5 things we learned from Gotham Season 5, Episode 1
By Josh Tyler
An isolated city is divided as iconic villains carve up Gotham City into their own territories. Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock, and Bruce Wayne stand together to protect the citizens stranded on the island in the Gotham Season 5 premiere, Year Zero.
It’s all led to this. “Year Zero” – an obvious nod to the famed Frank Miller comic “Year One” which described the first years of Bruce as Batman – promises to show us the final days before Bruce Wayne truly becomes Batman. It’s a look at a city in chaos after not-Liam-Neeson al Ghul fulfilled the prophecy to bring forth the Dark Knight by blowing all the city’s bridges and isolating Gotham. Gotham Season 5, Episode 1 shows us a taste of what the city will be like both two months and (briefly) a year later.
But previously, we saw Barbara not-Gordon finally vanquished Ra’s al Ghul by stabbing him with the ceremonial knife, with an assist from Bruce, the future Batman. Jeremiah-Joker played his role in Ra’s’s plan, luring his brother from another mother Bruce out of hiding to show him what he could be, after shooting Kittywoman Selina in the spine, paralyzing her. Gotham is isolated from the rest of the world and the government has written the city off, left to be carved up by the maniacs still left over.
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Amidst the chaos, crazy Ed Nygma and Lee Tompkins left each other for dead after realizing their love could never last. Ozzie the Penguin helped Tabby Cat and Barbara re-animate Solomon Butch, only to shoot him in retribution for her earlier murder of his mother.
We rejoin our heroes 87 days into Year Zero, Selina still paralyzed, Bruce still brooding, and Gordon still trying to hold everything together. What did we learn in the season premiere of Gotham?
1. Gearing up montages are still awesome
The opening of this season was maybe my favorite yet, showing a group of should-be nemeses arming up on Day 391 in “No Man’s Land.” We had Gordon with an AR in the GCPD, Harvey with a nice pump shotgun in a bar (casual) uniting.
Surprisingly, they’re joined by Ed Nygma and Oswald Cobblepot (after a visit to the tailor). The duo is armed to the teeth, thanks to the riches generated from the area they carved out after everything went to hell. It’s a really nice introduction to the tone of the season, and a great tease at where we are going as these opposing forces eventually come together.
2. The villains have claimed their piece of Gotham
Back on Day 87 of Year Zero, Gordon gives us a nice recap of how Gotham has been carved up. Penguin has taken up his old residence in the mayor’s office running weapons and ammunition (of quite poor quality) and the pair of Barbara and Tabby still run the Siren’s club trafficking in food, booze, and women.
Meanwhile, Victor Fries and Firefly are warring, while the Scarecrow has his own patch of land to guard inhabited by a bunch of potato-sack-wearing followers of his own. Jeremiah Valeska/the presumed Joker is MIA after the destruction of the city bridges and death of the man who “opened his eyes” Ra’s al Ghul.
In the middle of the whole thing is the GCPD, guarding whatever citizens were unlucky enough to be stranded. Gordon knows he’s in the thick of it, with dwindling food and ammo, and the government confirms no one is coming to help.
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3. The currency of the day: weapons, ammo, and food
The system isn’t without conflict, as we see the citizens in GCPD territory accusing the cops of keeping extra rations for themselves. Across town, Penguin’s cronies are literally passing out on the job while making his ammunition, causing the quality to decrease.
Surprisingly, Penguin asks to trade with the Sirens, his meat for her ammo (poor phrasing), revealing that he has the food supply and is just rationing it out to his workers, knowing that as long as he has food he’ll be in a prime trading position.
Tabby understandably disagrees with Barbara’s decision to make the trade, as she’s still raw about Oswald reviving and then killing her love Butch. She tells Penguin’s messenger that he will regret giving her ammo, and I’m getting a very Jack Sparrow-last shot vibe.
On the GCPD end, they’re desperate for food. With the airspace blocked off, Bruce offers to fly in supplies in a chopper, drawing the attention of Penguin and the Sirens. Of course, the chopper gets shot down as desperate scavengers try to find the last scraps of food, along with Gordon and the rest of the police, the Sirens, and Penguin’s gang.