Gotham: The Fifth and Final Season

“This is the end! The legend of the Dark Knight resumes with Gotham City divided between GCPD Detective Jim Gordon’s jurisdiction and the city’s most notorious Super-Villains, including egomaniacal Penguin, vengeful love interest Barbara Kean, zealous Scarecrow, Riddler, Catwoman, and others. With Gordon struggling to gain control of a city on the edge of anarchy, the fifth and final season of Gotham wraps up its iconic DC origin story by revealing Bruce Wayne, now a serious teen, as he undergoes his ultimate transformation into the Caped Crusader. With blood feuds, standoffs and explosive action, these 12 monumental episodes capture the struggle of good versus evil: heroes committed to rescuing their beloved home from toxic masterminds, including the deranged and insane…among them, the malevolent Eduardo Dorrance/Bane.”

Gotham Season 5 ends the journey of Jim Gordon and all the villains of the Batman universe that lacks one major thing: Batman. Back when the series was first released, that was one of my biggest qualms with Gotham, as I’m sure it was for most people. As Season 5 comes to a close, it’s still a bit hard to digest, but has still managed to entertain fans of the show and receives favorable reviews all around.

DC has had it rough in the past trying to get their film franchises on the ground, finally finding some momentum with some of their most recently releases. Their television franchises, however, have never really appealed to me despite multiple attempts and trying to stick with them despite their many, many flaws. Their obsession with cross-overs, almost forcing viewers to take on the momentous task of keeping up with multiple series at once, doesn’t help the situation as they try and forcefully establish a giant television universe of heroes. It’s an ambitious plan but for me, never quite had the draw, nor the quality, that some of Marvel’s shows had.

Gotham definitely seems to have a more mature theme to the show than some of the others, much darker, which is a must for anything having to do with Batman. The opportunity to explore these villains and other characters in this universe does have a certain appeal, which ultimately led to the series’ success.Fans of the show that own the other seasons will surely want to grab this final season to complete their set.

Here’s an episode breakdown of the series:

Disc One:

1. Year Zero ­– Detective Jim Gordon and Brice Wayne face the chaos of Gotham.
2. Trespassers – Barbara Kean proves to be an unlikely ally.
3. Penguin, Our Hero – Gordon creates a safe haven for Gotham refugees.
4. Ruin – Gordon and Penguin are forced to work together.
5. Pena Dura – A military task force arrives in Gotham.
6. 13 Stitches – Gordon builds a team to stop Eduardo Dorrance.

Disc Two:

7. Ace Chemicals – Jeremiah Valeska returns with his most twisted plot yet.
8. Nothing’s Shocking – Harvey Bullock’s past comes back to haunt him.
9. The Trial of Jim Gordon – Ivy Pepper casts a spell on Bruce.
10. I Am Bane – Bruce and Gordon find themselves face-to-face with Bane.
11. They Did What? – Bane enacts his final plan for Gotham’s destruction.
12. The Beginning… – Ten years in the future, Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham in the thrilling series finale.

Special Features

There are quite a few extras on this set, including several episodes containing unaired scenes. Extras include:

• Gotham: A Modern Mythology – Discover the relationships between the friends and foes who motivate Bruce Wayne to become the Dark Knight.
• Gotham’s Last Stand – It’s the end of the beginning as heroes and villains battle for the soul of the city.
• Villains: Modes of Persuasion – An exploration of the needs, wants and desires that fuel the nefarious deeds perpetrated by your favorite DC villains.

Gotham The Fifth and Final Season delivers on the entertainment fans should be expecting. Filled with Batman characters and villains you’d never see interact in film, Gotham takes advantage of it’s format to explore these in depth before Bruce Wayne fulfills his destiny.