The Beginning

The Beginning saw us jump 10 years into Gotham's future. Jim is ready to quit, but no one has stepped up to take his place. But Bruce has put on the cowl and cape. Batman is ready to defend his city with the help of his friends. The Beginning of Penguin and Riddler: [caption id="attachment_36870" align="aligncenter" width="495"] ©2019 Fox Media LLC Cr: FOX[/caption] Penguin has been in Blackgate and Riddler in Arkham for 10 years. It turns out 6 months after reunification Jim busted them and they were put away. Riddler is broken out of Arkham and given a mission, by who he thinks is the Penguin. He is to kidnap Mayor James and blow then new Wayne Tower when Bruce shows up. Meanwhile Penguin is released and is looking dapper. He has one thing in mind, revenge on Jim. Penguin kidnaps Jim and has him drive to the docks. Penguin takes him to the exact spot where Jim was told to shoot him, but didn't. Oswald wants revenge and is going to go through with it. Jim tries to reason with him and in the process finds out he is not behind Ed's escape and the theft of explosives, but it won't work. Jim jumps off the dock and swims to safety. Riddler has Mayor James at the galla, but an observant Selina spots him and works with Babs to distract him. They knock him out and free the Mayor at the same moment Jim and the GCPD arrive. They find that the Gotham display model is rigged with explosives. Riddler escapes and meets up with Penguin, but their car is attacked by Batman and they are put in custody. They manage to escape and vow to start their plans to control the city. But seeing Batman on the rooftops they decide to wait until tomorrow. The Beginning of The Joker: [caption id="attachment_36879" align="aligncenter" width="800"] ©2019 Fox Media LLC Cr: FOX[/caption] Jeremiah has been in Arkham, but he was playing possum for some of that time. He had Ecco working behind the scenes for him. She comes into Arkham as a nurse and fills him in on the events not going to plan. It is time for him to take things into his own hands. He and Ecco head to the Sirens Club to get at Barbara. He knows all about her success, but he can use her. Ecco has her captive, but Barbara Lee (played wonderfully by Jeté Laurence) is a fighter just like her parents. She attack Jeremiah, but is no match for him. That distraction is enough for her mom to take out Ecco. Ecco is bleeding out. Jeremiah says she is his Ecco no more and kills her. He takes Barbara Lee and gives a wounded Barbara a message for Jim. Jim and backup arrive an Babs tells Jim to go where it started for Jeremiah. Jim promises to save Barbara Lee and heads to Ace Chemicals. There he finds Barbara Lee suspended over one of the chemical vats. Says he is in process, not Jeremiah but he cannot decide what to be called yet. He lets go of the rope and Jim dives to catch it. Jeremiah/Joker begins to stab him, but out of the shadows batarangs knock him away. A shadowy figure scares him off. Once again Jim is saved by Batman. The Beginning of The Bat Family: [caption id="attachment_36878" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] ©2019 Fox Media LLC Cr: FOX[/caption] Bruce left Gotham and learned the ways of the world. While he was gone Jim, Alfred, Barbara and our heroes had to step up to rebuild the city. Jim is ready to step down once Wayne Tower is open and Lee stands behind him. She says maybe if he steps down someone will step up. Jim and Harper investigate a gang location and find cartons of government explosives, but they are empty. The gang members are all dead. They are distracted by a shadow and they follow it. The shadowy figure says he is not his enemy but a friend. The figure says not to touch the bodies and then escapes out a window. Harper sees the bodies are all wired to explode. Batman has saved them. Selina (the 10 years later version played by Lili Simmons) has become somewhat of a socialite, but she is still having fun being a thief. She steals a big diamond and is interrupted by Batman. She goes to the Wayne Gala ad meets Alfred. From their interaction, it seems like they have seen each other over the 10 years, but it has been a while. She asks if Bruce is there. Alfred says he is late. She called out Bruce for leaving when the town and they needed them the most. Alfred agrees. She says she wants Bruce to stop following her and asks Alfred to do relay it. However Alfred calls her out saying she is dressed to the 9's and it seems like she needs to talk to him. At the end of the episode, she is in her full Catwoman gear and he is behind her. She begs him to speak. They have a heart to heart. Things are not resolved, but they know where each other stand. It nicely sets up the Bat Cat relationship