‘Gotham’ Brings Shocking Evolutions For Two Major Characters

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Gotham.

Gotham has been keeping fans guessing with its exciting “Rise of the Villains” season so far, and the new villains being introduced this season might have caused Gotham‘s main villains to get lost in the shuffle, if it weren’t for the suspenseful fates befalling two of our favorites. Gotham‘s Robin Lord Taylor, who plays Penguin, and Cory Micheal Smith, who plays Nygma/Riddler, recently opened up about the big changes coming to their characters, as Captain Nathaniel Barnes (Michael Chiklis) and Theo Galavan (James Frain) do their best to shake up all of Gotham City.

Robin Lord Taylor Says Penguin Is Forever Changed

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This week’s episode of Gotham saw Penguin losing everything that he held dear and woke him to the realization that his few trusted allies were not, in fact, trustworthy, proving that being the “crime lord of Gotham” isn’t the dream position Penguin had imagined. Taylor says that’s just the way it is in Gotham. Any power attained is power to be obtained by others.

Robin says that his Gotham character had begun to take his power over others, specifically Butch (Drew Powell), for granted, which led to his being betrayed by his allies and, ultimately, to his downfall. Even so, Taylor believes Penguin has finally learned from his mistakes.

“Going forward, hopefully he will attain his power again, but he’ll be much more smart about making sure that his closest allies really have his best interests at heart, and not just doing things out of compulsion,” the Gotham actor said with a laugh, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “They’ll be working for Penguin because they want to be, rather than being forced to be.”

Robin Taylor Lord says that the death of Penguin’s mother and his role in that have caused “his shred of humanity [to be] ripped away from him” and left him free in a way. The Gotham actor says that Penguin learned much about himself and about Gotham in this week’s installment. As everything is falling away from Penguin, Taylor suggests that his character will now be free to become an even more monstrous villain.

“It’s almost as if he’s got full license now to be the monster that everyone seems to want him to be,” says Gotham‘s Taylor.

Gotham Actor Micheal Smith Hints That It’s Time For Nygma To Step Up As The Riddler

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Recently, Nygma has taken control of himself and his life in unique ways. Perhaps not in the ways most of us would handle similar situations, but murder really seems to be a therapeutic route for Cory Micheal Smith’s Gotham character. The accidental murder of Nygma’s true love Kristen Kringle (Chelsea Spack) has helped the two sides of Nygma’s personality to merge, so that, over time, Nygma will evolve into a more dominant, hardcore villain.

Speaking of villains, Gotham promises to give a glimpse at the developing friendship between Riddler and Penguin, according to Cory Micheal Smith’s interview with Variety.

“I essentially find him [Penguin] and he’s very hurt and ill, so it’s Nurse Ed [Nygma] to the rescue,” reveals the Gotham actor. “It’s a very cool episode where their friendship begins. There’s a lot of time spent together.”

Another interesting reveal for Smith was Nygma’s use of riddles to inflict harm upon himself in this week’s episode, and the Gotham actor says that the incident opened a real gateway, by showing Nygma that his riddles hold real power.

“… in the same way that he was completely distraught and horrified for an entire day trying to figure out what was going on, then he can do the same thing to other people to hurt them. I think the way they [the Gotham writers] chose to birth this relationship is really exciting – it’s certainly one of my favorite things that they’ve decided to do with the show in general. I think it’s a really strong choice for the mythology of this character.”

Gotham airs Mondays on FOX.

[Featured image courtesy of FOX/Gotham]