it's pretty cool. It's great seeing these wildly different personalities clash and see what they do. It's great fun and saves the season from being absolute dumpter fire shit, and they do it all well. With, one exception. I can't divulge into it cause it might be considered bullshit-I mean spoilers, but it had me scream out betrayal to the point where I needed to take a break from the episode. I'm pretty sure non-comic fans won't even bat an eye at it, but that was just uncalled for and wrong. If you watch this season, I really don't know what to tell you to optimize your viewing pleasure. Could you skip to Episode 16 and try to keep up? I guess, but it's not too easy to keep on top of all events. Oh, I got it, inspiration has hit me! You can read the cliffnotes version on Wikipedia then hop right in. There, perfect. No bullshit, all enjoyment. But hey, maybe you see something I don't. Let's just say you enjoy the whole season, and I wish I could relate. Gotham came down to a thread from being thrown off my watchlist but it pulled through. I hope season 5 leaves on a high and strong point. But we shall see. Until next time.

Gotham: Season 3

So many questions, all I'm excited to have answered.

Alright, same drill as before. Good solid season that does a lot and still keeps it interesting and (mostly) done well. Now onto the review! So it's been 6 months since the Arkham incident and stuff has really gone south in Gotham. Bruce has been away all that time, Gordon for some weird reason quits being a cop and starts being a bounty hunter chasing down Strange's creations, even poor Harvey quits being a cop so it's a certainly a low point for our heroes but the changes they go through, again make the show worth watching. Bruce has changed in 6 months becoming much wiser and stronger in his decisions and actions stepping closer to his destiny, Jim goes through....a lot but comes out better for it and faces some old demons making him a better man in light of several dangerous elements. Penguin starts campaigning for mayor because it's a mark all memorable Penguin's have done over the past 70 years ever since Burgess Meredith ran for office, so why not! We even have a new arrival in the form of Jervis Tetch, The Mad Hatter who has taken a special liking to Jim and has plans for him involving a rather less than desirable virus that is soon taken by even more sinister forces that Gordon gets knee deep into stopping. So there's lots of good stuff with our villains still, I love the relationship that develops between Ed and Oswald it really is the highlight of the season for me because of how much pull it had for me. Penguin and Riddler were my favorite and still are my favorite characters in the whole show so of course I just eat their scenes up! And I take great joy in having surreal adventures with The Mad Hatter, he is such fun and poses as a good antagonist for the first half of the season on and off. It's like every season there's even more and more plot stuff to talk about, it's an involved show but if you go for it you will enjoy it. But! Slight issues like before, but I think that's down to me watching season after season all day every day, you kinda start to nitpick! Like why is it no one can ever just shoot someone and has to ramble on? Why are the murder tactics so rubbish and downright nonsensical? Perfect example, see if you can spot the flaw in this plan: two people are riding on a single motorbike, one is driving, one bears a weapon. So they need a quick hit and run (ha ha get it?) so what would you use to take out a singular target? A 9mm handgun? Perhaps an Uzi for greater spread of fire and a better chance to kill your target? Or maybe just do a quick drive by and nonchalantly drop a grenade at their feet? No, they take the true most effective way of performing an assassination by waving a Crocodile Dundee "Thas' a knoife" bowie knife at them like it's bloody jousting!! WTF??? Oh but the flippin' creme de la creme comes in a scene where Tetch has a gun and wants to shoot a love interest of James who is literally around for maybe 5 episodes or Lee his now ex, and there is a clear intention to KILL somebody, and he shoots them in the gut! In the gut! Because there is CLEARLY NO OTHER PLACE TO SHOOT when you want to kill someone!! I would already be the absolute kingpin of crime in Gotham by the 4th episode because I can actually think coherently. Fine, whatever, television show but come on! Be smart! Screw your plot convenience! Ugh, anyway. Beyond the idiotic moments which are actually very few but by God they urk me hardcore, the show does very well. It is great to see the villains form, and change, and group together while the heroes have to undergo changes of their own while trying to stay one step ahead, it's surprisingly gripping storytelling. You want to see who succeeds, who fails, who changes, who lives or dies. And I came to a bit of an epiphany late in the season. Gotham is the only show I know where you can cheer for anybody and be justified. You can cheer for Jim to face his demons, you can cheer for Bruce to better himself, you can cheer for Ed to become The Riddler, hell you can even cheer for Stabby Babs and urgh, Tabitha for reasons of revenge and standing in the underworld. You pick sides, you make a choice, you love and hate with no logical standing. It's absolutely brilliant how they do it! Great job Gotham, you got a good style of storytelling and emotionally charged viewings of characters! Because if you can't get that involved in a show, what's even the point? Very good season, can't wait to see how it all comes together, it's sad yet exciting to see Gotham come to an end. Tons to enjoy, discuss, and view in a mad city.

Gotham: Season 2

You know what the best part about my TV reviews are? I give you 2 or 3 years to watch the first season before we move on to the next.

