When Gotham started last fall, we were promised a show that would explore the double homicide that orphaned Batman. At this point, does it matter if Detective Gordon solves who killed the Waynes? With Selina Kyle's recent decision to recant her witness testimony, the case doesn't look good. The suspect is dead. Gordon himself could be implicated in the cover-up. Plus, there are bigger fish to fry (no pun intended) on Gotham! That said, in this Monday's episode of Gotham , "The Fearsome Dr. Crane," "young Bruce Wayne will confront Gordon about his progress, or lack thereof, in the case of the Wayne murders." I hate to break it to you, future Dark Knight, but I don't think we're going to find out who killed your parents for a long time. It's interesting and all to learn about the "origin" of Detective Gordon, but this is Bruce Wayne's man, so to speak. He needs to be the one to discover who killed his parents and avenge their death, not Jim.
Think about it. How could Batman become Batman if this pivotal case is closed and he has nothing to avenge? That kid needs maximum angst in order to fly. Unless — is this show planning a major twist and giving us an alternate universe in which Bruce Wayne never has to become Batman?
As much as I hope that the adorable Ed Nygma never becomes The Riddler, I sincerely doubt that's what this show is doing.
In the comics, the murders were committed by Joe Chill, an insignificant mugger. This story has changed already on Gotham — on the page, it was Bruce who saw the killer's face, not (allegedly) Selina Kyle. In one version of the story, Chill was a hired hitman. That seems to fit into the story that Gotham has weaved with all of the crime bosses and intertwining motives. If the Waynes' murders make up the overarching mystery of Gotham, then all of this backstabbing and re-arranging of the chess pieces has to be leading towards something, right? A conspiracy is brewing on Gotham and it won't be simple to solve. I just don't think it would be satisfying to have that answer so soon.
We also can't forget Fish Mooney in all of this. The addition of Fish has shaken up the Batman canon quite a bit. However, her connection to the Waynes has not quite been revealed. We've only just learned Fish's real name on Gotham . Marie Mercedes Mooney's story isn't over yet. With a name like that, it sounds like she could have mingled with Gotham's elite and known Thomas and Martha Wayne growing up. Since she doesn't appear in the comics, and the Waynes' murders leave such a blank slate, her role should not be discounted.
However, the only way that I could see Gordon solving the case and Bruce still becoming the vigilante we all know and love is if Joe Chill was insignificant and because of that, Bruce has an existential meltdown. There's so much bad out there in Gotham, and yet those innocent lives were taken by an almost random act — like Hedwig's death in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Sometimes we can't avenge the big crimes, and that makes it almost worse.
Images: Jessica Miglio/Fox; marlassinger/Tumblr
