Whatever one thinks about the city of Gotham, it always has the ability to get worse. In the case of the fifth season of FOX’s Gotham, the worst has come.

Five years ago, the show was unveiled as a view into the lives of Jim Gordon (Southland’s Ben McKenzie) and teenage Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz). Now, we find Wayne on the cusp of becoming the Batman, as the twelve episodes conclude the prequel of what Wayne/Batman will become under John Stephens’ direction. With nods to the arcs No Man’s Land (Greg Rucka, Jordan Gorfinkel, Chuck Dixon) and Zero Year (Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Greg Capullo).

In both cases, the absolute desolation of Gotham is evident, as the city is cutoff from outside help and left to … die. Criminals run rampant, in this case, Scarecrow, Riddler, and even Bane. While everyone is in the same boat (isolated, and cut off), the responses vary – do you help others or do you take advantage of the situation?

This is a battle to end all battles (except it’s not… it’s setting up what we already know about Batman) with a dark, dark, dark backdrop to who Bruce Wayne has become. And that’s saying something if you consider he’s an orphaned kid raised by his butler.

Special features include unaired scenes, a deep dive into the villains (“Modes of Persuasion”), the best moments of Comic-Con 2018, “Gotham: A Modern Mythology,” and “Gotham’s Last Stand.”