Gotham: Familiar Faces And A New Threat Come To Gotham

(Photo Courtesy of Fox.)

Gotham returned with its fourth season in the series!  Will  it be able to capitalize on the successful areas of previous seasons, or will it run into more consistency issues? Read on to find out:

(Photo Courtesy of Fox.)

Bruce Gets His Start — There seem to be a lot of wealthy couples walking down dark, abandoned alleys in Gotham.  I guess no one really learned from the murder of the Wayne’s.  Also, what’s the deal with Bruce and Selina always being permitted into bars and clubs?  Anyways, Bruce seems to be ready to take on the streets of Gotham, even though he has only received minimal training.  A prototype of a suit also looks to be in store for next week’s episode.  They seem to be moving his transformation along rather quickly.  I still think he needs to leave Gotham for an extended amount of time in order to receive more realistic training.

Penguin Restores His Power — Penguin is once again the reigning leader of the Gotham Underworld.  He has such a tight grip on the city that not even the criminals can commit crimes without his approval.  He looks to unionize criminal activity for profit, which has actually cut crime by 57%.  To no one’s surprise, he has the mayor and GCPD Commissioner in his back pocket.  It’s good to see Penguin back to his criminal ways.  He has always been one of the strongest characters in the series, but last season, the mayor / love for Nygma role just didn’t seem to fit well.  This is more of the vintage Penguin we know; meticulous, intelligent, manipulative, and not to be crossed.  I liked the subtle Easter Egg as to why Penguin was telling people he put Nygma in ice, which was because he had a disease that lacked a cure, which was the reason Freeze froze his wife in the comics. The  showdown in the Iceburg Lounge was pretty good with Ivy turning sides and allowing Penguin’s rivals to spray him with the fear toxin, which resulted in cool, fear-induced Nygma interaction.

Same Ol’ Gordon — Gordon is back…and more of the same.  He doesn’t agree with the new “Criminal License” and takes it upon himself to take down any criminal he crosses.  The GCPD sides with Penguin, though, in order to keep the crime rates down.  This seemed monotonous from how they have used Gordon in the past, but it makes sense if they want to push Bruce’s transformation.  They need someone outside of the corrupt police, which at least is close to the source material, but I am hoping this season brings something fresh to Gordon’s storyline.  It gets old seeing Gordon jumped by the GCPD each season.

Enter The Scarecrow — This could be a good movie for Gotham.  Scarecrow is a character many are familiar with, and can fit the show in a realistic way.  I had thought a couple seasons ago introducing Jonathan and his father was more of an Easter Egg, but this is a good way to show the continual decline of the city and how it affects its population.  Because of the exposure to the fear toxin growing up, Crane seems to have it permanently embedded in his system.  If done correctly, this could be a good rival to Penguin for the season, which is a nice break from the Penguin/Nygma feud (although it was good, it began to become a bit played out).  A rival gang, who Penguin didn’t provide a license for, looked to take Crane, and the toxin, to use it in order to gain rank in the Gotham Underworld. The highlight of the episode for me was  when Crane clearly embraces what has been haunting him and truly becomes The Scarecrow.  The costume turned out pretty good as well.  I hope they keep him a consistent character this season and don’t rush his development as the series has a tendency to do (Jerome, Tetch, Fries, etc.)

 

(Photo Courtesy of Fox.)

Tabitha and Selina — It’s amazing how quickly Bruce and Selina have both caught on to different types of fighting styles.  It feels a little like Laurel Lance’s original “training” on Arrow.  I get it is TV and has to happen quickly, but for some reason this always bothers me.  I know we have to stretch the imagination with shows like this, but it just seems rushed.   I do like the pairing of Tabitha and Selina though.  They are similar, and this provides a unique origin for Selina.

The return of Gotham was…decent.  I think it has potential, and looks to be a bit more grounded, but will it have consistency issues again?  Will the fans be interested? What did you think of the first episode of Season 4 of Gotham? Leave your thoughts in the usual spot, and thanks for reading!

Gotham returns Thursday night on Fox at 8 p.m.

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