Gotham (TV Series) Legend of the Dark Knight: The Beginning... (2019) User Reviews

A satisfying end to an amazing final season!

[RahulM007 · 9/10 · 28 April 2019]

The series finale of Gotham did not leave any questions unanswered and wrapped up with a bang. Gotham did not only tell us the story of Bruce Wayne and how he became the person we all know, but it told us the origin stories of his rogues gallery; consisting of Edward Nygma aka the Riddler, Oswald Cobblepot aka the Penguin, the Joker, the Scarecrow, Bane and many more.

The penultimate episode of the final season could have been the series finale as it capped off the main storyline and ended with Bruce Wayne leaving Gotham. We all know that he will return to Gotham and become the dark knight.

The series finale felt more like an epilogue to the penultimate episode of the season. It took place ten years after Bruce Wayne left Gotham. Ten years later, Bruce Wayne returns for the grand opening of Wayne Tower. But we did not get to see him because he had a much more prior engagement.

It was a little disappointing of how much screen time the Joker had in the series finale. Additionally, I expected him to be more menacing and insane just as much as in the episode Ace Chemicals. That was the only complaint I had with the episode.

The last scene when Commissioner Gordon, Harvey Bullock and Alfred Pennyworth were standing next to the silhouette and suddenly Batman appears is such an iconic shot.

To conclude, Gotham delivered a satisfying series finale with a lot of twists and turns. This show will not be forgotten. It served as a Batman prequel show and introduced numerous different characters who had their time to shine.

Hate to see it end

[magnum-ajt · 9/10 · 28 April 2019]

It probably should've been more than 1 hour but it got us where we needed to go

Too short but overall an incredible series finale, filled with great character moments

[Holt344 · 10/10 · 26 April 2019]

10 year time jump and we get to see our beloved characters having evolved into a more comic accurate versions of them. It's walking down and with all the years of development we finally see their full potential and these 45 minutes doesn't disappoint, great from start to end, tying up every major story arc in a fantastic way. It did feel too short but I understand that it was almost impossible for them to get it to a higher length but the whole episode makes it that a sequel show is possible as it just ends, maybe I was too hyped but it was still a great finale.

The ensemble cast is and have been superb, everyone succeeding in creating a great adaption from the well known characters from the comics and making memorable character moments. The new actress for Selina Kyle was great, carrying the torch from the actress before. The rest of the cast was also great, this was possibly the last time we get to see them in their roles. Cameron Monaghan, Ben McKenzie, Robin Lord Taylor and Cory Michael Smith performances will be missed, I want to see them in the same roles again in the future.

Rob Bailey and Erin Richards directed the series finale and they did good, creating a satisfying ending to the show from the script they had. It's really a great ending, may we see the light of a sequel to Gotham, a sequel as great and interesting as this show.

Thank you, Gotham, for the most beautiful ride!

[Dimitris_Kountouris · 10/10 · 26 April 2019]

What a great way to end such a beautiful show! Most people say that Gotham had turned into a Batman show, but that never was the case. Even now, they pulled out a good crime/drama type episode, with the addition of the Batman.

The actors did a great job once again, while Lili Simmons was great as the adult Selina Kyle and Cameron Monaghan managed to do something amazing and unique once again.

I trusted them that they would nail Batman and they absolutely delivered. You get only a single full shot of him for a couple of seconds and the rest is good old hiding-in-the-shadows Batman.

They did the best they could with a shortened season and a typical 44 minute finale and I'm grateful. I'd really love to see more of this Gotham City with Batman being in the shadows while we keep getting the same crime show as the past 5 years, but I'm grateful that the show got a proper ending and I'm not gonna be greedy asking for more.

I cried so much after the last shot. They were both tears of sadness because Gotham is my favorite show of all time, but also of joy because I got to experience all of it since Season 1.

To the creators, producers, writers, directors, actors and everyone that worked on Gotham, thank you from the bottom of my heart for this beautiful ride!

The batman begins series plz !

[lashopeuse · 10/10 · 26 April 2019]

We want a sequel to gotham plz it would be Iconic !

Truly one of the best!

