Gotham Season 2: 10 Awesome Moments (And 4 That Sucked)

Although the second season of Gotham did not necessarily set the world alight (despite containing a family of arsonists), it was leaps and bounds above the first season. Ditching the €˜done in one€™ episode formula to focus on a longer, season spanning narrative that built to an endgame, season two managed to do more in half the amount of episodes that season one contained. Many people get hung up over the fact that they are intimately aware of the fates of the characters but the writers have managed to throw enough curve-balls our way to keep the viewer guessing. It€™s a lot easier to enjoy the show when you remember that these characters have been evolving for generations and have hundreds of stories to tell. Gotham seems to exist in a weird space, as one minute it€™s as goofy as Adam West€™s Batman and the next a guy is getting his hand cut off and a flamboyant assassin is tearing out a cop€™s voice-box with his teeth. It is desperate to be taken seriously as a dramatic series, yet it is impossible to completely ignore some of the whacky elements of the subject matter. Because, as €˜realistic€™ as the fundamentals of Batman€™s mythos may be, they€™re also absolutely ridiculous. Surprisingly, there was more to praise about Gotham this time around and it is my pleasure to highlight some of the best from season two of what is probably the whitest show in television (alongside some of the worst because I'm a miserable pessimist).

The Good

10. Penguin's Army

Someone please tell me what would actually be worse; auditioning for a part as a €˜Penguin lookalike€™ and landing the role, or being told to jog on and missing out on an opportunity to feature in one of Gotham€™s standout scenes. When Penguin€™s kooky mother is murdered by Tabitha, after Penguin is €˜betrayed€™ by Butch, Cobblepot loses all reason to continue on as Theo Galavan€™s criminal scapegoat - a role in which he was forced to commit numerous political assassinations and take the brunt of the blame for Galavan€™s Machiavellian machinations. Penguin vows to take out Galavan during his celebration as the newly elected mayor of Gotham, a job which would be way more hassle than it is worth (just look at all the eyeliner the mayor in The Dark Knight had to wear and tell me that he wasn€™t on the verge of stepping off a cliff). However, taking out the newly elected mayor is a very complex feat when you€™re public enemy numero uno and have a walk like you talk with a f***ed up pivot. Unable to afford the luxury of looking out of place everywhere but at a Fallout Boy concert, Cobblepot hires an army of hitmen that are made to appear identical to himself, literal warts and all. The visual of seeing a waddle of Penguins (of which Oswald himself is in the middle of), armed to the beak and being picked off by Tabitha as they eventually make their way into the party is equally crazy and appropriate within the Batman mythos. The impostors are so dedicated to their act that they even remain in character after taking a bullet, like a reverse Brandon Lee. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRfetiX4VpY