Jim Gordon & Galavan Have A 'Gotham' Showdown

Theo Galavan is finally dead — and instead of Penguin, it's Jim Gordon who's to blame. In a surprising twist, Det. Gordon shot and killed Galavan, even though he was willing to bring the man in and prosecute him until almost the very last second. But even though he swore that he wouldn't go outside the law, Jim was swayed by Galavan's claims that he'd be able to get out of any legal trouble because he's a billionaire. When faced with that legal conundrum, Gordon made the choice that was less than morally upright, but probably minimized casualties, considering that the city was minutes away from being under the control of the Order of St. Dumas, a murderous, bloodthirsty cult.

Plus, Galavan's money made him a hard crook to beat — a billionaire is tough to lock up, especially when he surrounds himself with loyal acolytes who will defend him to the death. Actually, if he stuck around, it probably would have made for an even more complicated Gotham Season 2, since he would have no doubt been able to mount some sort of a comeback from Arkham — he broke in so easily, it can't be hard for him to break out. But it's hard to take over the city with an umbrella shoved down your throat, so I think it's pretty clear that Galavan is dead, and won't be making another appearance. And, on the bright side, Penguin was able to avenge his mother.

But this could put things in a bad place for Gordon going forward. He explicitly ignored instructions from Captain Barnes, who suspended Gordon from the force, considered him a fugitive, and basically tried to keep him as far away from this case as possible. Then, ultimately, Gordon collaborates with a butler, a kid crook, a kingpin, a Wayne Enterprises middle manager (Lucius Fox returned briefly for this episode), and a mobster to break into the mayor's house, kill his followers, free the only witness who can corroborate any of the madness that went down, let both Silver and Tabitha escape, and takes Galavan to the docks to beat and then murder him. I mean, that sounds pretty bad, for a cop, especially one under the rule-abiding Barnes.

Galavan was certainly very evil, and had some awful plans in store for the city, but he was denied his basic rights to a fair trial... even though he did manage to sway his trial last time. The second half of Gotham Season 2 could pick up with Gordon totally excommunicated from the force, or even living life as a fugitive, all because he chose to help Penguin kill Galavan instead of sticking with the procedure and arresting him.

Image: Nicole Rivelli/FOX; Giphy (2)