The most grounded Batman adaptation has gone pretty bat-sh*t crazy.
If there is one element that has permeated Gotham (and most other Batman projects) it is style. This was ever so apparent amongst the show’s stars and custom cocktails at the Chinatown speakeasy that served as host to the premiere of the third season of the FOX adaptation.
The pre-Batman Gotham City was left in a questionable state at the end of Season 2. James Gordon left the city to find his ex-lover, Bruce Wayne began scheming to take down the Court of Owls, and Hugo Strange, though in jail, had quite the prescience in the city by having his monster-ified villains run around the city. Now, on the precipice of disaster, we enter Mad City and the episode sure lives up to the name.
Camren Bicondova’s Catwoman has always been an intriguing part of the show, but Mad City seems to be taking more interest in Clare Foley’s Ivy Pepper. Both Bicondova and Foley were in attendance implying (along with the contents of the episode) that both characters would play a much larger role in the future of Gotham. This may be the season we finally get a true Poison Ivy. Donal Logue (who plays the once Harvey Bullock, Gotham officer now commissioner) was also present and enjoying the premiere.
The episode itself was a fun romp that ending with some major implications for the future of the show. Gordon returns to a city with Bullock in charge and Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) running amuck along with her squad of misunderstood mutants. Gordon decides it is time to take things into his own hands. Setting Gordon up as a villain bounty is perhaps the most interesting and exciting element of the new season. Robin Lord Taylor is back giving the most outlandish (and by extension captivating) performance in Gotham as Oswald Cobblepot. Now all but officially gone full Penguin, his scenes are engaging but don’t quite give enough of a hint at where that character may be going. A short meeting between him and Edward Nigma was our only glimpse at The Riddler, reminding us he is still very much a presence.
The implication that the Court of Owls will play a much larger role, and by extension their obsession with Bruce Wayne, provides the possibility of a very exciting origin for Batman. The premiere gives hope to fans of the show, which has had its ups and downs in previous years, for a darker, more insane Gotham City tale with a ton of potential to shock and thrill.
Gotham premieres September 19th at 8 pm EST.
