To me, Gotham feels somewhat like pro wrestling insofar that allegiances between characters seem to shift often in order to keep storylines fresh. To some, this may feel frustrating, but it’s actually quite believable when you consider that the city’s underworld is made up of flamboyant villains possessing astronomical egos.
When we last saw the major players in the season 3 finale, the three we’re focusing on today each underwent something significant: the Riddler had been frozen in a block of ice, thus serving as a macabre centerpiece in Penguin’s new digs, the Iceberg Lounge; Butch Gilzean was shot in the head before it was revealed that his birth name is, in fact, Cyrus Gold, therefore implying he’s coming back as Solomon Grundy; and Lee Thompkins was cured of the Alice Tetch virus, but, the more we hear, it sounds like she’ll remain a bad girl for the foreseeable future.
Here’s what executive producer John Stephens had to say to Cinema Blend at San Diego Comic-Con about the formation of this terrible trio:
“We have all these families that are being created this year, and one of the families is going to be a brand new and very different Lee Tompkins, together with Ed Nygma and Solomon Grundy, who is Butch Gilzean obviously. When Butch becomes Solomon Grundy, he doesn’t remember his former life, so when he runs into Ed Nygma, he doesn’t remember that he wants to rip his head off. And Ed, who is suffering the effects of being frozen for three months, needs Grundy’s help to get strong again. The three of them form this weird little family.”
Getting back to Lee Thompkins, Cory Michael Smith, Edward Nygma himself, had this to add regarding his newest ally:
“Evil Lee or Dark Lee is a new character. Solomon Grundy is certainly a new character. So I get to meet two new people, and interact with them, so I’m very excited about that. Feels like new beginnings. Every time Edward meets a new character and interacts with them and grows a kinship with them, he changes significantly, so I’m really excited to see what organically happens when I’m dealing with the buffoon of Solomon Grundy, not just like the physical power, but the idiocy. Then someone like Lee, who at this point, is an entirely different human being.”
Suffice it to say, this is another instance of having to love or hate this series for being a reassembly of the parts. While I’m not ruling out Morena Baccarin’s version of Thompkins going on to be the gentle soul we know from the comics, I’m willing to see how this interpretation plays out even if she ultimately remains evil.
Gotham returns for its fourth season on Thursday, September 28 on Fox.
