With Gotham season three all set to return this month after taking its second hiatus, viewers may remember that the show's most recent run saw Jerome Valeska's proto-Joker resurrected from the dead in order to wreak havoc upon Gotham and have another crack at young Bruce Wayne. Meanwhile, Edward Nygma successfully managed to exact his revenge against former pal Oswald Cobblepot, after the latter had Nygma's girlfriend murdered in a fit of unadulterated romantic jealousy.
One of the most interesting elements of Gotham's recent run has been the development of Bruce Wayne. At the beginning of the show's tenure, Bruce was a clever and brave young man but he lacked the ability to back up his lofty ideals with actions and was also about as intimidating as a potato. Of course, viewers are only too aware that this child is destined to eventually become the famous Batman and the show has gradually begun to showcase this transformation - most notably, with the youngster taking a valiant stand against Jerome.
FOX has now released a new trailer for the final part of Gotham's third season and it appears as if Bruce's journey towards super-heroics will only accelerate, as the young man continues to show significant progress in his abilities. The promo sees Bruce continue his training under the tutelage of butler/combat instructor Alfred and scrap with some street thugs. Intriguingly, young master Wayne also appears to be in the company of a mysterious figure, who apparently wants Bruce to continue on his path towards vigilantism.
Bruce's new housemates might have something to do with the recent casting of Ra's al Ghul. The figure certainly seems as if he could be a member of the League of Shadows and Batman's origins within the group are well documented. However, it's also worth keeping in mind the enigmatic Court of Owls organization, who seem to be running Gotham City from the shadows and clearly have plans Bruce, as they currently have a clone on the payroll for as-yet-undisclosed purposes. Speaking of which, it's entirely possible that the figure in the trailer - or at least some of the scenes - is the doppelganger rather than the genuine article. Certainly that evil smirk towards the end of the trailer seems to suggest that the doppelganger has infiltrated Wayne manor once again.
Teasing that Bruce's transformation into Batman will continue apace in the rest of season three will likely excite many Gotham fans - after all, what's a Batman show without the man himself. Gotham has spent plenty of time exploring the backgrounds and personalities of other key figures in the Batman canon such as The Penguin, The Riddler and - most notably - James Gordon, so perhaps the back-end of season three is a good place to start really digging into the heart of the story's most famous character.
However, Gotham will need to be careful that it doesn't lose sight of its original missive - to be a prequel series focused on Jim Gordon. The cop himself has plenty of character development to go through before becoming the wise and weathered detective fans know and love - and ramping up the Bruce Wayne material may somewhat detract from the journey of the show's original lead protagonist.
NEXT: Court of Owls Will Be 'Extremely Present' When Gotham Returns
Gotham returns with 'How The Riddler Got His Name' April 24th on FOX.
Source: FOX