Stay with me here. So Gotham trusts their elected officals, that's all well and good. How does that concretely benefit Gotham in the long run? To trust the people who are lying to them and, in Dent's case, turning to crime? And worse, the people who are the last line of defense like Gordon and Batman, who cover up the truth instead of letting Gotham know where they stand.
Explain to me how Gotham THINKING their officials won't screw them over and also believing that there is a murdering vigilante on the loose changes a thing about the actual situation in Gotham for the better.
A murderer is nothing new. The D.A. the city thought was bringing criminals to true justice turning to serial killing is new.
In Nolan's universe, Batman is supposed to be almost an urban legend, a shadow and thought in the back of people's minds... if Batman lies low for a while, people may convince themselves he doesn't exist. Also, the existence of fake Batmans will probably inspire belief that the "killer" Batman was a fake Batman. The fact is that Batman had to run from the scene so that someone would be blamed for it besides Dent.
How does Gotham thinking Dent didn't turn evil help make Batman obsolete? Batman's still going to be needed. DENT THE CRUSADING GOOD GUY was the thing that was going to make Batman obsolete. That man is gone. So explain how Gotham thinking he was a good man instead of one who turned to crime changes a thing at this point.
In the context of the logic of the movie, it allows someone else to step into Dent's role, whereas if Dent's tragic fall was laid out for all to see, it would be very difficult for that person to establish public trust... also, depression with such a terrible story might cause the city's economy and mental health to crash.
The entire point of Dent's use in the Batman mythology is that one of Gotham's champions of the law and the people turns to crime and evil and becomes a huge, ongoing threat, even to his former friends and allies. Apparently Nolan didn't value that, he just wanted to sugarcoat everything related to Dent's character in some kind of bass-ackwards "redemption/hope" angle that makes no logical sense.
So, you're upset that Dent died? Is that essentially what this is about? Nolan was true to Dent's character, but chose to focus on Batman's true goal: which is to establish the people of Gotham's trust in their true protectors - legally established law enforcement officials. You can't criticize the movie for something that makes sense in the context of the story, just because you wanted it to be different.
Dent is DEAD (metaphorically or literally). What is the point of Gotham HATING Batman when Dent is no longer around? What good does Gotham trusting a dead man do them now?
So that his work still stands unquestioned. So that someone can step into his place and build on the foundation he established without having that foundation washed away by his mental collapse.
Oh give me a break. Five hundred criminals who have had crimes tied to them through legal, evidentiary means and charged to them aren't going to suddenly walk over Dent's potential mental issues after his trauma. It simply doesn't work that way.
You don't know how the judges in Gotham City will rule... especially if the collapse of Harvey Dent was known, and the people of Gotham consequently believe that they can't trust anyone.
Why? Is Dent the only attorney in the city? Is he the only good cop or concerned citizen?
Nope. There's Gordon, and hopefully there will be someone else to take Dent's place. But, don't forget the Joker's words to Gordon about how "alone" he really is.
Really? He learned to be a hero? Because I could have sworn that he broke his one rule and killed a former ally, and then compounded it with more mistakes. He learned to cover up bad things that happen. Just like a child does. Children, by the way, often quickly learn that this almost never, ever works. I don't consider that heroic on any level.
I think we should all stop saying that Batman broke his one rule in killing Harvey Dent. He leaped at Dent to stop him from possibly shooting a child and Dent fell off a building. Batman fell the same distance and didn't die. Dent did. It was an accident. Accident does not equal a willful killing anymore than choosing not to rescue a mass-murdering man on a derailing train does.
No, it really doesn't. Even disregarding than the fact that there a number of absurd and hard to swallow plothole like elements to this movie's story points, nothing Batman does to "fix things" actually fixes things on any level.
Batman fixes the trust that people would have lost in their elected officials and law enforcement if Dent's fall had become known. Batman also fixes the problem he had in making criminals like Maroni afraid of him... they now all have reason to think he will break his one rule (even though he hasn't).
When have I mentioned a word about morality in relation to Batman lying? I'm talking in terms of the (lack of) practicality and logic of his decisions. It has nothing to do with the fact that lying may be immoral. It has to do with lying being about the worst possible course of action for Batman and Gordon to take in relation to what has happened in Gotham. Because lying and covering up the truth doesn't change a THING, it just makes things worse. Lying creates false hope. False hope, brought about through the lies and deceit of the very people Gotham needs to trust most, will not help them in the long run.
I like to use the phrase, "not facts first, truth first." The truth is... that was not Harvey Dent who committed those murders. But, you can never convince people who know the facts of that truth. So, you sacrifice the facts for the truth: what Harvey Dent believed about justice is the truth, not the betrayal his mental collapse caused. Gordon doesn't lie... he simply accepts Batman's confession. Batman lies, yes, but for the purpose of protecting the truth. It's a tough choice, but he has to make it.
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