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Gotham season 3 two-part finale recap: Episode 21 “Destiny Calling” and episode 22 “Heavydirtysoul”

By Steve Lam

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Gotham’s Season 3 finale gave fans some unexpected twists and poignant performances from its main players.

Gotham‘s two-part Season 3 finale was filled with some unexpected twists. However, most surprising of all, there were some highly emotional moments. And that’s where these final two episodes of the season really shined.

Spoilerific Recap

Gotham is in chaos after the virus bomb’s detonation. The GCPD is overwhelmed and Jim Gordon starts to hear voices, fueling his rage. Harvey Bullock takes Jim’s gun, nervous that he might lose control. Bruce, still brainwashed, is in an interrogation room as Alfred desperately watches.

Lucius Fox thinks there’s a chance for an antidote, but only Doctor Hugo Strange holds the secret. Strange is nowhere to be found after Alfred questioned him. Jim and Harvey leave to track him down. However, Lucius cautions Jim, as Strange’s virus is an accelerated form.

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Strange, at the train station trying to leave Gotham, bumps into Fish Mooney and her gang. She demands to know the location of the virus.

Ed Nygma watches as the city destroys itself. Barbara Kean thinks this is a great opportunity to consolidate her power, but Ed has no interest in running Gotham. She proposes a deal where Ed uses his wits to help her, and she’ll help him with his revenge on Penguin.

Going off a lead, Jim and Harvey find Fish, her gang, and Strange in the tunnels beneath the station. Understanding that Strange is the only one who can stop the chaos, Fish refuses to give him up. Victor Fries makes an appearance and attacks Jim and Harvey. However, Jim is able to break a water pipe and intercept Fries’s freeze-ray, creating an ice wall. Unfortunately, this allows Fish and Strange to escape.

Alfred tries to get through to Bruce, telling him that he’s been brainwashed. Bruce states that the Court of Owls has paved the way for an unknown individual.

Strange soon finds out that Fish and Penguin are working as partners. Penguin wants to know the location of the antidote, but Strange proves uncooperative. Penguin soon tortures Strange with a device that was used at Arkham Asylum—a device Strange himself used on his patients.

Still trapped behind the ice wall, Jim uses his rage and super-strength to break through.

Alfred continues to try and get through to Bruce. A loud commotion outside catches Alfred’s attention, and he leaves to investigate. Alvarez is on a shooting spree. Alfred tries to subdue him, but is overpowered. Lucius save him just in time. When Alfred returns to the interrogation room, he finds that Bruce has already escaped.

Butch catches Lee at the club. As he tries to escort her out, Lee attacks him. She quickly approaches Tabitha and has her send Barbara a message.

Alfred and Lucius tail Bruce. Alfred’s plan is to kill the man controlling Bruce.

Strange leads Fish, Penguin, Fries, and Firefly to the location where concentrated forms of the antidote are stored. As the three exit, the League of Shadows confront them. Jim and Harvey soon arrive on the scene.

Jim uses his super-strength and kills most of the League. In a frenzy, Jim also stabs Fish. She quickly dies in Penguin’s arms. An enraged Penguin approaches Jim, who almost breaks his neck. But Harvey knocks out Jim just in time. Strange can make more of the antidote … with one key ingredient—Jervis Tetch, who is promptly kidnapped by Barbara, Ed, Tabitha, and Butch.

Following the Sensei’s (the Shaman/Leader) commands, Bruce enters a building and soon finds a secret passageway. Alfred isn’t far behind. The League of Shadows surround Bruce and direct him to move forward. Bruce enters a chamber with a Lazarus Pit, and Ra’s al Ghul introduces himself.

Ra’s is looking for a true heir. Knowing that Bruce had originally failed in detonating the virus bomb, he offers to give him another chance. The League brings Alfred to their presence. Ra’s wants Bruce to kill Alfred.

Alfred tries to get through to Bruce. However, the programming is too strong, and Bruce stabs Alfred through the chest, killing him. At this moment, Bruce snaps out of it, horrified by what he’s done. Ra’s, before disappearing, tells Bruce to use the water from the Lazarus Pit. Bruce follows his instructions and is able to resurrect Alfred.

Lee calls Jim and wants him to leave Gotham with her. Harvey gives Jim an update: Barbara and Ed have made demands for Tetch’s return. Jim thinks they can use Penguin as a bargaining chip. Harvey is against it, which enrages Jim, but follows along anyways.

Ed stealthily receives a call from Jim. Butch has plans to kill Barbara, but Tabitha wants him to let it play out, at least until they get the money. Barbara interrupts them and they all soon learn that Ed has disappeared with Tetch.

Jim, Harvey, and Penguin meet Ed and Tetch at an abandoned warehouse. As insurance, Ed has chained a grenade to Tetch. Barbara, Tabitha, and Butch soon arrive, demanding Ed hand over Tetch. Ed takes the grenade and tosses it at them, igniting a firefight. Tetch runs with Ed in pursuit. But Penguin knocks out Ed and abducts him using Harvey’s car.

Alfred arrives at the emergency room with Bruce at his side. Doctor prep him for surgery.

Barbara, Tabitha, and Butch chase after Jim, Harvey, and Tetch. They soon end up at a warehouse. Seeing no way out, Jim slices Tetch’s throat and collects a mason jar full of his blood. Back at GCPD, Jim hands Tetch’s blood to a lab technician.

