This weekend, Netflix officially threw its hat in the increasingly crowded ring occupied with comic book shows and, in many ways, Daredevil was what I’d hoped Gotham would be. A dark, gritty look into a classic superhero with focused storytelling and gripping action sets the latest Netflix original apart from its network cohorts and while there’s no doubt it was aided by fewer episodes, and a friendlier overlord, the vast difference in quality was immediately apparent upon returning to Gotham last night, after a weekend spent in Hell’s Kitchen.
Whereas Daredevil makes few compromises as to what kind of show it is, committing wholeheartedly to its overtly dark tone from the opening episode, Gotham has spent its subpar first season suspended in an odd concoction of extremely dark (and often disturbing) imagery and cartoonish surrealism. This lack of direction has caused many episodes with the potential to deliver an eerily entertaining story to falter. Episode count has certainly factored in as well, forcing the writers to fill 22 hours of television, as opposed to 13, means there will be a few duds and uncreative villains-of-the-week here and there, so it can’t really be held against a show. Tone, however, which writers and directors have control over to a great extent, can be.
The good news is that there are only four episodes left in this first season, and that’s not meant entirely as a slight. While the tone is likely to remain in its oddball form, the storytelling will hopefully tighten. With only four hours to go, the writers don’t have to worry about creating varied stories to buy time; the time has been bought and now they can get on with the story they really want to tell. This week’s episode, “Beasts of Prey,” served primarily as set-up for the final push, with very little actual advancement taking place. Save for Fish Mooney’s life on the Island of Misfit Dolls, the entire hour was spent teasing what’s to come. That was both good news and bad, as it gave viewers reason to be hopeful that the final hours will be explosive, but the trade-off was a sleeper of an episode this week. Last night we got our first look at Milo Ventimiglia as the Ogre (a misnomer, really, as the character is quite dashing), a twisted serial killer who targets young women, particularly those associated with detectives brave enough to investigate him. One of Gotham’s strengths this year has been its villainous guest stars and Ventimiglia is no exception. He seems at home in the frightening mind of the Ogre. Not much happens with the storyline besides your basic introduction, but more is to follow, and given the early returns of Ventimiglia’s performance, it could end the season on a strong note.