REVIEW: Gotham Season Three

 REVIEW: Gotham Season Three

With Batwoman's latest season having started on E4 here in the UK, here's a look back at the third season of Gotham.

Batman's (David Mazvouz) origin story has been a hot topic of discussion for many years. It has been retold in so many forms, across comics, movies, TV Shows and even videogames, that everybody knows the basics at the very least by now. His parents were killed in an alleyway, he was raised by his butler Alfred (Sean Pertwee) in Wayne Manor and he used his vast wealth to fight crime. Gotham's third season dives deep into just how young Bruce becomes the adult Bruce Wayne/Batman we all know and love, and displays the amount of time and dedication that would come into fulfilling such an aim.

Much of Gotham's third season is very Bruce-centric. It begins where the last season finished off, with the tease of a Bruce doppelgänger among the inmates who had escaped from Indian Hill. Bruce and Alfred set to track down this clone of Bruce Wayne who has assumed his identity, and figure out what is going on. David Mazvouz is brilliant at playing both the real and fake Bruce Wayne; he manages to make both versions feel distinctive enough from the other, embodying totally different personalities that makes them feel like different people whilst still sharing the same general appearance. The clone Bruce Wayne is much more confident and outgoing, however he's also much more of a rogue, with him not being afraid to use questionable methods to achieve his aims. He breaks into Wayne Manor without hesitation, for instance, which could very easily have seen him sent packing by Bruce's very capable butler Alfred, if it wasn't for his later discovery that he's strong enough to overpower Alfred and can't feel pain.

Which is an interesting aspect for sure. It shows not just how strong Hugo Strange's (BD Wrong) experiments are, but neatly displays their abnormalities too. For what is a human who can't feel pain? A human who is literally unstoppable, as they have no limitations on their body and how they use it? It raises some intriguing ethical questions for sure. Particularly as later in the season the Bruce clone is taken away by two people who claim to be his 'parents' - Kathryn Monroe (Leslie Hendrix) and Talon (Brandon Alan Smith) and sent to kidnap Bruce and assume his identity. Does being responsible for being the creation of such a genetic experiment like this Bruce make them truly his 'parents'? Who has the right to be a person's 'parents' if they were never born in the first place? It's such a deep and thoughtful direction for a drama series to go in for sure.

Possibly the most exciting development in terms of Bruce's arc in the third season however is Bruce becoming a vigilante. There are a lot of satisfying moments here for comic readers, including Ra's al Ghul (Alexander Siddig) along with the Sensei (Raymond. J Barry) training Bruce  to fight, and the introduction of the Lazarus Pit, which is used to resurrect the dead.  We also get a very iconic piece of cinematography with Bruce overlooking the city in his new prototype suit (made by Lucius Fox (Chris Chalk)), which - despite being a piece of imagery utilised countless times in the Batman movies - never loses its impact. It's a shot that neatly conveys the power and intimidation that Bruce Wayne holds over Gotham City, and I can't imagine there will ever be a time where a variation of this shot won't be used.

Perhaps one of the most shocking scenes in Gotham is the one where Bruce stabs Alfred through the heart at the request of Ra's al Ghul. It's a moment that truly lingers in the memory, as there is something undeniably shocking about seeing the future Batman Bruce Wayne killing the man who is effectively the anchor for Bruce's more melancholic tendencies. They have been an iconic pairing for many years, with Alfred arguably being Bruce's most loyal ally, and it hurts seeing Bruce effectively causing his death - even if we know when watching that he will be revived later on, and indeed he is. You can't have Batman without Alfred Pennyworth, after all.

