'Damned If You Do': Gotham Review

Gotham made a return to US television screens on Monday with the premiere of season two. Season two won't be coming to UK audiences until 2016, but whilst you wait (or find alternate means of online streaming) fans can find our spoiler-free reviews of Gotham every Tuesday from now going forwards here at Hello, Robots!

Haven't seen season one yet? You can find it on Netflix UK, where it's well worth a watch for its excellent character work (Robin Lord Taylor's Oswald Cobblepot/the Penguin is a particular delight to watch develop), machiavellian schemes, and masterful manipulation as we follow characters through the grimy underworld of Gotham.

Episode one of season two is 'Damned If You Do' and mostly serves as setting up the new status quo for Gotham.

In fact, one early scene does a pretty good job of doing that by itself: James Gordon and Dr Leslie Thompkins are in a relationship (as are their real-life actors Ben McKenzie and Morena Baccarin, AND having a baby); Harvey Bullock is no longer a cop and working as a bartender; the Penguin has taken control of the Falcone crime family; and Barbara Kean has been sent to Arkham Asylum and is mingling with the other inmates, including Jerome. This is a scene to really look out for, with Lou Reed's 'Perfect Day' doing an excellent job of setting the mood and reminding us of the recurring "brand new day in Gotham" line. It really speaks to something in Barbara's psyche too, in my opinion - melancholic, nostalgic, bright and happy on the outside with a touch of sadness inside.

Speaking of Barbara, it's a delight to see her let loose the wild and manipulative side of her that we only saw briefly in season one. Jerome, Gotham's Joker analogue (is he Joker? Will he become Joker? He fills the role brilliantly but I actually hope it's a question Gotham never answers), is similarly likable, as likable as a manipulative, loud-mouthed killer can be.

The central plot asks what is Jim Gordon prepared to do to be a police detective, which may have some interesting repercussions down the line. There's also a side-plot with Bruce and Alfred attempting to get into Thomas Wayne's secret basement - the Bat-cave the duo discovered in the season one finale. I can't help but feel that this episode suffers from the same problem I had with a lot of the first season, however: that Jim and Bruce are mostly boring characters.

I'm much more interested in what The Penguin (who isn't in this episode very much besides to service Jim's plot) or any other villain character is doing - indeed, the Penguin is possibly the most popular character in the show. I even enjoyed the freak-of-the-week "Zaardon the Soul Reaper" (an original character with no basis in the comics, in case you were wondering), not least of all because he looks a lot like Danny Devito as the Penguin. I suppose that's rather fitting in this series, being subtitled "Rise of the Villains" after all.

As an opening episode, 'Damned If You Do' is perhaps expectedly tame, largely serving to welcome viewers back and set up the status quo. Further judgement is going to have to be withheld until we see more of the series, but I'm very hopeful for this "Rise of the Villains" arc. Villains, or at least morally grey characters have always been Gotham's strong suit, and with the show's new focus on continuing storylines rather than the freak-of-the-week formula, we should see some really excellent storylines spinning out of Gotham.