Gotham Knights

  

Based on: DC comic characters created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger

Developed by: Natalie Abrams, Chad Fiveash, and James Stoteraux

Written by: 

Natalie Abrams, Chad Fiveash, James Stoteraux, David Paul Francis, Devon Balsamo-Gillis, Elle Lipson, Summer Plair, Nicki Holcomb, Nate Gualtieri, Alegre Rodriquez, Michelle Furtney-Goodman, Caroline Dries, Brooke Pohl, Amy Do Thurlow, 

Starring: 

Oscar Morgan (Turner), Olivia Rose Keegan (Duela), Navia Robinson (Carrie Kelley/Robin), Fallon Smythe (Harper Row), Tyler DiChiara (Cullen Row), Anna Lore (Stephanie Brown), Rahart Adams (Brody), Misha Collins (Harvey Dent)

Gotham Knights trailer:

I don't think I've ever seen a TV series flip this wildly in terms of fan favor. 

From its announcement up through the first episode's premiere, fans were strongly opposed. With a video game already in development based on the comic series of the same name, people didn't see need for a television adaptation, especially when much of the DC fanbase (myself not included) views the CW network negatively for its expansive Arrowverse productions. During Gotham Knights' development, I saw little fan response outside of ridicule and outright dismissal. 

Then, the pilot aired. The common responses became "This wasn't as bad as I expected." By midway through the season, sentiment had completely flipped, and fans were giving thoughtful responses and speculation for where the characters and plot may be headed. 

Harvey and Stephanie (in white)

Gotham Knights begins with the Dark Knight himself assassinated. On the ensuing night, unlikely circumstances bring together Bruce Wayne's adopted son Turner, Robin, the Joker's daughter Duela, and a number of other street-smart teens as they're collectively blamed for the murder by Harvey Dent, who at this point is Gotham's District Attorney. The teens quickly discover the true culprit, the Court of Owls, and spend the season hunting down enough evidence for Harvey to clear their name--and resources to bring down the Court itself. In the midst of their sleuthing, the group begins discovering and busting other major criminals around Gotham, and are dubbed the 'Gotham Knights' by the media. 

The Knights, Duela in center, apprehended for Bruce Wayne's assassination

For me, the mark of a truly impressive series is when I become strongly attached to its characters and their successes or failures truly move me. While I didn't connect with every hero in the group, I did with many of them: by the final episodes, pivotal moments with Turner, Robin, Duela, Stephanie, and Harvey nearly brought me to tears as they made huge sacrifices for each other and for their immediate family. 

The series did its greatest service to Harvey Dent, in my opinion, who takes his heartbreaking decline into villainy through the course of the episodes--to become the infamous Two Face. The show pulls this off terribly well, painting him as a truly good-hearted District Attorney, doing his best to serve Gotham, work with the Gotham Knights, and serve true justice. Brought to his knees by circumstances mostly beyond his control, his final turn was probably the most heart-wrenching moments of the finale and a choice he makes to save his daughter's life. 

Harvey trying to work with Turner, who's presenting evidence of the Court

Robin helping Turner escape a situation

Another success of the season was their depiction of the Court of Owls. I'm not very familiar with Batman villains, but to my understanding prior to the show, it was a bourgeois cult of Gotham's most elite individuals, come together to steer the course of the city by rigging elections and determining deaths. Appropriate, I thought, for a group of young upstart heroes to take on a group of rich, middle-aged villains. This was not only accurate, but the Court was depicted with appropriate mystique, operating from the shadows, old enough to be referenced in childhood nursery rhymes, and thorough enough to have its fingers in every part of the city and leave no wiser person alive. 

Sadly, Gotham Knights aired at a bad time for its survival on the CW network. Despite a strong fan response, the CW had announced that it would only save one of the two DC-based scripted adaptations, and the show's rival was Superman & Lois--a longtime fan favorite. Not long before the Gotham Knights season finale aired, it was announced that the episode would indeed be a series finale. 

Despite the show's short life, I'm happy it aired and I'm happy to have watched it. It still tied up most of its loose ends and paved the way for the Gotham Knights to continue its heroics in our collective imaginations.