Despite the major focus on Bruce Wayne, James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) still fulfils the lead role in Gotham's third season, and he gets plenty to do here. This season he goes undercover at the secret society known as the Court of Owls, and boy do they seem very twisted. We learn that they plan to bring out the inner darkness within Gotham's citizens by way of the Tetch virus, which causes the infected victims to be driven to the point of madness. Their hope is that this descent into madness on a populist scale would bring about Gotham's end and allow the Court of Owls to rebuild it in their image. It is perhaps a good job that this season didn't release in the current times, as it would perhaps have been a tad insensitive to show a plot regarding the spread of the virus, but it's such a strong narrative for a plot like Gotham, where the setting is arguably a large part of the show's character. It places the focus on the citizens, and just how morally grey those who live in the city are. They all have these dark hidden feelings where any one of them could become a major villain to be reckoned with, and that's exactly why you need a Batman to moderate it. 

Which perhaps explains why in the early part of the season James Gordon takes up work as a bounty hunter. Jim is a character who essentially recognises that Gotham is a city that requires a hero that can deal with its criminal underworld without having to abide by police protocol. It's such a great piece of character development, in fact, that the slightly naive boy scout from the first season has grown to the point where he recognises that you sometimes need to bend the rules in order to deal with the problems at the heart of a city. I'd make the point that James is the most well-developed character in this entire show. He goes on a real journey from these first three seasons below, to the point where later down the road - by the show's fifth and final season - he is a completely different person to the one we saw at the beginning of Gotham's run. But more on that later, when I post my thoughts on Gotham's final ever season.

This season also introduces Alice (Nalan Gonzales Norvind) and Jervis/The Mad Hatter Tetch (Benedict Samuel), and these two have a really unique relationship. Jervis has this really creepy obsession with his sister that, to put it plainly, feels deeply very wrong. It goes beyond a normal sibling relationship, and echoes more of a stalking presence. Benedict Samuel plays the part brilliantly, bringing a real twisted and sinister edge to the character. It's captivating to watch his portrayal of this character, particularly as Jervis is such a cunning manipulator, with so many deep layers. It's a role that any actor can truly sink their teeth into, and Benedict Samuel grabs that opportunity with both hands here. Nalan Gonzales Norvind didn't leave as much of an impression on me, although her character is also interesting, particularly because of the viral effect her blood has on others. There's something quite unsettling about somebody being so scared about the consequences of her blood touching somebody else, that she decides to quit her job at a bar to safeguard others after accidentally cutting herself during her work. It's a fascinating concept for an epidemic story, and one that I hadn't seen on television before this point.

One of the people infected by Alice's blood is Nathanial Barnes (Michael Chikilis), who becomes convinced that in order to serve justice to Gotham and keep the streets safe he must become 'judge, jury and executioner'. The Executioner, as he becomes known, is one of my personal favourite antagonists from Gotham. I love this notion of a police commissioner driven to the brink of insanity, to the point where he decides that those who break the law must die regardless of their crimes. It shows just how badly policing can go if you put the wrong people in charge of maintaining law and order, which has been reflected in real life with the bent police officers at the heart of Sarah Everard and - across the pond - George Floyd. It's a very real problem, but given a comic-book slant.

 Michael Chikilis is the perfect actor to give it justice (no pun intended). He makes for a truly intimidating image, conveying this sheer sense of brute force, and the way you see the transformation happen owing to the effects of the virus in his system is truly frightening. His eyes, posture and demeanour completely change, as he becomes this figure who has lost all sense of who he was. He's perhaps one of Gotham's most tragic and domineering figures, which makes it a shame that this is his last appearance. I would have liked to have seen more from 'The Executioner' in the show, and it's a shame we will never get that, seeing as Gotham came to a close two years' later in its fifth season.

Overall, Gotham Season Three is a very strong outing for the show's third outing. It features some great pieces of character development for James Gordon and Bruce Wayne, whilst also digging deeper into the comic book lore with additions such as Ra's al Ghul and the Lazarus Pit. One of the standout highlights however is Michael Chikilis as Nathanial Barnes, assuming the role of 'The Executioner', who showcases why he is such a good pick for a character who requires an intimidating presence. Gotham's third season is one that will be remembered as the prime example of a show improving on its early runs, and reaching its golden age at its midpoint. It's a season that has a lot going for it, and one that will be watched by many for years to come.

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What are your thoughts on Gotham Season Three? Let me know in the comments.