Fox’s Gotham season three comes to an end with major, game-changing events playing out. The second half of the season three finale (episode 22) begins as blood runs from Alfred’s mouth and his chest while Bruce (David Mazouz) pulls out the sword. Alfred (Sean Pertwee) collapses on his back while Bruce looks devastated. He asks Ra’s al Ghul (Alexander Siddig) to help him as Alfred appears to die. Bruce, mortified and in anguish, strikes out with the sword but misses Ra’s al Ghul. Ra’s laughs as he says Bruce has broken through his conditioning while Bruce screams that they don’t control him anymore.
Bruce swears he won’t be Ra’s al Ghul’s heir and Ra’s corrects him, saying, “Your strength only confirms what the prophecy has foretold. An heir to serve as my knight in the darkness.” Bruce yells that he’ll never follow Ra’s, and Ra’s tells him to use the waters, warning him that their time will come.
Bruce scoops water from the Lazarus Pit into a bowl and pours it onto Alfred’s wound. Alfred chokes and comes back to life.
Elsewhere in the city, the virus is spreading. Jim (Ben McKenzie) is at the station and he’s still somehow managing to keep the infection under control. Lee (Morena Baccarin) gives him a call and tells him she’s leaving Gotham, but he warns her there are checkpoints all over the city. She wants them to leave together, saying they deserve it. She’s leaving on the afternoon train and wants the “real” Jim with her, so he has to stop fighting the virus. He agrees and hangs up.
Harvey (Donal Logue) rushes up with a list of demands from Barbara and Nygma. If they don’t comply, they’ll kill Tetch. Their demands will bankrupt the city, but Harvey points out there won’t be a city left if they don’t comply. Jim, however, realizes the only thing Ed wants is Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor), and Penguin’s currently locked up just a few dozen feet from where Jim and Harvey are chatting. Jim wants to turn Oswald over to Nygma and he grabs Harvey’s shirt, telling him he needs to save Lee. He quickly lets go but admits he doesn’t have much time until the virus takes over completely.
Tabitha (Jessica Lucas), Butch (Drew Powell), Barbara (Erin Richards), and Ed (Cory Michael Smith) are waiting for the GCPD’s response when Jim phones Nygma. Jim doesn’t want the others to know what he’s saying, while at the same time Butch is quietly continuing to convince Tabitha they need to kill Barbara and Ed. Tabitha wants to hold off until the city pays for Tetch, but Butch is adamant they act soon. He’s convinced Barbara doesn’t deserve Tabitha’s loyalty.
Barbara arrives just then and they notice Ed is missing and so is Tetch. Barbara blames Tabitha and Butch, calling them idiots who can’t handle one simple job.
Jim and Harvey remove a handcuffed Oswald from the station and he begs them not to hand him over to Nygma. Harvey still doesn’t think this is a good idea, picturing all the things that could possibly go wrong. Oswald asks to have the handcuffs removed but Jim won’t remove them. However, Harvey finally agrees mainly so that Oswald will stop talking.
Jim and Harvey walk Oswald into the building and are ready to deliver him to Ed. Ed has Tetch with a grenade strapped to his chest and the exchange is about to go down when Barbara, Butch, Tabitha, and a couple of goons arrive to break up the party. Barbara demands Tetch, but instead of handing him over Ed snags the grenade and tosses it toward Barbara. A gunfight breaks out as Nygma chases after Oswald while everyone else worries about who has Tetch. Jim and Harvey grab him and run from the building, watching as Oswald drives away in their squad car.
Meanwhile, Alfred’s brought into the hospital in bad shape (but no longer dead). The doctors promise Bruce they’ll do what they can.
Barbara and her gang chase after Jim, Harvey, and Tetch, with Jim using his super-strength to break a metal chain into a warehouse. Barbara and her people pursue them, with Tetch taunting Jim that if he gives in once more to the virus it will be all over for him. Harvey keeps telling Jim to fight the virus because it’s obvious he’d like to give in and kill Tetch. Fortunately, he holds it together enough to realize they don’t need all of Tetch – just his blood. Jim leaves Tetch’s body behind but takes a large container’s worth of blood.
