Adorkable: Edward Nygma is oddly endearing before he becomes a villain; he's a science-loving Nice Guy and a hopeless romantic who has stunted social skills, speaking too quickly and too formally at times, he has a macabre sense of humor, and he can't help but speak in riddles, much to the annoyance of others. There's even a scene where he uses a magnifying glass and forceps to pick onions out of his lunch. Even after becoming a murderous villain, he's still a gigantic nerd.
Falcone. Is he just a Faux Affably Evil mob boss out to keep his power over the city? Or is he a Noble Demon who cares for the city and fully believes that crime can only be controlled, not stopped, so he does what he does to keep Gotham from falling apart? The first season finale seems to indicate the latter, though it could still be a careful manipulation.
Was Tommy Elliot just being a bully in his first scene, or was he genuinely trying to reach out to Bruce only to be hampered by having No Social Skills, causing him to lash out later after Bruce rejected him? Knowing their We Used to Be Friends backstory from the comics makes a big difference. When he reappears later in the series, he is friendly to Bruce, forgives him for punching him in the face and hangs out with him at a club.
Selina ending her relationship with Bruce. Did she really not see the Waynes' killer? Is she just trying to protect herself and him from the assassins after her? Or is she a Woman Scorned since Bruce seemed more interested in how could she help catch his parents' killer than in her as a friend?
Later in the season: Was Selina joining Fish Mooney's crew and being OK with killing Gordon and Bullock an example of her holding the Jerkass Ball, since she never shows any murderous tendencies toward them either before or after that episode? Or was it somehow an expression of Selina's inner turmoil over killing Reggie, a subsequent acting out? Or did she actually intend on saving Gordon and Bullock (and the others) and just never got the chance to?
Jerome's motivation for killing his mother. Is what he's saying actually true, or is he just blatantly lying to Gordon's face? After all, we have no other indication that she was a terrible parent and considering who Jerome was based on, his motivation is very debatable.
Was Silver's distress over Bruce's staged execution sincere or another act to make herself look more sympathetic? She quickly shifts to her usual personality right after, but Bruce's flattery seemed to strike a chord with her and as the following episode has Silver developing real affection for Bruce, it's hard to tell how authentic that emotional outpouring was and if it was indicative of her subsequent actions.
Even if her distress was legitimate, was she more upset because she was genuinely starting to care about Bruce, or was it because she knew Theo needed Bruce alive and might take it out on her that he wouldn't get his chance to cement his leadership of the Dumas-cult by personally sacrificing the last Wayne?
During Penguin's mayoral inauguration celebration assassination attempt, Barbara can briefly be seen smiling in the background. Was she in on the plan to set up Butch, or was she just excited by the potential bloodshed?
In Season 3, was Lee's increasingly hostile and petty behaviour towards Gordon just her lashing out at him because he killed Mario, or was she already infected by the Tetch virus when it Mario's blood splattered over her and became more paranoid and aggressive? While actually injecting herself with the virus made her a Yandere for Jim rather than despising him, when she is cured in Season 4, she doesn't hold a grudge against him and even saves him a couple times.
Did Jerome's insanity gas really turn Jeremiah evil, or was he always like that and the gas simply changed his appearance? Bruce believes it's the former, while Jeremiah himself believes it's the latter.
Speaking of the above, the twins' history raises quite a bit of this. Were they both born bad? Were they both born normal (or at least with untreated mental issues) and only corrupted by their horrific lives? Was only one of them born bad, and if so, which one? Jeremiah telling lies to their mother led to Jerome’s abusive childhood and ostracism, but he also seems to genuinely believe that Jerome wanted to harm him. So was he deliberately trying to get his twin in trouble? Did Jerome really want to kill him? Or did Jeremiah’s extreme paranoia doom them both?
Was Arthur Penn really being controlled by Scarface, or was Penn only using it as a prop to play bad cop? While he does snap and start threatening Penguin in his regular voice at one point, he also seems to have reverted to his regular personality when Scarface is shot. Did Scarface's destruction truly free him, or was Penn just pretending to have changed so he can betray and kill Penguin and Riddler later?
And You Thought It Would Fail: Despite heavy skepticism and a shaky beginning, the show lasted for five seasons, with Bruce Wayne fully adopting the Batman mantle by the finale.
Angst? What Angst?: Jim gets over Lee miscarrying their baby after the episode he learned it happens, and its mentioned only once more in his therapy session with Strange, where Strange alleviates him of his "sins". Lee, who was entirely off-screen, doesn't even react, and neither Jim nor Lee don't even seem to hold it against Ed Nygma, who was responsible for the events leading up to it, when he reappears.
As Jack Gruber prepares to activate the electrical device he's wearing to do something to Gordon, he's suddenly defeated when Gordon tosses a cup of water on the device, shorting it out and rendering Jack helpless.
In the Season One finale, some fans were disappointed with the showdown between Penguin and Fish, as the latter went out in a rather mediocre fashion.
How does the great Azrael get defeated? He ends up blown up by an RPG wielded by Butch.
The Penguin goes down crying for Edward Nygma to love him, despite it being made abundantly clear that he doesn't care for him and he simply shoots the villain dead. Made only worse since Oswald was an already established Handicapped Badass who had a high body count since the show began. Ivy's magic healing allows him to recover.
The final battle between Batman and Jeremiah in the finale consists of little more than Batman disarming Jeremiah with a batarang, then knocking him out with another batarang.
Arc Fatigue: Admittedly, the whole mystery behind who wanted the Wayne parents dead is a little drawn out far too long for fans. Especially since Bruce is supposed to become Batman before uncovering the deep underbelly of Gotham's complex criminal underworld and taking it on. Meaning that Bruce might not be able to do much to actually challenge the Greater-Scope Villain yet since he's still a kid.
Zig-zagged with Oswald Cobblepot. Throughout the show, he continuously orchestrates his rise to ultimate power, becomes the primary crimelord of Gotham multiple times over and at one point even the Mayor, before his empire is undone by external and internal enemies, resulting in either his capture or apparent death. However, like a phoenix (penguin?) he rises from the ashes every single time to again outsmart his competitors and make another bid for the throne. Sadly, the last episode involves him depicted as more of a joke than anything - a largely nonthreatening criminal that Batman can so easily take down it doesn't merit screen time, a lesser villain that takes a backseat to Jeremiah, and a coward that is so afraid of Batman's silhouette he decides trying to regain his power can wait.
Falcone goes from being The Don who can inspire dread by his mere presence to being a pushover of an old man.
Tabitha Galavan got hit with this pretty hard. When first introduced, she was The DreadedProfessional Killer who carried on the majority of her brother Theo's tasks and was surprisingly scarier than he was. When she returns in the second half of the second season, she becomes Demoted to Satellite Love Interest for Butch and acts as his ultra-girly, lovey-dovey girlfriend.
Hugo Strange got hit with this in the second season finale. When he finally starts to lose his cool, he breaks down crying and tries to run away like a Dirty Coward, only to accidentally run right into Mr. Freeze and Firefly's crossfire, getting injured like a cartoon villain and eventually arrested for his crimes completely disgraced.
The Riddler started as a feared and respected criminal mastermind that successfully framed Gordon and had him incarcerated, ruined the Penguin's empire and almost killed him, kidnapped Mayor James right out from under the GCPD, and even posed a threat to the Court of Owls, almost flushing them out of hiding. Unfortunately, after being defeated and frozen by Penguin in the season 3 finale, he never truly regains the power he once had, spending most of season 4 brain-damaged and as a flunky for Lee, and most of season 5 as a pawn for various other villains. He himself resentfully points this out at the end of the series, promising to make Gotham fear him again...and is then arrested and spends the next decade in Arkham, and thanks to Batman he doesn't fare much better once he's finally out.
Barbara in Season Two. In Season One, she's The Scrappy, hindering James with her Adaptational Sexuality doing nothing but slow down the plot with an unneeded Love Triangle and in turn changing Renee from a groundbreaking comic book character to a Psycho Ex-GirlfriendStalker with a Crush who is hostile towards Gordon solely because Barbara was in a relationship with her before she was with Gordon. Not to mention all of the hypocritical actions she pulls because of this is quickly putting both her and Renee into The Scrappy heap. However, the finale rescues her somewhat by making it fairly clear that this is not the Barbara who Gordon will later marry. Come Season Two, fans can't agree whether the openly crazy Barbara is one of the most potentially entertaining characters on the show or still an annoying Big Bad Wannabe who does nothing but gratuitous scenes with both Galavans.
