TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews The Gotham Season 3 2-Part Finale

If you recall, Season 02’s finale was a buzzkill, they set up the entire season for a grand event…and then it fizzled out in grand fashion. With the 2-part finale of Gotham tonight my hope was that it would better capitalize on what was built up in Season 03. And it was! For the most part, but it was really specific moments and an epic last 20 minutes that made Destiny Calling/Heavedirtysoul worth watching.

To be fair, there was a lot going on, and at times, it was too much. Gotham has shown the ability to juggle multiple storylines with great skill, but here it wasn’t so good. For example, Fish Mooney saved Penguin so they could run the city together? Ok…and then they have Gordon kill her? Ok…? Yes, I get he was in the Rage at that point, but why bring back a character like Fish in such grand fashion only to waste her so quickly and so lamely? I don’t know.

Then there’s Ra’s Al Ghul, who I was very excited about, as this was very much a Ra’s plan for Gotham to destroy itself. Yet, the best I can say is that I’m glad they didn’t focus on him more, because I’d rather he be a later villain for a future season. Him convincing Bruce to kill Alfred was epic, as was Bruce actually doing the deed. But in a fun twist, seeing himself break his “one rule” seemingly knocked him out of what Sensei did to him, which is a very Batman-esque move. And hearing of a “prophecy” of Bruce becoming the air means that a lot of fun can be had next season should Ra’s (and maybe Talia…?) return.

If I’m going to give an MVP to this finale, it’s to Alfred, for he had the best scenes, and the best dialogue, and you felt every word of it. His three, THREE, epic speeches to Bruce were moving to an extraordinary level. I had chills multiple times. And even the last one where he’s guiding Bruce on what to do was beautiful in that he didn’t have a solid answer, he knew that Bruce had to make a choice and once he found his “true north” he’d never be lost again…and oh what a “north” it was….but I’ll get to that later.

I will say this, the use of the villains in this episode showed off the growth Season 03 had very well. From Jervis Tetch returning, to Butch and Tabitha being fed up with Barbara, who herself was losing what was left of her mind, to the Penguin/Riddler feud, there was some great stuff. Especially in that last 20 minutes where multiple points came to a head…sometimes literally. Butch was shot…but is still “alive”…and is apparently Cyrus Gold!!! To Tabitha getting her revenge and KILLING BARBARA!!! And then Penguin doing an elaborate scheme himself to trick Riddler into think he’d won the day…when in fact he was being setup to become AN ICE SCULPTURE!!! How epic was that?!?!?!

And that STILL wasn’t all of it! Selina and Bruce’s latest fight (which I’m not sure how I feel about) led to her going to Tabitha for guidance, which led to a teamup and Selina using the whip for the first time. And Bruce slowing becoming Batman by saving a family who almost met the fate of the Wayne’s was awesome…complete with Batman-like music!!

I’m missing something…Gordon! Yes, Gordon was also here, and for the most part this part of the plot was well done too. I’m still not sure how I felt about Leslie being evil, but it worked in the end. I did appreciate though how hard Gordon fought to keep the virus contained, as well as Harvey doing everything he could to save his friend. Their ending conversation of the finale was hilarious, and very true to the characters that they are. I even loved how Jim asked if there were any cases that didn’t involve “cults, or city destroying viruses”, to which Bullock said, “No.” That was nice.

I think that in the end, “Destiny Calling/Heavydirtysoul” worked solely because of the character moments. Yes, the threat was real, and I’m happy they showed how the virus was affecting Gotham as a whole, but it was the characters that brought it all to life. This was a solid ending, and I hope Season 04 goes even higher than this one did. But we’ll just have to wait and see…on Thursday’s now…I wish it didn’t move to Thursday’s…