-
The good
Solid start to series hinting at a big conspiracy behind the scnes. James Gordon is a very interesting protagonist. Solid supporting cast. Fish Mooney comes off well as a new character.
-
The bad
Some cameos seemed to simplify characters such as Ivy's name change(?) Greater Gotham can be explored more to give more clarity about current levels of corruption
-
The ugly
Gotham is a new series on Fox that follows the life of rookie detective James “Jim” Gordon immediately following his return to the city as a war hero. It opens up with Selina Kyle running across a rooftop after stealing some milk and someone’s wallet until she reaches an alley where she feeds her cat. She hears a family coming behind her so she hides on the fire escaping and observes them, not knowing what’s about to unfold in front of her. It’s the Wayne family, who just finished watching a movie and decide to cut through the alley when they’re met by a masked gunman. He demands they hand over their wallets and demands the pearl necklace too. Thomas and Martha Wayne give him what he asks but he still shoots them anyway in cold blood, and then points the gun at a young, terrified Bruce. The gunman leaves without firing another shot and Bruce is left alone with the bodies of his dead parents in the alley. Meanwhile, James Gordon has his own incident with a gun but it’s in the middle of the police department as a criminal takes a cop’s gun and holds her hostage. He’s able to defuse the situation so the criminal could be apprehended but instead of getting a pat on the back from his partner, Harvey Bullock, he’s scolded because the unspoken rule is if someone takes a cop’s gun you kill him even if it means bullets would be firing everywhere in the police station. At a time when members of the most prominent family in Gotham are killed in what didn’t appear to be a simple robbery, solving this crime will only be more difficult with rampant corruption in the police force and callous disregard for life. But maybe this event, and this rookie detective, will be the start for change that is sorely needed in this city.
Even before an episode aired this series was dubbed, in a humorous way, the Batman series without Batman but Gotham has a very rich and interesting history, and one that predates Batman. There were many examples of this and one that pops in my mind first is the Court of Owls storyline in the comic book series. And in many ways, Batman is as much a product of Gotham as anyone else. And so my interest in this series is in the exploration of the Batman mythos in a unique way that other series or even movies have been unable to do because the focus here is Gotham. And I already knew that cameos and references would be scattered throughout this episode, but that’s not what I was most excited about when preparing to watch. The novelty of character references would wear off fast if intriguing storylines aren’t built up this season because there’s only but so much enjoyment from thinking “in 10-15 years that’s gonna be so-and-so” every single episode. And after watching this episode I’m optimistic about this series and I see a lot of potential in it. The use of Selina Kyle wasn’t just cosmetic as she becomes just as crucial to the opening events as the other characters yet she’s not just limited to that. So this episode was solid for the springboard of this series as Gordon and Bullock would be the arriving detectives on the scene, and this episode would cover their investigation. And where as Bullock would be frightened to take on this case due to the celebrity of the victims, Gordon would immediately go to Bruce, showing one of many differences between the two detectives. This was a powerful scene even though it has been repeated so many times. It wasn’t just due to the way the interactions between Gordon and Bruce was effective but the arrival of Alfred as well, and Bruce’s immediate reaction. Everything in that moment was captured perfectly, and Alfred’s role as Bruce’s father figure including the mentality of Alfred in this show were apparent. And this “new” portrayal of Alfred is one I’m very interested in. The casting was nailed in both cases. And I feel the same about Ben McKenzie as Gordon, whose actions this episode when dealing with criminals spoke volumes about him knowing he’s a vet, and there’s even more potential there. And even the partnership between Gordon and Bullock was an intriguing dynamic.
On the other side of the coin, the most interesting antagonist by far was Fish Mooney, whose relationship with the GCPD was…complex. Yet Jada Pinkett Smith brought enough ruthlessness and charm to give life to a character and organization that wasn’t explored much here. Oswald Cobblepot or rather, the Penguin, as we were reminded many times, wasn’t nearly as menacing but that was understandable considering his position this episode. So I have to see how he develops as a character as the season goes on. And so what limited this episode was the actual investigation because of the knowledge of how it would end. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t plenty to enjoy about it as the corruption in not only the police force but throughout Gotham would be touched on laying the foundation for even more potential story lines. And there was plenty of action to supplement the engrossing series of events including some hard-hitting hand-to-hand combat. So I’m fully on board after this episode and I’m looking forward to seeing events unfold and these interesting characters developed further. Batman’s cape and cowl might not be present in this series but all the entertaining elements that made him who he is are definitely present.
SUMMARY
Gotham is off to a solid start with its pilot episode introducing characters in an intriguing manner creating a lot of potential in their development as well as sprinkling cameos throughout as a nod to fans. James Gordon is definitely a strong protagonist as he was effective in dealing with a young Bruce while transitioning seamlessly in dealing with violent criminals. Fish Mooney is interesting and I’m looking forward to see what becomes of her character. The rest of the supporting cast was strong although I have to see how some develop as the season progresses. Time will tell if future episodes are as entertaining but with the groundwork laid in this one, I’m pretty optimistic about that.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
-
Rating ( 8.5 )
-
Total score 8.5
Leave a Reply