Well Gotham has begun it's last season and I desperately wanted to talk about the other 3 seasons after all this time. And I got plenty to say, both incredibly positive and very negative about this particular season. And this is gonna be one of those long ones, so for those of you don't want to read a 10,000 word review I'll make it short and sweet, Gotham is a great show and it can be a fine introduction to the characters and setting for non-Batman fans but can also be heavily enjoyed by hardcore fans even if they don't particularly care for a young Bruce Wayne story. I urge you to see it regardless because there may be something here you can get into. And, here we go! So about 2 months after the last season finale, the mob war has ended and the dust has settled. Penguin is now the major crime lord in Gotham, Bruce has discovered a new lead in his parents deaths a lot closer to home than he would think, Gordon has been facing extreme resistance in the GCPD regarding his standards and ethics, and a new face by the name of Theo Galavan has hit town with an agenda and an eye for the mayor's office. Starting now with this season, not only was it split in half by a mid season finale but they actually named both halfs, Rise of the Villains and Wrath of the Villains which has never been more appropriate, the rogues gallery roster and time we spend with our beloved criminals of Gotham is astounding with excellent casting as always and the performances are what makes you want more. It's great to see Penguin go from umbrella boy to the king of Gotham's underworld and it doesn't stop there with his character development! There's some twists and turns that always keep you on your toes and wonder what could happen next for him. I'm pretty sure this was the season that finally made me settle my heart on Edward Nygma as my absolute favorite character, and not just because I'm a fan of The Riddler. I won't dare spoil what all happens but I will tell you this, I was so proud and impressed by his first true puzzle crime. They grow up so fast. And the hits keep coming from our fine villains including a rework of Mr. Freeze's origin, the first female Firefly, and even a fine Professor who I will talk about shortly, but with 2 ever so slight stumbles. I hate what they did to Barbara. She went from a sweet, slightly broken character to Stabby Babs with that wild look in her eye and a fixation on reuniting with Jim and she's....problematic. She just doesn't work as a psycho villain, I can't see Jim naming his daughter in loving memory or trubute to his first wife, or in this case fiancee! She doesn't really do anything in the grand scheme of things, just pops up, goes bananas, goes on a bit of a rampage and then is promptly stopped, then just kinda goes back to normal...(?). It really doesn't work. And then comes the "sidekick" of Theo Galavan, Tabitha. *RED ALERT RANT INCOMING* Holy dogshit I cannot stand this woman!! She infuriates every fiber of my being, she is the bane of my existence in this show, she cheats death more than the f***ing X-Men!!! She is nothing but a petulent child who needs to be Max Schreck-ed off the tallest skyscraper in Gotham!! I hate, hate, hate this character, with the fury of a trillion suns, she contributes nothing to the story, her character is an absolute ****, something hardwired in my DNA despises this woman, and I would rather be locked in a small cell with Mr. Zsasz and Killer Croc for 3 days and nights than ever have to see 1 minute of her on screen! Whew.......but that's okay. Cause whatever raw emotions of hate I feel for Tabitha, there is tenfold that amount of love for the best character of this season. My heart will always belong to Ed, he really comes into his own and becomes a fantastic character but my sweet beautiful stars! BD Wong as Professor Hugo Strange is perfection. I love and praise every deliciously devilish moment he is on screen, to the point where I don't think it's a performance anymore! You know how some actors fully envelop the character they are potraying to the point where you can't discern between actor and character? Like how, in The Dark Knight you don't see Heath Ledger you see The Joker, or how you don't see Chadwick Boseman you see Black Panther! Like, I am seeing Hugo Strange right in front of me, and BD Wong is a glorious choice, they got the look down to the letter, his voice is smooth pimp daddy levels of awesome (and they say...part of that in the show), ugh he is absolutely incredible. How incredible you might ask? He literally gets stuck in the middle of a flamethrower and an ice gun, and survives! He's such a glorious villain that they couldn't even kill him off! That is what I am talking about. So I can get over the bad stuff very easily when he's on screen. I get the feeling the writers know how to write villains better than heroes, not that the heroes are bad, Jim and Bruce are still likable characters, Alfred is still awesome, we even get a young Lucius Fox who's pretty great! All our main good guys are written just as well as the last time with slight issue. Nothing show breaking, but more I don't know how to explain it. Conflicting? Confusing? Schizophrenic? Give you an example, Bruce comes to a point where he says killing is crossing the line and he will never cross the line but then actually gets a gun and confronts the man who killed his parents with the intention to kill him. Do you see the issue? That happens several times, especially in Selina's case, my God she might actually be schizo cause she goes from likable, sweet, and on good terms with Bruce then at the drop of a hat she gets all angry, resentful of her friendship, and is kind of a massive jerk. Why?? It's like they can't ride that line of complicated relationships because of worldviews and ethics, so it's either she's nice and likable or mean and being ugly. That's a problem. But honestly, beyond those 3 minor problems the season is a big hit! I like what they did, giving a centuries old backstory to Theo Galavan, new characters and old favorites including Jerome, bringing a more cinematic look to it and you use those dutch angles good just sayin', and most importantly progressing the story for Bruce and Jim. There's so much to talk about, if I need to take a notepad to keep up with everything I noticed for good or for ill, then there's a lot. I knew people including myself that thought Gotham was gonna crash and burn, but I wanted to give it a shot regardless and found a fine show that gives a new look into the Batman mythos. And with such a massive season with tons of stuff that happened that I want you to see, all I can give is an opinion of what they did while trying not to give away everything because I want to talk about everything. There's tons of great stuff to be found in Gotham if you look past the bad parts, I guess it's very much like the famous city itself in that regard. So yeah, two big thumbs up from me for season 2 and season 3 is coming right up!