Fish Mooney is either hated for being "over the top," boring, and a pointless addition to the story who doesn't realize her incompetence in taking over Gotham, or adored by the fans who praise her for the badass moments she does have through her guile.
Bruce is seen as a normal likable kid who's naivety about the world is either very sweet or annoying. Most fans tend to think the latter, given that Bruce's childhood pretty much died with his parents and he's supposed to grow up to be one of the most cynical, badass superheroes DC has ever produced. While smart for his age, Bruce tends to be fooled or manipulated by villains in the show like Galavan and his niece Silver. It's times like this where fans just want Bruce to mature as fast as possible so he could become the Caped Crusader everyone knows and loves and finally save Gotham from itself.
Dr. Leslie Thompkins: competent strong female doctor who is a perfect love interest for Gordon, or clingy jealous girl on a moral high horse whose character adaptation does neither the comics' Leslie Thompkins nor the comics' Barbara Kean justice? Real life facts may also muddy the issue: Morena Baccarin is pregnant with Ben Mc Kenzie's child, making the two leads a real-life romantic couple, and Morena Baccarin may or may not have become pregnant before her husband filed for divorce. Again, this is polarizing to some fans. And let's just leave it at that.
Increasingly base-breaking as of Season 3: is she a mourning widow who rightfully calls Gordon out on causing chaos everywhere he goes while facing no repercussions, or is she an Ungrateful Bastard living in denial that her husband was literally about to kill her and Jim only narrowly saved her life? As of "All Will Be Judged" and Lee's seeming Sanity Slippage, this is even more ambiguous.
Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: In "How the Riddler Got his Name," Nygma sends threats to the GCPD... in the form of singing telegrams dressed as fruit, who provide the cops with musical clues sung to the tune of "Happy Birthday." There's no particular reason why they should be dressed in these costumes, we've never seen these guys before, and unusually for the Riddler, the costumes have nothing to do with the clues to the message. Even for this show, it's out there, it's never mentioned ever again, and the only possible reason seems to be because it'shilarious.
Also the fact it takes place in the Batman universe but excludes Batman. (The most popular character who brings in the most fans, and is the reason most people are even fans to begin with.) Many feel this is a horrible marketing decision, while others feel that the character of Batman has been milked to death, and think that the focus shifting letting other characters get the spotlight is a nice change.
Potential Jokers tend to create large rifts in the fanbase:
Jerome and the Red Hood, as well as any other potential future Jokers. Some fans love the idea of a younger Joker before he becomes the Joker, others feel that including the Joker in any way when there's no Batman is entirely against the point of the character.
Whether Jerome should be the Joker or not in general. Even people who don't mind the idea of the Joker appearing on a show with no Batman are split on this. While the character is fine, and many feel the actor nails the terrifying aspects quite well, people can't truly decide if he should be the Joker or turn out to be a Red Herring. Those who want the former point out that his performance in his first episode would be hard for any future potential Jokers to beat while those who want the latter think that having one of the first people hinted to end up like the Joker is dull and would rather have numerous potential characters to pick from.
Jerome's death. Either there are people relieved that he wasn't the real Joker, as they don't want Joker to have a definitive origin or be active before Batman, or there are people that loved the character, viewing the actor as perfect for the role and feeling that killing him off was a waste. Then there are those who don't mind that he is dead, but feel that his death insults the real Joker by implying that he is both a Legacy Character and a copycat... something that Joker is known to despise across his various incarnations. Whether Jerome lived or died, it seems nobody won. As Season 3 shows, his death didn't last.
Jerome's real death, and Jeremiah being the Joker. Some say that it's a brilliantly done twist and a well-written take on Joker's Multiple-Choice Past; others say that it was rushed out the gate and saw the twin brother twist as a cliche. Then there's another crowd who's just happy that Cameron Monaghan is now portraying the Joker.
Gordon killing Mario. Either it was fully justified, seeing how Mario was standing behind Lee with a knife or Gordon should have tried to talk him into surrendering, or at least shoot him in the leg instead of the chest. Some bring up that Gordon had easily done that to two of Falcone's goons earlier in the episode just to prove a point, yet he went for lethal approach with Mario, even after making a promise to his father that he'd bring him in alive. Others don't see how he could have shot Mario non-fatally, considering that Mario's legs and other "safe" body parts were hidden behind Lee, and that the virus might have made him strong enough to still kill Lee, and/or infect her with the virus by bleeding all over her, if Gordon hit him non-fatally. Barnes wasn't directly threatening anyone else's life either, except for Jim's - it's a totally different situation when there's a hostage or another person (Lee) in imminent danger.
Batman fans saw the reveal that "Viper" was really a prototype version of Bane's Venom coming the minute the trailer for that episode was released.
The Penguin not getting Killed Off for Real in the Season 3 mid-finale and returning with a vengeance was long called out by fans.
Catharsis Factor: After Penguin suffered from severe Badass Decay in Season 2 due to Hugo Strange's "treatment," he comes back by killing his Jerkass stepfamily who spent the majority of their appearances being colossal dicks to him. It's actually quite satisfying to see Penguin getting a victory without going into a long story arc over it.
One episode after he put Barnes into critical condition, Azrael almost loses to Alfred in a sword fight, before being hit with a car by Bruce, shot half a dozen times by Gordon, and is finally blown to pieces by Penguin and Butch with a rocket launcher, from about 10 feet away. It was glorious.
The Chris Carter Effect: Has been accused of suffering from this. Numerous characters have their actions and motivations change drastically without reason, subplots may go nowhere or take unexpected and confusing turns, and several plot elements that seem relevant are forgotten or become irrelevant. Numerous reviewers have wondered if the writers are making it up as they go along. Perhaps the biggest proof of this is Montoya and Allen; after being important characters for the first half of Season One, including Gordon tasking them to find the Wayne Killer, the second half of the season saw them Demoted to Extra and they were officially dropped in Season Two, and the resolution to the Wayne Killer subplot happened without them.
Jerome Valeska is a psychopath introduced being placed in Arkham Asylum for murdering his own mother, laughing at his crime when interrogated. Recruited along with other inmates by Theo Galavan to form the Maniax, Jerome functions as their leader, committing crimes such as taking hostages and throwing them off a rooftop; attempting to set fire to a bus full of cheerleaders; shooting up the Gotham City Police Department, personally killing Commissioner Sarah Essen; killing his own father; and taking those in attendance at a children's charity hostage, killing the deputy mayor of Gotham. Tormenting the 13-year-old Bruce Wayne, Jerome slowly begins slitting his throat, trying to kill him. After being killed and resurrected, Jerome encourages his followers to spread death and chaos as he announces his return and straps his own follower, Dwight, to a bomb, detonating it and killing him. As the chaos spreads through the city, Jerome again goes after Bruce, making it entertaining for himself by taking Bruce to a twisted carnival he's set up, tormenting Bruce before trying to kill him yet again. Taking over Arkham along with other criminals, Jerome has Jonathan Crane produce an insanity-inducing Psycho Serum, then chooses to kill himself to deny Commissioner Jim Gordon arresting him. Sending a package of his Venom to his twin brother Jeremiah, Jerome ensures his nefarious legacy lives on in the creation of Gotham's most infamous criminal.
Jeremiah Valeska is Jerome's seemingly orderly twin brother and a powerful but suspicious businessman. According to Jerome, Jeremiah is just as bad as he is and plans to make him his heir; when seemingly Driven to Madness by a special gas, Jeremiah states it did nothing but alter his appearance, and that he intends to usurp Jerome's legacy to gratify his own ego; Jeremiah starts off with a plan to detonate powerful bombs all over Gotham, before incinerating his new followers after he fails, and has his lover Ecco shoot herself to prove her loyalty. Jeremiah later teams up with Ra's al Ghul to destroy all the bridges out of Gotham and turn the city into a lawless hellhole. Obsessed with Bruce Wayne, Jeremiah does anything to become the center of his world, including shooting Selina Kyle; torturing a decoy of Alfred to self-mutilate; attempting to recreate the night of the Wayne murders with brainwashed victims, before trying to use Jim and Leslie as a substitute; and attempting to unleash chemicals onto the city to ruin it beyond repair. Emerging ten years later, Jeremiah eventually kills Ecco, stating they'll be others like her, before kidnapping and trying to drop Jim Gordon's young daughter into a vat of chemicals.
