Live Updates: Gotham Season 3 Premiere

Welcome! Join Comicbook.com as we cover the season 3 premiere of Gotham with a live blog and expert commentary on what you're seeing as you watch the show. We're providing live updates each commercial break during the Eastern/Central airing of the show, starting at 8 p.m. EDT, 7 p.m. CDT.

The season premiere picks up where the finale left off, with Jim Gordon (Ben Mackenzie) off to Florida to find Lee (Morena Baccarin), his former fiancé and baby mama. Unfortunately, when he walks up all decked out to her house, he hears her laughing – and sees her kissing another man. That one has to hurt. There's zero mention or showing of the baby, oddly, and we jump to six months later.

Back in Gotham City, one of the monsters from Indian Hill – guess this is Gotham's version of Killer Croc? Is trying to rob a pharmacy. Gordon, dressed in plainclothes, shows up to fight the spike-backed beast off. A well placed kick sends the monster into traffic, where it is hit – and by all indications killed – by a truck.

After the title card, we're in GCPD, where a press conference covering the incident is held, and we meet Valerie Vale for the first time. She starts asking about why Bounty Hunters are being used to take down the monsters. They also confirmed that yes, Croc-ish is dead.

Gordon seems unconcerned about the GCPD as a whole – it's a very new attitude Gordon; he's chasing down the freaks, and happy to "go home when I want, get drunk when I want, and at the end of the day I sleep because Gotham's not my problem anymore." We need Gordon back on the GCPD payroll if only to have these two interacting more often again.

Lucius Fox is now working for the GCPD as a science advisor, and reveals to Gordon and Bullock that a specific drug has been targeted around the city by these monsters, with robberies and several pharmacies.

Back to the press conference, Oswald Cobblepot interrupts things with his DC TV intro: "My name is Oswald Cobblepot." They need to add that to make this show more like the CW DC shows. He reveals to the assembled press that Fish Mooney is leading the monsters, and that he had already told the police. Oswald and Jim have a quick chat; Gordon basically says that if a bounty gets placed on Fish's head, he'll take it. The way Oswald is manipulating things here... it seems like he has a considerably larger gameplan here.

Meet Sirens, the new club in Gotham City run by Babs & Tabs, Barbara Kean and Tabitha Galavan. "Gotham City Sirens" was the name of a female-led comicbook from DC Comics that starred Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy as a team of anti-heroes doing their own thing away from the Bat in Gotham. Oswald and Butch head over – it's their first visit there. Penguin has offered them protection, but they're pleasantly declining – when Tabitha arrives, Butch gets all tongue-tied. Barbara tells Oswald they'll think about his offer. He has a second offer: a million dollars for Fish Mooney, dead, alive, or chopped into pieces.

Selina walks up to Butch to comfort him – and steal his wallet. She walks outside Sirens and meets up with Ivy (still young). Selina gives money out of Butch's wallet to a random homeless kid searching through garbage without really looking at him – it's Bruce's doppelganger! First look at longhaired David Mazouz this season.

Commercial Break! Be back in a bit.

Bruce (the real one) arrives home with Alfred after a few months away. He's been hiding a bit - and researching the Court of Owls while on the road. He didn't feel great about leaving Gotham even for just a little while, though.

Gordon meets Valerie Vale when she comes into his local haunt (same bar that Bullock was working at last season!). They have a chat after a brief mention that Arkham Asylum still doesn't have a new director - sounds like a plot point that'll be followed up on this year. Maybe Jeremiah Arkham will come take over the family business? After a brief chat, she reveals the new bounty on Fish. The game is afoot.

Penguin visits Edward Nygma in Arkham with a puzzle box that is supposed to be incredibly difficult – but Ed opens it in seconds. Guess his mind isn't wasting away quite as much as actor Cory Michael Smith hinted to us on the set of the show. The two of them have been having regular chats, apparently. Ed reminds him, "Penguins eat fish."

Speaking of Fish, she and her cohorts (including Selina) go to rob some kind of scientific research facility. We get our first look at the life-draining/artificial aging abilities of one of the monsters, and Fish uses her mind-control on a security guard. However, she's in pain afterwards – looks like the powers are hurting or maybe even killing her (and probably all of the monsters), as she says she needs the drug, being manufactured here, for "survival." Gordon interrupts, but some squealing henchman distracts him long enough for Fish to escape.

Commercial Break - and a Doctor Strange ad; funny because we're dealing with the fallout of another Strange...

Bruce and Alfred head to a Board of Directors meeting at Wayne Enterprises. He presents his findings about the Court, and is interrupted by one of the board members, Crowley, who scoffs at "a conspiracy theory." He's a snarky a-hole, and Alfred gives him the old Pennyworth "shut up or I'm gonna eff you up" eyes while telling him he has to listen. Bruce reveals he has proof of the secret society's existence, and that he knows at least one member is in the room. "I want to talk face to face, you have 24 hours to contact me or the information I've gathered will be sent to every news organization in Gotham."

