tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post8525904743571110639..comments2024-03-28T23:03:57.917-04:00Comments on Doux Reviews: Gotham: Zero YearBillie Douxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141769005175631213noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-20822448596230807722017-07-24T13:03:09.836-04:002017-07-24T13:03:09.836-04:00About Barbara, I agree that there was nothing wron...About Barbara, I agree that there was nothing wrong about her story in seasons 2 and 3, but those are over now. Tabitha had usurped and almost killed her. Barbara the Queen of Gotham arc is over, so now she needs something more to do. Teaming up with Ra's is what they came up with.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-90805428902458332272017-07-24T00:28:39.583-04:002017-07-24T00:28:39.583-04:00Well: Selina's relationship with Bruce started...Well: Selina's relationship with Bruce started with her lying about seeing his parents' murderer in order to get out of jail. That ate on her when she spent time with him to the point where she had to own up to it. In the cruelest fashion possible, sure, but she did demonstrate kindness.<br /><br />You don't need to untie her relationship to Bruce in order to give her more of a perspective. (Please note that I'm not necessarily pissed off about them breaking up; I just thought the whole process was immensely contrived.) In fact that's been one of my chief criticisms. Of course we need more of Selina's point of view, but hooking her up with a comic book villain to teach her to be more evil? It's character regression.<br /><br />And then we have the absurdity of "Catwoman meets 'Batman'" slotted for season four, where she will somehow be oblivious it's him, so we will still have "some sort of relationship", only... again, it might only be a cartoonish one. I think both you and me know that makes no sense.<br /><br />Barbara had something to do. That something was being a hysterical psycho with delusions of grandeur, and she owned that role. There was nothing inherently wrong with her character in season two or three.Thomas Ijon Tichyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01401298696128080459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-21671086289478297842017-07-23T21:43:08.598-04:002017-07-23T21:43:08.598-04:00Okay, Barbara being trained by Ra's sounds con...Okay, Barbara being trained by Ra's sounds contrived now, but lets give them the chance to explain it. It may yet make sense, and at least it gives her something to do. Gotham is arguably at its worst when it can't figure out what to do with its characters but that plot at least can create oportunities to utilize her for something.<br /><br />Yes, Lee coming back at all is bad news. It makes it pointless for her to leave in season three finale. It undoes the effect of her leaving Jim with a letter. So, yes, Lee should have stayed gone, and the whole fanbase can, I believe, agree on this one. Any storyline they give her at this point is gonna be tacked on, unnecessary and contrived, but there is a silver lining. They're not basing her storyline around romance with Jim! I don't know how they're gonna put her together with Riddler and Grundy, but it's hella better than if the news were: Lee comes back to Gordon. So, yeah. Poor writing, but at least they may not force that romance down our throats again.<br /><br />I hope to god that they won't go with that cheap amnesia plot device with the Riddler. Maybe he'll be using Grundy? With this one, amnesia would make more sense as he got shot in the head.<br /><br />Yes, Selina has been learning trust and cooperation, but the development going "in circles" could arguably be more realistic. That and Selina wasn't exactly a full villain at the start of the show. She was a street kid who didn't hold back when it came to self defense and who looked after herself first. <br />Her relationship with Bruce made her more trusting, but it also tied her storyline permanently to his. When she appeared, it was mostly to aid him. Maybe that relationship needed to be put on halt to explore other directions with her character. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-68691263111324684602017-07-23T17:15:42.700-04:002017-07-23T17:15:42.700-04:00I think I have to break down my rationale a little...I think I have to break down my rationale a little more, then, especially since this damn article is already a bit outdated with the Comic Con news. So, to Anonymous:<br /><br /><i>1. Scarecrow comes back as a "main villain"</i><br /><br />Yes, as I said, Scarecrow is a good villain, for various reasons.<br /><br /><i>2. Barbara being brought back by Ra's and being trained by him. Again, this sounds promissing!</i><br /><br />Why? What's promising about that? What would be the rationale of Ra's taking an interest in the corpse of Barbara, a girl he never even met? It's some of the most contrived crap I've heard about this show.<br /><br /><i>3. Season's two halves will be based on Year One and Long Halloween. Delicious, right?</i><br /><br />I've often said that Gotham should adapt those two graphic novels. Of course I won't say that's bad. Just throwing out those inspirations is one thing, though. Actually creating a show living up to it is quite another.<br /><br /><i>4. Lee COMES BACK. Yes, Lee comes back again. Apparently though, they have some plans for her this time around. She's goint to be dark and work with Salomon Grundy and Riddler. As vague as that sounds, this also sounds promissing because they're finally giving her something to do other than being a pointless love interest.</i><br /><br />I don't see how that's promising either. Lee has fled the scene twice, and now she's coming back for a second time. She wrote a "heartfelt letter" to Jim at the end of the season, now she's coming back "all bad" again... Like. Sheesh. This is stale storytelling at its finest. She's probably the most misused character on the show. Her comic book version had a purpose, but as you said, on this show she's been either a pointless love interest... or a cartoon villain.