Ed comes to in the backseat of the squad car with Oswald in the driver’s seat. Oswald admits he’s dragging this out because getting the upper hand over Nygma is like experiencing a moment of pure joy. As they talk, Ed is secretly working his way out of his handcuffs.
Barbara, Tabitha, and Butch head back to the club so that Barbara can pack up a getaway bag. She’s panicking and doesn’t have a plan, other than to get to their safe house. After she flees the club, Butch reminds Tabitha it’s time to kill Barbara. Butch is done waiting and thinks they can kill her at the safe house. Tabitha gives him a kiss and says they’ll do it together.
Harvey lets Jim, who’s taking out his anger on a locker, know that Tetch’s blood is good and they’re working on an antidote. They head up to the lab and Jim’s told there’s one syringe filled with the antidote ready to go. Jim refuses to take it and instead grabs it and leaves to give it to Lee.
Selina (Camren Bicondova) joins Bruce at the hospital, worried about Alfred. Bruce tells her to go home, yelling at her that he doesn’t need her pity. He won’t tell her what happened and after they argue, Bruce tells her he’s aware she doesn’t care about anyone other than herself. She tells him to have a nice life and storms off.
Jim meets up with Lee and she’s ready to help him fight off the virus. He attempts to inject her, but she easily stops him. She wants him to give in to his darkness and they passionately kiss while breaking the syringe with the antidote.
Ed’s worked his way out of the handcuffs and says he wonders if Oswald likes making the same mistake repeatedly, letting him live instead of killing him right away. Ed taunts his captor, telling him he could never love him because he’s a spoiled child who lets his base emotions drive him. Oswald slams on the brakes and gets out, ready to shoot Ed. He barely opens the rear door when Ed kicks it, knocking Oswald down and grabbing the gun. Ed points the gun at Oswald’s face as Oswald screams about the unfairness of the situation. “You will always fail because you’ll never change!” says Ed through gritted teeth.
“Your entire persona is based on a lie and there is nothing you can do to change that!” replies Oswald, not backing down even with the gun just inches from his face. Ed considers this for a brief moment and then says, “Actually, maybe there is.”
Over at the train station, police inspect all Gotham citizens who are attempting to leave the city. Jim and Lee bypass the public entrance and knock out the security guard in charge of an employee gate.
Harvey races through the station, calling out for Jim. Lee kisses her boyfriend and gets on board the train after telling Jim to stop Harvey. Harvey pulls his gun and asks Jim not to make him use it. Jim slowly approaches Harvey and Harvey doesn’t fire. Jim’s within arm’s reach and attacks his partner, telling him the virus has made him who he really is. Harvey says that’s wrong and that he’s the best cop he’s ever worked with (and his best friend). Harvey tells Jim to save Lee, if he loves her. Jim hits the side of the train next to Harvey, leaving a huge dent.
Jim gets on the train and notices the badge Harvey pressed into his hand has two vials of the antidote. He tells Lee he loves her and then injects her with one. She’s angry and asks what he’s done before she passes out. After seeing to Lee, Jim takes the other vial and injects himself.
Barbara knows Butch and Tabitha are after her and she gets the drop on Butch at his car. He tells her she would have been dead a long time ago if it weren’t for Tabitha, and Barbara can’t believe Butch wants her to think Tabitha wasn’t a part of this plan. Butch explains that he knows Barbara misses having Tabitha’s friendship and loyalty, and that Tabitha made Barbara a better person. Butch is still going through with his plan, something Barbara must have sensed and so she shoots him smack dab in the middle of his forehead.
Back at the hospital, Bruce sits at Alfred’s bedside and tells him to fight to live. Bruce begs his friend and mentor not to leave him.
Ed drives Oswald back to the dock, again, and says he feels great about ending Oswald’s life, again. Oswald says he’ll wait to say his last words, but Ed tries to convince him there will be no other time to say his goodbyes. Ed pulls the trigger and nothing happens! Oswald removed the bullets when Ed was knocked out, and he also called for backup when Ed was asleep. Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy arrive and Oswald easily has the advantage. Ed figures out the pin in the backseat was also a plant to make him think he had the upper hand.