Dr. Hugo Strange is a former associate of Thomas Wayne in the Pinewood Farms project, meant to cure disease but abused by Strange to perform horrifying experiments on patients. When Wayne discovered Strange's deeds and shut the project down, Strange allied himself with the Court of Owls, having Wayne and his wife gunned down in front of their young son, Bruce. Becoming head of Arkham Asylum, Strange continues his torturous experiments on his patients, driving many insane or transforming them into monsters. Discovering how to bring the dead back to life, Strange resurrects Gotham's deceased criminals as raving lunatics who go on to kill numerous innocents while Strange happily accommodates them to commit their crimes. Ordered by the Court to detonate a nuclear device to destroy evidence of his experiments, Strange agrees, apathetic that this may potentially take out much of Gotham City, and later returns to create a Hate Plague from the Tetch virus, driving Gotham into a killing frenzy. Later allying with Nyssa al Ghul when the city devolves into a No Man's Land, Strange mind controls Edward Nygma and an army general into attacking refugees, creates Bane, and attempts to turn Gordon into a similar Super-Soldier to force his aid in the total slaughter of Gotham's populace. Playing everyone as it suited him, Strange proved a narcissistic scientist who cared only for performing his depraved experiments.
Season 1: Dr. Francis Dulmacher, aka the Dollmaker, is a respected, soft-spoken surgeon who works with rich clients, and is the mastermind of a Human Trafficking ring, which he uses to harvest organs for his experiments. He often sends his thugs to abduct people, then takes them to his facility on a private island where said thugs keep them hostage. Early in the season, he sends two of his lackeys to abduct street children to such a fate, using charity as a lure. When his plan is exposed and the children are sent into protective care, he tries to have his lackeys hijack the convoy. Later on in the season, crime boss Fish Mooney finds herself in Dulmacher's clutches, with him intending to take her eye; later he shows what happens to those who fail or cross him, as he shows her his former lackeys disassembled and reassembled with female parts.
Season 4: Lazlo Valentin, aka Professor Pyg, is a sadistic hitman known for copying the MO of multiple serial killers. He arrives in Gotham and makes himself known to the GCPD by killing many of its cops in various brutal ways, which include slashing some with a cleaver; having one blown up by a grenade; and having many get shot by a machine gun. He later kills six homeless people, bakes them into meat pies, and forces the Gotham socialites to eat said pies. Upon being caught and sent to Arkham Asylum, he viciously kills an inmate for interrupting his music leisure, and kills multiple staff while escaping the Asylum. He then kills crime boss Carmine Falcone on Sofia Falcone's behest, and attempts to kill Commissioner James Gordon himself before Sofia shoots him.
Barbara edges in that direction. She frequently has subplots that don't really go anywhere and that distract from the more important/interesting ones and was made heir to the League of Shadows out of nowhere.
Fish Mooney for similar reasons to Barbara, with many fans wondering if her resurrection at the end of Season 2 was necessary, especially when she ends up MIA for most of Season 3 and is Killed Off for Real by the end of it.
Hugo Strange features this yet again. As always, Hugo is completely talented at his Mind Rape techniques and successfully breaks Cobblepot's mind and successfully resurrects Galavan Back from the Dead before turning him into his attack dog.
Azrael.
Jerome is just as insane, violent, and hilarious as you would expect from his inspiration.
Jerome's twin Jeremiah is an ice-cold, brilliant criminal and Evil Genius that is all but confirmed to be the Joker, getting the best of practically everyone in his first episode as Mr. J and becoming Bruce's most personal foe by far.
The Scarecrow, who takes heavy inspiration from his Batman Begins and Arkham incarnations and is just as creepy as you would expect from the character.
The Mad Hatter has commonly been regarded as something of a pathetic joke villain - here he's a sinister, dapper hypnotist who specializes in making people murder friends, relatives, and strangers for fun, and is all the more entertaining because of it.
Professor Pyg is a deranged Serial Killer, but his theatrics and Faux Affably Evil personality make him so much fun to watch.
Victor Zsasz is reimagined here as a psychotic mob enforcer, which means he's way more stylish and badass than you might expect from the character but just as gleefully unhinged.
Jerome, for all his creepy faces and his unsettling personality, is undeniably cute when he makes semi-normal expressions such as in season 2, episodes 1-3 before his face is cut off. His tendency towards childish faces and actions can be adorable.
Victor Zsasz is extremely pale and has dark eye bags, giving him a somewhat creepy appearance, but he has a large female fan base and can be very cute in his more Affably Evil scenes.
Ecco. While she's a fanatical zealot for Jeremiah and lacks Harley Quinn's more redeeming qualities, she still keeps Harley's trademark peppy personality and is a cute young woman.
Crosses the Line Twice: This show frequently gets so absurdly grimdark and twisted, far beyond any live-action incarnation of the Batman mythos to date, that its twisted characters and bloody violence frequently cross the line into genuine hilarity.
Edward Nygma accidentally strangling his own girlfriend to death? Tragic. Losing control of his own body to his violent, psychotic alter-ego? Messed-up. Cutting her body up into pieces and stashing them all over the GCPD headquarters? Funny, in a dark way. Ed's own alter ego sending him on a scavenger hunt through the building to find all her body parts in all sorts of absurd locations, including a vending machine?Hilarious.
Edward Nygma: You take over my body while I'm asleep, and steal my dead girlfriend!
Harvey Bullock is frequently a source of this, with his total disregard for the law, his own appearance and the well-being of others frequently making him one of the funniest characters on the show. Case in point: Harvey stealing and drinking from a bottle of wine from the same refrigerator at a crime scene where he and Jim find a crumpled-up dead body is pretty disgusting in both morals and hygiene. Him nonchalantly defending his actions by claiming that if he doesn't steal the bottle, the forensics guys will? Hilarious.
Jerome doesn't so much cross the line as he does play double-dutch jump rope with it, appropriately, considering who he's likely to become.
In season 3, Mayor Cobblepot, visiting a school, approaches a little boy sitting alone. On learning that the boy is afraid that the other children won't like him, Cobblepot suggests that if he never gives it a chance he'll never know... and if they don't like him he should wait until their backs are turned and push them down the stairs.
Jim defeats Jerome by literally punching his face off. If that wasn't extreme enough already, Jim's expression and Jerome's nonchalant "Ow" before falling over definitely makes it this trope.
Two of the people Jervis kills, he does by dropping a giant wrecking ball on them and squashing them flat.
A few fans are starting to question how much of a hero (or Anti-Hero) Selina Kyle is. Considering that she's committed numerous crimes for fun, betrayed multiple people, isolated herself whenever she doesn't get her way, and sometimes jokes about killing or screwing over people, it's becoming increasingly harder to feel sympathy for her.
Gordon, for many. His actions in season two, such as executing Galavan in cold blood and letting Penguin take the blame left some fans feeling less than sympathetic towards him. It doesn't help that he frequently (and with little hesitation) uses Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique when it's convenient for him. Some started to dislike him even more when, in season three, he shot and killed Mario Calvi, apparently without even trying to bring him in alive. Granted, it was right after he saw him trying to knife Lee right in front of him, but his reaction is made worse by the fact that it happened right after he had promised his father that he would bring him back alive.
Diagnosed by the Audience: Nygma has to speak in riddles, is visibly annoyed and disappointed when not taken up on them, and he is a textbook case of No Social Skills, which line up with symptoms of being on the autism spectrum. He also has signs of OCD, carefully picking onions out of his lunch and reorganizing the station's archives to what he finds a superior structure. This could be a case of Shown Their Work on the part of the writers, trying to ground character behavior in real-life disorders; "If the Joker is a sociopath, and Two-Face is bipolar, what real-life mental conditions would make someone act like the Riddler of the comics?"
Oswald has gotten this treatment very quickly. Adaptational Attractiveness has played a role in that for certain.
Edward Nygma gets this as well, due to being Adorkable and something of a Jerkass Woobie.
Ra's al Ghul's been getting this as well, not least because of Alexander Siddig's portrayal of a younger-looking, openly sexy version of the character. Al Ghul's flagrant and grisly murders of an innocent teenager and a defenseless old man, as well as siccing a ravening dog/man on the former, in "The Demon's Head" may be the writers' attempt to avert this trope.
Despite both being completely irredeemable, Cameron Monaghan's Creepy Awesome performance as the Valeska twins has gotten them both a bit of this from fans who find them attractive or just thrillingly entertaining.