Ed wakes up in the backseat of a car to Penguin taunting him. Little does Penguin know, Ed is already picking the locks to his handcuffs.

With their botched plan, Barbara wants to lay low at their safe house. Butch divulges to Tabitha his plan to kill her at that location.

Jim is on the brink of losing control. Harvey brings Jim to the lab where a dose of the antidote is ready. Another dose will take two hours, and that’s not enough time for Lee, who’ll be leaving sooner than that. Jim forcefully grabs the current dose and locks Harvey in the lab.

As Bruce waits for word of Alfred’s condition, Selina enters, showing concern. Bruce, angered, scolds Selina assuming she’s here for selfish reasons. Selina angrily leaves, but not before saying some words of her own.

Jim visits Lee at her home. As he’s about inject her, she stops him and destroys the dose.

Ed goads on Penguin, making him lose control. Penguin pulls over and finds that Ed has freed himself. Ed overpowers Penguin and holds him at gunpoint. Penguin notes that Ed’s whole persona has been based on a lie.

Jim and Lee force their way through the train station’s checkpoint. Harvey runs after them and holds Jim at gunpoint. Harvey is quickly overpowered, but continues to try and get through to Jim. Harvey eventually hands Jim his badge, hoping it would trigger his good side.

When Jim boards the train, he discovers that the back of his badge has two hidden doses of the antidote. With Lee distracted, Jim injects her and quickly injects himself.

Barbara confronts Butch, knowing that they’ve been scheming to kill her. Butch reasons that Barbara is angry because Tabitha left her. After a moment of fake sorrow from Barbara, she quickly shoots Butch in the head.

Bruce waits by Alfred’s bedside, pleading to him to fight for his own life.

Ed leads Penguin to the docks. The original location where Ed shot Penguin. Ed soon discovers that the gun isn’t loaded. Fries and Ivy Pepper soon appear. Penguin had made this elaborate plan based on Ed not being able to leave unfinished business. Wanting to keep Ed as a cautionary reminder for himself, Penguin has Fries use the freeze-ray on Ed.

Tabitha enters the safe house and finds Butch’s prosthetic hand. Barbara approaches her at gunpoint and wants to know if they can move on from this. When Tabitha learns that Barbara killed Butch, she attacks her. Tabitha ends up using her whip to pull a lamp into Barbara, electrocuting her.

Alfred wakes up. An elated Bruce apologizes. Alfred wants Bruce to find his own way. And to do that, Bruce will need to find something he really cares about and protect it at all costs.

Selina goes to the club to look for Barbara, but only finds Tabitha. Selina is looking to climb higher in the world. When Selina eyes the whip, Tabitha encourages her to try it out. Surprising Tabitha, Selina is a natural.

Penguin shows Ivy new logo designs for his future club—the Iceberg Club where Ed will be the centerpiece attraction.

Jim visits Lee’s home only to find a goodbye letter addressed to him. Lee thinks Jim is the one who can save Gotham and, in turn, it’ll save him.

Butch, with a bandaged head, is unconscious and being treated by doctors. We learn that his real name is Cyrus Gold—the future Solomon Grundy.

Jim visits Harvey at his office and the two decide to go out for a drink. Things are back to normal as the two trade jibes.

As a family walks through a dark alley, a mugger holds them at gunpoint. A masked figure in a trenchcoat leaps down and overpowers the mugger. High on a rooftop overlooking Gotham, the vigilante is unmasked—revealing Bruce who has finally found his destiny.

Best Moment(s)

  • Alfred’s poignant moments with Bruce: in the interrogation room; and when Bruce is holding a sword to Alfred’s chest.
  • Harvey trying to get through to Jim at the train station. Those were some pretty heartfelt words.
  • Though brief, the interaction between Bruce and Selina was a golden moment. There’s definitely a lot of hurt and betrayal the two have to work through.
  • The end where Bruce found his destiny was played straight and exciting. It looks like Season 4 will have even more Dark Knight references.
  • Though we have say goodbye to Barbara (then again, there’s always a chance she’ll be coming back), her scenes allowed her go out with a bang.

Final Thoughts

Gotham‘s Season 3 finale was one of the best episodes to-date. It had a clean goal and various subplots converged towards the end, making it a very cohesive story. The character interactions were strong and the emotional scenes were very genuine.

My only grip would be the scene where Bruce plunged the sword through Alfred’s chest. Yes, Alfred lived, but I wanted Bruce Wayne to be above that. I wanted something within him to be stronger than the Sensei’s brainwashing. The killing of Alfred also didn’t have high stakes, as the presence of the Lazarus Pit was pretty much the episode’s deus ex machina.

As a rift is now driven between Bruce and Selina, Season 4 may show the two to be much more antagonistic towards each other. We may see a more familiar Batman/Catwoman dynamic. And let’s not forget about Butch … ahem … Solomon Grundy. He’s definitely going to be a main baddie for next season.

What did you think of Gotham‘s Season 3 finale? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Next: Catch up with a recap of 'Heroes Rise: Pretty Hate Machine'

Don’t forget to visit the Gotham After Show where our friends at theStream.tv will give fans a play-by-play of the latest episode. And the fun continues with Welcome to the Batcave, also on theStream.tv.

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