The guilty pleasure of “Gotham” is back for its second season.  Season two is rightfully titled “The Rise of the Villains.”  “Gotham” tells the story of the time before Batman was a super hero, where the young villains are engaged in a mob war.  To put it mildly, the villains are running amuck in Gotham.  The Riddler (Cory Michael Smith) is burying people weekly, a teenage Catwoman (Camren Bicondova) is on the prowl, the red-headed asylum lunatic (Cameron Monaghan), who bears a striking resemblance to the Joker, is holding students in a school bus hostage and the Penguin (Robin Taylor) is doing his best to cause chaos as only the Penguin can.

The hero at this time is Detective Gordon (Ben McKenzie), someday to be Commissioner Gordon.  Detective Gordon is a do-gooder dripping in righteous indignation. Gordon is doing his best to subdue this chaos and is so overwhelmed by this task that he does the unthinkable and enlists the Penguin to help him.  Gordon’s appeal to the Penguin shows the deep trouble he is in, as it is a dangerous move.  Complicating matters further, Gordon himself is engaged in a bit of a love triangle with Gotham’s smart and beautiful medical examiner and his equally attractive but insane ex-girlfriend.

All of this makes the series Gotham fast-paced and, at times, over the top.  Filmed in a shadowy, dark manner, viewers are always waiting for the next shoe to drop or, in this case, for the next villain to drop in. Audiences waiting for the appearance of Bruce Wayne will find him in “Gotham,” but in adolescent form. Unfortunately, Wayne isn’t quite ready to begin fighting crime in Gotham, leaving the city in the hands of Gordon and his allies.

Young Bruce (David Mazouz) is, as expected, under the devoted, watchful eye of Alfred (Sean Pertwee), the trusted butler.  Alfred tutors Bruce and is helping search for his Bruce’s parents’ killer. In addition, the corrupt and evil mayor of Gotham is trying to get Wayne Enterprises from Bruce in exchange for information about who killed Bruce’s parents.

The plot of “Gotham” is intricate enough to hook viewers already, and Mr. Freeze hasn’t even dropped in yet.  Season two of Gotham promises to be a truly villainous adventure and a guilty pleasure not to miss.