To date, it’s become quite apparent that Gotham has become its own beast as it reinterprets the Batman mythos as its unique story grows. Obviously, this has proven to divide viewers’ opinions, but no matter how odd the writers’ decisions may seem at first (suiting up a teenage Bruce Wayne being one of them), they somehow manage to pull them off in most cases.
As you know, the most transformative event in Bruce’s life was when he witnessed his parents being brutally murdered before his eyes, but we’ve seen him maintain somewhat of a boyish innocence in the time since. Well, it looks like that’ll soon be put to an end thanks to one Ra’s al Ghul.
Normally, these two don’t meet until much further down the line in the comics, but Batman Begins put a different spin on their relationship. If we’re to be honest, we’d guess that this show’s producers have looked to the Christopher Nolan flick for inspiration in that regard, with the Demon’s Head set to change the young hero’s life in a major way.
Here’s what actor David Mazouz had to say regarding that when speaking at New York Comic Con:
“Bruce’s relationship with Ra’s is going to be the most important relationship he has actually this year. Ra’s is going to take the last strand of boyish innocence that Bruce possesses and snap it in two – very soon actually. You’re not going to have to wait long to see that…Because of a very tragic episode that happens with Bruce and Ra’s, he’s going to transform as a human and he’s never going to be the same ever again. He’s really going to lose all of his naivety, all of his innocence, and he’s going to see the world for what it is, this unforgiving, disgusting place and especially Gotham — it’s 10 times that.”
Meanwhile, we’ve seen Bruce start to develop the “masks” he wears in public, those being the personas he adopts in front of the criminal element and the affluent. Personally, I found the billionaire brat guise to be quite amusing, but what Mazouz had to say next made it sound like some lines may be blurred before Bruce can wrap his head around the next major tragedy:
“What we saw in the last episode…that was just a tease. It’s going to go six hundred million times that in coming episodes and coming scenes. Bruce is going to become a different person. Because of a tragedy that happens, it’s going to change him and it’s going to turn him into that person. He becomes somebody that nobody should be proud of, and that Alfred definitely isn’t proud of, and it gets really dark but it’s been so much fun to play.”
Gotham airs on Thursday nights on Fox.