that we see play out for years to come. Closing Thoughts: While I enjoyed this episode, I felt it was rushed a bit. I feel it would have been better served as a two hour finale so that each of our characters could have been fleshed out in the 10 years later. I feel "They Did What" served as a better finale for the series. This episode felt like some what of an appendix to the series. I did enjoy it and loved seeing Barbara's success, when we all predicted her death. I loved Barbara Lee and her dynamic with Jim. It was fun to see the very talented Cameron Monaghan play a third character that was not quite The Joker, but oh so close.It was a fun ride. We will get into some of this with our series wrap up ep (that we want your feedback for), but I wanted to share a few thoughts here. Wow it has be 5 seasons and we have seen all of heroes grow as well as the villains. When the series started it was touted as a series that centered around the GCPD and Jim Gordon. It did, and Jim had to fill the shoes of Batman who had not yet risen. The series did a masterful job of showing Jim's growth and his need for Batman. Many props to Ben McKenzie for stepping up and growing into the roll. Donal Logue is a great actor and he took a character that was rich and made him lovable and strong. I will think of Donal's portrayal from now on when I think of Harvey. David has grown so much in his acting as well as stature. He owes much to and I hope he appreciates the master class in acting he got from Sean Pertwee. I though Lili did a good job of playing an older version of Camren. But Camren deserves much praise for taking a reflection of Selina and making it real. I could go on and on about each member of the cast, writers and creative team. We were very fortunate to have them bring us a great tale over these 5 seasons. I want to say thank you to GSM's co-founder Darrell Darnell for allowing this podcast on the network and for allowing me to be a part. Thank you to Tim Arthur and Ryan Boyles for getting this podcast started in Season 1. Thanks to Karen Lindsay and John McGrail for joining me on the ride ever since. We are grateful to be small part of the Gotham family and the GSM group of shows. But most of all we thank YOU our Undercover Agents for being a part of the community for 5 seasons. You have faithfully left feedback, commented on blog posts and tweets, and been very active in our Facebook group. We are so thankful for you! News: TV Line has a great article summarizing the finale with a Q&A by show runner & writer of the finale John Stephens. You can find it here. Pennyworth: on Epix starts the end of July. The story of Alfred Pennyworth, a former special-forces officer living in London and working for Bruce Wayne's father. Metropolis: will be on the DC Universe streaming service later this year or 2020. The description is as follows: Metropolis will follow Lois Lane and Lex Luthor as they investigate the world of fringe science and expose the city's dark and bizarre secrets. Airing exclusively on DC's upcoming digital service, it promises to show us a wondrous and awe-inspiring City of Tomorrow, before the emergence of Superman, and establish much of the Man of Steel's world leading up to his arrival. It is sad not post a trailer or news about next season. However as you can see from The CW promo below, Batwoman is a go for next season Sunday nights at 8 right before Supergirl. If we can get things behind the scenes work out, Gotham Undercover will cover another one of Gotham's heroes. Stay tuned to the feed and the Facebook group for details. TVLine article about the show getting picked up can be found here. Sound Off: What did you think of "The Beginning..." What was your favorite moment from this episode? Be sure to join our facebook group and get updates on upcoming shows! Head over to our feedback page where you can upload an audio file, submit written feedback, or record a voice message on Speak Pipe. As much fun as for the two of us to talk about Gotham, we want your voice to be heard. So please help us in leaving audio feedback. Have you checked out the other Golden Spiral Media podcasts? Head over to www.goldenspiralmedia.com/podcasts to find other great shows! Lend A Hand: Please leave us a review and a star rating on Apple Podcasts! They help us improve the show. We appreciate your support! If you're in the market for Gotham or Batman books, videos or other merchandise, click on this link and you'll help support GSM Podcasts. Looking For Other Great Shows?: GSM has a great selection of podcasts about TV, Movies, and life in general. Check them out here. Catch Karen on Maid of Steel and Remaking History,Geoff on the Castle Rock Zone, and John on Maid of Steel.