Gotham‘s newest episode, “The Trial of Jim Gordon,” is more of a love letter to the cast of the series than anything else, but that’s okay. The episode was written by one of the series stars, Ben McKenzie, and directed by another, Erin Richards, so there’s plenty of love and adoration for this weird little adventure bleeding through the screen. It doesn’t deal with many of the bigger plots of the season (those will pick back up next week), but it is a nice reminder of how much fun Gotham can be, and how much we’re all going to miss it once it’s gone.
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All that to say, not a ton happens in this episode to further the bigger narrative, though there are a couple of big moments in the final act that connect everything together. So, let’s break it down, shall we? As always, these recaps are literally nothing but spoilers, so don’t keep reading if you don’t want to know.
The bulk of this episode centers around Jim Gordon, who gets shot in the opening minutes. While Lee, Harvey, and the others try to find him some medicine that can keep him alive, the good captain has a hallucination in which he is on trial for the crimes against Gotham and the people that he loves. He’s also the judge of this trial, as well as the star witness. Jim learns throughout this process that, even when trying to do the right thing, he still doesn’t always do what’s best for him, or the people of Gotham.
Meanwhile, Ivy is back in town and using her poison to make the people do what she wants. Her goal is to kill Jim Gordon so that Gotham will descent into chaos, keeping the mainland from offering any help. This will eventually allow the plants to take over the entire island. Of course, Bruce and Selina thwart this plan, with the help of one Lucius Fox (who is consistently wonderful any time he’s on screen). While this storyline doesn’t exactly matter in the long run, it uses Zsasz as Ivy’s assassin under a spell, and any episode that features Anthony Carrigan is automatically worth its weight in gold.
The episode ends with Jim waking up and deciding that he needs to drastically change his life and, you know, actually start living it. A one month time jump is introduced, revealing the wedding of Jim and Lee. If you didn’t know, Ben McKenzie and Morena Baccarin are married IRL, so this moment is even sweeter than you may realize. While at the wedding, Bruce and Selina share a kiss, adding another wrinkle to a relationship that’s about to get very difficult.
Finally, things wrap up with Barbara, who is obviously pissed about Jim and Lee. A talk with Penguin shows that she was trying to turn things around and be with Jim, but that’s now out the window, and she’s looking to take the next submarine out of town. Whenever Nygma finishes it, that is.
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