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Gotham season 5, episode 9 review: The Trial Of Jim Gordon

By Michael Patterson

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Captain Gordon found himself closer to death than ever in this week’s episode of Gotham, but what exactly went down in the “The Trial Of Jim Gordon”?

With Gotham‘s series finale in sight, the showrunners have been scrambling to bring the beloved Batman prequel to an end in the most satisfying way possible and, after this week’s “The Trial of Jim Gordon”, you’ll be glad to know that they have once again succeeded.

This week’s installment slowed things down to focus on the show’s primary relationships and, as a result, we got what was perhaps the most important episode of the season thus far. Following a gunshot wound, Gordon found himself trapped between life and death as Lee tried to save his life and, in the process, realized just how much she needed him. Bruce and Selina also had a similar realization about their own relationship. The person responsible for all of this was none other than Ivy Pepper. But just how exactly did she do it, and was her attack worthy of one of Gotham‘s final episodes?

Jim And Lee Finally Tie The Knot

Jim Gordon’s history with Dr. Lee Thompkins has been, troubled, to say the least. Undoubtedly one of Gotham’s core couples, the pair’s love for each other is unquestionable, but they’ve also had their fair share of broken hearts, tearful goodbyes, hatred and, most heartbreaking of all, the loss of their unborn child. Nonetheless, in the madness that is No Man’s Land, their love for each other was the one thing that made most sense and, when you think of it like that, it’s really no surprise that they found their way back to each other.

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“The Trial of Jim Gordon” leaned heavily on the pair’s relationship in an attempt to highlight Jim’s many shortcomings as Gotham’s protector. After the SCPD captain was shot by Victor Zsasz, much of the episode took place inside his own psyche as he endured a mental trial (literally), judged for his actions in life – a story move which neatly tied the episode to both Gotham’s overall run and the current season through references to the loss of Lee’s unborn child and Jim’s failure to protect those at Haven.

The situation allowed Lee to really figure out what she wanted out of life. Let’s be clear, this is no longer the hardened Lee Thompkins who worked her way through the criminal underworld to become Queen of the Narrows in Season 4 and took down the almighty Sofia Falcone. No, as Gotham burned, the original Lee rose from the ashes and now, she finds herself questioning everything that has gone down over the last five years.

She realized that she couldn’t live without Jim and that, despite their past and his obsession with running off into the firing line, she needed him. Similarly. Jim realised that he couldn’t be the hero Gotham needed him to be without Lee by his side and thus, he overcame death itself to be with her.

So, I guess you could say that “The Trial of Jim Gordon” is as much about Lee as it is about its titular character. In fact, it’s a character study of both really, using Jim’s near-death experience to delve into their relationship and, in the end, allow them to find each other once more. This ultimately paved the way for the pair to tie the knot in the episode’s closing scene.

Jim and Lee – man and wife. Finally.

The Bat, The Cat And The Ivy

Jim’s shooting at the hands of Zsas was all down to Gotham‘s iteration of Poison Ivy herself, Ivy Pepper, who pulled the trigger on her plan to stop the city’s reunification with the mainland in a bid to allow its plant-life to flourish. She did so by interrupting a date between Bruce and Selina and taking the billionaire away to do her bidding. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here, first let’s look at the pair in question.

Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle are, in many ways, the primary couple of Gotham. The future Batman and Catwoman have been through a lot during their time on the show and this week’s episode was their chance to put all that behind them. With that in mind, Bruce tricked Selina into a “scavenger hunt” when in reality, he had planned a romantic date for them in a rather large house.

Though it went well, Bruce revealed that he thought the destruction of Wayne Manor was a sign that it was time for him to move on and leave Gotham behind – something that Selina couldn’t have disagreed with more. I must admit that this was a nice method of creating some conflict without actually having them argue. Not only did Selina’s desire for Bruce to remain directly contrast with how eager she was to leave a few weeks back, it highlighted her own development as a character because she was finally starting to realize how much she cared about him.

Thankfully, Ivy’s interruption and seduction of Bruce gave Selina a chance to prove how much she cared about him as she managed to help him (and Lucius) overcome the mind control and ultimately save Gotham from destruction. And the whole experience allowed Bruce to realize (although it did take him a month), how much he really loved Selina, catching her off-guard with a heartfelt kiss. Just like that, BatCat is alive and well once more.

Barbara’s Path To Redemption

With Jim’s baby growing inside of her, Babs has undergone an emotional rollercoaster as of late as she attempted to reconcile who she currently is with the good-hearted person she once was and, in doing so, realized that she may still have real feelings for her ex-fiancée. Thus, after he was shot, she went out of her way to prove that she could be a good person, doing as he wished by keeping the warring gangs at bay and the city’s streets as safe as they could possibly be.

In the end, Jim’s marriage to Lee clearly disheartened her and, as Oswald happily pointed out, meant that all her hard work to prove herself was for nothing. So, as the episode’s closing moments suggested, she’s going to disappear and take her child with her, far away from Jim.

Oh Barbara, you truly have been a joy to watch over the last five years on Gotham. Originally starting off as Jim Gordon’s troubled fiancée, her relationship with the GCPD detective soon fell apart and, after a lot of trauma, she rather unexpectedly went on to become one of the show’s greatest villains/anti-heroes. However, her pregnancy has seen her play a number of different roles this season and, quite frankly, she’s been amazing in all of them.

Her character journey this season has been even more interesting than her admittedly brilliant journey throughout the show’s entire run, and it’s going to be very interesting to see how her current feelings will impact her pregnancy and whether or not she’ll take the future Batgirl out of Gotham City.

Gothic Getaways

  • Jim and Lee’s wedding was nothing short of beautiful. The music. The tears. Their love for each other. Bruce and Selina’s kiss. Everything was just beautiful. Throw in the fact that this was the final scene that the Gotham cast and crew shot and this is quite literally perfection. I’m not crying, you’re crying.
  • Babs and Jim were responsible for bringing us this masterful episode as Erin Richards directed while Ben McKenzie wrote the script, and what a fine job they did.
  • The scenes between Bruce and Lucius, who were both under Ivy’s spell, were some of the most hilarious we’ve ever seen on the show. Major credit to Ben McKenzie for writing this hilarious stuff!
  • Speaking of which, Harvey in a bulletproof blast-proof suit lunging onto a laughing Victor Zsasz may just be the greatest scene in TV history. I’m not joking, it was ridiculously funny.
  • On that note, this was Anthony Carrigan’s last episode as Zsasz, so I’d like to take this moment to thank him for bringing a great charm to the disturbing character and reinventing him for Gotham‘s world. Undoubtedly one of the show’s greatest reinterpretations, he was a joy to watch.
  • You can really sense that Gotham is winding down with each episode and this one was integral in wrapping up some of the show’s main plot threads.
  • Other than an appearance in the court sequence, Ed Nygma did not appear in the episode, which was somewhat disappointing because his rapport with Oswald has been exhilarating.
  • Gotham will take a brief one week-long hiatus and will return in two weeks with the first of the final three episodes.
  • Next time: Bane arrives in Gotham. Be sure to tune into Fox in TWO weeks time: Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel!

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Gotham returns to Fox in two weeks, Thursday, Mar. 21, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Are you excited to see where the story goes next? Let us know in the comments below!

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