Gotham Post Mortem, Season 2 Preview

By Matt Webb Mitovich May 4, 2015 9:00 pm EST

DOES THE RIDDLER HAVE PERSONALITY PLUS? As indicated by his closing appearance, there's a lot going on inside brainiac Edward Nygma's busy bean. "He is a split personality. There are two people inside of him," EP Danny Cannon confirms. "There's a great, intelligent, smart, nice guy. And then there's this darkness inside of him that wants to come out -- and the battle between them is something that's going to be very much explored in Season 2." As such, the Riddler will be a quite different baddie than Penguin. "When you love a character as much as Nygma, the terrible things that happen affect you more emotionally than they would with a normal villain."

Gotham_Finale_Penguin

IS THE PENGUIN GORDON'S LEAST-WORST CHOICE FOR CRIME LORD? Or is he a far worse alternative than that? "I think you could argue it either way," says Ben McKenzie, who plays Jim Gordon. "I think it's the devil you know, at least for Jim, who has the deepest relationship, in a way, with Penguin. But he's obviously the most volatile [villain], and the most cunning ,as evidenced by his meteoric rise through the criminal syndicate in only one year." More concerning, McKenzie reckons, is the fact that with Maroni snuffed and Falcone headed to greener pastures, the détente among mob families "is completely destroyed at this point and utter anarchy is right around the corner. That puts an enormous pressure on a guy like Jim Gordon, and that will possibly be his struggle in the second season."

IS THE PENGUIN GORDON'S LEAST-WORST CHOICE FOR CRIME LORD?

Or is he a far worse alternative than that? "I think you could argue it either way," says Ben McKenzie, who plays Jim Gordon. "I think it's the devil you know, at least for Jim, who has the deepest relationship, in a way, with Penguin. But he's obviously the most volatile [villain], and the most cunning ,as evidenced by his meteoric rise through the criminal syndicate in only one year." More concerning, McKenzie reckons, is the fact that with Maroni snuffed and Falcone headed to greener pastures, the détente among mob families "is completely destroyed at this point and utter anarchy is right around the corner. That puts an enormous pressure on a guy like Jim Gordon, and that will possibly be his struggle in the second season."

Gotham_Finale_Penguin_Fish

IS FISH SWIMMING WITH THE... YOU KNOW? Showrunner Bruno Heller says that Jada Pinkett Smith was always on board for just the one season, and "she had a hell of a good time -- and we had a hell of a good time with her." That said, any obituary for Fish should probably be written in pencil, to be safe: "I would definitely not assume anything in a town like Gotham.... It's very unpredictable, the comic book world."

IS FISH SWIMMING WITH THE... YOU KNOW?

Showrunner Bruno Heller says that Jada Pinkett Smith was always on board for just the one season, and "she had a hell of a good time — and we had a hell of a good time with her." That said, any obituary for Fish should probably be written in pencil, to be safe: "I would definitely not assume anything in a town like Gotham.... It's very unpredictable, the comic book world."

Gotham_Finale_Riddler

DOES THE RIDDLER HAVE PERSONALITY PLUS? As indicated by his closing appearance, there's a lot going on inside brainiac Edward Nygma's busy bean. "He is a split personality. There are two people inside of him," EP Danny Cannon confirms. "There's a great, intelligent, smart, nice guy. And then there's this darkness inside of him that wants to come out -- and the battle between them is something that's going to be very much explored in Season 2." As such, the Riddler will be a quite different baddie than Penguin. "When you love a character as much as Nygma, the terrible things that happen affect you more emotionally than they would with a normal villain."

DOES THE RIDDLER HAVE PERSONALITY PLUS?

As indicated by his closing appearance, there's a lot going on inside brainiac Edward Nygma's busy bean. "He is a split personality. There are two people inside of him," EP Danny Cannon confirms. "There's a great, intelligent, smart, nice guy. And then there's this darkness inside of him that wants to come out — and the battle between them is something that's going to be very much explored in Season 2." As such, the Riddler will be a quite different baddie than Penguin. "When you love a character as much as Nygma, the terrible things that happen affect you more emotionally than they would with a normal villain."

Gotham_Finale_Selina

HAS BRUCE LOST SELINA TO DARKNESS? Over the course of a two-week time jump following her reemergence, Fish transformed "Cat" from a street-wise thief into a hardcore villainesse. [Cue our collective heartbreak] Surveying the abrupt change, Camren Bicondova says, "Fish played a mother figure to [Selina] in a way, because she's a very strong, independent woman and [Selina] doesn't have a female role model in her life. Fish, I think, helped her realize, 'I can be a strong girl, and I don't have to worry about anything really.'" As for how Bruce might react to his gal pal's extreme makeover, David Masouz can only wonder: "I think if Bruce knew what Selina does in the finale, kind of teaming up with the bad side... I don't know if he would [be OK with it]."

HAS BRUCE LOST SELINA TO DARKNESS?

Over the course of a two-week time jump following her reemergence, Fish transformed "Cat" from a street-wise thief into a hardcore villainesse. [Cue our collective heartbreak] Surveying the abrupt change, Camren Bicondova says, "Fish played a mother figure to [Selina] in a way, because she's a very strong, independent woman and [Selina] doesn't have a female role model in her life. Fish, I think, helped her realize, 'I can be a strong girl, and I don't have to worry about anything really.'" As for how Bruce might react to his gal pal's extreme makeover, David Masouz can only wonder: "I think if Bruce knew what Selina does in the finale, kind of teaming up with the bad side... I don't know if he would [be OK with it]."