[muamba_eats_toast · 10/10 · 21 July 2020]

The storyline and character developments were largely spot on! Truly felt like an epic adventure and for once the ending felt worth of the great series before it. Only problem is the series leaves you craving more!

Great ending !

[RealLiveClaude · 9/10 · 26 April 2019]

Sad to see this series go, but since we know this was a prequel to the adventures of Batman, if you want to know more: WATCH THE OTHER SERIES, THE MOVIES, CARTOONS or READ THE COMIC for more adventures of the Caped Crusader...

For this episode, this was the ending of quite an odyssey. Sad to see a great crew going and we can imagine more of what's to come. Thanks for the memories Gotham !

Bats Rulz !

Absolutely Outstanding!! - SPIN OFF OR #SaveGotham

[mike-fincher12 · 10/10 · 26 April 2019]

Incredible season from start to finish. This episode was amazing for introducing key characters as well as their costumes, including Batman. I'm still seriously annoyed that Cameron Monaghan can't truly claim his fame as The Joker like Mark Hamill because of "Legal Reasons" - Still an amazing performance from all actors! I do feel it could've been so much better if they had more time, but by god they still did great. I would love for them to carry on Gotham as its still perfect, it doesn't have to revolve around Batman which would be more appealing, having Villains POV too etc. #SaveGotham should have worked! If we definitely can't get it back then they should create Batman Begins series! Give the people what they want!

Should make this into a show of it's own

[liam_nb · 10/10 · 29 October 2019]

I'd 100% watch a Batman show in like 5-10 years with the same cast cos this episode was pretty special a combination of 5 seasons of brilliance I reckon I've never wanted to see a sequel to anything more than this.

Got there in the end

[Lejink · 9/10 · 25 September 2019]

I reviewed Gotham early in its run and see that I gave it only 6 out of 10 at that time. I wasn't sure then about a series in Batman's city without old cape and cowl nor was I sure about Jim Gordon's ability to hold the series together as the central character. I did also say however that I would stay with it and now 100 episodes on and at the end of its five year run I'm more than happy to positively re-evaluate my previous opinion.

Those of us who stayed with the show will have seen the benefit in its retention of its main cast for the full run (let's just leave Poison Ivy's transformations out of this, okay) letting us get to know the characters as they developed as well as appreciating the acting behind them. In this there was no one better in my opinion than Robin Lord Stewart as the Penguin, who stole his scenes as easily as his character did bank bullion and high office, although the portrayals of the Riddler and Joker weren't far behind. I wasn't quite as taken with young Catwoman, who was missing the feline grace of Selina Kyle and in the broader scheme of things wish that Scarecrow and especially Two Face had made bigger appearances in the show. That said, it was pleasing to see appearances by throwback lesser villains like Ivy, Mad Hatter, Solomon Grundy and even in the last series Clayface. One character I hated though was Jada Pinkett-Smith's artificial and unconvincing creation of Fish Mooney who thankfully didn't stay the course. Smith just seemed like a marquee-name production indulgence to me.

Besides her, other women played bigger and better-written parts in the show too, apart from the on-off Bruce and Selina mutual attraction, there were great turns by Erin Richards as Jim's first love turned gangster Barbara Kane and his second, more enduring love Dr Lee Tompkins. Nice to think that Ben Shepherd as Gordon and Morena Baccarian as the doc hooked up in real life and now have a child of their own. Shepherd in the pivotal role of Gordon, while he never once looked like the young commissioner, grew into his part abetted by Donal Logue as the slovenly but loyal detective Harvey Bullock.

And then there was young Bruce Wayne (with his ever-loyal, army-trained butler Alfred) a growing presence throughout who we finally saw grow to maturity in the final episode. About that final episode, which really was a near-perfect send-off for the show, where we finally got our green-faced Joker, Pengy and Nygma continuing their wonderfully entertaining bromance, a grown up slinky-sexy Catwoman and yes, a first and last look at the Caped Crusader.

With only few reservations, I thoroughly enjoyed pretty much the whole run and really just wish DC's movie division would hand big-screen Batman to the show-runners here to transform and reignite the ailing screen-life of our favourite masked manhunter.