<br /><br />Oh, and she'll work with the Riddler. The same Riddler that she threatened to have killed for murdering her bestie. That makes sense.<br /><br /><i>5. Riddler will work with Lee and Grundy [...] who honestly wants to see good Riddler?</i><br /><br />The P.I. storylines of Riddler were good comics. I was simply speculating on what they could do to make a "different" Riddler. Obviously that idea was wrong, I guess he'll be amnesiac, as will Grundy. How else will those team up?<br /><br /><i>6. I think I saw something about exploring Jim's dark side [...] They just never learn, do they?</i><br /><br />Nope, they don't. There we are in agreement.<br /><br /><i>About Selina becoming more villainous, I know you don't like it, but I'm honestly all for it! [...] Tabitha actually can teach her quite a lot. She's older, a more experienced fighter, likely much more competent. Selina is tough and street smart, but she has yet to gain the martial arts skills on par with her future self.</i><br /><br />In my opinion Tabitha can't teach her a thing. That is, she can't teach her any skillset she doesn't already have. The comic book Leslie could've teached her a lot, as she did. And we already see her beating the crap out of trained martial artists in Worse Than A Crime. We saw her hit a bottle with a whip on her first try. She's a prodigy.<br /><br /><i>Why are you so against villainous Selina anyway? It's a new and exciting direction. It didn't come out of nowhere.</i><br /><br />It's not a new and exciting direction. Selina started out a villain on Gotham. Her character journey has been towards learning different things, letting people into her life, learning compassion. This is what the show is now dismantling. In 'All Happy Families Are Alike' we saw her get a one-episode character transplant rounding up people to be killed sporting a giant machine gun. I wasn't a fan of that, either.<br /><br /><i>Anyway, if the news I've gathered from reddit prove to be true, I'd say we may get the best season in Gotham yet. It's mostly great news, right?</i><br /><br />I have no idea if it'll be good or bad, I just know half the things I hear from San Diego makes my head ache.Thomas Ijon Tichyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01401298696128080459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-66710210457352795102017-07-23T11:25:20.123-04:002017-07-23T11:25:20.123-04:00So far, there has been no mention of Talia. The sp...So far, there has been no mention of Talia. The spoilers I've seen on reddit include (and SPOILER WARNING, duh):<br /><br />1. Scarecrow comes back as a "main villain" (with the best design since Batman Begins) but I don't know for how long. Half of a season? All of it?<br />Either way, I'm all hyped up for it!<br /><br />2. Barbara being brought back by Ra's and being trained by him. Again, this sounds promissing!<br /><br />3. Season's two halves will be based on Year One and Long Halloween. Delicious, right?<br /><br />4. Lee COMES BACK. Yes, Lee comes back again. Apparently though, they have some plans for her this time around. She's goint to be dark and work with Salomon Grundy and Riddler. As vague as that sounds, this also sounds promissing because they're finally giving her something to do other than being a pointless love interest.<br /><br />5. Riddler will work with Lee and Grundy, so he'a unlikely to become a good guy. Quite frankly, I kinda hate that idea of yours (no offense) but reverting him back to a good guy would just undo all of his development, and who honestly wants to see good Riddler?<br /><br />6. I think I saw something about exploring Jim's dark side, and I can only roll my eyes at that one. They just never learn, do they?<br /><br />About Selina becoming more villainous, I know you don't like it, but I'm honestly all for it! It's time for her to do more things outside of her relationship with Bruce. Her and Tabitha can rise to the top and fight against Penguin for control over Gotham. I'd love to see that.<br />Tabitha actually can teach her quite a lot. She's older, a more experienced fighter, likely much more competent. Selina is tough and street smart, but she has yet to gain the martial arts skills on par with her future self.<br /><br />Why are you so against villainous Selina anyway? It's a new and exciting direction. It didn't come out of nowhere. After being pushed away by Bruce, she rethought her life. She wants more than just bare survival. Maybe she'll try power for a change. Catwoman started out as a villain after all, and she doesn't have Batman's no kill rule.<br /><br />Anyway, if the news I've gathered from reddit prove to be true, I'd say we may get the best season in Gotham yet. It's mostly great news, right?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-25364099901387895472017-07-22T14:24:44.391-04:002017-07-22T14:24:44.391-04:00As I said in other places, Selina wasn't devel...As I said in other places, Selina wasn't developed well after her short story arc with her mother. She doesn't appear in a third of the last nine episodes and is in a coma for one other.<br /> <br />I do wonder if her teamup with Tabitha would've worked better after her short arc with her mother. At that point she could've learned from three characters instead of just one (Barbara and Butch too). And then when Barbara and Tabitha have their fallout Selina could've decided to break away then.<br /><br />It was as if the writers were deadset on giving her that Batman Returns-esque scene and waiting until the finale to give her a tangible character direction for shock value.<br /><br />I hope their plans for her for S4 are better than I think as well. I have decided to stay on board.<br /><br />As for the show introducing Talia potentially, the last time the show introduced another Bruce love interest it had a good payoff, so I am a little optimistic there. <br /><br />This show has a habit of starting seasons better than ending them, here's hoping S4 starts and ends well.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04521484462321857031noreply@blogger.com