Gotham
Members of the press interview cast members of the show at the 2014 TCA Summer Press Tour at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California, July 20, 2014. Reuters/David McNew

The latest “Batman” spin-off series “Gotham” has been enjoying massive success in its first season and has already been renewed for a second. While the main focus is on Detective Jim Gordon’s rise to power and prominence as Gotham City’s Police Commissioner, the series also tackles the roots and beginnings of some of the most iconic villains in the Batman franchise. In the last episode, audiences had a first glimpse of Ed Nygma’s journey into becoming The Riddler. [Warning: Spoiler Alert!]

Just like Oswald Cobblepot or Penguin, Ed Nygma has been a constant presence in all the episodes of Season 1. In the Gotham City Police Department, Jim Gordon and his partner Harvey Bullock have been working closely with Nygma who is their forensic examiner. He has proven to be quite helpful in numerous cases, and although he annoys the detectives with his constant riddles, he is smart and his input is always useful.

Nygma has shown his extreme eccentricities over the first half of the season but he started to show the makings of a villain in the last episode titled “The Fearsome Dr. Crane.” Nygma has been having issues with the department’s medical examiner, or ME. He has been encroaching on the ME’s territory because he often feels that the guy isn’t doing a good enough job. He has been caught on numerous occasions examining bodies of homicide victims. While the police chief sees his good intentions, she was forced to suspend him because he was caught red-handed examining yet another body.

Nygma did not take the suspension lightly, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. He tampered with the ME’s locker and planted body parts inside. He set it up to look as if the doctor was stealing body parts. He got the ME fired and he was reinstated back into his post as a forensic examiner. While he has been hoping to get the medical examiner’s job, Jim Gordon has other ideas. At the end of the last episode, he offered the job to Dr Leslie Thompson, his new love interest. It remains to be seen how Nygma will react to this development.

According to a report by TV Guide, the show’s executive producer Bruno Heller has also connected Kristen Kringle to Nygma’s transition from mild-mannered scientist to notorious villain. Nygma has slowly been making advances towards Kristen all season, and while she has been nicer to him as of late, the EP says that they will soon take some steps backward. He says that love oftentimes motivates people to do things, and when things go sour with Kristen, it remains to be seen how Nygma will be affected. The rest of Nygma’s journey will be seen in the second half of the season of “Gotham,” which airs Monday nights on Fox.

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