Gotham's Series Finale is a great send off to the show, but honestly somewhat underwhelming.

[EddyTheMartian007 · 8/10 · 26 April 2019]

Gotham's Series Finale is a great send off to the show, but honestly somewhat underwhelming.

It's great to see all the characters 10 years later, to see how they've grown, and changed. All the Comic accurate costumes, and the actors giving them their all. It's just really fun to see Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler, and J. I feel like those characters could've used more focus though. Barbara especially, and the rest of the characters. We really never get a proper look at Batman until the end, and I feel like they kinda pulled a Smallville.

They could've done so much more with this episode. However I can't lie, it was a great episode nonetheless. It's nice to see Commissioner Gordon scream "GCPD!" one last time, and with that stache. The new actress for Catwoman was very good. The scene where she steals the diamond, and talks to Bruce really captures the character's essence. Oswald and Edward are always great to see together, and when Batman gets them it was just an awesome scene. I also have to mention their comic accurate costumes are awesome!

Even though J was only in it for barely 5 minutes, those 5 minutes were glorious. Cameron Monaghan proves time and time again that he is an amazing actor, and can play a fantastic Joker. He's vicious, crazy, funny, he's The Joker!

I do wish, once again, we got more time with these characters. The episode just feels too rushed, and choppy. The episode should've been a 2-Hour finale like in Season 3, or at least more focused on Batman. We only get a proper shot at Batman till the end, and while I get they were trying to show how Gotham sees Batman, I think we should've at least gotten Batman and J face to face.

Overall Gotham's finale is disappointing, but still very entertaining, and a great episode. It just feels like a little like missed opportunity. The final shot is amazing though.

Gotham will be missed!

9/10

Great series, underwhelming finale.

[fredschaefer-406-623204 · 6/10 · 26 April 2019]

I have been a huge fan of GOTHAM since it first arrived five seasons ago. This Batman prequel worked very hard at world building, never trying set itself in the "real" world, but in some unique hyper reality, exactly like its comic book origin. From the grimy looking streets of a post industrial city, a place where rotary phones and cellular technology exist side by side, this Gotham City had the feel of a place sometime in the recent past, but maybe not our recent past. It was the perfect back drop to let some of Bob Kane's most bizarre creations run wild in all their glory, and as far as I'm concerned, this show's incarnations of The Penguin, The Riddler, Catwoman, Mister Freeze, and of course, The Joker, easily surpassed those of the old Adam West show from the 60's. But this show was never really about The Caped Crusader, it was about what came before, it was the story of what made all those great characters, including the greatest Rogue's Gallery in comic history, the people we came to know and love. This show was the story of Jim Gordon, an honest cop in a most corrupt city; Bruce Wayne is just a rich kid whose parents were murdered and a long, long way from donning the Bat suit. It was a good run, and even when the show hit some slumps during their 20 episode plus seasons, it was always better than whatever was on any other channel at that hour.

The truncated 5th season, with its isolated Gotham, might have been its strongest, with old adversaries making uneasy alliances in the face of the threat from Talia Al Ghul and Bane providing a strong story line. But I am sad to say that the series finale, "The Beginning...," with its ten year time jump, left me a little underwhelmed. It had the feeling of a post script, a piece of fan service because we always knew where this story was going. The series actually could have ended with last week's penultimate episode, "They Did What?" and I think everyone would have been satisfied with seeing Bruce setting off on a journey that would have him returning as the Dark Knight, while Jim Gordon and new (extended) family together and happy, with Oswald Copplepot and Ed Nygma back at square one and vowing to rule a reunited Gotham. This finale felt abrupt and out of place with the rest of the series, especially when it tries make us believe that nothing much has happened in the preceding decade, what with The Penguin and The Riddler behind bars, and Jeremiah Velaska catatonic. Then one day, the villains get out of jail and Bruce Wayne comes back ready to be the hero the city needs, and the story just picks up again. The fact that Jeremiah's scheme came to nothing more than blowing up some buildings and kidnapping Gordon's daughter felt small time and not worthy of what has come before. The episode felt like it should have been a two part finale at the least; where were Poison Ivy, Hugo Strange, Victor Zsasz, and Jonathan Crane? They were missed. It was funny to see Richard Kind's Mayor James back in office. And it does end with the image we foresaw all along.