Gotham_Finale_Alfred_Bruce

WHAT IS BRUCE ABOUT TO DISCOVER? EP John Stephens tells TVLine that what young Master Bruce finds at the bottom of his father's hidden stairwell is "an original creation for the show," as opposed to anything established in DC Comics lore with regard to Thomas Wayne. Speaking more metaphorically, Bruno Heller adds, "What he's discovered is a kind of a pathway to finding out about his parents. And it's sort of an analogy for everyone growing up at that age and discovering their parents have flaws and have made mistakes. Sometimes they're not the good people you thought they were; sometimes they're better people than you thought they were. And that's what down those stairs."

WHAT IS BRUCE ABOUT TO DISCOVER?

EP John Stephens tells TVLine that what young Master Bruce finds at the bottom of his father's hidden stairwell is "an original creation for the show," as opposed to anything established in DC Comics lore with regard to Thomas Wayne. Speaking more metaphorically, Bruno Heller adds, "What he's discovered is a kind of a pathway to finding out about his parents. And it's sort of an analogy for everyone growing up at that age and discovering their parents have flaws and have made mistakes. Sometimes they're not the good people you thought they were; sometimes they're better people than you thought they were. And that's what down those stairs."

Gotham_Finale_Barbara

WAS BARBARA ALWAYS SUPPOSED TO BE CRAZY? Ben McKenzie says that while the relationship between Jim and his fiancée "was always supposed to not end well," steering her into down this very dark, psychotic path "was an adjustment on the fly. We needed to figure out how best to use Erin [Richards], a wonderful actress." Bruno Heller confirms that midstream change, saying, "Where that story went was just a sort of chemistry of the storytelling, which is always fun."

WAS BARBARA ALWAYS SUPPOSED TO BE CRAZY?

Ben McKenzie says that while the relationship between Jim and his fiancée "was always supposed to not end well," steering her into down this very dark, psychotic path "was an adjustment on the fly. We needed to figure out how best to use Erin [Richards], a wonderful actress." Bruno Heller confirms that midstream change, saying, "Where that story went was just a sort of chemistry of the storytelling, which is always fun."

Gotham_Finale_Lucius_Bruce

WILL LUCIUS FOX RETURN? The Wayne Enterprises tech-spert who pointed Bruce in the direction of his father's subterranean secret will be back. Played by Chris Chalk, "He becomes another person who's going to help Bruce on his journey to find out what happened to his parents and what his parents were doing," says EP John Stephens, "and also his journey to manhood and Batman-hood. When you think about the different poles of who Batman is, he's a great fighter, and he gets that from Alfred. He's the world's greatest detective, which he probably gets from Gordon. And he's also like a science genius, and some of that's going to come from Lucius Fox."

WILL LUCIUS FOX RETURN?

The Wayne Enterprises tech-spert who pointed Bruce in the direction of his father's subterranean secret will be back. Played by Chris Chalk, "He becomes another person who's going to help Bruce on his journey to find out what happened to his parents and what his parents were doing," says EP John Stephens, "and also his journey to manhood and Batman-hood. When you think about the different poles of who Batman is, he's a great fighter, and he gets that from Alfred. He's the world's greatest detective, which he probably gets from Gordon. And he's also like a science genius, and some of that's going to come from Lucius Fox."

Gotham_Finale_Fish

WHICH SEASON 1 STORIES WERE MEANT FOR SEASON 2? "The plus" of having your freshman run expanded from 16 to 22 episodes, says John Stephens, "is that you get to do things that you were probably going to do later anyway." Specifically, Gotham viewers got the Red Hood, Flying Graysons and Dollmaker episodes/storylines sooner rather than later. "[The full-season order] allowed us to really get some more money," the EP adds with a laugh, "so we got to do a couple of bigger episodes, [and that] allows you to define more of what the world of the show is."

WHICH SEASON 1 STORIES WERE MEANT FOR SEASON 2?

"The plus" of having your freshman run expanded from 16 to 22 episodes, says John Stephens, "is that you get to do things that you were probably going to do later anyway." Specifically, Gotham viewers got the Red Hood, Flying Graysons and Dollmaker episodes/storylines sooner rather than later. "[The full-season order] allowed us to really get some more money," the EP adds with a laugh, "so we got to do a couple of bigger episodes, [and that] allows you to define more of what the world of the show is."

Gotham_Finale_MrFreeze

WHAT -- AND WHO -- IS NEW FOR SEASON 2? McKenzie says the show's creative team is plotting to "fundamentally change the mechanics" behind the series, translating into "no more Case of the Week" and new ways for Jim & Co. to maintain order amid the madness. And make no mistake, the villainy won't be limited to Penguin and an emerging Riddler. Expected to surface during Season 2 are the DC Comics characters of Clayface and the Mad Hatter, as well as one very chill dude overdue for a closer look. "Mr. Freeze's origin story has never been told," Danny Cannon notes, "so that will be fun."

WHAT — AND WHO — IS NEW FOR SEASON 2?

McKenzie says the show's creative team is plotting to "fundamentally change the mechanics" behind the series, translating into "no more Case of the Week" and new ways for Jim & Co. to maintain order amid the madness. And make no mistake, the villainy won't be limited to Penguin and an emerging Riddler. Expected to surface during Season 2 are the DC Comics characters of Clayface and the Mad Hatter, as well as one very chill dude overdue for a closer look. "Mr. Freeze's origin story has never been told," Danny Cannon notes, "so that will be fun."