‘Gotham’ Season 3 Episode 7 Recap: Red Queen

Gotham season 3 episode 7 stars Cory Michael Smith and Chelsea Spack
Cory Michael Smith and Chelsea Spack in the Red Queen episode of ‘Gotham’ (Photo by Nicole Rivelli © 2016 Fox Broadcasting Co)

Valerie Vale (Jamie Chung) is still recuperating in the hospital with Jim by her side as Fox’s Gotham season three episode seven begins. Airing on Halloween 2016, episode seven titled ‘Red Queen’ starts off with Valerie well enough to joke about Jim taking a hit to his tough guy image by shedding a tear for her. Jim (Ben McKenzie) says he never meant for her to get shot, but she knows he wanted to save Lee. Valerie’s smart enough to know that Jim assumed Tetch would do the opposite of what he said to do which was to kill Lee. “You love Lee, which means we’re done,” says Valerie, turning her head away and telling him he’s nothing but trouble.

Tetch (Benedict Samuel) visits a mad scientist who tells him if he mixes a spell accelerant with Alice’s blood, the resulting changes will manifest much quicker. Tetch also spies a bottle with the Red Queen on it, and the scientist explains it drives people insane. First, it incapacitates you, then it fries your brain. Tetch tries it out on the scientist and it definitely works.

Ed Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) is completely infatuated with Kristen Kringle’s look-alike, Isabella (Chelsea Spack). The two are all flirty and Ed doesn’t even realize they’ve talked all night until the paperboy delivers the morning paper. They make plans to meet for dinner that night at the mayor’s mansion. He gives her a quick kiss, all smiles, and leaves.

Meanwhile, Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) thinks his right-hand man has gone missing and is trying to file a police report when Ed interrupts the phone call by showing up at the mansion, apologizing for being gone so long. Ed immediately confesses he met someone and thinks he’s in love, which shocks Oswald who was prepared to confess his own feelings for Ed.

Tetch and his two goons, the Tweed brothers, pay a visit to the Gotham morgue. Tetch wants revenge on the entire city for Alice’s death and he’s going to spread her blood (or her “legacy,” as he refers to it) around Gotham’s finest citizens.

Over at Wayne Manor, Bruce (David Mazouz) is cooking up a feast. He expects Selina (Camren Bicondova) for dinner that night and he’s getting an early start on whipping up a meal for two. Alfred (Sean Pertwee) offers to help, but Bruce says he’s got it covered. Alfred promises to give them privacy but says he’ll be within earshot, just in case.

Captain Barnes (Michael Chiklis) and the GCPD are the next visitors to the morgue after Alice’s body is reported missing. Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) confirms it was Tetch who broke in and stole the body. And because her body was kept on ice, her blood can be heated up and used as a virus. Jim shows up just then and says he wants to help but Captain Barnes throws him out of the morgue. Harvey follows Jim out and Jim asks for his help finding Tetch, but Harvey doesn’t want to be part of Jim’s vigilante crusade anymore. Harvey tells him, “Either be a cop or don’t.”

Edward helps Oswald get ready for the Founder’s Dinner and Oswald tries to get under Edward’s skin by saying he can’t bring a plus one. That’s fine with Edward because he has a date with Isabella. Edward says Isabella’s beautiful and smart, and now he thinks he has a second chance at love. Before Edward takes off, Oswald asks where Isabella works.

Harvey found out a missing morgue guard called in sick and Barnes tells Harvey to bring him in. Lucius (Chris Chalk) arrives with news that the rats tested with Alice’s blood are exhibiting manic tendencies and a cure could take years. Barnes says they must find Tetch immediately.

Meanwhile, Tetch is busy draining all of Alice’s blood.

Lee (Morena Baccarin) confesses to Mario that Jim told Tetch to kill her, knowing that Tetch would do the opposite. Mario’s upset about this and wants Jim completely out of their lives. Lee agrees and that is, of course, when Jim shows up. Mario stomps away and Jim confides in Lee that he’s basically banned from investigating and chasing down Tetch. Jim tries to convince Lee she’s wrong and that he really did want Tetch to shoot her rather than Valerie Vale, but Lee knows he’s lying.

Oswald pays a visit to Isabella at the library, saying he wants to brush up on the history of Gotham for the Founder’s Dinner. They discuss Edward and Isabella says she feels like she’s known him her whole life. Oswald, who has his best fake smile pasted on his face, tries to shock Isabella by saying Ed’s been down since his release from Arkham. He tells her Edward was in Arkham for murder and Isabella is clearly upset with the news. Oswald also mentions how much she looks like Kristen Kringle, thanking her for the book and leaving Isabella just the way he wanted her – shaken and confused.

Jim checks in on Valerie and briefly watches over her as she sleeps. He then looks down the hospital hall and spies Tetch who yells out, “The tea party was part one. I want to have a lot more fun!” Jim gives chase and follows him into the lab where he taunts Jim by saying he’s going to take the city apart and Jim won’t be able to stop him. He uses the Red Queen to incapacitate Jim, telling him to enjoy the trip.

Oswald is still proud of himself as he takes a sip of wine at the Founder’s Dinner. Tetch runs into him and spills his drink, but Oswald doesn’t realize who he’s dealing with and yells at Tetch about his clumsiness.

