TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews The Gotham Series Finale!

And so, another story comes to an end, but in this end, there was also a beginning. But even though “The Beginning…” wasn’t everything that you might’ve hoped for, it was everything we needed for Gotham to end the way it was promised. Villains are here, and so is Batman.

Personally, the only thing that felt off about the series finale was that they did so much build-up to the Batsuit reveal that you were either going to like it, or you weren’t. Apparently, the Batsuit reveal was leaked before the finale. I intentionally never looked at it, which made the reveal more poignant for me, and it really was a great way to see the show end with Batman looking upon his allies, ready to help them save the city he loves.

Ok, there was one more thing, because of the ten-year time jump, there were some details that were just thrown out there without much acknowledgment of what happened. Like how Barbara Kean became a redhead…I mean…became the “Queen of Gotham” in some financial way. Or how both Penguin AND Riddler both ended up in Arkham and Blackgate for 10 years for various crimes that they never explained. And…Mayor James is back? Seriously? They couldn’t find a better mayor than him?

But still, that was just to show that things had progressed since the end of No Man’s Land, and that was appreciated. As was the fact that Gordon had tried for 10 years to make Gotham better, and it still wasn’t working. Which is why the arrival of Batman was so needed.

Everything else about this episode was very fun. From all the callbacks to past seasons, the new looks for Riddler and Joker, and Harley and Penguin, the use of Batarangs, the spotlight, Alfred and Lucius being in on what Bruce was doing, it was nice.

For me, my personal favorite scene was the Selina ones. They had to swap actresses because of the time jump, but it really worked well here. And just as important, though we didn’t get to see what was in the letter Bruce gave her, it was great to her utter sadness that he left her so suddenly. The line about how “I didn’t want protection, I wanted you!” was heartbreaking. And Bruce’s answer was pure Batman. Though we will never know if they’ll get together in this timeline, it’s good to know the BatCat relationship we crave is still in tact.

There are some who are going to say there was too much crammed into the episode, and maybe it was. And some will say it didn’t feel like a series finale because of all the teases for the “future” that won’t happen. And it did in some ways. But that was actually the beauty of “The Beginning…” because now you get to picture and dream about what came after. What happened next, and there’s a beauty in that.

Plus, they didn’t do a fake-out with the suit like Smallville did all those years ago, and we should all be grateful for that.

So thank you Gotham for five very fun seasons. You will be missed.