Dr. Gerald Crane is pretty popular among the fanbase for not only having an interesting and tragic backstory but also a terrific actor who nails the character. Some fans are actually wishing he would've been the Scarecrow.
For such a minor villain, the Electrocutioner also acquired quite a fanbase, namely due his creepy personality and mannerisms.
Jerome proved to be extremely popular, and despite being killed off early in Season 2, he was brought Back from the Dead in "Smile Like You Mean It", and set things in motion that would ultimately culminate in the creation of Joker. Even people who otherwise hate the show admit that he's incredibly entertaining to watch.
You wouldn't think that a victim of the Secret Twin plot twist could be this, but Jeremiah has also been incredibly well-received, and has a section of the fanbase that adores him just as much as, if not more, than Jerome.
Wilson Bishop, the cool prison guard who helps Jim out in prison and eventually helps him break out. It helps that he's one of Gordon's few non-police, non-main cast allies not to die in his introductory episode.
Butch has a fair amount of fan sympathy for his funny villainy, being the resident chew toy for Penguin, Galavan, and everyone in between, and his genuinely sweet relationship with Tabitha. His popularity increased when the Season 3 finale revealed that he's Solomon Grundy.
Meanwhile, Chris Chalk is quietly making waves for his stoic, no-nonsense portrayal of Lucius Fox as the Only Sane Man in a cast increasingly populated by lunatics.
Barnes gets this treatment for being A Father to His Men, raising multiple Jerkass Has a Point issues, and being played by the one and only Michael Chiklis. Which makes his eventual stabbing in "Azrael" all the sadder, though he does survive for the time being.
Professor Pyg, both for the delightfully hammy, yet still bone-chillingly creepy performance of Michael Cerveris, and for being a well-incorporated Knight of Cerebus villain. Also, his Chicago-inspired musical number is as awesome as it is ridiculous.
Ecco. Her season 4 self was popular enough, being an attractive, badass woman who had an impressive amount of loyalty to Jeremiah already, but her season 5 self cemented her as this, with her cool design, funny and nutty personality, and her darkly sweet semi-romance with Jeremiah. Although some people just liked her because she was the show's Harley Quinn, many liked her as her own character and were sad when she suffered a tragic death at the hands of Jeremiah.
Ra's Al Ghul is very popular among fans due to Alexander Siddig's pitch perfect portrayal, striking just the right note between genuine manners and charisma and intimidation, ruthlessness and cunning that shows just why Ra's is among Batman's most feared enemies. Many fans have taken to adopting him as their go to voice for the character, unseating even David Warner's masterful portrayal from the DCAU.
Estrogen Brigade: Although a good chunk of the girls who watch this are already DC fans, a noticeable portion of the fan base is girls who don’t really watch DC but are there for the male characters. There’s a strong female fan base for almost every male character, with Jerome Valeska, and by that extension his twin brother Jeremiah , probably having the biggest one, but there’s also sizable groups for Oswald, Ed, Jim, the Mad Hatter, Bruce, Galavan, and even Victor Zsasz. There’s also a pretty big lesbian fan base for Barbara, Tabitha, Lee, Ecco and Poison Ivy.
Evil Is Cool: Arguably, one of the main points of the show, as is frequently the case with the Batman mythos. The Penguin, the Riddler, Jerome, Jeremiah, Carmine Falcone, Hugo Strange, Azrael, Victor Zsasz, Ra's Al Ghul and many others are all liked for being Creepy Awesome (and occasionally hilarious) adaptations of the characters from the comics, many of whom (like Mr. Freeze and the Riddler) haven't had any recent live-action appearances. Even the MadHatter is popular.
Fan-Disliked Explanation: Season 3 introduces Isabella, the lookalike of Edward's previous love interest (played by the same actress, no less) who greets him with a riddle when they meet, falls in love with him at first sight, doesn't mind his murderous past, and enters the stage at just the right time to cause a rift between Ed and Oswald. With many available explanations to pick from such as Clay Face, human cloning, a doctor who specializes in illegal plastic surgeries, and various conspiring factions who would benefit from weakening Penguin's position, what is the ultimate answer to the riddle of Isabella's identity? There is none. The whole thing turns out to be just a Contrived Coincidence. The entire situation is often brought up as some of the weakest, if not the weakest writing in Gotham's history.
Fanon Discontinuity: Some fans ignore the final episode entirely or from the Time Skip onwards (which takes up the majority of the episode), a few even deny that Bruce leaving Gotham at the end of the previous episode even happened.
At the end of the episode, when Bruce finds and presses the remote that opens the entrance to the future Batcave, the music that plays overhead is a piece by Prokofiev from Romeo and Juliet, called Dance of the Knights, in reference to Batman's epithet: the Dark Knight.
"Spirit of the Goat" and "Penguin's Umbrella" saw a significant upswing in many people's opinions, with the show picking up the pace significantly after its rather slow start and developing its own interesting stories rather than relying on the Batman mythology to hold the fans' attention.
The Season One finale may prove to be another hair in the process:
The Foregone Conclusion the series is based on is shaken — Maroni, who should survive until Batman, has died, meaning everyone else's Plot Armour just got a big dent as well.
Barbara breaks down and crosses into Ax-Crazy territory, so the chance of watching Gordon leave Ensemble Dark Horse Lee and get back together with Barbara has just gone way down.
Season 2 received much more positive critical reception thanks to a more serialized and focused approach. Where the first season was more of a straight forward mob drama plotwise with wildly varying tones with too many characters and subplots, the second was where the writers decided what they wanted to make and leaned into the ridiculousness that the show is now known for.
Season 4. Not only is Bruce finally off his by becoming vigilante, but the series has its most engaging villain in Ra's Al-Ghul as the Big Bad.
Selina's murder of Reggie Payne, at the time in what she and Bruce thought was self-defense, is revealed to have been utterly pointless. Had Reggie told Bunderslaw about Bruce's activities as he threatened to do, all that would have happened is that Bunderslaw would have had "the Talk" with Bruce under slightly different circumstances.
While a number of fans saw it coming long in advance, Nygma's Accidental Murder of Miss Kringle while trying to justify his not-quite-Accidental Murder of her abusive ex makes their cute moments together harder to stomach, especially after Kristen was finally warming up to Eddie after an entire season of indifference at best and cold rejection at worst. As Nygma's Riddler personality tells him, the love of a good woman almost got rid of him for real.
In the fourth episode of Season Two, Galavan introduces Bruce to his ward, Silver St. Cloud, and they instantly click, which Galavan and Tabitha were counting on in a manner reminiscent of how Ra's al Ghul approves of Bruce/Talia. As Silver is a semi-recurring love interest of Bruce's in the comics and probably one of his more well-known significant others not named Selina, Talia, Vicki, Barbara, Zatanna, Diana, or Lois, the possibility was presented that she was an innocent, unknowing party in Galavan's schemes and there would be a relatively harmlessLove Triangle with Silver and Selina vying for Bruce's affections. A mere three episodes later, we see that this Silver is willingly and gleefully complicit, intending to string Bruce along — right into Galavan's clutches — by wedging herself between him and Selina, which actually works for a time. This also highlights the limitations of Bruce's still-developing detective skills; whereas he once incorrectly pegged Selina as a Fille Fatale when she simply liked him as a friend (and something more), he's completely fooled by Silver's ruse.
The episode "Mad Grey Dawn," which features Nygma attempting to blow up a train station, aired less than 12 hours before the 2016 Brussels bombing.
The entire first two and a half seasons, especially those episodes in which Falcone appears, becomes this if you know what happens between Gordon and his son in the final scene of "Beware the Green-Eyed Monster", and the consequences of that action which begin to manifest themselves in "Ghosts". Worst of all is "Penguin's Umbrella", during which the possibility of Falcone having Gordon killed is teased quite a bit, including by Falcone himself.
Fish telling Gordon "you have a little danger in your eye. I wonder what you plan on doing with that" can be a bit hard to watch in lieu of him accidentally killing her under the influence of the Tetch virus.
Bullock telling Gordon that workplace relationships never work out can be quite sad when Jim and Lee's relationship does indeed fall apart about halfway through season 2 (for reasons relating to Jim's Married to the Job status), and they don't get back together until season 5.
When they first properly meet, Ed confesses his murders to Oswald, and Oswald drily responds, "If you're planning on killing me, could you get on with it?" Funny at the time - come midseason 3, not so much...
