Monday Review: Gotham S2:E1-2
Season One of Gotham was… uneven. There were some really excellent episodes (the more Pertwee, the better) and some really, really terrible ones (the flippin’ season finale, for starters and what the fuck was with that island and why would you waste the Dollmaker that way?). In retrospect, some of the falling off at the end may have been due to a rewrite scramble when Jada Pinkett Smith decided she wasn’t returning for another season (I remember reading somewhere her arc was intended to last at least into the second) but it got sloppy and strange and erratic before that. And not the good kind of strange, though there was some of that as well.
There was just enough decent to awesome to reel me in to at least start Season two: Bullock/Alfred on Team Gordon (something I’ve always loved about Batman is his moral ambiguity; yes, he is looking for justice but he’s doing it in a way that is most definitely dark, destructive, and most definitely against the law. It was Bullock and Alfred who salted the popcorn with that in Season One), Nygma (our pure psychopath), and Cobblepot (gangster-heir-apparent).
Which brings us to Season Two thus far.
The Season Two Premiere was solid. Actually, it was more than solid. It was pretty good. Definitely enough to keep Gotham on the DVR for the time being.
Things I liked:
- Jim Gordon having his first “ends justify the means” moment: sure, this is a Batman prequel, but it’s also a Gordon Prequel. How does a good cop like Gordon get to be Commissioner in a dirty town like Gotham? How does a good human justify working, and being friends, with a brutal vigilante? No way either of those things happen without Gordon at least dipping his toes into the city’s underbelly. Squeaky clean isn’t interesting, not in this context, nor is it logical or believable. Shading your hero dark and cruel is risky but in this case, it’s appropriate and perfect and I think it’s going to pay off.
- Bullock and the Gordon/Bullock dynamic: Bullock is, or was (and we all know will be again, so don’t pretend I’m spoiling it for you), what Jim Gordon will have to become, the difference being Bullock is completely unselfconscious about it. He’s not a cruel man, nor a vicious one, not really (not yet, anyway). He has a goal, he achieves it. He understands moral flexibility, compromise, and all the sweet spots in the human psyche. All with a sick, twisted sense of humor that I’d imagine is pretty true to the shell a cop has to develop to survive (I know it’s true of us nurses). He’s also a mentor and a friend and he’ll stop Jim from falling over the edge (with a sucker punch if he has to) because he also understands loyalty and friendship. He’s probably the most well written character on the show and it appears as though they’re setting him up to stay that way.
- A shift in the Alfred/Bruce dynamic: Yes, the kid is young, but he’s already been through Hell. I like that he’s standing up for himself a bit more, showing some emotional maturity and some understanding of the way the world works. Last season, I wasn’t sure how they were going to turn this Bruce into Batman (even if we were only ever going to see part of the journey) but I see it now. The kid is building fertilizer bombs in the basement and telling Gordon off for refusing to get his hands dirty. Alfred has seen it too and now, instead of trying to be a father-figure, he’s transforming into a partner. A partner who still has guardianship (“Don’t you talk French at me!”) but a partner nonetheless. Just as Bullock seems poised to both push and restrain Gordon, Alfred is being set up to channel Bruce’s genius and determination and rage to a worthwhile purpose, while at the same time, holding him back until he’s truly ready to put on the cowl and strap on the utility belt. Another great characterization and some pretty stellar writing.
- I, like some many others, spent last season hating Barbara. She was annoying, she whined a lot, she used people, and she was generally slap-able. She’s gone through a major retread and I definitely giggled when she sashayed into Arkham with a steamer trunk, heels, and a butler. For the record, I don’t think she’s crazy. I think she’s a sociopath and killing her parents sort of set her free. I’m not going to weigh in on the “okay-ness” of that particular plot device at the moment because, to be honest, it oogs me out a bit, but it does add some depth, some personality, and maybe even some mystery. I keep getting tripped up, though, because the creative types have said they’re not screwing with canon and canonically speaking, James Gordon marries Barbara Kean;at the moment, I don’t see how that could possibly ever happen
- Penguin: toward the end of last season, I got a little tired of the imperious gangster to sniveling dog to notorious gangster to toad etc etc ad nauseum. This isn’t a statement on Taylor’s acting ability. I think he’s pretty fucking phenomenal. But I couldn’t figure out which was the real him and not in the way that makes it fun to guess, but in the way that gives you whiplash and makes you consider throwing things at the television. I get that they were developing the character, I get that he was developing himself, but at some point, one must shit or get off the pot and even in the finale, it wasn’t clear to me which it would be. It’s clear now so as long as it doesn’t revert to a tennis match, I am content.
- Jerome: clearly watched a lot of Jack Nicholson footage. Whether he’s the Joker or not, he’s creepy as fuck in a most excellent way and I salute him.
Concerns:
- I don’t like Leigh anymore. There’s something… off-putting and creepy about her. I’m not sure if it’s intentional or if the writing is bad… Baccaran is a pretty decent actress but maybe they aren’t giving her much to work with… One episode in and she already feels like the Barbara of last season, who we have already established NO ONE liked and for whom no one had any sympathy. I’d call foul on the portrayal of female characters, but there are several good ones (the new commissioner, Selina, even Ivy in her own special way. Though Montoya was completely wasted, about which I still continue to be extremely pissed off) so it isn’t that as a generality… Leaving me confused and annoyed.
- We appear to be bringing magic into it. Which is well within canon. Magic has always been part of the Gotham mythos, which is one of the cool things about the world (science and magic, living together…) So far, however, it isn’t the cool Doctor Fate, Zatana, Constantine sort of thing. It’s this weird, clunky… something that feels more like a plot device than a plot element and it’s… I’m not sure. Something I can’t quite place yet, but it was irksome.
- I need someone, anyone, to offer an explanation of why Arkham remains a functional facility. I’m fine with it happening, I know it’s important for the world, but I really, really need a conversation that articulates the logic. It can be faulty, comic book logic if it wants, just some sort of… something.
- How was Carol Kane not in premiere. Her weirdo, co-dependent man-baby is now the crime lord of Gotham and she isn’t there reveling in it? She was getting hammered at his club every night when he only had the one. How is she not sitting behind his right shoulder stroking a hairless cat and muttering in her boho-shabby-chic mumus? Which was, by the way, the name of my college riot grrrrrrl band.
In all, I am hopeful. I would really like this show to fly. At which point, Fox will probably cancel it.
Addendum: I just watched episode 2. All of the above stands plus.
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