I was extremely skeptical about the show before it aired. I worried it would be more "cop drama" than anything. Boy was I wrong. From the start of the show, seeing a young Selina Kyle living on the streets I felt like the direction was trying to stick to the lore. When Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered, It felt fresh, because I knew it wasn't a flashback like we've always seen. Finally the story of this Gotham is being told. The interaction between the characters in phenomenal. The way Gordon interacted with a young Bruce Wayne really set the tone of the show. It wasn't a cop drama. It quite literally is a show about Gotham, as though it were the living, breathing person like it's described in the comics.
Gordon gets the spotlight in this show. However, it's almost as though he co-stars with the city itself, which is a great feat. Gordon is the cop who doesn't break. He's the cop who can watch a man shoot his daughter, and be tortured with it, and still choose justice over vengeance. That's the Gordon we got in this show. he best part was it didn't feel forced. The character was portrayed as though you understand the type of person he is, not the person the actor is playing.
Gotham is corrupt. But the corruption digs deep into the foundations. It's not black and white. Gordon's partner Harvey Bullock understands this. His character showed what a twisted place Gotham is through his own actions. He's a corrupt cop, because the corruption is what keeps the foundations together in the city. He plants evidence to kill a man for something he didn't do. Why? Because that's what Carmine Falcone wanted. Not because it was a crime he committed, or because he was covering up for somebody. It was to keep Gotham happy, so it's day to day activities can continue, good or bad. That was really a strong point in the episode. They chase down these leads trying to find this man behind the murder of the Waynes. They run into mob bosses, more crooked cops, have a roof top chase. Frame a man! To find out the killer is just a regular guy in the city, and the cover up was for the city itself, not any one person.
The characters were portrayed in excellent form. You have Edward Nygma who works with the GCPD. He isn't the Riddler yet, but he's a young man with a compulsion he can't help and from the brief moments you saw him, you know it's starting to become more of a problem than a quirk. Young Selina is a child being raised by the streets and fending for herself. Oswald Cobblepot stood out the most here. He isn't the Penguin, not at all. He hasn't begone to transcend into that person. Right now he's a child of Gotham playing his part, which of course goes wrong. He's a character I can't wait to see more of and how he becomes who we know he's going to be. Then there's Bruce Wayne himself. In the beginning he's a child. Then he becomes a victim. He tells Gordon how he should have acted, something many Batman fans have seen him say on many occasions. Then we see him at the funeral, and while still grieving, he's more stern. Then we see him at the mansion and he's no longer the scared child he was in the beginning. His childhood is gone, and he's begun the steps to make himself the most dangerous man on the planet. This is exciting because the show gives the feeling we'll be seeing Bruce's journey as well. Seeing Bruce at that age unfold into the man who leaves his home to train and become the Batman is a gift to all Batman fans. Poison Ivy made an appearance too, though I felt like she shouldn't have been there. It was like "look who it is!". It didn't have the genuine feeling like the other moments in the episode and I hope we see a lot less of her. I can't wait to see more Alfred and Bruce interaction to really see the role he plays in Bruce's life as he becomes a young man. The character Fish was also a stand out. I'm excited to see what's going to happen between her and Oswald.
The show seems to encompass what exactly Gotham is. It's not chasing down some criminal. It's not a bunch of cops busting in and taking down the mob. Gotham is much deeper than that. Gotham is where the police and the mob frame someone for a murder, even though they don't know the killer. It's the reasoning behind those actions. It's what becomes of the different players as they become intertwined in the city they live in. I will definitely be tuning in weekly. I didn't think they could do it, but they proved me wrong. They actually made a show about Gotham herself, in all her dark glory.
8.5/10
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