Sure enough, the information got back to the Court of Owls immediately – the female leader we met last season takes a phone call, then dispatches a masked man – a Talon of the Court to acquire Bruce for her.

Some goons come to shakedown Barbara and Tabitha for "protection" of their club. The leader smacks Babs and she - literally - laughs it off. Tabitha slits two of their throats, while Barbara bashes the face of the leader in with the butt of a gun, laughing like a maniac all the while. May we remind you of the theory that she becomes the Joker of Gotham, not Jerome? Click here to read on.

Selina tells Vale where Fish is, or where she's gonna be, and Vale tells Jim. He gets something, some information from Bullock, without telling him what it's for... don't like this side of Jim, not one bit.

Bruce goes to visit Selina at her rooftop with her birds. He apologizes for leaving town with no goodbye or warning. He warns her that the organization running the city likely knows that they're friends and she may be in danger. All the while, DoppelBruce is watching them from around the corner. Creeeeeeeper!

Commercial break! And here's an ad for Ben Affleck aka Batman's next movie, The Accountant. It's like these ads are targeted to Comic Book fans! WEIRD!

The info Gordon got was the location of Miss Peabody, Hugo Strange's right hand woman. She's been held under police protection, agreeing to testify against her old boss. Jim cuffs Vale to her car so he can go it alone. Gordon is using Peabody as bait to find Fish. Indeed, Fish and her goons are sick from the experiments; Jim's plan is ice cold. When Fish's goons show up, they quickly overpower Jim and take Peabody. One of them can either turn invisible or teleport, and the other is in a lot of leather and seems pretty strong. Grabbing Peabody, they leave, and the weird screeching guy is back for round two with Gordo.

Jim tussels with the screeching villain, and he dives out the window. Jim grabs him by the ankle, and hangs him out the window, where his coat goes up over his head revealing - holy crap! Wings! Leathery wings! It's a freaking Man-Bat! And here we came so unprepared with a theory right here about Man-Bat coming to the show - OH WAIT. Boom. While they're struggling, Vale takes a picture of Jim and the Man-Bat. Veeeery interesting. It's not like people in this world don't KNOW there are freaks and monsters out on the streets of Gotham, so what's her end game there? Jim pulls the Man-Bat in and cuffs it.

Commercial Break! Nothing fun and comic themed this time. The streak is over.

Captain Barnes is not happy with Gordon, or with Bullock for that matter. He makes quite the threat at Gordon, but he goes worse with Bullock. He tells him he was proud of him and how he handled things when he was away, but that's all gone now. He's not feeling great, either, coughing after they leave.

Bullock tells Jim he should probably just stay away for awhile. Vale confronts Gordon for using her to bait Fish - and he pretty much just blows her off.

Another rooftop chat! This time it's Selina and Ivy, who Selina tells to stay away from Fish and her goons. DoppelBruce comes up to Ivy after Selina leaves - she's confused, and thinks he's Bruce. He grabs her begging to know who Bruce is, and she runs off.

Penguin and Butch go back to Sirens to moderate a deal between the ladies and the guy who came to shake them down saying the club was on his territory. Babs says they'll give him nothing, and accuses Butch of orchestrating the whole thing to try to get Tabby back... aaaand he totally did. Penguin shoots the goon in the head, and tells them the club is theirs to run.

Fish and her cadre of Indian Hill monsters (and Selina) interrogate Miss Peabody. She tells them that if they just stop using the powers they were given, they'll recover. "It's just... I like the new me," Fish says. She uses her power to get more out of Peabody, who says that Hugo Strange can fix them, but he's the only one. She doesn't know where he is, though. Aging/life-sapping guy, Marv, "A fountain of youth in reverse" grabs Peabody, aging her to death. Selina watches this happen and suddenly doesn't think it's that cool to be running with these folks.

Cooooommmmeeeeeercccciiiialllll.

Ivy is dragged into the warehouse by the masked chick in leather. She's defiant, and says that if they attack her, "I'll tell!" Oh boy. Leather chick and Marv chase after Ivy as she tries to run away. Marv grabs her and thanks to an audio cue we hear his powers start to work - but she struggles free and falls into a sewer drain. Selina cries.

In a coda scene, Jim looks longingly at a picture of Lee while drinking. The GCPD arms up significantly. Babs clinks glasses happily at Sirens. Vale develops her picture of the Man-Bat (it's TOTALLY Man-Bat).

Bruce and Alfred return home, and the Talon dispatched earlier shows up. Alfred tosses a knife at him, which he dodges with ease. Revealing a hidden blade Assassin's Creed-style, he jumps at Alfred to fight. Alfred holds his own for a moment, but this is a trained fighter/assassin of a shadowy cabal, y'all. He knocks Alfred out, and Bruce comes back in. The Talon is hiding, and grabs Bruce, knocking him out and slinging him over his shoulder. He walks away and...

End title cards!

Next Monday, Bruce talks to the Court of Owls, Fish looks for Hugo Strange, and Penguin rallies Gotham City? Woah. Thanks for reading, catch you next week!