By Mike McCarthy
Gotham is back with it’s third season and the changes are numerous. When we left off of with season two, Hugo Strange escaped Indian Hills and all of his “experiments” are on the loose. A bus full of monsters from Indian Hills has joined the rest of the villains of Gotham City. Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) returned to the show at the end of the second season when she was part of Strange’s experiments. Bruce (David Mazouz) and Alfred (Sean Pertwee) have left Gotham for Switzerland for the Summer to investigate who is really in charge of Wayne Enterprises. Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) has left the GCPD to go after Lee and try and rekindle his relationship with her.
Season three of Gotham finds Jim Gordon without Lee, who has found someone else and he is now drunk and disorderly. No longer part of the Gotham PD, Gordon has become a bounty hunter and catching all of the escapees, turning them in at five grand a piece. The monsters are vast and the first one we meet is a large man with horns and spikes and tosses Gordon around like a ragdoll. With his connections at the GCPD still strong, Gordon is once again relying on his friend and partner, Harvey Bullock for some insider information. Gordon will be the main focus of the show, no matter what position he is in regarding the Gotham PD, but we all know where he will end up. Having Gordon change it up and become a bounty hunter makes the dynamic different, which we love to see when it comes to shows to keep it fresh and the viewers coming back for more.
Penguin is back, in a classy suit and now has a cane like the Penguin has always had in the previous renditions of his character. He is now one of the biggest mobsters in Gotham and is running a lot of the underground world. We find him and Butch putting up a million dollar bounty for Fish’s capture, which Gordon is all about hunting down. With Barbara and Tabitha running a club in Penguin’s territory, the protection that they may or may not need in the future could come into play. The strength that the two women have exuded in the past and in the current situations, we should see them kicking some ass as the season goes on.
The Court of Owls are coming and this season is going to be absolutely out of control, if the premiere is any indication. The return of main characters Selina Kyle and Ivy, who is going to an incredible change come in the second episode after she falls down into a sewer that washes her away. The addition of Jamie Chung as reporter Valerie Vale, who if you remember Vicki Vale from the 1989 Batman Film where Kim Basinger played the part, well Valerie is her aunt. Maggie Geha will be taking over the role as Ivy Pepper after whatever happens to her, she ages by about five to seven years. How this happens, we will have to check it out in the next few episodes. Gotham is one of those shows that you don’t know what to expect week to week and that is the best part of the show. With the incorporation of more of the comics, mainly The Court of Owls, which is such an amazing story, it is going to be something to see as the season goes on. Check it out on Monday nights at 8PM on Fox.