Martin Carr reviews the first episode of Gotham season 5…
Post-apocalyptic Gotham is not as was hoped full of odious surprises, cryptic villains and heavy fire power. Instead territories are carved up and ruled by influence, muscle, economics or sheer numbers. Cut off from civilisation and mustering forces in a constant battle for food, medicine, ammo or all three it really is survival of the fittest. As exciting as this prospect might seem ‘Year Zero’ comes across as fragmented, unengaging and a little dull despite the apparent air of desperation which pervades throughout.
Selena is disabled, confined to bed and feeling decidedly suicidal. Jim Gordon is gathering troops, fostering hope but running low on everything, while Oswald sits atop a munitions factory but requires feeding. Tabby and Barbara are in a similar boat and so screen time is eaten up with big talk, little action and meaningless tub thumping. Directed by show co-creator Danny Cannon ‘Year Zero’ is a wasted opportunity across the board as nothing seems to happen.
These actors from David Mazouz through to Jessica Lucas deserve better material than this season premiere provides. Edges have been dulled, motivations muddied and what could have been an intriguing Mexican stand-off devolves into ambiguities. People of note are murdered, Cameron Monaghan is missing in action and without him Gotham suffers. Alfred is given nothing to do apart from look very healthy, tanned and concerned while people around him are covered in dirt, appear emaciated yet all sport perfect teeth. Clearly malnourishment, poor sleeping conditions and living hand to mouth can do wonders for you.
We are essentially looking at an Escape From New York clone minus the built in body bomb and missing President. Production design tries hard to make up for these short falls but no amount of posturing and speeches atop the GCPD can disguise a lack of invention. Now I understand that there has to be a certain amount of establishing plot, necessary character moments and so on, but ‘Year Zero’ exists solely for exposition purposes. Suitably grimy, noticeably scatter shot in but ultimately uninteresting, we can only hope that this is not an indication of things to come.
Martin Carr
Originally published January 6, 2019. Updated January 8, 2019.
