“Gotham’s” first season was popular among mainstream audiences (an 8.0 rating on IMDB), although Entertainment Weekly and the Onion AV Club gave it mediocre reviews throughout the year. My opinion falls somewhere in the middle: I love the style of the show, and I appreciate that the writers faced the challenge of telling a slow-burning origin tale while also peppering in juicy fan-baiting characters like the Joker.
I think a decompressed approach works better for “Gotham,” as evidenced by the disappointing final batch of episodes (particularly the season finale) where it threw everything at the screen to see what sticks. Barbara’s Stockholm syndrome arc with Milo Ventimiglia’s Ogre was fascinating but rushed.
Fish Mooney (the season’s best rogue, due to Jada Pinkett Smith’s scenery chewing) suddenly survived being shot in the side without explanation, and Selina Kyle suddenly teamed up with Fish. And Bruce found the Batcave, something that arguably should not happen this early in the series. I felt like I missed a few episodes, but I looked it up – I didn’t.
“Gotham” Season 1 (2014-15)
Fox, 22 episodes
Creator: Bruno Heller
Stars: Ben McKenzie, Jada Pinkett Smith, Donal Logue
On the whole, one of the most fun things about these first 22 episodes was seeing how the writers launched the backstories of the iconic members of the famous “Batman” rogues gallery. While Season 1 of “Gotham” was a mixed bag in this regard, it did enough things well that I’ll certainly have it on my DVR again come fall. Here are my rankings of “Gotham’s” portrayals of the rogues made famous in previous incarnations of the saga:
1. Catwoman (Camren Bicondova)
Originally preferring “Cat” but now going mostly by “Selina,” the future Catwoman is currently undergoing an arc similar to that of Faith in Season 3 of “Buffy.” She kills a man to protect Bruce from possible danger, and in a short conversation with Bruce, brushes it off as no big deal. A couple episodes later, she is in Fish Mooney’s gang.
While Selina’s inner turmoil has been seriously underexplored so far, “Gotham” could recover by delving into it more next season. It’s a shame Fish is dead, as she would’ve made a great mother figure for Selena. But Bicondova and David Mazouz’s Bruce Wayne have great chemistry – their date to the Wayne Enterprises ball was adorable – so hopefully the two of them will have lots of scenes together next season.
2. The Riddler (Cory Michael Smith)
Named Ed Nygma and later acquiring the derogatory nickname “Riddle Man,” the future Riddler made his first kill (of a misogynist cop dating his beloved Miss Kringle) and – like Selina – didn’t seem all that bothered by it. A monologue in the finale artfully demonstrated how Ed loves Kringle and hates himself alternately for not being loved back and for not being man enough to make her love him. Throw in the fun element of riddle-based crimes, and the Riddler should make a delicious Season 2 Big Bad.
3. The Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor)
Taylor’s layered performance made Oswald Cobblepott’s rise to the king of Gotham’s criminal network entertaining. The actor balanced Penguin’s slipperiness, shrewdness and desperation (which Detective Gordon always reacted to with unveiled disgust) while peppering in a Penguin-like walk.
The writers didn’t stick the landing of his ultimate vengeance against Fish Mooney, largely because Fish became a heroic figure by escaping the Dollmaker in a subplot just before the finale. Still, it’ll be interesting to see how Gotham’s underworld becomes even more unhinged now that the unstable Penguin is running the show.
4. The Scarecrow (Charlie Tahan)
In two episodes, “Gotham” effectively told the straight-down-the-middle backstory of Jonathan Crane, who becomes terrified of everything after his dad Gerald’s (veteran character actor Julian Sands) fear-suppressing serum backfires. Jonathan is quite young at the moment, so it could be awhile before the writers return to the Scarecrow, but it should, because the horror element blends nicely with “Gotham’s” stylized noir vibe.
5. The Joker (Cameron Monaghan)
Known as Jerome for now, the future Joker appeared in only one episode in this first season. We’re in an era when people are OK with multiple portrayals of the same character in a short span of time, so hopefully Monaghan will be allowed to shape his version of the Joker over several seasons of TV to contrast with the more stylized approach favored by movie actors (Jared Leto is the latest to get the role for film, following the big shoes of Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger).
6. Poison Ivy (Clare Foley)
For a show that tried to find room for everyone as it moved toward its Season 1 finale, it’s notable that “Gotham” lost track of the future Poison Ivy, annoyingly called Ivy Pepper instead of Pamela Isley here. She was hanging out with Selina at Barbara Kean’s apartment for a while, but even when Ivy was on the show, she didn’t do much other than allow viewers to say “Hey, there’s the future Poison Ivy.” One possible direction is for the unstable Ivy to be taken under the wing of Barbara, who notably lost her mind after being kidnapped by the Ogre.
7. Two-Face (Nicholas D’Agosto)
There’s not much to say about Harvey Dent so far, other than that he’s been introduced as the district attorney who sometimes works with detectives Jim Gordon and – in a confusing repeat of the name – Harvey Bullock.
Still at large
The biggest names who have yet to make their “Gotham” debut are probably Mr. Freeze and Bane, with a respectful nod to the Mad Hatter and Joker’s sidekick Harley Quinn.
What “Batman” villains do you hope to see added to the “Gotham” rogues gallery in Season 2, and what are your hopes and expectations for the villains that have been introduced so far?