Back when The O.C. got popular, Ben McKenzie was described by critics as a young Russell Crowe — and now both actors have played two of the best known mentors of DC Comics, Jim Gordon and Jor-El!
In "Worse Than a Crime," Selina asks Alfred how she knows he's not a Martian. The next week, on competing DC series Supergirl (2015), it was revealed that a character actually is a Martian.
Even without Mark Hamill anywhere near the set this time, they make sure to have someone tell Jerome, the first character to be heavily inspired by Joker, "I am your father."
Episode 2x19, "Azrael," features a rather funny scene of Nygma pretending to argue with a ghost named Lucy, before working out an "agreement" and announcing that "Lucy" has finally found peace. The pilot of Houdini & Doyle, which literally aired as the very next episode of Fox TV immediately after "Azrael," features a climactic scene where a character pretends to converse with a ghost named Lucy, before announcing that Lucy is finally at peace!
Jerome, who for a time was thought the most likely candidate for the Joker, is played by Cameron Monaghan, who was previously Ian from Shameless (US), a character whose fatherisa drinker and a fiend.
At one point, Penguin's stepsister attempts to seduce him which he very adamantly dodges. When she tells her mother and brother she failed in this endeavor, the brother suggests he should try, which the mother pooh-poohs. Given the direction Season 3 takes with Penguin and Riddler's relationship, it might have been worth a shot. Then again, it is entirely possible that Penguin just isn't into step-cest.
In "Pinewood", Gordon is tracking down the Lady via brutalising a string of thugs with a drawer full of contraband weapons, all while asking them where is the Lady, which may remind some folks of Morena Baccarin's otherscreen lover!
During the same years the series was running, Baccarin also did another Batman-universe character, Talia Al-Ghul.
In Season 3's "How the Riddler Got His Name", Edward attacks Lucius from the backseat of the latter's car. Another version of Edward would pull this exact move on someone five years later.
Bruce Wayne's Beta Outfit seems like an accidental Ascended Meme after the "Man" meme, since it's similar to his later Batman gear sans bat iconography.
Gordon and Bullock can't seem to go an episode without getting in each other's face or arguing Like an Old Married Couple.
In "Rogues Gallery," Bullock is so excited to see Gordon again that he kisses him on the cheek.
Oswald obviously has a thing for Gordon, or just wants to be his friend.
Also, Fish Mooney auditioning and training a Femme Fatale henchwoman apparently requires a lot of kissing and flirting. You know, for practice, or whatever.
On a more disturbing note, many viewers were Squicked when in "Red Hood," Barbara went from complimenting Selina's appearance to violating her personal space and trying to get her to wear sexy clothing.
Similarly, Barbara does get intense with Dr Lee Thompkins, getting uncomfortably touchy with her and calling her "girlfriend", "cute" and "pretty".
Ed and Oswald have quite a bit of it once they start interacting in Season Two, with Ed acting like a Stalker with a Crush and the two essentially sharing an apartment. Leslie even initially mistakes a phone call between them as Ed talking to his dead girlfriend.
Season Three really takes this up, where they have a villainous sort of True Companions. Particularly with Ed's motivation for taking the bribe money back from Oswald's campaign supporters, enacting his genuine victory: love. Sure, Oswald, it's the people that love you...
And then there's episode 5 of season three, with the two sharing a very intimate moment in front of a fire: "You should know, Oswald, that I would do anything for you." And then the look on Penguin's face before he leans in for a hug... Several Nygmobblepot shippers were sorely disappointed it didn't go farther than a hug.
Confirmed, at least on Oswald's end, in "Follow The White Rabbit."
Selina and Brigit Pike/Firefly have earned a considerable amount of underlying tension. It's worth noting that Brigit is one of the few people Selina cares about and even goes to extreme lengths to rescue her from Arkham Asylum.
Selina and Ivy also have a lot in the way of this trope, although it turns into hostility toward the end of the show as they fully become Catwoman and Poison Ivy (who are famously on-and-off friends and enemies in the comics).
Idiosyncratic Ship Naming: The Bruce and Selina ship is known as "Bat-Cat" due to the respective animals which represent them and to further differentiate them from other versions of the pairing also get called "Baby Bat-Cat" due to them being minors for most of the show.
It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: Hugo Strange's villain arc seems to be completely copied and pasted from Batman: Arkham City. Strange enters the series as a Villain with Good Publicity being financially backed by a Greater-Scope Villain while he carries on the majority of tasks for them and poses as the Big Bad of the second story arc before it's revealed that an evil organization has been ordering him around the whole time and inform him to destroy an Arkham facility as part of their ultimate plan. It also doesn't help that Clayface makes a last minute entrance into the story to work as a body double as well (albeit working for Strange instead of The Joker).
The Balloon Man. Yes he's a murderous vigilante but given the fact that he's had to learn the hard way how corrupt Gotham is and how broken he sounds when he tells Jim that no matter how hard he tried nothing he did ever changed Gotham for the better... it's pretty hard not to feel sorry for him.
Edward Nygma is also an example. Sure, he can be arrogant at times and he does occasionally come off as a stalker, no denying that. However, it's also very clear that he's trying as much as he can to be a force for good. He's just trying to put his skills in a position where they're wanted and needed. Hell, his early scenes with Kristen Kringle shed a different light on Edward when you realize he's trying to woo her; it's just his poor social skills that get in the way of her understanding that, which, combined with the police force as a whole taking his skills for granted, makes Nygma much more sympathetic. This reaches an apex when, after finally getting Kristen to fall for him, he reveals to her that he killed her boyfriend and accidentally suffocates her while trying to rationalize his actions to the horrified woman. He lets out an anguished scream and the Start of Darkness that began with his stabbing of Detective Dougherty is all but cemented.
Let's not forget Oswald "The Penguin" Cobblepot. Yes, he's a ruthless pragmatist with his fair share of blood on his hands, but he hasn't had it easy at all on his way to the top of Gotham's underworld. And then his mother gets killed, turning him into a full-on Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds who's willing to die himself if it means he can take her killer — Theo Galavan — with him. And it only gets worse for the poor guy when he's committed to Arkham Asylum and then upon release meets and bonds with his father...only to lose him too.
Even Jerome of all people could be seen as this. Yes, he's a violent, homicidal lunatic, but considering all the shit his mother and uncle put him through, it's not hard to see how he ended up the way he is.
Launcher of a Thousand Ships: Oswald "The Penguin" Cobblepot is regularly shipped with numerous characters on the show, including Edward "The Riddler" Nygma (Nygmobblepot/Edwald), Detective Jim Gordon (Gobblepot/Jimwald), Sofia Falcone (Falcobblepot/Sofwald), Fish Mooney, Victor Zsasz, Mr. Freeze, and Jerome Valeska.
Like You Would Really Do It: In the mid-season finale of Season 3, the Penguin is executed and his corpse is dropped in the city bay, where we see his lifeless body sink to the bottom. Next episode, reveals that he's alive and well thanks to Poison Ivy rescuing him.
"It's a Batman show without Batman." (The premise of the series in a nutshell.)
After the first episode had foreshadowing for the villains that was rather blatant to say the least (as noted above), it became popular to make fake foreshadowing comments that are deliberately overdone such as "My name is Mr. Oker but most people call me Joe."
Alfred yelling "MASTAH BRUCE! GET YOUR BLOODY ARSE DOWN 'ERE!" (Possibly a reference to Alfred's wildly different mannerisms compared to his usual proper English gentleman act through most other incarnations.)
"It's Mad-Eye Mooney!" (A reference to Fish scooping out her own eye and Dollmaker replacing it with a differently colored one. Long story.)
Rendering the show's name as "Got Ham" on account of the wonderfully Large Hams the show has.
Bullock's hilarious "WHAT'S ALTRUISM?!" line in the episode "Viper."
"HEEERE'SBARBARA!!" in response to her breaking down the bathroom door in herAx-Crazy state in the Season One finale.
Money-Making Shot: Bruce's skyward scream in the trailer, after his parents are shot.
Oswald Cobblepot crosses it at the end of the pilot episode when he murders a fisherman for food. What makes it especially heinous is that the fisherman didn't do anything to him, not even refer to him as Penguin (let alone compare him to a penguin).
The attempt on Alfred's life is this for Molly Mathis, who had put a contract out on him.
Barbara crosses the MEH in the first season finale when we learn that she, not the Ogre, murdered her parents, and right after revealing this to Leslie, she attacks and tries to murder her.
