Gotham finale felt a bit underwhelming, mostly because viewers knew that they were heading towards the characters meeting Batman for the first time. Had they not promoted the episode with the Batman tease and kept it completely secret, it would have had much more impact.
I did like seeing Penguin and Riddler in full-on costumes, looking like the 1960's TV show characters. The Joker stuff was cool, but again, just a tease since the film studios seem to have a very tight hold on that character. I love how the show was able to show the character evolve over time into the final version.
It was a great, fun show to watch that dug way deeper into the cache of Batman villans than I'd ever expected that they would.
I think they did the best they could with that finale, given everything (the shortened season, all the storylines, etc.). The whole season felt rushed, which was inevitable. But for what it was, I enjoyed it. I have the last season on pre-order already with Amazon.
I agree on some of the villains. I really liked that they introduced, even briefly, Firefly, Mr. Freeze, Azrael, etc. They probably could have done a lot more fleshing of those characters out if the show had been popular. I think it was fortunate to get five seasons. Fox probably wanted to cancel it after Season 3, and they managed to hold on.
The show had a lot of missteps, IMO, but the cast truly loved what they were doing, and it showed, which endeared the show to me. I think the whole Barbara Keene storyline was ridiculous, as was Tabitha, and the one featuring Fish Mooney. Particularly the latter. I also didn't really care for how Bane was portrayed. Felt cheesy. But I kept reminding myself, the show isn't Batman, its an alternate take of Gotham before Batman. And every time I told myself that, I just appreciated it for what it was. I really felt they did well with Talia Al Ghul (and Ra's), and both Gordon and Bullock were really top notch.
The biggest disappointment though is them not being able to call The Joker -- The Joker. Because clearly that's who Valeska is (love the nods made to all the Joker versions that came before throughout his appearance). And that actor really nailed the laugh. Lost opportunity with that guy. He really did a stand up job.
I'm glad I stuck through all five seasons, really appreciate the cast, and hopefully their performances have set them up for other notable roles in the future.