Be warned, there are spoilers if you missed the series premiere of GOTHAM.
The show opens up with Selina Kyle, who I will, for the interim, call Catgirl, walking the streets of Gotham of Gotham, leaping down from tall buildings, stealing a jug of milk here and a wallet there before escaping her pursuers up a fire escape here before exiting onto an alley way in the theater district. After she gives a stray cat some of the milk she stole, she hears people coming and then escapes to hide on the nearby fire escape. The Wayne’s enter and the scene finishes, as you would imagine. Throughout the episode, Edward Nygma is introduced alongside other strong notables in the DC Universe such as Ivy Pepper (Poison Ivy), Bullock, Penguin and the Falcone mob. Jim Gordon and his fiancé Barbara Keen are there as well and Jim discovers that Falcone’s mob has the precinct and the city in his clutches, leading him to play the game, hiding the fact that he walks the straight and narrow, in order to bring down all the corruption. Catgirl is also stalking young Bruce Wayne, following him to his parents’ funeral and then to his house, watching him.
This was, by far, an amazing pilot episode to launch the newest DC Comics television series. This show is taking on a very interesting turn exploring a realm of the Batman legacy that has never been explored before going back to that pivotal moment that put Bruce on the path to becoming Batman, and the introduction were effortless. Even if there hadn’t been so much promotion for this show, highliting who these characters are, the world around them and the way they act clearly indicate who they are. It’s subtle yet very loud at the same time. Before we even hear a name, viewers are going to know who these characters are and that is amazing. That highlights just how strong the writing is, how strongly connected the writers are making this show to the comics while at the same time taking their own liberties with this unexplored area.
The casting was perfect and the dynamic between each of them was very strong. Even though Selina (played by Camren Bicondova) and Bruce (played by David Mazouz) never interacted, despite their futures, viewers can already find their relationship believable. Right now, they are both lost children and that connects them together. These kid actors are amazing and really go deep to understand their characters and the world they have been set in.
Then there is Jada Pinkett Smith who I was a little apprehensive about, but her character and her relationship with the precinct shows a more detailed show of how corrupt everything is. Gotham has always been the darker side of the DC Universe, but this is the origin, this is the set up for that.
Over all, this was an epic series premiere that has pleased this bat-fan-girl.
Directed by: Danny Cannon
Written by: Bruno Heller
Starring: Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, David Mazouz, Zabryna Guevara, Sean Pertwee, Robin Lord Taylor, Erin Richards, Camren Bicondova, Cory Michael Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith
Genre: Crime-Drama, Action, Superhero
Original Air Date/Time/Channel: September 22, 2014 | 8 PM EST | FOX
