Monday, May 21, 2018

Gotham - Season 5: A Wishlist (Also some Batverse related spoilers)

Last week, FOX announced that Gotham had been renewed for a fifth and final season, comprising of thirteen episodes, due to air in 2019. On another forum and Twitter, I made a list of things I'd like to see in the show's final year. Here is the list in question with a few additions as well for good measure.


1: Final episodes to be a two parter that shows Bruce and Selina as Batman and Catwoman respectively, with glimpses to as many Rogue Gallery members as possible.

2: Oswald to get a male love interest this season. Seeing as we haven't seen Oswald in a relationship of any kind, now is the perfect time to do this and let it last more than two or three episodes. It can a new character or a comic character whose sexuality isn't too set, but either way, let's do this one already.

3: Origin stories for the likes of Two Face, ManBat, Bane, Talia, Ventriloquist, Killer Croc and/or Clayface and another Poison Ivy arc would be nice. It seems that No Man's Land has introduced both ManBat and Mother and Orphan while the fifth season will add Lady Shiva and Scarface/Ventriloquist to the roster.

4: Wake Sofia out of her coma, do the Hangman story and kill her off.  A whole Hangman versus Two Face arc could actually be a lot of fun to be honest for an episode or two.


5: Updates on the likes of Montoya, Allen, the Graysons and Barnes/Executioner. Some kind of backstory on Harper would be nice too. I like her but we know nothing about the character. You could also allude to the Maroni crime family, even though Titans are rumoured to be using them in their first season.

6: Have a media presence on the show. Shouldn't we be meeting the likes of Vicki Vale and/or Jack Ryder by now? You could make them a few years (2 or 3 at minimum) older than Bruce and Selina.

7: Don't overwhelm the last season with Jeremiah/Joker. Use him sparingly. Ideally the first episode, a mid season episode and the last two. Let other baddies shine too. I feel with the last few episodes of the fourth season, we've had quite a bit of this proto Joker, so I don't want the last season to go overboard with him. Of course, also bring back Ecco too.


8: Some characters deaths that properly stick, no more reviving them, though I suspect both Ra's and Butch/Grundy will resurface in some capacity in the last season. Characters such as Barbara and Tabitha shouldn't be too bulletproof though.

9: Allude to the likes of Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon even if they don't actually appear on the show. The latter on this show could be Gordon's niece, seeing as that's something even the comics have done as well.

10: More of the batshit craziness we've been having since the show's beginning. This show thrives on being nuts, so keep with it. Show us the true madness of the city's criminal underworld as Bruce heads towards getting his cape and cowl.


11: Given his clear writing and directing talents, if the show wants to get Benjamin McKenzie to do either once again, then fine by me. He's clearly skilled at both.

12: Personal indulgence and because we haven't had any as of yet - but I'd love either a Halloween or a Christmas episode. Heck, even another musical sequence would be nice.

13: I do think we need a bit of a time jump when we get to the last batch of episodes for the show.


However with Gotham on the verge of ending, it seems that EPIX will be stepping in to do a 10 episode prequel titled, Pennyworth. Yup, Alfred will be getting his own spin-off that while having the producers from Gotham will not be connected to the show or starring Sean Pertwee at all. It is however being framed as a 1960's spy thriller, focusing on a younger Alfred and the beginnings of his friendship with Thomas Wayne. Much as I love the character to bits, I genuinely am clueless as to why this was seen as a viable (then again, it didn't stop SyFy from commissioning a series about Superman's granddad) option when they could've pitched for a Batman Beyond show instead. I will be interested to see who they cast as both Alfred and Thomas alone.


Keeping with the Batman related stuff, it seems that both Batwoman and Gotham City will be playing a big role in this year's Arrowverse crossover. Announced last week by Stephen Amell, the Kate Kane version of the popular character (around since 2006) will be appearing. Although casting has yet to be confirmed for the character or more details for this year's crossover event, following the successes of both Invasion! and Crisis On Earth X, it was mentioned that it will air in December. I'm wary about the Arrow universe using both Kate and Gotham City as much as I enjoy the shows, I still have flashbacks of their poor handling of Ra's Al Ghul but given the CW's DC shows impressive track record with LGBT characters, I do think they're going to do Kate Kane justice. The character has previously appeared in animated form in the 2016 movie, Batman: Bad Blood voiced by Yvonne Strahovski.

Pennyworth News: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/gotham-boss-sets-new-batman-prequel-series-at-epix-1112339
Batwoman News: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/batwoman-make-arrow-verse-debut-next-crossover-1112799

So, what would you like to see happen in Gotham's final season? Are you excited for Batwoman to make her live action debut and is an Alfred spin-off really needed? Let me know your thoughts.

No comments: