‘Gotham’ Season 2: What I Want To See [Spoilers]

Gotham Season 2 seems primed to turn up the proverbial heat. The controversial prequel to the Batman mythos shocked and hooked audiences with its introduction of several major villains in the first season, even if it did change a few things from the canon.

The series centers on the lives of James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) and Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz), the most honest characters seeking justice in the entire city of Gotham. Gordon is attempting to help young Bruce find the man who murdered his parents, and the fight for the truth has sent them both deep into the corrupt underbelly of the city they thought they knew.

The first season introduced us to the Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor), notorious crime boss Falcone (John Doman), the Riddler (Cory Michael Smith), and Catwoman (Camren Bicondova), all of whom seem to be working with the good guys at some point. However, by the end, Catwoman and the Riddler showed their ultimate true selves, while Falcone ended up dropping out of the mess, coincidentally leaving Penguin in charge. We had also seen several villains hinted at, but they weren’t given names.

Sadly, we also saw Jada Pinkett Smith’s Fish Mooney turn from a slimy underworld manipulator rivaling Penguin to Gotham‘s version of Tina Turner’s character from Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. We also saw a lot of villains’ origins end up changed (Penguin is no longer an orphan, for one), possibly to distance the TV series from the silver screen versions.

One thing that Gotham Season 2 will hopefully give us is our first real taste of Joker, who we only seemed to get a glimpse of in 2015. Yes, the red-headed murderer (Cameron Monaghan) with the memorable laugh was given an origin, but he was never given what we know to be his villain name. The official trailer for Gotham Season 2 shows us that we have a lot more of him coming up.

The first season also gave us what seemed to be a young doctor who appeared to like the red-headed circus boy, though her occupation had been changed. This could have been our first glimpse of Harley Quinn, who Batman fans know will end up falling in love with Joker and becoming his right-hand equal.

Sean Pertwee, who plays the role of Alfred Pennyworth, says that Gotham Season 2 will not disappoint the fans who’ve stuck with the show this far, according to Mirror.

“It’s less stand-alone episodically compared to the last season. There are bigger story arcs of four or five episodes so you’ll get interaction with a lot of the characters now. It feels cinematic, it’s got a confident gait now. You won’t be disappointed – we’re very, very, proud of it.”

This could also mean we’ll either see less of the individual unknown villains we encountered in the first season, like the serial killer who ended up grooming Barbara Kean to become her own villain, or the guy who used an electric generator to knock out most of the GCPD.

Something which has been bugging me throughout the first season, though, is the fact that many of Batman’s villains (such as Riddler) used to only exist because of him. Hopefully, Gotham Season 2 will start to shift the focus of their hatred from James Gordon to Bruce Wayne, forcing the young orphan to learn to fight more effectively.

Another character I’m hoping to see more of in the next season is Thomas Elliot (Cole Vallis), who was Bruce Wayne’s childhood friend. We’ve seen barely anything of him so far, even though the now-dead Thomas Wayne was a big part of him becoming Hush.

#Gotham Season 2 Spoilers: Ben McKenzie on when Jim’s past will come back to haunt him https://t.co/io9GYrXlM8 pic.twitter.com/VXMNEL4wz5

— Ben McKenzie News (@pinelou) January 2, 2016

I’m also hoping to see more of Harvey Dent’s (Nicholas D’Agosto) explosive temper, solidifying him for his eventual turn from a respected District Attorney to the relentless villain Two-Face. Also we seem to be promised the infamous Black Mask, according to the trailer for Gotham Season 2. Another possible villain we might see fleshed out is Red Hood, whose name was the title of an episode, though we never actually saw him until possibly the very end.

All we seem to have for now is a season trailer and a promise from a major actor in the series. Let’s hope that Gotham Season 2 can keep the momentum the trailer seems to promise.

[Feature image via Warner Bros./20th Century Fox]