The second season of Gotham released on Blu-ray this week and to say it upped the value of the show, as well as its many storylines and characters, is a huge understatement. The first season left off with The Penguin just getting on his feet with his new found power, thanks in part to the abrupt departure of Fish Mooney (you’re a lucky man, Will Smith), as well as the budding of a young Bruce Wayne on his way to becoming the Dark Knight of Gotham. Oh, yeah, Jim Gordon’s lady issues as well were a heavy portion of season one. Anyway, season one opened a lot of cans of worms that needed to be dealt with in season two, as well as a side dish of new storylines and characters that needed to emerge.
That’s asking a lot in 22+ episodes, but rest assure that Gotham: The Complete Second Season is certainly up to the task.
Let’s get this thing rolling.
Gotham’s first season woes, though it was good, surrounded trying to find a balance between its need to be grounded (like Nolan’s Batman trilogy) and also needing to make this more of a meta human DC fanfest, rather than a police drama. That’s a lot of balancing to do considering the highlights of the universe surround its outlandish (at times) heroes and villains. It had a lot of work to do in the first season and for the most part it accomplished its goals. The second season took that established balance and refined it a bit more.
The second season starts with Penguin establishing his grip on Gotham. He is lending out favors to those who want it, while at the same time achieving his own goals slowly, but surely. One big storyline in this season is his relationship with Jim Gordon, who seeks him out for help to get rid of Commissioner Loeb (Peter Scolari — loved him in Newhart and Bosom Buddies, also in Girls as well), who has gotten rid of Gordon due to his insubordination in the line of duty. After an encounter with Penguin, Loeb leaves the force, which brings Gordon back to his detective job, but also leaves an unpaid debt to Penguin. While Gordon is haunted by his decision to help Penguin, he ends up distracted with an investigation of the disappearance of convicts from Arkham Asylum, who have begun to run amuck (meaning killing a lot of folks randomly) in Gotham.
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You could not have started out better in Gotham: The Complete Second Season. Right from the get-go, you establish a band of villains led by an unknown entity. Almost ‘League of Doom’ type of group, which opens the door for a lot of story possibilities. It was a brilliant way to bring the DC universe closer to collision with this show. We also get more dimension to Gordon’s persona, a man conflicted between being a good/bad cop, as well as how much power Penguin holds over certain people in the city — and what happens when someone struggles with him (hint: it doesn’t end well). In addition to the above, we get a lot more shaping of a young Bruce Wayne and his internal struggle to do what’s right, while keeping his emotions and temper in check with people around I’m, especially Alfred. That is an ongoing storyline throughout the entire season that works well and has a proper climb towards Wayne’s eventual turn into the Dark Knight.
As the season progresses, the focus starts to really tune into Jim Gordon’s internal conflict with himself. To make matters worse, outside of the rogue group of killers on the loose, one of the escapees in the group is his former lover Barbara Kean, who is dead set on getting Jim to love her again — which means either tearing him away from his current squeeze Lee Thompkins or just outright killing her. In addition, Jim gets a new boss named Nathaniel Barnes (Michael Chiklis — from The Shield and horrible Fantastic Four films that look Academy Award winning after Trank’s tank), who is looking to clean up the Gotham police department, even if it means arresting his own crew. A very by-the-book type of officer that keeps Gordon on a straight and narrow path. His stint with Gordon crosses the main storyline of the second season, which involves the Arkham puppet master named Theo Galavan, who is out to get revenge on Gotham’s son, Bruce Wayne (their families have beef).
Galavan’s trickery, maliciousness and determination cause a lot of trouble between Wayne, Gordon, Barnes, Alfred, the Penguin — you know what? The guy really screws up some solid relationships with nearly all the people in the show, while putting everyone’s togetherness in check. He literally tries to tear everyone apart, while building his villainous kingdom. In short, he’s a meanie. The second season features Galavan’s uprising, his downfall, his redemption and ultimate fate; all of which are mesmerizing. I won’t get too much into his storyline’s details, but I will say that the writers did some great things with him and they ended his terror in a proper manner that rippled through the Gotham/DC universe, while firmly establishing for good who some of Gotham’s heroes were going to be. Was it perfect? No, as some tiny things didn’t work well with his story, but James Frain’s portrayal of Galavan is nothing short of brilliant and sadistic, and it made the journey that much better.
Once Galavan has left the building, the second half of the season starts to focus on Indian Hill and what sicko doctor named Hugo Strange is doing with bodies and Arkham inmates. It’s pretty horrific stuff, but definitely fitting the Gotham bill. BD Wong (Jurassic Park and The Freshman co-star) plays Strange perfectly. His story arc starts off sinister and almost ends with a bang…literally. His character is a catalyst for most of DC’s popular villains, who are apparently going to make an appearance in the third season of Gotham (and beyond — hopefully). I won’t say much about this portion of the season, as I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say you probably will enjoy it. The writers seemed to take their time to develop his inclusion into the Gotham universe and it worked out pretty damn well. The ending of season two opens the door for a lot of story/character possibilities, as well as closing it on most of the stories left from season one.
Overall, Gotham’s second season is a lot more focused on what it needed to do to make the show great. It doesn’t deviate from its dark tone, nor does it ignore the cop drama that formed its foundation, but it does take more chances and introduce what fans have been dying to see — villains from the DC universe. Of course, some of them don’t work, but most of what you get with season two is spot on where it needs to be. Can’t wait to see what season three has in store for us.
On the special features side of this Blu-ray release, here’s what you can expect:
· Gotham: 2015 Comic-Con Panel
· Gotham by Noir Light
· Alfred: Batman’s Greatest Ally
· Cold Hearted
· Character featurettes
Good special features for a great season. They add to the release’s value. Anyway, if you like the show, you’ll love this Blu-ray. Enjoy.
