8 Reasons Gotham's Second Season Could Fail Miserably
6. The Inevitability Of Crime In Gotham Compromises The Heroic Arc
Stories such as Gotham's are about heroes or protagonists winning or changing.
Gotham's hero is a cop who proactively sets out to solve crimes and expose corruption regardless of the potential cost. Season one ends with a great illustration of this with its story about the "Ogre," who remains free by threatening cops' families.
This sort of thing would work for the average police procedural whose focus was on one remarkable central character. With Gotham, however, it is an empty promise. The path the show must take is clearly set just to satisfy most fans and arguably justify its very existence.
The premise of Gordon's rise in the Gotham PD is the type that usually implies some eventual success, yet viewers with only the most basic knowledge of Batman still know that not only won't Gotham fundamentally change, it cannot if Batman is ever to exist.
Television shows and movies sometimes put established characters on different and unpredictable paths, but Gotham's path was pretty much set when the Waynes were murdered in the first few minutes of the pilot. Gordon's path is also set by the show's promise that we'll see him "rise" in rank, like in the comics; however, if the city fails to become safer and Gordon's superiors are still corrupt, then his rise could seem unlikely and unbelievable.