Unpopular Opinion: It’s Okay To Admit You Like ‘Gotham’

While many most of my fellow BNP staff members will probably disagree, I actually enjoy watching Gotham. Now, don’t get me wrong. I absolutely do not want to write the weekly recaps that we’ve elected to abandon. I’m not volunteering as tribute for that headache. But, after some deep thought and a conversation with myself, I’ve come to the conclusion that I actually kind of like watching the show.

Sure, I dealt with the same issues that other people did. The corny, throw-away villains and Fish Mooney never finding the sweet spot between finding her chill and trying to hijack the entire show. But the biggest issue for me, and I assume many other fans of the Batman universe, was the number of “WHAT THE F*$K?!” moments when it  completely disregarded the original story and had characters do things they’d never do in a million years.

We’ve seen Barbara Gordon completely lose her mind and murder multiple people. They crammed the “Could he be the Joker?!” plot down our throats. And they even made Jim Gordon legit work for the mob  and kill a guy. Not the fake killing a guy like he did with Penguin in season one and, no, he wasn’t even undercover. Come on, they even killed the dope black female police captain and replaced her with a stiff, self-righteous Michael Chiklis.

But then it hit me. Gotham has no rules rules. Well, besides the one that Jim and Bruce can’t die. They can still be mortally wounded, of course. But they can’t die.

That’s it. Literally anything else within the realm of your imagination is a legit possibility. Once you accept that Gotham‘s no longer a show about Batman’s origin story, it’s pretty watchable. [quote_right]But then it hit me. Gotham has no rules rules. Well, besides the one that Jim and Bruce can’t die. [/quote_right]It’s a cop procedural about the most corrupt city in the world with all of the craziest people (both heroes and villains) living next door to each other with a couple Batman related Easter eggs on occasion.

Gotham is basically what happens when you give that really passionate Tumblr user that thinks they know what they’re talking about a chance to prove it. Sure, they’ll get some stuff right. But they’ll mostly just make a bunch of people mad.

At this point, I just watch to see how far off the reservation things are going to go. These aren’t the characters that I used to watch in Batman The Animated Series. Not at all. And that’s okay. People can do whatever they want as long as it’s not hurting anyone. (And, no, you’re not really in pain after watching the show. Be more dramatic?)

If you’re feeling bold one day, give Gotham another watch now that it’s on Netflix. Only, this time, go in with the mindset that it’s not Batman’s origin story. It’s just a smorgasbord of headcanons. You might be surprised what you think.

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