Gotham season 2 ditched the procedural episodes and brought fans more in-depth storylines. Here’s a recap of everything that happened before you watch season 3!
Theo and Tabitha Galavan
Right in the season premiere the new big villains were introduced. Theo and Tabitha arrived and were ready to take over the city of Gotham. First, though, they had to recruit some help and they turned to Arkham.
Later, it was revealed that they wanted to use the Maniax to tear the city down, so that Theo could then become the hero of the city and take it over. Their ultimate goal was to seek revenge for their family, which was shunned after the Waynes accused their ancestor of wronging them.
The Maniax
Tabith broke Jerome Valeska, Aaron Helzinger, Arnold Dobkins, and Barbara Kean out of Arkham. The Galavans wanted to use them to take over the city and set up Jerome as the leader of the Maniax. Their first order of business was to abduct a group of citizens, mark them each with a letter from “Maniax!” and throw them over the Gotham Gizette building where everyone was sure to see.
The group also hijacked a bus full of cheerleaders and attempted to blow them up, but were thwarted by the GCPD. In retaliation, the Maniax then targeted the police department and killed many officers, including Commissioner Essen.
Sadly, the group was killed off one by one, until only Barbara remained. We’re still bitter about Jerome’s early demise.
Captain Barnes
After Essen’s murder, Captain Barnes took over the GCPD. His goal was to make the city safer and eliminate the corruption, starting with the police. He even made Gordon his second in command, so Gordon decided to end his unconventional partnership with Penguin (for the time being).
Like Gordon, Barnes seemed intent on cleaning things up. Also like Gordon, he had to learn that sometimes rules have to be bent in order to survive Gotham.
Indian Hill
After Bridgit, a.k.a. Firefly, had an accident with her flame thrower and set herself on fire, fans were introduced to Indian Hill. Instead of going to Arkham, she was taken down to Indian Hill where criminals are experimented on.
This meant characters that were previously thought to be killed off might be able to come back. Season 3 should reveal more characters that are alive as a result of Indian Hill.
Penguin’s downfall
After refusing to help Galavan, Penguin’s mother was taken hostage. Of course, Penguin would do anything to get her back, so he used Butch to infiltrate Galavan’s inner circle. First, Penguin hacked off Butch’s hand to make it look like they had turned on one another.
Galavan didn’t fall for it, though, and had Tabitha work to undo the brainwashing that had Butch working for Penguin. Then, they used Butch to lure Penguin to where his mother was being kept. Instead of setting her free, they killed her in front of him. Penguin escaped and then wanted revenge more than anything.
Nygma embraced his dark side
After his second accidental kill (R.I.P. Kristen Kringle), Nygma began to realize that he liked his darker side. When he came across an injured Penguin, he decided to help him, hoping for guidance in return. Nygma didn’t want to go back to the way he was before. After getting Penguin back to health and cheering him up, they ended up killing one of Galavan’s men together.
Galavan’s downfall
When Bruce went missing, Gordon knew that Galavan was behind it but didn’t have any real proof. That meant turning to Penguin, once again, for help. Lucius, Alfred, Bullock, Penguin, Selina, and Gordon all teamed up to save Bruce.
The group was able to get into the building and stop Galavan from killing Bruce just in time. Galavan, however, wasn’t afraid of being arrested and believed he could just get out. So when Barnes arrived to take him in, Penguin knocked him out. Together, Penguin and Gordon drove down to the docks where they killed Galavan.
Mr. Freeze
Victor Fries was introduced as a good guy that’s went terribly desperate as his wife Nora was dying slowly. Since she couldn’t be cured, he worked to find a way to freeze her using cryogenics until a way to save her was found. The only way he could figure out the right formula, though, Was to abduct people from the city.
The sicker Nora got, the more desperate and dangerous Victor became. The GCPD set a trap that would lead Victor to Arkham but it backfired on them when Hugo Strange worked out a deal with Victor. Strange wanted his formula to use on the experiments in Indian Hill, and in exchange he helped Victor get away from the cops.
Nora ended up tricking Victor into using the wrong formula on her, which killed her. Victor tried to kill himself too and was sent to Arkham where he was pronounced dead. What they didn’t know was that they basically delivered him right to Indian Hill where he becomes Mr. Freeze.
Penguin’s family
After being released from Arkham, Penguin was a changed man with nowhere to turn. During a visit to his mother’s grave, Penguin met Elijah Van Dahl, who claimed to be his long lost father. Apparently Gertrude was bribed by Elijah’s wealthy family to disappear when she became pregnant.
Penguin agreed to go home with Elijah, who had a wife and step children. Though they acted friendly, the step family was not happy at all that a legitimate heir to the family fortune had come into the picture.
First, they tried to reveal to Elijah that Penguin was a criminal — but Penguin had already told him. Then they tried to seduce him, but it creeped Penguin out. Next they tried to poison him, but accidentally killed Elijah instead.
When Penguin found out what his step family did to Elijah, he killed the siblings first and then fed them to his step mother.
Locked up
After being framed for murder by Nygma, Gordon was sent to prison with no hope of an appeal. Since the warden happened to be friends of the former commissioner Loeb, Gordon was in constant danger as the other inmates tried to kill him.
What Gordon didn’t realize was that he also had friends on the inside. One night when everyone was watching a movie, a plan was set in motion to get Gordon free. It involved making it appear he’d been killed, and escaping out of a body bag. Gordon came to find out that Bullock and Falcone were to thank for it all.
His freedom didn’t bring great happiness, though, as he learned that Leslie lost their unborn child and moved out of the city. On the upside, Gordon was able to crack his own case and figured out that it was Nygma who framed him.
Azrael
Hugo Strange had a breakthrough with his Indian Hill experiments as Galavan was brought back to life. However, he woke up confused, angry, and powerful, and as a result he killed everyone in the room. Strange remained safe behind a glass and was able to figure out that he needed to give Galavan a new identity in order to control him.
Since all Galavan can remember is text from St. Dumas, Strange gave him the identity of Azrael. Strange convinced Galavan that he was Azrael sent on a holy mission. His first assignment was to kill Gordon.
When Azrael went to the GCPD to kill Gordon, his mask got knocked off and his real identity was revealed. He didn’t get to Gordon, but he did manage to stab Barnes, who was totally unprepared for that craziness.
Galavan ended up getting a bit of his memory back and he recalled the need to kill Bruce and went after him instead of Gordon. Luckily for Bruce, Penguin and Butch showed up with a giant missile launcher and destroyed Galavan for good.
Mooney returns
Despite the fiasco with Galavan, Strange continued his experiments. Mooney was the first one to wake up with all of her memories in tact. What she didn’t know was why she was being kept prisoner. She also quickly finds that a new ability has come back with her. All Mooney has to do is touch someone and they will follow her orders.
This makes it quite easy for Mooney to escape from Indian Hill. She used Ms. Peabody to get out of her cell, but Hugo Strange realized what was happening and set a bomb’s timer off. Gordon, not wanting the bomb to destroy the whole city, stops it. That meant the experiments, including Mooney, were able to escape Arkham.