The show opens up with a dark city like we are used to seeing. A young woman who is very feline and agile steals some milk and when she does she feeds a stray cat with it. We can only assume this will be cat woman and this is not the last time we will see her. This woman is also going to be the witness of the iconic shooting.
Bruce Wayne’s parents being murdered in the alley way.
Gordon is showing what a good solid man he is by not allowing the perp to be shot and trying to break up the abuse when he’s down and the other cops start kicking him. Then gets sent to the iconic double murder scene. 10 minutes in and the show is pretty promising already, Ben Mckenzie is doing a good job right down to talking to a young heart broken Bruce Wayne giving the line, “No matter how dark and scary the world might be right now, there will be light. There will be light Bruce.” a touching moment that seems to fit in with what we know about Gordon and the later becoming of Batman. A younger Alfred wishes the fresh face Detective Gordon good luck in his search for the killer.
Gordon’s partner is really pissed that they got the case and lets him know about it when they are in a diner. Gordon being who he is, still seems to be insistent that they will close it and close it quickly. That is when two more Detectives come in and say they will take the case off his hands. Ironic that when he gets the chance he does not give the case away and Harvey (Gordon’s partner) gets told to Stay Frosty. Harvey and the Captain then have an argument and after Harvey tells Jim to get a transfer, Jim Gordon being who he is says no and calls Harvey a cynic and slovenly. I am liking the dynamic between the two, especially when they hit the streets and start rounding up some bad guys and taking them in for questioning.
Jada Pinkett Smith’s character Fish are a sassy toeing the line business Lady whom we meet as she orders one of her workers to be beat. When Gordon goes to check it out he sees more first hand Gotham underhanded business that he can’t do too much about. The overall impression is that she knows more than she is saying.
Coming back from another commercial break, we see Gordon in a nicely set up apartment and a beautiful woman who all he manages is wow. Barbara trades a few jabs with him, but then gives him the pick me up that he needed when he says he is out of his depth, she tells him to swim. You have to like a woman who can look good and give her man the pep talk that he needs, a Lady with a very good head on her shoulders.
Early morning or late night our guy Harvey gets a lead and it turns out Fish came through when she heard from one of her fences trying to sell an antique pearl necklace. As you would expect from a bad guy when the Detective duo goes on to speak with the bad guy (after getting past is poor Daughter), he does not want to talk and then makes a bolt for it. We knew that was going to happen right? I mean what cop style show has ever had a bad guy stay in place for more than 5 seconds? When Gordon catches up with the guy he is about to get his rear end handed to him, so Harvey shoots the guy. This earns him a thanks from Gordon.
When Gordon is getting bandaged up the crime scene screw is going through the man’s apartment. While they do this they find the necklace, Bruce’s Mother’s necklace. This of course proves to everyone that they got the man who did it. However, Oswald climbs into the back of the other detective teams car and rats out Fish. Saying that he saw her with the necklace after the visit from the detectives and that she was the one who was trying to get it into the other man’s apartment. It was a set up or at least that is what it appears to be because you never know when a show like this who is really doing what. Oswald clearly has motives.
At the funeral for the Wayne’s we see our mysterious young cat woman watching and Bruce, thanks Gordon and Harvey for keeping his promise. Gordon says he is sorry that there was not a trial, but Bruce tells him it was okay, of course he did we know what Bruce thinks of some trials in the future, don’t we. While female detective baddy shows up at Barbara’s house, they clearly had a relationship in the past. This woman tells Barbra that the GCPD framed Mario Pepper and that Gordon is not a good man. Barbara argues against that because she knows that Gordon is an honest man, we all know he is as well. Gordon himself goes after the Detective, Montoya and he says himself that if Pepper was framed he will find out why and who did it. Everyone seems to be fast to blame Gordon as well as Harvey.
Gordon goes back to Pepper’s house and asks to look at the mans shoes from there, he knows that Pepper was indeed framed none of the shoes were shiny. Gordon does not care if he loses his job if that means leaving the real killers out there, Harvey keeps warning him off but Gordon goes down to talk to Fish himself. Fish tries to have her men throw down on Gordon saying she hates surprises and in the end, she herself socks him a good one.
Barbra goes down and tells Harvey about Jim not coming home that night and Harvey tells her Jim is on a stakeout and that his phone must have run out of juice. While we know that is not the case and are shown an unconscious Gordon being dragged through an old meat packing plant he wakes up briefly only to be knocked out again.
Cue Gordon being hung upside down and the video goons arguing about how they will be doing the filming. Harvey shows up and demands to talk to Fish. Harvey plays a hard bargain and tries to get Gordon released and Fish makes it seem like she will let Gordon go, but until she tells the Butcher to hang both of them up. In the meantime, Fish confronts Oswald knowing it was him who snitched. Needless to say he gets his ass kicked by her, in front of a comic who was auditioning. Fish really seems to have a temper issue.
Just when we think that Gordon and Harvey are about to die a bigger bad guy shows up, Falcone and he says that Fish has to ask permission to kill policemen. When the boys get cut down there is a talk between Jim and Falcone. An ironic line coming from a crime boss “You can’t have organized crime without law and order.”, he also lets Gordon know that the reason Pepper was sacrificed was so the people of Gotham would see swift justice done.
In the end Falcone has said that Gordon must take Oswald down to the end of the pier and put a bullet in his head. If he does not, then Harvey has been ordered to take both Gordon and Oswald out, and Barbara will probably die as well. Gordon takes Oswald and the gun and heads on down to the end of the pier while Harvey stays at the car. On the way down Oswald is trying to beg for his life and even says he will be Gordon’s slave and his spy. Gordon says don’t ever come back to Gotham, fires the gun in a way that looks like he killed the man and drops him into the pier. Harvey says that a boy, but Oswald swims away alive. That is the Gordon we know. A good man.
The final shot of the opener is Gordon going to Wayne manor and seeing Bruce up on the roof. Gordon alerts Alfred so he comes down. In the end Gordon confesses to young Bruce that Mario Pepper was not the one who killed his parents, that he does not yet know who did it. He is offering his badge to the boy, but he asks for a second chance. To find his parents and that he wants to clean up the police department from the inside.
Bruce takes the badge looks at it intensely and gives it back to Gordon before walking away. Our cat woman, meanwhile watches Gordon leave and a mostly frozen Oswald turns up and out of the water elsewhere. All in all a strong start to a show that looks very promising.
