REVIEW: Gotham Season Two - Rise Of The Villains

 REVIEW: Gotham Season Two - Rise Of The Villains

As we continue to await Batwoman Season Two's transmission here in the UK, I thought it would be a good time to glance back at my review on Gotham's second season.

One of the coolest aspects of this season is how they gave it a subtitle rather than simply calling it the second season. It's a lot more creative and helped make clear distinction from the start that this would be a more serialised season compared to the episodic format of season one.

The season had a really nice structure overall too. Although there were no mid-season breaks here in the UK, it was nice how both parts that would have aired in the U.S. before and after the intended break told two different stories. I will concentrate on both narratives separately as that seems the fairest way to review this season.

The first half of Rise of the Villains saw Theo Galavan's (James Frain) rise to power, from pretending to be a vigilante whilst organising a crime group of villains (hence the season's subtitle) to becoming the mayor of Gotham. This half was proper edge-of-your-seat stuff as you were left clueless as to how Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) would manage to convince Captain Barnes (Michael Chikilis) and the rest of the GCPD that Theo was a nasty piece of work. It seemed like this guy was impossible for Jim to stop and it was great to see the main protagonist having to prove that the bad guy is the villain to his peers. I always like it when the protagonist is dealt an extra obstacle to overcome that you wouldn't reasonably expect to be an issue, as it allows the narrative to push them further against the limits in order to eventually emerge triumphant. It was great to see Jim Gordon in a dark place mentally too; no longer is he the clean perfect police detective who always manages to obey the law but now he is as corrupt as the very people he condemned in the show's first season.

The second half was the real game-changer. After the previous narrative concluded, the season continued by exploring Hugo Strange (BD Wong), his involvement in the Pinewood project and ability to resurrect the dead. This was one hell of a development for Gotham as it means they have more creative license to do anything they want rather than be restricted by Batman villains having to survive. Now that the dead can be brought back, we could see Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) die or Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) bite the dust. Hell, they could even kill Bruce Wayne (David Mazvouz and they wouldn't even have to bring him back on-screen. Just say in your head canon that he was resurrected with Hugo Strange's equipment. This was a very clever decision by the writers and one that is sure going to bring some very real peril into the show.

The major problem with this season was the conflicting tone. It didn't seem to know whether it wanted to be a serious, gritty crime drama or a silly, camp take on Gotham's ridiculously high crime levels. One scene in particular saw Butch (Drew Powell) fire a bazooka whilst the most bombastic rock music you could imagine underscored the scene. Personally, I think the show works better when it doesn't take itself too seriously as its actors seem more comfortable in both seasons when they're allowed to ham it up rather than deliver serious dialogue. Cory Michael Smith gave his best performance when he was imitating quiz show presenters whilst asking Bruce and Lucius Fox (Chris Chalk) questions relating to Wayne Enterprises, rather than when he was working for the GCPD.

I also found Lee Thompkins' (Morena Baccarin) disappearance after Jim is broken out of Arkham a little random. It just seemed to come out of nowhere and it would have been nice to have seen her decide to leave rather than Harvey (Donal Logue) just telling Jim that she did. I mean, why would she just leave Jim anyway? Surely she would want to visit her boyfriend in prison? This is a character who stayed with Jim even when she found out that he murdered Theo Galavan. It is very unlikely she would abruptly leave without Jim just like that.

Of course, Sean Pertwee continued to be awesome as Alfred but the real standout of season two was BD Wong as Hugo Strange. BD Wong was simply the perfect Hugo; he looked and acted exactly as you would expect from the iconic Batman villain. The confrontation scenes between Strange and Jim as well as Strange and Bruce were tense and I hope he returns in future seasons (NB: He did). Director Rob Bailey did a brilliant job at blocking the scenes to fulfil the dramatic weight behind them, making them my favourite moments from the TV show as of current.

If there hadn't been the resurrection plot device introduced to the season, I would have used this review to complain about Jerome (Cameron Monaghan) being seemingly killed in the first half (NB: In true comic-book fashion, Jerome's 'death' was merely a temporary blip in his existence), but that seems pretty much redundant somehow. If Cameron Monaghan is the future Joker (NB: He isn't), then he is the best on-screen Joker so far. Yep, that's right: better than Heath Ledger. It would be a crime to not bring him back (NB: Jerome later returned multiple times, and in the fifth season with his twin brother no less) and make it definite that he grows up to be the most iconic Batman villain of all time. Cameron Monaghan even overshadows some of the adult actors such as Robin Lloyd-Taylor (Oswald Cobblepot) and Erin Richards (Barbara Kean). He is one child actor I'd love to see appear in Doctor Who, even though kid actors notoriously don't tend to go down well among the Whovian fanbase.

Overall Gotham: Rise of the Villains was a big improvement on the first season, with a more serialised approach and the brilliant idea to introduce the concept of resurrection to the series, meaning that Batman characters who would normally survive could now be placed in some real peril. The sheer sense of tension in confrontation scenes between BD Wong and Hugo Strange and Hugo Strange and Bruce Wayne were incredible thanks to a brilliant directing turn by Rob Bailey, and Cameron Monaghan simply needs to return as Jerome. The show suffers from a conflicting tone however and Lee Thompkins' disappearance was a little too random to make sense. There was no reason for the character to leave without Jim Gordon, especially when she had been shown to be a hugely supportive girlfriend to James throughout the season.

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What are your thoughts on Gotham Season Two - Rise Of The Villains? Let me know in the comments.