Gotham season premiere recap: Season 5, Episode 1, “Year Zero,” Aired Jan. 3, 2019
Welcome back to Gotham! The season premiere opened with a glorious montage showing Jim Gordon and the GCPD working with Penguin and The Riddler to defend Gotham. Turns out it’s been over a year since Jeremiah burned the bridges and the city fell. And then we flashed back to earlier in the days of No Man’s Land to give us a peek at how things got to where they were in the montage.
This is “Year Zero,” which means we should probably brace ourselves for Batman by the end of the season. So let’s dig in!
“We’re on our own”
When Gotham fell, the poor and sick couldn’t evacuate in time, and criminals overtook different areas of the city. The GCPD controlled a block, and so did Penguin, Scarecrow, Firefly, Zsasz, Mr. Freeze, and the Sirens, among other criminal groups. They seemed generally respecting of each other’s areas of control – at least for a while.
When resources began to run out, people got greedy and started infiltrating territories belonging to others. And when Bruce tried to fly in supplies, the helicopter got shot down. This is why Gotham can’t have nice things.
Confrontation central
With everyone in need of supplies, they all ended up at the site of the shot-down chopper. First, Penguin and his crew took out the gang in charge of the area in which the helicopter landed. Right when Penguin was about to take everything for himself, the GCPD sped up, and the two groups argued over the resources, led, of course, by Penguin and Jim Gordon. Then, the Sirens came in, Tabby after revenge on Penguin for Butch’s murder.
In a moment of pure jaw-dropping shock, Penguin stabbed Tabby, prompting Barbara to attack Penguin in rage and sadness. Her attack sparked a full-out fight as the groups all shot at each other, hoping to win and get some much-needed supplies. Lucky for the people of Gotham, Jim Gordon won all the resources for the GCPD with a shot to Penguin’s bad leg. Low blow, but effective.
An update on Batcat
When Gotham left us last season, Selina had been shot. In the early days of No Man’s Land, her condition worsened, and the lone doctor at the hospital in Gotham decided he needed to operate on her. And Bruce – well, he hasn’t left her side.
Even though the surgery was a success, Selina was paralyzed. Suffering, she confessed that after everything she did, what got her in the end was being Bruce’s friend. Ouch. That was painful to hear.
Selina’s only hope of a cure lies in “The Witch,” who Bruce decided to seek out after Selina tried killing herself. I’m interested to see where this witch plot goes. I mean, who is “The Witch”?
Gotham “Year Zero” was a wonderful introduction to the season. We got the lowdown on what’s been going on since we left off, but without it being a boring summary, and we got little peeks at what might be coming. On top of the above, The Riddler is still fighting the control of Ed Nygma, and Jeremiah is lurking around Gotham somewhere. Oh, and Ecco is still a thing. This is going to be one insane season.
P.S. – I love how Barbara gets a new haircut every season. And, dang, she pulls every single on off. Also, shout out to Penguin’s dog, Edward – the greatest thing.
This season:
What did you think of “Year Zero”? Let us know at @PureFandom on Twitter!
Gotham airs Thursday nights on FOX at 8/7c.
(Image: Fox)