Theo Galavan has so many to choose from... He has Zaardon die in order to spring free the Maniax! and kills a few guards as well. Then he orchestrates all of their atrocities like the dock workers murders, the schoolbuses attempted immolation, the GCPD's massacre and Jerome's little show. Afterwards he blackmails the Penguin into killing the other political candidates for him. On top of that it turns out that his ultimate plan is to kill Bruce an innocent boy. Finally he kills the Penguin's mother. Above everything else, it is this of course that the Penguin brings up to convince Gordon he can't be trusted, and when the Penguin says that about someone...
Things really started going downhill for Nygma morally speaking after he kills Kristin Kringle. Rather than confessing that it was an accident, he chops up her body and buries it in the woods and murders a hunter that stumbles on to him digging the grave. If all of that wasn't bad enough, he's definitely past the MEH the instant he murders Officer Pinkney as part of an ultimately successful campaign to frame Jim Gordon for his murder and distract everyone from Nygma's own crimes, committing two atrocities for the price of one. Lee Thompkins, by the way, miscarried in direct connection to the aftermath.
Victor Fries, despite normally being an Anti-Villain, crosses this when he — under Dr. Hugo Strange's orders — murders Karen Jennings. And actually looks like he's having fun. Of course, he did kill quite a few people and became a serial killer looking for a cure, so it might just be a more callous example rather than the only.
Strange himself already crossed it before the start of the series by conducting torturous experiments and betraying Thomas Wayne and ordering him and his wife killed. And then there's his sending Mr. Freeze after Karen, as mentioned earlier.
Butch definitely crosses it in "Anything for You" by double-crossing Penguin and resurrecting the Red Hood gang to cause trouble just when Penguin thinks Gotham's safe again and having them kill people, like a priest who was blown up with a grenade. Adding insult to injury, their first attack involves shooting the statue of his mother and ripping its head off right in front of him, at which point Penguin's crusade against the alleged Gotham's monsters becomes a tad bit personal, to put it lightly. Its not his first horrific crime, it just stands out as the one that he did independently and without following orders.
Good luck guessing when Jervis Tetch crosses it, though if you still had any sympathy for him after he abused his sister, murdered a couple to get their home and a few people as part of his plan to get Alice—and more to torment Gordon, who he blames for her death—and finally forced Gordon to choose which of his girlfriends to shoot, it's a safe bet you didn't after it's revealed that he had deliberately infected Mario with the virus in Alice Tetch's blood, which, by the way, ends up wrecking Gordon's relationships with both Lee and Falcone by the time that saga draws to a close.
Mario himself goes over with his If I Can't Have You… moment towards Lee, which causes a lot of trouble for the one who walks in on it. Or at least his infected side did. It could be argued that the original personality is innocent.
Lee Thompkins crosses it when, after injecting herself with the Tetch virus, she buries Jim Gordon alive, with his only way out being the virus itself, and then taunts the entire GCPD about it.
If nothing else did it for the Shaman, forcefully slamming Bruce's finger on the Tetch virus detonator definitely pushed him over, as it made Bruce do something he would otherwise never have done.
Being The Man Behind the Man responsible for actions of the Shaman, brainwashing Bruce into nearly killing Alfred, the real leader of the Court of Owls, and a number of other atrocities throughout the show already qualifies Ra's Al-Ghul for this, but those are largely Offstage Villainy. His first on screen MEH was to use the innocent child Alex as a hostage against Bruce to try and force him to hand over a knife Ra's wanted, then killing him when Bruce refused.
Any illusions that Sofia Falcone had good intentions vanish in "Queen Takes Knight" with her murdering her own father. Even the idea that she's hurting Gordon to avenge her brother evaporates when she smashes the left hand of Lee Thompkins—Mario's widow. After that, Gordon declares open season on her, damn the consequences.
If Jeremiah having Alfred kidnapped and tortured wasn't bad enough, he definitely crosses it when he shoots Selina right in front of Bruce. This is a contrast to his brother Jerome, who was introduced already well beyond the Moral Event Horizon.
Discussed in "Everyone Has a Cobblepot". Bullock reveals that he's one of many cops put under Loeb's control by a crime they had committed earlier in their careers.
Nausea Fuel: Absolutely everything about Jerome's brutally hacked and stitched face. It really doesn't help that he has to staple it back on and gets it partially peeled off in his fistfight with Bruce and Gordon, exposing his face muscles in Gross-Up Close-Up.
Jerome and Jeremiah are a somewhat popular ship despite them being twin brothers who grew up in an abusive home and who hate each other.
Alfred and Bruce. The age gap is one thing, but Alfred is also a father figure to Bruce.
Bruce with pretty much anyone other than Selina and maybe Silver St. Cloud, mainly due to David Mazouz being underage for most of the show's run while nearly everyone else was an adult.
The Mad Hatter and Alice. He’s grossly in love with her despite them being sister and brother, and he’s emotionally abused and scarred her to the point that she’s willing to die rather than be with him.
A lot of people assume that the show's portrayal of Alfred as a Retired Badass and Battle Butler is a relatively new idea, borrowed from Batman: Earth One and Beware the Batman. However, the idea of Alfred being a former military man and a tough guy in his own right dates back several decades, at least to the 1980s (probably even the Golden Age).
Likewise, the idea of Harvey Bullock being a corrupt cop at odds with Jim Gordon, which is actually how the character was originally introduced way back in the early 1980's. He underwent a Heel–Face Turn, and since then, his original portrayal has hardly ever been referenced in the comics or other adaptations... until now.
Selina Kyle being a street urchin who witnessed the Wayne murders actually originates from a never-produced Batman musical from the late '90s/early '00s. Unlike Gotham, however, the musical still had Selina and Bruce meet as adults.
People assume that the show's version of the Joker, Jeremiah Valeska, is very un-Joker like due to his more cold and calm demeanor, unlike the typical depiction where the character always laughs and comes across insane. However, Jeremiah's portrayal is similar to the Golden Age Joker, back when the character first debuted, who wasn't as over the top as the character would be later portrayed. His demeanor in the finale is also an homage to Frank Miller's version from The Dark Knight Returns, who is similarly subdued.
Jim Gordon not having his signature mustache and glasses happened already with Batman (1966), but its Gordon (Neil Hamilton) still has his signature silver hair since he's older.
During Selina's break-in to Arkham Asylum, she witnesses a group of guards escorting a reptilian looking man into the elevator lift with shock prods. Sound familiar?
Ra's Al Ghul only appears very briefly for one short scene in the 2-part Season 3 finale, and one scene was all he needed.
Paranoia Fuel: The tea in Hugo Strange's office in "Mr. Freeze." Might double as a Mythology Gag, in that the Batman: Arkham Series has Strange drugging the Warden with a derivative of Jervis Tetch's mind-control formula, conveniently hidden in the Warden's afternoon tea.
Many fans thought that Robin Lord Taylor was too thin and attractive to play the Penguin, though the new creepy air he brought to the Penguin with an alternative bird motif led him to become the Breakout Character.
The casting of B.D. Wong as an Asian Hugo Strange got a few raised eyebrows, though once his performance was actually seen, many ended up agreeing that he looked and played the part perfectly.
Barbara got this reaction from some viewers after the Season 1 finale, as turning her into an Ax-Crazy maniac finally made her an interesting (or at the very least, entertaining) character in their eyes, and think that this new direction is exactly what the character needed. While some fans feel that she's failed to keep the momentum going in subsequent seasons, at least she's no longer universally reviled as she was during the majority of Season 1.
Peyton List as Ivy is viewed far more favorably than Maggie Geha since she's now mentally an adult in addition to physically. This removes a lot of the Squick factor regarding the character and brings her personality more in line with the comics.
The impression the Gordon/Renee/Barbara love triangle leaves on a large part of the viewership, with Barbara's Adaptational Sexuality and Renee going from a groundbreaking character in the comics to simply a jealous ex whose main relevance in the story seems to be her trying to dig up dirt on Gordon and pry him away from Barbara, weakening her involvement with the main detective plot-lines that are (supposedly) the driving force of the show.
As of season three, once Fan-Preferred Couple Jim and Lee have fallen into this for some viewers. To them, the romantic drama has overstayed its welcome and keeps stealing screen time away from the more interesting plot lines.
