At first, I absolutely loved "Gotham." This Batman prequel, which focuses on a young Detective Jim Gordon's quest to find the man who killed Bruce Wayne's parents, had great acting, excellent plot twists and turns, and a dark and gritty style which echoed the Christopher Nolan trilogy, which was an absolute masterpiece. In particular, Ben McKenzie, who portrays the future Commissioner, does an excellent job of showing Gordon's desire to honor his promise to Bruce to find out who killed his parents, and while he's at it, take down corruption at the city's highest levels. Gordon admirably perseveres spite of the fact that everyone, including his own police department, is against him.
I will also admit that the burgeoning childhood romance between Bruce Wayne (played by David Mazouz) and Selina Kyle (played by Camren Bicondova) was adorable, in addition to a clever way of foreshadowing the relationship they will have as Batman and Catwoman.
That is why I am very sad to say that I will never watch this show again.
1) Regarding sexual morality, "Gotham" is as indecisive as Barbara Kean, Gordon's ex. On the show, Barbara (played by Erin Richards) can't seem to make up her mind between Gordon and her obsessive ex-girlfriend, Renee Montoya. Likewise, "Gotham" can't seem to take a clear stance regarding same-sex relationships. There is a lot of TV-14 lesbian action on the show. That being said, the villains are the ones who engage in it, which makes me suspect that at least some of the production staff have not sold out to the LWO (Lewd World Order).
As a firm believer in TRADITIONAL marriage who wants to lead others to Christ through a life of sexual purity, this ambiguity made me wonder whether or not this was the kind of show I should be watching.
2) Along those lines, there is a really creepy scene in Episode 17 where a drunk Barbara makes a pass at a 14-YEAR-OLD Selina Kyle. Fortunately, Selina (called "Cat" on the show) brushes Barbara off by stepping out of reach and giving her a "What the heck are you doing?" look. That being said, it still freaked me out.
That, combined with Harvey Bullock (played by Donal Logue) leering at yearbook photos of high school girls in Episode 14, is a strong sign that "Gotham" is going in a really perverse direction that I want nothing to do with.
3) I finally had enough when I saw Fish Mooney (played by Jada Pinkett Smith) gouge out her own eye in Episode 17. I am a guy in his late twenties and it's not easy to make me nauseous. That being said, after Fish Mooney did that, I wanted to hurl. This was simply the most graphic example of gratuitous violence on the show, including two other instances where the camera lingers into the empty sockets of characters who've had their eyes ripped out.
Suffice it to say that "Gotham" has crossed the line from "dark, and gritty" to "gross."
I grew up watching reruns of Adam West's "Batman" late at night when I was a kid. After school, I remember rushing to the TV with my brother to watch "Batman: The Animated Series." I loved the Tim Burton Batman films and was blown away by Christopher Nolan's epic trilogy, where Gotham City's "Dark Knight" was reimagined as the ultimate counter-terrorism agent.
That being said, Jesus is more important to me than any superhero, and I no longer want to watch anything with content which will poison the wonderful brain which He gave me. Not even if it features "The Caped Crusader." For that reason, I have decided to leave "Gotham" behind for good.
