Gotham:
The Complete Fifth and Final Season review by Bobby Blakey
“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.”
Gotham might not give all the hardcore Batman fans what they were hoping for, but this show has developed into not just a great comic show but also a great cop series. After the events of season four they did a bit of a time jump to wrap it up with the final season and now you can bring it home with Gotham: The Complete Fifth and Final Season.
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Gotham follows detective James Gordon and his partner Harvey Bullock as the two face off against the criminal underbelly of Gotham city in the an attempt to clean it up. The fifth and final season wraps up the iconic series in an unforgettable event that focuses on Bruce Wayne’s ultimate transformation into the Caped Crusader, while Jim Gordon struggles to hold together a city on the edge of chaos. Gotham City is divided between Gordon’s GCPD jurisdiction and some of the city’s most notorious villains such as Penguin, The Riddler and more. As the city’s heroes try to gain control and salvage what’s left of the deteriorating city, it teeters between good and evil, even as new DC Super-Villains are introduced. As with the previous I enjoyed this final season, but there are overall elements that didn’t fully work for me.
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I love the growth of everyone on the show with each season and this one was no different. The arc for Bruce is full on to take him into the mantle of Batman keeping it interesting and not just the straight forward training and fighting crime. During this season a lot of the later half harkens back to previous seasons to bring it all together as well as deeper connections with other characters. The entire cast are always great with Robin Lord Taylor’s Penguin and Cory Michael Smith’s Riddler always stealing the show. This season brought in more great new villains along with a slew of regulars that came together in fun new ways. Cameron Monaghan’s take on the villainous role is easily one of the best of the show with so many variations it keeps it fresh throughout.
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In the first couple of seasons this show played up more as a cop action/drama and while that is still intact they have fully embraced the comic side bringing some great looks and designs to Batman’s rogue galleries but there are a couple that just didn’t work. Without giving any spoilers to those that don’t know who shows up One new one from this season who is a pretty big villain and works ok, but the look just falls flat and silly. At the same time there are some new ones that were spot on as well but you will have to see the season to find out for yourself. This is a violent dark world that constantly slapped you in the face with new twists, well executed action and great storytelling right up until the very end. The final episode is great and does a good job at capping it all off and bringing it into the mythos of Batman fans know and love.
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I’m sad that the show is over, but glad they got to go out with wrapping it all up. This release includes all 12 episodes of the fifth and final season as well as bonus content including unaired scenes, featurettes and more that take you deeper into the depths of this series underbelly as it comes to a close. Join the fight against the Dark Knight’s famed rogue gallery with Gotham: The Complete Fifth and Final Season available now on Blu-ray and DVD As well as Gotham: The Complete Series from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.