As you may recall, Gotham‘s final season was originally slated to consist of ten episodes. Then, to our delight, the tally was later extended to twelve. This, of course, was to assure that the Batman prequel series ultimately ends its run at 100 episodes, therefore it be eligible for syndication.
Obviously, this pair of additions made us all wonder how the overall story would flow, and now we’ve been given answers. As it turns out, the two installments in question will be inserted partway into season 5. My best guess is that John Stephens and company looked over their overarching narrative and saw an opening for more material.
How do we know this? Well, for starters, the synopsis for February 28th’s “Nothing’s Shocking” still has “GTH-511” in its description, as opposed to “GTH-508”:
Bullock’s past comes back to haunt him when he and Gordon investigate two murders at Sirens. Meanwhile, Bruce and Alfred explore the tunnels beneath the city, and Penguin and Nygma’s plans to escape are thwarted by the least likely of suspects in the all-new “Nothing’s Shocking” episode of GOTHAM airing Thursday, Feb. 28 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (GTH-511) (TV-14 L, V)
Then, on March 7th, Peyton List returns as Poison Ivy in “The Trial of Jim Gordon,” which was actually written by Ben McKenzie and directed by Erin Richards. Anyhow, here’s the skinny on “GTH-512”:
After Gordon is shot in an attempt to establish a cease-fire, he hallucinates a trial for his life that could have deadly real consequences. Meanwhile, Ivy (guest star Peyton List) returns and puts her spell on Bruce, leaving Selina to defend herself. Lee has a life-changing moment as Barbara and Penguin consider their next moves in the all-new “The Trial of Jim Gordon” episode of GOTHAM airing Thursday, March 7 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (GTH-512) (TV-14 L, V)
Like I said earlier, the producers probably thought it was best to slip this stuff in after “Ace Chemicals” because the episode that was originally supposed to air afterward’s titled “I am Bane.” Once that arrives, there’ll likely be no turning back and the man once known as Eduardo Dorrance will begin launching an all-out assault on Gotham.