Spoilers are below for the most recent episodes of Gotham, so be warned.
Whenever Shane West first showed up on Gotham as Jim's not-that-dependable army buddy Eduardo Dorrance, it seemed like it wouldn't be long before viewers got to witness his villainous transformation into Bane. Unfortunately, it's been over a month, and still no sign of the masked baddie. Now, though, Gotham has not only confirmed Bane will get a proper introduction later this month, but the show also revealed how it will go down. Here's the official synopsis for "I Am Bane."
On the precipice of Gotham's reunification, Gordon and Bruce find themselves face-to-face with a newly transformed Eduardo, and discover the real mastermind behind the city's current chaos. Meanwhile, a pregnant Barbara turns to Lee for help in the all-new 'I Am Bane.'
Let's unpack a few things here. First, "I Am Bane" will premiere on Fox on Thursday, March 21, so we've still got over two weeks to go until Gotham City faces Bane's wrath. That's probably a good thing, considering there isn't much of Gotham City left to be destroyed at this point.
Second, the episode summary confirms that there is an overarching "mastermind" behind much of the madness keeping Gotham City on its knees. Many of us would love to believe that Jeremiah is doing it, but that's likely not the case. We know that the left-for-dead Eduardo's transformation was put into play by Jaime Murray's Agent Walker, whose mysterious existence will likely get a bombshell reveal/explanation in that episode. Could she be Gotham's version of the Suicide Squad director Amanda Waller?
Beyond transforming Eduardo into Bane, Agent Walker was also likely the person behind putting the behavior-altering chip inside Nygma's brain, so she's clearly got an agenda that involves tech-based mind control. One would suspect that she'll be attempting to gain control of Jim Gordon's brain before too long, too.
Third, the "I Am Bane" description pulls Bruce into the fight between Jim and Eduardo. That's a smart move, considering Bane is one of Batman's greatest comic foes, and not necessarily one of Jim Gordon's biggest enemies. Getting Bruce involved will hopefully set up a future in which Bane would potentially be a regularly occurring headache for Batman to take care of.
In the face of Bane's arrival, something tells me Gotham City's reunification efforts will be worth about as much as a bag of dog food to Selina Kyle. It probably isn't worth the hassle to clean the city up just in time for it to get destroyed all over again. Though, I guess, that's what keeps the city alive.
Gotham star Ben McKenzie spoke with CinemaBlend at this year's Television Critics Association winter press tour, at which point I spoke with him about "Jim vs. Bane" also being a fight between former teen heartthrobs. After all, McKenzie starred as The O.C.'s Ryan Atwood for four seasons, while Shane West was on Once and Again for its three season. Here's how McKenzie responded to it.
Yes, there's an early-2000s – I guess in Shane's case, maybe late-'90s – battle of the teen heartthrobs going on. For totally perplexed present-day 12-year-olds who have no context who are looking over at their – God – perhaps their mothers, going. 'Why do you guys care about this?'
If they wanted to bring Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Nick Jonas in to add some more breadth and depth to the age window, I'm all for it. I know Nick D'Agosto was the person cast to play Harvey Dent for Gotham back in Season 1, but how amazing would it be to see Gosselaar in that kind of role? Have I just breathed in too many of Scarecrow's toxins?
Gotham airs Thursday nights on Fox at 8:00 p.m., with "I Am Bane" airing on March 21. so be sure to tune in to see how the big villain's debut goes down.
