I will never be over the fact that the Gotham writers chose to create a “character” like Isabella to be a plot device instead of expanding on her story and adding more depth to the whole Oswald-Ed-Isabella mess. I mean, she somehow looked exactly like Ed’s former girlfriend, somehow liked riddles (and opened up her introduction to Ed with a riddle as if she already knew he would like it despite supposedly not knowing him or talking to strangers 🙄), and somehow accepted Ed’s past with joy at the fact that she could have a romance like Romeo and Juliet or whatever.
And all of this for no reason other than “lol let’s break Nygmobblepot up now that Oswald has recognized his feelings even if in future seasons Ed will never even mention Isabella or think of her again”? Too many coincidences in one single arc for it to not be suspicious. Especially since the Court of Owls and Indian Hill were perfect escape goats for explaining her entire existence. Which is why it makes it even worse that neither Ed nor Oswald, two characters known for their cleverness/intelligence, question WHY exactly she is the way she is. It never even occurs to Ed that it’s kind of weird that his current girlfriend looks like his ex and is perfect for him 😮
If the writers did not really care about making Isabella’s character more than a plot device, then why not just make a completely different story arc that has the SAME results in the end? You know, make Ed begin to struggle with the Riddler in season 3 while still with Oswald as his chief of staff. Make the Riddler, who likes to be in control, berate Ed for allowing himself to be Oswald #2 instead of his own villain. Make Oswald realize his feelings as Ed slowly starts to pull away in an attempt to make himself a more realized villain. Oswald could then feel betrayed that Ed is trying to do other tasks instead of being his right-hand man and, thus, becomes more controlling of his time, making Ed feel angry. If Nygmobblepot is ever to be canon, also add in some internal struggle for Ed, who wants to build a reputation for himself, but finds that he also wants to be by Oswald’s side for as long as possible. Eventually both could do something that leads to betrayal or assumed betrayal, resulting in their current love-hate relationship in the show. No reason to have love triangles when both characters could have NATURALLY began to conflict with each other during Oswald’s rise to power and Ed’s mental battles.