But a disappointing finale does not ruin all that has come before, although the last episode of DEXTER sorely put this to the test. I will miss the great work by Cameron Monaghan, Robin Lord Taylor, and Cory Michael Smith as the three kings of Gotham crime, and can say the same for Benjamin MacKenzie as Jim Gordon (he made us forget THE OC); Donal Logue's weary Harvey Bullock; Sean Pertwee and his great accent as Alfred Pennyworth, and Carmen Bicondova as a Selena Kyle to break your heart.

Somehow, this Batman show without Batman never quite caught on and had the success it deserved, it was far better than those other DC comic book shows over on the CW. It deserved way more than five seasons. But I have a feeling that this is a show people will discover in the years to come, and it will find a new generation of fans who will wonder why they hadn't heard more about it. This GOTHAM will have another life most definitely.

Underwhelming episode to an otherwise fantastic series

[josh-welsh · 5/10 · 26 April 2019]

I was disappointed with this episode and have to repeat a lot of the comments here. Lots of confusion - plot was all over the place, little character development - and those who did appear didn't really serve any purpose, except for Jim and Barbara probably. Bruce Wayne did not even show up as himself and only as Batman in the final few seconds which felt like a cop-out. This final shot was probably the only good thing about the episode. So much could have been done but wasn't. Wasted opportunity on a potential great finale to an otherwise really excellent series.

Very Enjoyable Ending that Should have Longer

[skip-98756 · 9/10 · 26 April 2019]

I really liked this wrap-up, though it felt alittle rushed in that alot needed to happen and not enough time was given to flesh it out fully. The women! Whoa! Selena portrayed to perfection by lily simmons from Banshee and Barbara as a redhead with long hair, Both smoking hot! ok, got that out! LOL I love seeing 10 yr advance jump ahead shows ,to see how things worked out and characters evolved, this one was no exception..well done, fun, and riveting, lacking again only More time to do it right..its just too short, it felt like 15 to 20 mins...I would have scored a 10 but they kept the suit till the end, and never showed bruce as an adult....Comeon! everyone else gets a time jump appearance but the lead is nowhere to be found? Really?? ...not good ! cool wrap to an interesting show that has had good writing and truly cringeworthy aweful writing at times...this ending however, thank God, was good stuff..

Gotham is about Jim Gordon's rise to commissioner, Batman is always been secondary ... So Not at all disappointed.

[FLYINGGADGET2014 · 10/10 · 26 April 2019]

For me this finale was a given...Gotham was true to the foundation of Gotham. y) From the Story that they were telling and from the eyes that they were telling it from was all the same... It's always been a Story about Jim Gorgon and it should end with Jim Gordon finally seeing Batman for the first time. Batman/Bruce Wayne story was always secondary to Jim Gordon.

Two things that came true from an Interview with Ben Mckenzie back in the day. 1. "You won't see a Full frontal of Batman Until the last shot of the very last scene of the very last second before the credits..." (We did see glimpses of Batman throughout the episode. Because it was through the other characters eyes, lets be honest no one see's Batman until he wants you to see him) and 2. "Jim Gordon will don the Mustache" (it was on longer than expected) People assumed he wouldn't have it on at all. for me that was a surprise. For Me it was a Very satisfying ending... Almost like smallvile However I wish they made the finale into a 2 part back to back movie.

You can't hate the finale, you can be underwhelmed, disappointed, sad even but Hate to break it to you, but Gotham is done, finished, never going to come back on air, it's concluded.... Maybe the Next show in 5 or 6 years will be called Batman.

Awesome!!

[ohaijawi · 10/10 · 25 April 2019]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The best ending to this series the best work dc has ever done !!!!

