Gotham S1 Ep. 17 & Overall Season 1 Thoughts

"Red Hood"

First off, there is so much potential in introducing this iconic character (The Red Hood) in the Gotham universe, but much like the rest of the series so far, the execution delivers absolutely nothing noteworthy. The only thing that I actually liked about this episode is literally the only thing that I've been praising since the beginning, Alfred and Bruce's story. The story between these two key characters is a significant and brilliant driving force to the overall value of this show, and so far I've enjoyed every single second of it. Alfred having his own spotlighted episode to some degree here only added to that value exponentially and will yet again give me another good reason as to why I shouldn't quit this series as it stands now. 

I truly enjoyed that segment of the episode and would be really upset if they surprisingly killed off his character as some bold move to ruffle the fans' feathers and to get more attention from the media. As for the villains of this series, Ed Nygma (who must be on the verge of fully transforming soon), Victor Zsasz, and the Scarecrow (both versions) are the only characters worth mentioning so far with a potential Joker on the rising. I guess we'll have to see where this uneventful Red Hood arc goes in the future. Perhaps a certain grinning kid by the name of Jerome can put on the iconic outfit in a future episode?

My Thoughts on Gotham So Far:

I think I've finally reached that tipping point in Gotham where I'm starting to agree with others about the show desperately needing Batman. Yes, I do admire the story arc of Bruce Wayne growing up as well as the origin stories from a couple of villains being enticing enough to dive into, but other than that, Gotham is a complete mixed bag for me. For the majority of the time, I could never tell if I'm genuinely enjoying an episode or just struggling along with the flow of things until the "good stuff" happens (whatever and whenever that is). 

I'm starting to get the feeling that the writers might seriously have to hurry things along and engage in some sort of time skip where Bruce Wayne is older and is training to become a vigilante (not necessarily having a cape and cowl yet). From what I'm seeing so far, this show doesn't have anything to offer in its current state other than a few potentially descent stories as everything else is either too over the top to bare at times or simply too dull to care. The key phrase to define this season so far would be "Under utilized potential". Hopefully this series will eventually lead up to something amazing down the line for our cape crusader, but as for now, I can clearly see the thin ice that sits beneath this slowly moving ship of potential.