Oswald admits he didn’t know Barbara was going to show up at the warehouse and if she hadn’t, he’d be dead. “Fortune favors the bold,” says Oswald, smiling. Ed realizes Oswald had also figured out he’d bring him to the docks. Oswald confirms that’s true and says, “I may be driven by my emotions, but you’re driven by something much more predictable – a desperate, compulsive need to complete what you’ve started in exacting fashion.” Oswald adds that he wants Ed around to remind him to never let love weaken him ever again. Mr. Freeze uses his freeze gun on Ed as Ed yells, “No!”
Tabitha makes it to the safe house but, of course, Butch doesn’t answer when she calls out. She sees a box on the table and inside is Butch’s fake hand. Barbara reveals Butch said Tabitha didn’t have anything to do with trying to kill her, and she asks Tabitha if they can put this behind them and move forward. Tabitha asks repeatedly if Barbara killed Butch, and Barbara finally admits she did because she didn’t have a choice.
Tabitha says there’s always a choice and throws Butch’s fake hand at Barbara. She then uses her whip to grab Barbara’s gun hand and pulls her closer as they struggle for control. Tabitha has Barbara against the wall when suddenly the fighting changes to kissing. However, that doesn’t last long and they’re back to attacking each other. Barbara’s once again against the wall but then she manages to get free. She grabs the gun as Tabitha’s about to use her whip. Barbara laughs, telling Tabitha she shouldn’t have brought a whip to a gunfight. What Barbara doesn’t notice is that Tabitha’s whip is around a nearby light fixture and she pulls it into the water at Barbara’s feet. Barbara’s zapped and dies, steam rising from her face as her eyes stare vacantly skyward.
Once more to the hospital we go and Bruce is still seated by Alfred’s bed. The news is reporting the antidote has cured 90% of those infected when Alfred comes to and Bruce immediately gives him a hug. Bruce apologizes to his lifelong friend, and Alfred says it wasn’t his fault. Bruce admits he lost his way and that in his search for a greater meaning he’s realized he has no idea who he is or who he’s supposed to be. Alfred can’t answer those questions and tells Bruce he’s a man and has to find his own path now.
Alfred suggests Bruce needs to find his true north and let that guide him. Bruce asks what Alfred’s true north is and the answer is simple: Bruce. He will protect Bruce at all costs, and Bruce needs to find that one thing that he will protect in order to find himself. As they talk, Bruce looks up and pays attention when the news reporter on TV says it will take years for Gotham to recover.
Tabitha’s back at the club when Selina arrives looking for Barbara. Tabitha reveals Barbara won’t be back and Selina says she’s there because she wants more than just to survive. Selina wants to move up and the club seems like a good place to start. Tabitha admits she’s also at a crossroads and when Selina looks down at her whip on the bar, Tabitha tells her to give it a whirl. It turns out Selina’s a natural with a whip.
Oswald says he’s going to open a new club and call it The Iceberg Lounge. Ivy thinks it’s because Oswald’s nickname is Penguin, but he reveals it’s also because of the club’s centerpiece – a frozen Ed.
Jim has made it back to Lee’s place and she’s not there but an envelope with his name is on the table. The note explains she left because in Gotham everyone feels alone. She confesses the virus showed her who she really is and now she feels reborn. She believes Jim can save Gotham and that Gotham can save him in return. She hopes one day Gotham will send him back to her. She signs it, “Love always, Lee.”
Butch is hooked up to a respirator at the hospital and the doctor says his chart lists his birth name as Cyrus Gold. (Were you prepared for that reveal, Batman fans?)
Jim apologizes to Harvey for throwing him against the train car twice and reveals Lee has left the city. Jim wants to be a detective again and not one who investigates secret cults or blood viruses. When Harvey suggests they hit the streets to see what they can stir up, Jim jokes that that’s beneath him since he’s the best cop Harvey ever worked with.
The final scene of Gotham season three is a pivotal moment in the series. A family is held up at gunpoint while walking down a dark street. Out of the darkness comes a figure clad all in black, face covered except for his eyes. He attacks the robber and saves the family before climbing a nearby building. He stands on the roof, coat slightly billowing out behind him to look like a cape. He removes his head cover and it’s Bruce, now dedicated to keeping watch over his city.
More on Gotham:
– Recap of Gotham Season 3’s Finale Part 1
– Interview with David Mazouz
– Jessica Lucas Interview
