As it turns out, we’re not supposed to focus on either Selina or Bruce, as we then jump to our main characters: Detectives Harvey Bullock (Sons of Anarchy‘s Donal Logue) and Jim Gordon (Southland‘s Ben McKenzie).
Bullock and Gordon are quite the pair, as they both see the law differently. Bullock has obviously become jaded by the darkness of Gotham City and corrupted by the shady mob bosses and street-level goons that run it. Gordon, on the other hand, is more idealistic, and always wants to do the right thing. He’s come back to Gotham, we know not from where, because “this is where the action is.”
Unfortunately, we’re not given much to hang on to other than the obvious character differences listed above. Gordon is already toughened and more hardened than an “optimist” rookie cop would likely be, which is a bit off-putting this early on. I think the problem here is that we’re not really introduced to him, or many of the series’ characters, in an organic way. He just sort of appears, others talk about his traits, and the story continues from there.
For a series content on telling the “beginning” of the Batman story, it decidedly starts many of its character stories in the middle of their arcs. Gordon is already engaged, partnered with Bullock, and a member of the GCPD. I would argue that it may have been a bit better to allow the viewers to enter Gotham the same way Jim does: on his first day on the job, or pretty early on in his new gig at the GCPD. Instead, we’re dropped into the middle of it with little explanation or insight.
The same is unfortunately true for the villains, who sometimes crowd the proceedings. Oswald “Penguin” Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) is a low-level goon working for club owner Fish Mooney (played wonderfully, I might add, by Jada Pinkett Smith), who’s working for mob boss Carmine Falcone (John Doman). We’re also introduced to Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) – in a rather unnecessary and cringe-worthy manner that not-too-subtly drops several hints about his future Riddler persona in a matter of about sixty seconds – and Ivy Pepper (Clare Foley), the future Poison Ivy who just stands in the corner of a room watering plants.
The villains and how they’re integrated into the series will be what ultimately makes or breaks Gotham. The problems with Jim Gordon’s character can easily be fleshed out as the series goes on, and I have absolute confidence that it will. This is the pilot episode, after all, and it had a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time. Gordon’s introduction was rushed, but not a big enough blight on the show to damn his character forever. The villains, on the other hand, need to be more carefully constructed, as they’re arguably more iconic and come with more preconceived notions from the audience than the future commissioner. Most audiences already have ideas of who the Penguin, Riddler, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman are, and to throw them about haphazardly this early on is something that will need more maintenance in the long run.