Renee Montoya. See Unintentionally Unsympathetic below, and because she seems to only exist in the show to try and break up Gordon and Barbaranote And the fact that she all but disappears when that arc is done with practically confirms it and investigate the murder of Cobblepot, in turn giving Gordon more to worry about. Even though she was starting to be rescued in some viewer's eyes when she realized she was wrong about Gordon and decided to help him doesn't stop her from chasing Barbara and sleeping with her behind Gordon's back.
Barbara, due to her ignorance and hypocrisy throughout Season 1. She was Rescued from the Scrappy Heap for many in Season 2 and onward thanks to her drastic but much appreciated change in character.
Harvey Dent. Upstanding moral prosecutor in the comics, becomes a slightly shady attorney obsessed with one criminal (Lovecraft) instead of bringing justice. His bumbling actions nearly get Selina and Bruce killed, not to mention an innocent gardener killed.
This version of Mr. Freeze is pretty unpopular for losing his famous motivation right off the bat (when his wife, Nora, commits suicide Deader than Dead at the end of his debut), gaining a Narmy design, and becoming an unsympathetic Adaptational Villain with no real purpose beyond "hired gun for whichever Villain of the Week needs him next."
Isabella is almost universally disliked. Nygmobblepot shippers hate her as a consequence of Die for Our Ship, and even fans who didn't particularly want to see Oswald and Ed get together dislike her because she's a Flat Character and her only role in the story is to be an unrealistically perfect partner for Ed and then get Stuffed in the Fridge.
Ivy was this in Season 3 thanks to the massivesquick factor about her blatant fanservice. It really didn't help that she's also stupider and cartoony in her characterization than most of the "strong independent woman" incarnations she's well-known for. She was Rescued from the Scrappy Heap in Season 4, though.
So Okay, It's Average: The average consensus is that it's highly enjoyable but flawed; it doesn't help that the other DC shows like Arrow or Flash are better at pacing and developing story arcs, while Gotham always seems to have too much going on that it feels a bit smothered. That being said, in later years the show has been Vindicated by History, as Gotham never underwent the massive Seasonal Rot that those two aforementioned shows went through during their tenures.
The prosthetic Robin Lord Taylor wears to give Penguin's nose its beaky appearance has been inconsistently applied and the join between the prosthetic and Taylor's nose can be distractingly obvious in closeups.
In "Everyone Has A Cobblepot," we see one of Dulmacher's victims sewn up from various spare parts. The CG is terrible; especially notable since practical effects probably could have achieved a more convincing effect. But the unconvincing CGI makes the reveal more disturbing, so in a way, it works.
The death of the married couple in "Follow the White Rabbit". The bodies that fall from the rooftop are so clearly dummies that the scene becomes hilarious.
Man-Bat looks laughably bad in his cameo at the end of No Man's Land.
In the Season 4 finale, the skyline shot behind Bruce, Ra's al Ghul, and Jeremiah shows regular nighttime traffic, not the bumper-to-bumper evacuation traffic described in the script.
When Batman skewers Jeremiah's hand with a Batarang in the series finale, it's pretty obvious in a later shot that Cameron Monaghan is holding a prop hand.
In the final episode, Penguin is supposed to look like he's put on weight over the Time Skip; instead, it just looks like Robin Lord Taylor stuffed a pillow under his shirt.
In large shoot-outs it can be rather distracting when a gun doesn't recoil. The siege in "They Did What?" is an especially obvious offender.
Squick: In Season 3, Ivy gets a Plot-Relevant Age-Up because the writers wanted to use her seductive personality from the comics. Trouble is, the audience still knows full well she's mentally a young teen, so while it's nice that we don't have to watch the original actress go through this stuff, it doesn't help much within the story.
Due to Foregone Conclusion, we know Gordon and Barbara are going to get married and have a kid by the time Bruce becomes Batman. But what with how many problems and stress Barbara is causing Gordon from her stupid actions, it's almost like Gordon is literally getting strangled by the red string. That is, unless it turns out Gordon falls in love with another woman that just happens to also be named Barbara, which seems more likely after the above-mentioned plot developments (although that would require the writers torpedoing the Jim/Leslie relationship first). Or, as of the first season finale, that Foregone Conclusion isn't quite as foregone as people thought — Barbara went into full-on Ax-Crazy territory and tried to murder Leslie, which makes them getting back together a long and torturous road for them both.
Ed and Isabella's relationship feels extremely rushed, with them connecting within seconds of meeting and her having no problems with his dark past. It almost feels like she was shoehorned in to start a feud between him and Penguin.
As mentioned above, some fans loathed the series before it even began because it seemed like a Smallville rip-off done by Fox.
A lot of fans were upset by the reveal in interviews that not only would Scarecrow's backstory take more from the New 52 than his Year One origin, but that Jonathan Crane's father was Scarecrow first and Jonathan presumably takes the title up later. However, this was subverted, as not only was his father not the Scarecrow (just a Mad Scientist who was experimenting with fear), but the character was so interesting and the actor's performance was so impressive that he ended up becoming an Ensemble Dark Horse; in an ironic twist, some fans now wish he had gotten to be Scarecrow after all.
There was no rush to kill Bruce's parents in the opening moments of the first episode. Showing them as "the pillars of Gotham," maybe doing some shady things themselves and having the first season finale be their murder would have been a far superior plot; as it is, their deaths leave Bruce with nothing to do throughout the first season but "train."
Gordon being reassigned to Arkham seemed to be an excellent plot development. Previous episodes showed other people he had brought in had been deemed insane and sent to Arkham, so Gordon could meet them again and subplots with them could develop. A later episode in the series implies that Falcone wants control of Arkham for a secret reason that is critical to the mob war, so Gordon being sent there would let him investigate the mob war in a more proactive way. Nope — Gordon comes back to the GCPD after two episodes and Arkham is forgotten, with the only point to his reassignment to be introducing Leslie Tompkins, who would later join the GCPD.
Similarly, despite the story potential, Gordon's demotion and resignation in the Season Two premiere is over and undone in the very same episode.
Jack Gruber had the potential to be an Arc Villain for the second half of the first season — he was considerably more intelligent and dangerous than previous villains, had a hidden agenda he was working towards, and a Mysterious Past to boot. He's apprehended in his second episode and shipped back to Arkham after a very anti-climactic showdown with Gordon.
The idea of a Villain Team-Up between the Arkham inmates could have been a fantastic way to showcase some of the show's previous villains of the week while simultaneously introducing new threats. By the second episode of Season Two, half of them are dead.
Essen being promoted to Commissioner for only one episode before being killed off, with nothing really done with the plot before her death.
The resurrection of Fish Mooney at the end of Season 2, which ends up amounting to nothing when the character is Put on a Bus early into Season 3 and only returns toward the end to die again.
Gordon being on the run from Falcone seemed intriguing especially to those who hate how amoral he'd become. Sadly for that camp, the whole thing wraps peaceably in a single episode with Falcone calling it off and telling Gordon in no uncertain terms that he's only calling it off because of Lee.
Isabella's storyline in S3. At worst, it could have been an easy way to restore the Kristen Kringle/Ed Nygma relationship from S2, but the concept of a Kringle clone that not only knew a lot about Nygma but also knew how to seduce him could have provided fodder for intriguing storylines for Ed and perhaps other characters (Isabella did show up after Clayface debuted). Instead, all Isabella was used for was to drive a wedge between Ed and Oswald, and only a temporary one at that.
Once Oswald ascended to the top of Gotham's underworld (something he did a few times in the series), he'd never spend any meaningful time up there when it could have been interesting to see what kind of a mob boss he would have been. The worst time this happened? When Oswald successfully became the Mayor (with a legitimate vote, no less), since he now had the legal means to prevent the GCPD from interfering with his criminal operations. There was definitely an interesting storyline there.
A lot of fans would have liked to see more of Jerome and Jeremiah's interactions, feeling the show missed the opportunity to play fast and loose with canon and have two Jokers running around, at least for a little while.
It can be hard to get invested in any of the fates of these characters, since we already know what's going to happen. We know Gordon will fail in his one-man crusade to clean up the streets of Gotham, that the corruption of the city will only get worse, and that half of the characters we've already seen will fall into evil and/or madness. Although Falcone's retirement and Maroni's death years before either meet Batman may prove that the show is willing to stray from what fans know as canon.
Regardless of the show's approach to canon the standard form of this trope is rearing its ugly head anyway. Gotham gets more over the top in evil and bizarreness with each passing episode while Gordon's efforts to clean up the city keep setting him back to square one at the very best and only end up making things worse at the worst. It's hard to care much when things only end up getting consistently worse.
