The house that Bat built is back for another batshit looney, batless season. Gotham picks up 6 months after last season’s better-than-season-1 end. The crazies have been released from Indian Hill and all hell has broken lose. So, yeah, I (like I’m assuming much of the congregation) was totally against the idea of this show during Season One with the poorly cast Fish Mooney. Thankfully, its follow-up season had me hooked with never-before-seen live action interpretations of Arkham characters. Now, who knows how Season 3 will go with the return of Mooney and the even further going over-the-top!?
Either way, last night’s season premiere was full of “WTF” moments and zany character developments that will leave you scratching your head. This first episode is good, but definitely not great. Opening up 6 months after last year’s breakout finds Gotham reduced to more lawlessness and Jim Gordon hunting down the escaped monsters as a bounty hunter. Yep–a bounty hunter, one step closer to a vigilante, all with a lost love and a thirst for vengeance. One highlight of the episode was the introduction of Valerie Vale (Jamie Chung), aunt to future Batman love interest Vicki, as a reporter fast on the trail for the truth behind Indian Hill and the monsters now on the lose.
Even though now we know it’s going to happen, let’s hope that the writers do more with her character than just making her another cannon folder for Jim’s sexual escapades. This first episode also saw the return of the always bad Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett-Smith) now leading the escaped inmates and assisted by the perfectly played Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova). Fish has found that “with great power” comes a great price to pay with her mind-control powers now sucking the life out of her.
One main issue with this first storyline and episode is the mass amount of sub-storylines thrown at us. This episode also touched on the shadowy power that’s been controlling the Wayne enterprise endeavors over the last couple seasons, with the emergence of the Court of the Owls. Young Bruce has seemed to piss off and expose the wrong power players, which brings the Owls into the light. The King of Gotham is also back in control, with Penguin controlling the families of crime– even if he relies on the jailed Riddler for a backbone while he searches for his archnemesis Mooney. Finally, this episode also deals with: Bruce clones, lost loves, maybe a really bad Killer Croc and the throwaway of one actress — only to replace her with an older, hotter one. If that seems like a ton to take in for a one hour episode, it was!
This first episode leaves us with a ton of mysteries such as: Bruce has a Jesus clone? How is Alfred still employed when Bruce is kidnapped every 4th episode? Is that Croc? Why does Vale not own a digital camera? While Gotham‘s Season 3 tip-off could of been better, it does set up storylines that will play with where season 2 left us. So, expect tons of villains, old and new, and a driven, forever grunting Jim Gordon hot on their heels. At least that never changes. 3.75/5 Dead Robins Agree.