Review: Gotham – The Complete Second Season BD + Screen Caps

THE SEASON — 3.75/5

Season Synopsis: Season Two finds Detectives Jim Gordon (BEN MCKENZIE) and Harvey Bullock (DONAL LOGUE) battling Gotham City’s rampant corruption under Captain Nathaniel Barnes’ (MICHAEL CHIKLIS) tough new command. To this end, Gordon seeks help from a questionable source: the Penguin (ROBIN LORD TAYLOR), king of Gotham’s underworld. But the gritty metropolis teems with ambitious criminal lunatics, including Edward Nygma (CORY MICHAEL SMITH), Professor Hugo Strange (BD WONG), Victor Fries (NATHAN DARROW) and Barbara Kean (ERIN RICHARDS), who’s set her psychotic sights on Gordon’s girl, Dr. Leslie Thompkins (MORENA BACCARIN).

As billionaire Theo Galavan (JAMES FRAIN) emerges as the city’s savior, he and his sister, Tabitha Galavan (JESSICA LUCAS), hide a centuries-old vendetta – while they enlist inmates from Arkham Asylum. With young Bruce Wayne (DAVID MAZOUZ) only beginning to discover his family’s legacy, how long will mayhem reign?

Quick Hit Review: I’m a bit on the fence with Gotham. On the one hand, as a life-long Batman fan, I do generally enjoy this series as we delve deeper into the history of iconic characters like never before and seeing many in the Batman rogue’s gallery come to fruition. However, the writing on this series hasn’t been the best though it’s overcomes with some well done, if not ernest, performances by Ben McKenzie, Robin Lord Taylor (who has been excellent as Oswald/Penguin since the beginning), David Mazouz as the young Bruce Wayne and to some extent Sean Pertwee’s protective Alfred, though for his part, it’s hard to beat the likes of Gary Oldman or Jeremy Irons, but he gives us a different vibe albeit he seems a tad closer to Irons.

While I do enjoy seeing these villains, much like Once Upon a Time, they seem to be dependent on throwing in several new ones each season with many more to come in season three it would seem. Dr. Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze has a five episode stint in this second season and even though the actor portraying him, Nathan Darrow, I’m not too keen on his suit; makes me long for the Schwarzenegger version (*shudder*). There are also minor ones making appearances such as Firefly (played by Michelle Veintimilla) and it was a welcomed different take on the minor Bat villain.

Gotham season two is a decent step up after a bit of a rocky start and while I do wish they’d tamp down on the number of villains, albeit this season’s mantra was Rise of the Villains and Wrath of the Villains, so it makes sense to overrun Gotham just as young Bruce starts to come into his own (though still far, far away from donning the suit), I still found the season to be fairly entertaining with some quality casting of mostly unknowns.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.0/5

This 4-disc set comes housed in an HD Keep Case and comes with a side-sliding matted slip cover. Inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy and an Episode Guide.

Disc 1:
Aftermath (4:45; HD) is a collection of interviews with the cast discussing their respective characters. These are nothing more than mini-featurettes that might’ve been shown online.

Father’s Office (0:24) is merely a teaser of Bruce and Alfred discovering the hidden door.

A Look Back (3:21; HD) are some more interviews with the cast members Donal Logue, Robin Lord Taylor and Sean Pertwee where we learn more about their characters.

Maniax Jerome (0:24; HD) is a preview to learn more about The Joker.

Strike Force (1:58; HD) – Captain Barnes prepares to clean house with powerful cops and intense firepower. It’s a profile on Michael Chiklis’ character.

He Who Laughs Last (1:47; HD) – Looks at the virus plot committed by Jerome who is then killed.

Disc 2:
New Days, Dark Nights (1:36; HD) is a featurette on the dark side of Jim Gordon.

A Look Ahead (3:09; HD) is another series of interviews on Bruce & Alfred, Oswald, Nygma and Gordon. These are just teasers.

Disc 3:
The King (1:54; HD) looks at the Penguin’s power and how he’s also the newest target.

Gotham: 2015 Comic-Con Panel (16:19; HD) – Warner Bros. Television presents a night of DC Entertainment at Comic-Con. It’s a panel of the cast (Ben McKenzie, Morena Baccarin, Donal Logue, Robin Lord Taylor, Sean Pertwee, Camren Bicondova, David Mazouz, Erin Richards, Cory Michael Smith) and crew (Geoff Johns) discussing what’s to come in the second season.

Disc 4:
Gotham by Noir Light (25:37; HD) looks at how the film noir tradition creates an edgy, modern look.

Alfred: Batman’s Greatest Ally (19:51; HD) is about Gotham’s take on the father/son bond between Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth. The poignant and powerful mythology from the comic books comes to life in the series. This is probably one of the more extensive featurettes in this set.

Cold-Hearted: The Tale of Victor Fries (10:12; HD) is a profile on the villain’s humanistic meltdown as he pursues a cure for his love, Nora.

VIDEO – 4.5/5

AUDIO – 4.25/5

OVERALL – 4.0/5

Overall, Gotham: The Complete Second Season is another solid year for Fox with some compelling plotlines and although I think they might be overdoing it delving into Batman’s rogues galleries, it is at least in keeping with the Rise/Wrath of the Villains stories and the casting is also well done. The Blu-ray released by Warner has good video and audio transfers while the features are merely OK.