Season Two is quickly shaping up to be this, aptly called "Rise of the Villains." On the one hand, seeing scenes such as Edward Nygma slowly becoming the psychotic Riddler or Jerome "inspire" the idea of the Joker after his untimely death are interesting to watch. However, watching unlikable asshats like Galavan and his crazy sister constantly get away with all the shit they're pulling and not be punished for it is pretty hard to watch. Almost makes one wish for Batman to come crashing through the window and beat the living snot out of them. Barbara is pretty unbearable too, having gone completely off the deep end and developing an unhealthy obsession with Jim, with no rhyme or reason, where she could have been a strong compassionate character like her comic book counterpart, a role Leslie Thompkins is fulfilling currently. The rookie cops recruited from the Academy in an effort to replace the corrupt cops of GCPD are pretty hard to get invested in as well, with two of their number already killed off; pretty much only serving as expendable characters so the main characters don't pay the ultimate price.
For a number of viewers, Gordon's character progression is a notable example of the occurrence. While characterized as an ultimately well-meaning and idealistic man stuck in a deadlock against Gotham's villainy, the recurring risk of Gordon losing himself to darker inclinations and the questionable acts he's been involved in, particularly in the second season, clash with his usual and intended depiction as one of the only honest cops in a city swarming with corruption, making a number of fans wonder how he's supposed to end up as The Commissioner Gordon. This continues into Season 3, only Jim's now off the force and operating outside of the law even more than before, even if his shady actions are for a good cause.
The show also gets this reaction for its more-than-a-few They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character moments. Get introduced to a new Ensemble Dark Horse? Try not to get used to them; chances are, they'll just be dead within the next episode or two regardless — and that's if they even make it past their debut episode.
Toy Ship: Bruce and Selina (of course). After Selina witnesses the Waynes' murder she seems to sympathize with the orphaned Bruce and begins watching him from afar. Later episodes have her sneaking into stately Wayne Manor to steal something ("Spirit Of the Goat") and then forced by Gordon to crash there for her own safety as a witness to the murders ("Harvey Dent"). She flat-out flirts with Bruce once she gets there. They kiss for the first time — c'mon people what part of Foregone Conclusion are we troping here? — near the end of "Lovecraft." And in "Under the Knife," their dancing together at the Wayne Charity Ball—a much more awkward version of similar scenes in Batman Returns and The Dark Knight Rises—was pretty clearly written to fuel the fire.
Trapped by Mountain Lions: That arc where Fish Mooney went off to The Dollmaker's island was completely disconnected from what else was going on in S1, and once it was over, the Dollmaker plot had no appreciable effect on subsequent stories or any characters- save for Fish now having one eye that was different from the other.
Renee Montoya. In her mind she might see herself as a good friend to Barbara, coming to her believing that Gordon is actually a Dirty Cop who's manipulating her. But her actions in doing so are to go behind Gordon's back twice to warn Barbara without any evidence aside from two separate informants — both of whom, she knows, have strong mob ties and also have every reason to lie to her. In addition, the second time she broke into Barbara's home, which Barbara is not pleased about. If anything, it looks more like she's a jealous ex who's willing to latch onto any idea without evidence to break the couple up so she can get back together with Barbara. In fact, when the breakup does happen, it's clear that Barbara brought it on herself by blabbing about the child snatchers earlier, before Cobblepot's return (if anything, Gordon was smart to not tell her anything about Cobblepot); Montoya was little more than the accelerator in the long run.
And then there's how she acted after receiving the information from Cobblepot — after he stated that Fish had the necklace before it was found on Pepper, and flat out admitted he is using this information to get rid of his boss. What does Montoya do? Does she follow up on this information? Does she take it with a grain of salt as it comes from a guy that is most likely lying to her? Does she go to Gordon to find out if he was even aware of this? No. She takes this very flimsy information and jumps to the conclusion that Jim must have been fully aware and even planted the evidence, on Pepper. Then, instead of bringing this to the police, she goes right to Barbara and flat out tells her without any real evidence that her fiance is guilty to get them to break up. Gordon wasn't even aware of this theory until after he hears it secondhand from Barbara, which means after using this information to try to break up Barbara and Gordon, Montoya did absolutely nothing else with it.
While Alfred may mean well, not taking Bruce to get therapy after what happened, even if it was because of a promise he made, seems fairly cold. However, he has made it perfectly clear that he cares for Bruce in "Lovecraft." Though some believe that one of the crime bosses would have the psychiatrist manipulate Bruce for their own goals, so damned if you do, damned if you don't.
There was also the matter of him slapping Selinaacross the face and telling her to never set foot in Bruce's life again early in Season 2. Why did he do this? Because earlier Selina had killed his old army friend. The same old army friend who betrayed and almost killed him. Safe to say most viewers did not share Alfred's grief in this situation.
Bruce himself, since his abrasiveness and determination can sometimes veer into him being bratty. Especially in the Season Two premiere, when he chews Gordon out for not taking Penguin's deal by claiming he's putting his personal honor ahead of the greater good, especially since the whole point of Gordon's character is that he's roughly the only honest cop in a very corrupt town; not to mention the personal hell Penguin put him through in Season One.
Selina. While it could be argued that she's just trying to survive on the streets and can be nice when she wants to, often times she just comes off as incredibly self-righteous and very passive-aggressive in her dealings with other people, as if what's going on is everyone's fault but her own.
One of the best indication of this is during the kidnapping incident in one of the first episodes. While she is waiting at the police station to be collected by (supposedly) social services, she demands that the cop on duty take her to see Gordon, and when he refuses, threatens to claim he touched her sexually. The show presents this as an example of her being a plucky Guile Hero, when in reality she's ready to instigate a Pædo Hunt on a poor guy who's just doing his job.
Jim Gordon can be this in the closing minutes of the Season 2 finale. When it's revealed that dozens of superhuman monsters are on the loose across Gotham, he quits the force to get back with his girlfriend despite Bullock practically begging him to stay and help the city, borderline-insults Harvey by telling him to get a haircut, and leaves the second season carjacking his best friend (granted, it's all Played for Laughs).
Lee Thompkins from mid-Season 3 onwards: she ignores clear signs that her husband is infected by the Tetch Virus, and then even after it's confirmed by a lab that he was, she continues to blame Jim, despite him, you know, saving her life from her homicidal husband. She spends episodes telling Gordon over and over again how much he sucks and then... decides to take the Tetch Virus herself. She could come off as either a sympathetic Broken Bird, or a vindictive harpy.
Unnecessary Makeover: A few fans feel this way about Jeremiah's look in the finale. Cameron Monaghan already looked Joker-esque even before the bleached skin and lipstick, so the decision to cake him in latex seemed like the producers just wanted to one-up Heath Ledger's Glasgow smile.
Viewer Gender Confusion: Sid (the white-haired speedster in the early episodes of Season 3) was mistaken for a female by some viewers thanks to his unusual hair and admittedly pretty face.
Why Would Anyone Take Her Back?: A question asked by many fans of Gordon with regards to Barbara, who was at the time lodged pretty deeply in The Scrappy territory for her cheating on Jim with Montoya, her hypocrisy and her general bone-headed actions that cause more harm than good.
The reaction to Ben McKenzie's Jim Gordon not having Gordon's eyeglasses and/or mustache, his main distinguishing features. Besides these, his hair is traditionally white or silver, but not when drawn as younger. Fans just expected him to sport either the glasses or the mustache at first but inexplicably got neither. And since he's younger, he can't have the silver hair yet without going prematurely gray. In short, this just makes him look like a generic cop guy. He finally had the mustache after a Time Skip for the series finale, but promptly shaved it off, and never wore eyeglasses.
Bane's look hasn't gone over so well. Not only does he look too similar to Tom Hardy's version, but the padded muscles underneath his shirt aren't the least bit convincing.
The Batsuit that audiences finally get to see can seem a little underwhelming after so many years of waiting, especially since its obviously pieces of molded plastic stuck on top of a skintight body suit.
Jeremiah's last appearance gives him a near pitch-perfect Joker costume, but the effect is somewhat marred by his canary yellow gloves, which look like they were borrowed from Ronald McDonald.
not named Selina, Talia, Vicki, Barbara, Zatanna, Diana, or Lois, the possibility was presented that she was an innocent, unknowing party in Galavan's schemes and there would be a relatively harmless