‘Gotham’ Kills Major Character in Season 5 Premiere

Gotham‘s final season arrived with a massive shock on Thursday night, as the Season 5 premiere saw the death of one of the show’s more beloved, long-running characters.

WARNING: This article contains major spoilers from Gotham’s Season 5 finale! Continue reading at your own risk…

As the promotion for Gotham‘s final season ramped up these last couple of months, plenty of fans have been wondering why one key character was missing from all of the posters and cast photos. Well, the answer came tonight as Tabitha (Jessica Lucas) met her tragic end.

At the end of Season 4, Tabitha vowed she would kill Penguin after watching him murder Butch in cold blood. Of course, this act only took place because Tabitha killed Penguin’s mother, but that was years ago. When the new season began this week, Tabitha was still set on getting vengeance, despite the fact that Barbara thought the timing wasn’t exactly right.

When a chopper carrying supplies was shot down in the city, several different groups went to the scene of the accident to collect. This led to Penguin being blindsided by Barbara’s Sirens, and Tabitha holding him at gunpoint.

Things worked out for Penguin because the bullet in Tabitha’s gun, which was made in Penguin’s factory, misfired when the trigger was pulled. Tabitha made her move and it failed, so Penguin got an opportunity to strike. He pulled a knife from his leg brace and pulled Tabitha close.

In perhaps one of the most devastating moments of the series, Penguin held his knife over Tabitha’s head, looked her directly in the eye and said, “Say hi to Butch for me.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Penguin stabbed Tabitha in the chest and she fell to the ground.

Yes, people on Gotham have survived much worse than a knife to the chest. Let’s now forget the end of Season 3 when Butch was shot in the head from point-blank range and still managed to fight through it. This feels a bit different though. The death of Tabitha will ignite a spark in the rivalry between Barbara and Penguin like nothing else ever could, and it will likely help provide motivation for the rest of the season. As much as it stings, expect this death to stick.

Were you expecting Tabitha to meet her end in the Gotham Season 5 finale? Will you still be able to look at Penguin the same way going forward? Let us know in the comments!