Back on the lab floor, Jim is definitely not enjoying the hallucinogenic trip Tetch sent him on. He imagines Barbara (Erin Richards) is there welcoming him to his hallucination and playing elevator operator. Jim is about to face his inner demons and first up is Bruce Wayne guiding him to a scene of dead cops on the floor of the GCPD station. Bruce shoots him and then pulls bloody pearls from his chest.

Harvey and Captain Barnes are interrogating the ‘sick’ guard and Captain Barnes finally loses it, using his enhanced strength to try to force the guard to confess. Harvey pulls Barnes off the guard, and the guard reveals it was a guy in a wrestling mask who paid him to turn over his key card. The Tweeds were driving a catering van and Barnes figures out Tetch is going to launch his attack at the Founder’s Dinner.

Tetch puts a drop of blood in each of the wine glasses that will be served to the city’s dignitaries.

Still hallucinating, Barbara gives Jim CPR in the elevator and then explains since this is in his head, he’s the one making her give him CPR in a cheesy nurse’s uniform. The next stop on his trip is a visit back in time to an alternate universe in which Lee and Jim are married with two adorable kids. Lee’s even dressed in pearls at the dinner table while Jim’s in a suit. As he tells the kids he loves them, they ask if they can finally get a dog. The happy scene transforms into a scene with Jim alone at the table. Back in the elevator once again, Barbara offers Jim a drink and Jim demands Barbara let him out so he can get back to Lee. This of course angers Barbara, and she forces him to think about why he’s in a crappy apartment playing detective instead of with Lee.

Bruce sits alone at the dinner table after Selina apparently stood him up. Alfred asks if he can wrap up the meal and that’s when Selina finally makes an appearance. Alfred makes himself scarce again, and Bruce can’t help but show he’s hurt Selina’s late. She tells him stuff came up and Bruce just wants her to be honest with him. Selina confesses that this whole relationship thing is weird for her. Bruce smiles and says it’s weird for him, too.

Oswald’s telling his story about warning Isabella away from Edward to a stranger at the party and finally asks for her name. It’s Kathryn (from the Court of Owls) and she introduces herself as a member of one of Gotham’s oldest families and part of a group that “oversees things.” She doesn’t go into detail about the group, but does tell Oswald they’ve had their eyes on him for quite a while.

Oswald and the other Founder’s Dinner guests sit down for dinner and Tetch and the Tweeds arrive, shooting their guns in the air to prove they mean business. Tetch introduces himself and calls the assembled guests the heads of Gotham, warning them tonight their heads will roll. He tells them they must drink the wine or he’ll kill them all, but fortunately before they can take sips Captain Barnes and his men arrive and scream for them to put their glasses down. Captain Barnes grabs Tetch and starts to hit him when Tetch realizes that his sister’s blood is in Barnes.

The last stop on the elevator brings Jim face to face with who he used to be. Barbara hands him a key before wishing him luck. The scene transforms to Jim on the street watching a man pull red dust from his pocket as he seems to be looking for his car key. The man is his father and after Jim hands him the key, his dad invites him to get in the car and go for a ride. Jim seems to hear something behind him and the scene shifts to Mario and a nurse finding Jim on the lab’s floor. The Red Queen bottle was next to him so Mario orders 20 ccs of haloperidol, an antipsychotic.

Meanwhile in Jim’s hallucination, he gets into the car with his dad and says he missed him. He tells his dad that people considered him a hero for being a great district attorney, and Jim’s incredibly proud of how his dad protected their family. Jim’s dad admits he has darkness in him too and tells Jim to focus on the good he can do. Jim says he’s not a hero and his dad describes a hero as a man who “values protecting others above protecting himself.” Jim says he doesn’t know how to be that man and his dad says he must follow the code. Jim can’t remember the code and his dad reminds him if he wants to find his way home, the answer is in his ring. Jim’s dad has to leave but before he does he tells Jim he’s proud of him.

Mario brings Jim out of his trip and says Jim would have been gone in another minute. Jim thanks Mario and Mario tells him in half an hour he’ll be good to go.

Edward confesses to Isabella that he killed Kristen, calling it an accident. But, Isabella says she knows what he did because she read up on him after talking to Oswald. Edward doesn’t understand why she came on a date anyway after learning about him, and she says love isn’t logical. She says no other man compares to the men in the pages of the books she’s read except for him. “You’re the one I waited for,” says Isabella, while also confessing she’s scared of him. Edward leans in for a kiss and that’s when Oswald arrives and interrupts their quiet moment. Oswald excuses himself and Edward and Isabella return to kissing.

Back at home, Jim looks through a box of his father’s possessions. He finds the ring his father mentioned and reads the saying on it. It translates to “while we breathe, we shall defend.”

At the station, Jim congratulates Captain Barnes on capturing Tetch and admits if it wasn’t for Mario, he’d be dead. He asks to rejoin the GCPD and Barnes asks why. Jim says it’s because of a promise he made as a child, and he intends to keep that promise. Barnes welcomes him back, telling Jim he needs him there.

A man wearing a ring matching Jim Gordon’s father’s meets in the dark with Kathryn. He asks what she thought about the new mayor and tells her judgement is coming for them all.