Good

[tomwarne-53094 · 8/10 · 10 October 2019]

Okay so this basically an episode that acts as a pilot for show we'll never get... yay

Gotham finale

[rjcmil · 9/10 · 26 April 2019]

Very good ending to a crazy over the top show that was eminently watchable for 5 seasons. And directed by Erin Richards? Neat. Now I would have absolutely gotten the rights to use Danny Elfman's finale score from the original Tim Burton for that final shot!! C'mon! Someone at Warner Brothers couldn't make that happen???

Great finale episode

[Oldtrekker77 · 10/10 · 27 April 2019]

Just a great last episode. It feels like a mini Batman movie. Almost anyone can watch it and enjoy it with out watching the rest of the series

Great ending to a great show!

[hstanage · 10/10 · 26 April 2019]

I loved this show ever since I first heard of it. I liked that they didn't fully keep true to the well known origins and they weren't afraid to take some risks. I wasn't very happy with the way the Joker looked in this episode. The Ace Chemicals episode was good but unnecessary. They should have left him alone. If it was intended as a risk, it didn't pay off. (However Cameron Monaghan did an excellent job and I was always excited to see him in an episode.) Despite the Joker's look, this was an amazing way to end a great show.

I liked it!!!

[nikosstoitsis · 9/10 · 18 May 2019]

Maybe I wanted to see a little more of batman but hey, who am I to complain? I fitting end to a risky series that eventually paid off.

Disappointed

[alan-wardy · 6/10 · 27 April 2019]

I was disappointed with the last episode ever, think they should of gone out with a bang and made a 90 minute episode. That why we can see more of him and the other characters they just rushed it.

Disappointing end to a great TV show.

[steven-brown487 · 5/10 · 26 April 2019]

Sorry but this was not a good finale. But the season as a whole was a bit of a mess. Trying to include their version of No Man's Land, introduce Bane, pass the torch to the true Joker, show us Nyssa (?, surely Talia!) Al Ghul and more into just 11 episodes was too much and the whole thing was too crammed and left too much for the end.

Then to this shambles. Would it have been too much to show the GCPD searchlight restored WITH the bat logo unknowingly affixed, showing us that iconic scene in Gotham's, smoggy sky? And how hard can it be to obtain permission to use the name Joker? Gordon should've kept the tache too. No one, save his kid has aged 10yrs. Selina doesn't count as she's played by a different actress. Camren Bicondova had piled so much weight on she couldn't possibly play a lithe cat burglar capable of moving between laser beams and infra red detectors but it could've been edited so it looked like she could. Was that a kick in the teeth or what? Doesn't send out a positive message to other actors. David Mazouz wasn't in the show, was that to balance it out? And the less said about that batsuit, the better.

Plus points? Kudos for fattening up The Penguin, giving Riddler a decent suit/costume. The new look "Joker" was great but what's with the psuedo British accent! And Batman's voice was exactly what it should be.

As for the actual plot? There's wasn't one. Clichéd and done a dozen times before. A crap end to what has been one of the best examples of televisions dominance in the last 10yrs.

My favorite quote: "back in the days...."

[Raffinato · 9/10 · 10 July 2019]

Haven't watched it until the final episode came out and I watched the entire last season in a week.

It's interesting seeing the origins of each character, and the way they occasionally become "friends" teaming up while still holding a knife on eachother's back really captured the conflict and yet the inevitable daily life that is Gotham.

Back in the days they were legends, especially seeing what Gordon went through to protect the City from completely falling, and of course everybody else who played a part standing up against the Army. It's sad ten years went by so quickly, cvilians are safe, resources have been restored, but most people didn't know the heart of the story.

Amazing finale to a good tv show

[PhoenixUnderdog · 10/10 · 26 April 2019]

I watch Gotham since episode 01 and always liked the show. It had it highs and lows but always kept this unique vibe that not many shows has. I gotta be honest, the series as a whole were good, not great but for sure fun and worth watching...this final episode tho imo is one of the best endings to a tv show i've watched so far, totally worth the 10/10 score...i'm honestly happy that i've been following the show since it's beginning cuz the finale felt even more special...with few words...great episode and closure to a fun series *probably the people who were following the show and the characters for years would appreciate it more