EXCLUSIVE: How Paul Reubens Reacted to Tonight’s Gotham Shocker

Major Spoilers for tonight’s Gotham ahead!

Fans who thought things were looking up for Oswald Cobblepot were in for a rude awakening on tonight’s Gotham. Trying to poison him, his new step-family didn’t count on chance, and Elijah Van Dahl took the drink instead of Oswald, ending Paul Reubens’ short run on the series.

When talking to Comicbook.com about the surprising death, Reubens said he felt frustrated and saddened – and he tried to change it on the fly.

“I’ll tell you, when we were shooting the scene, I decided I wasn’t going to die,” Reubens told us. “The first take of that scene, I just decided, ‘I’m not dying.’ So I drank a sip, and drank a few more sips, then downed the glass and poured another one, and said, ‘This is delicious!’ I just went on and on and on, and I looked up, trying not to laugh – I told Robin [Lord Taylor] what I was doing, so he knew, and the script supervisor and the director were looking at each other and the pages – I don’t think they got it! They didn’t get that I was joking around. I didn’t get the laugh I thought I would get. They were just confused and didn’t know what I was doing.” For fans who want to see that take, he’s hopeful it will survive. “We’ll see if it doesn’t wind up on a blooper reel or something.”

Reubens said, due to the nature of the comicbook world, he’s ready and more than willing for a return.

“I have pitched them a whole bunch of different ways to bring me back! I don’t know if any of it is practical, or if they were even listening,” he said with a laugh. “I certainly mentioned coming back to life, or being a ghost. Believe me, I was terribly disappointed to meet such an early demise.”

As for the fallout of his death, Reubens promised it’ll be momentous.

“Everyone is going berserk. My wife Grace (played by Melinda Clarke) is really frightening. She’s a force to be reckoned with, and will be reckoned with,” the actor teased.

What did you think of tonight’s episode, “Prisoners?” Rate it in the box above!