‘Gotham’ season 3, episode 7 review: Jim Gordon’s change of heart

At some point on “Gotham,” we knew that the moment was meant to come about, and it finally did on Monday night’s new episode: Jim Gordon is now heading back to the Gotham City Police Department.

What brought that move about seems to be, smartly, a whole lot of reflection told in a surprisingly-interesting way: Jervis Tetch continued to torment Jim throughout this episode, and specifically did so in a way that sent him into a dream-like haze. It was upon reflection there that he first realized that if he wanted to make a different, and eventually if he wanted to win Lee Thompkins back, he would have to do so with a regular, steady job. This also marked the end of his relationship with Valerie Vale, as she smartly recognized that he only told Jervis to kill Lee because he knew that the Hatter would want to do the opposite. Jim denied it to Lee later, but she’s so much smarter than that.

Getting Jim back into the fold there in some ways makes the story easier, and it also further prepares us for what’s coming soon with Nathaniel Barnes. He’s clearly starting to lose it as a result of Alice’s blood, but for some reason (maybe it’s stubbornness?) refuses to recognize that the changes are in fact coming.

Elsewhere, the odd relationship between Nygma and Isabella continues; apparently, no attempt at sabotaging their relationship works. Oswald tried, but basically the warnings and criticisms bounced completely off of her without too much effort. She researched him and felt fine with it. We’re not so sure we dig the Nygma / Penguin pairing as much as we did; we liked it when there was a chance that it was mutual, but watching Oswald pine away at something like this just feels a tad cruel, and we say that knowing he’s a pretty terrible person.

In general, “Gotham” does at times have a little much going on, but we appreciated the more linear focus of things this time around, even if it did mean that some characters are being left to the wayside for now. It was nice see unusual roles for such people as Barbara, and the Court of Owls cliffhanger will likely prove to be very interesting in the end. Grade: B.