Barbara on Gotham
Barbara (Erin Richards, pictured) tries to keep Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) distracted on "Gotham" Season 2, episode 8. Nicole Rivelli/Fox

Detective Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) has been hunting down villains on Fox’s Batman prequel series “Gotham” Season 2. Gordon faces one of his biggest challenges yet in episode 8, titled “Tonight’s the Night,” when he and the GCPD deal with his crazy ex-girlfriend Barbara (Erin Richards), who may lead Gordon to answers he’s been looking for to take down Theo Galavan (James Frain).

Barbara finds a gift from Theo, who plans on using her to distract Gordon while he gets Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) to sign over his company to him. Barbara believes the day has finally come to kill Gordon.

At GCPD, Gordon tries to convince Capt. Nathaniel Barnes (Michael Chiklis) that Theo is dirty and has orchestrated the Arkham breakout, the attacks on candidates and the arsons. Barnes doesn’t believe he has any real evidence yet and tells Gordon to come back to him when he has something concrete other than the words of Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) and Butch (Drew Powell).

Barbara arrives at GCPD and turns herself over to police custody. She refuses to talk to anyone other than Gordon, so he goes to interrogate her. Gordon decides to play along with her game and acts like he still cares about her. With Lee (Morena Baccarin), Barnes and Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) looking on, Gordon kisses Barbara. She tells him she has something to show him before she'll reveal everything she knows.

Lee says Barbara is mentally ill and Barnes agrees and believes Gordon shouldn’t go see what she has to show him. Gordon sees Barbara as the only link they have connecting everything to Theo and he decides to pursuit it.

Bruce goes to Theo’s to meet with him. Theo tells Bruce it’s his dream to save the city and Bruce can help him do that. Theo tells Bruce of the corruption going on at Wayne Enterprises and says he wants to fix it. He proposes Bruce sell him the shares of the company in exchange for the identity of the man who killed Bruce’s parents, whom he was somehow able to track down.

With the strike force following close behind, Barbara leads Gordon and Bullock downtown. Gordon is trying to get answers out of her in the car, but Barbara won’t give him anything. A huge truck then rams the side of Bullock and Gordon’s patrol car, while the strike force gets into a gunfight. Barbara escapes from the back seat of the car and Gordon is tranquilized and taken.

Theo and Bruce
Theo Galavan (James Frain, left) tries to trick Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz, right) into signing over the controlling shares of Wayne Enterprises on "Gotham" Season 2, episode 8. Fox/Nicole Rivelli

Bruce is unsure what to do about Theo’s proposal so he turns to Alfred (Sean Pertwee). Alfred believes what Theo is doing is extortion. Bruce wants his parents’ legacy to be righted, but Alfred says their legacy is Bruce, not the company.

Gordon is taken to a church and tied to a chair. Barbara comes up from behind him wearing the wedding dress she bought when they were engaged. She plans to kill Gordon and reveals that not only has she taken Gordon to the church, but she also kidnapped Lee.

Barnes told Bullock to get out of the GCPD after disobeying an order to prior to the ambush. However, Bullock refuses to step away and figures out that Barbara took Gordon to a church near where Gordon was taken. He tells this to Barnes and the two go off to find Gordon.

Barbara believes Lee doesn’t know who Gordon is, but Lee shows Barbara there are no secrets between them. Lee keeps Barbara distracted, while Gordon breaks loose from the ropes keeping him tied down.

Gordon grabs a shotgun and points it at Barbara as police sirens outside the church are heard. Barbara runs away, while Tabitha (Jessica Lucas) and her men try to stop Gordon. He shoots two of the men and hits Tabitha in the shoulder with a shot. The strike force rolls into the church and Gordon runs after Barbara.

He chases her to the second floor of the church and he asks her to surrender. Barbara refuses and she runs after him with a knife. The two struggle and Barbara crashes through stained glass, while Gordon grabs her with one hand. Barbara looks up at him, says she loves him, lets go of his hand and falls to the street.

Barbara survives with several broken bones. Gordon tells Barnes he couldn’t get anything from her about Theo, but she did reveal that Mayor James (Richard Kind) was alive and being held in a warehouse. The strike force goes to the warehouse and finds James, who tells the police that Theo was behind his kidnapping.

Bruce is about to sign away his company to Theo when he has a change of heart. He decides not to sign away his shares just as Gordon, Barnes and the strike force barge into Theo’s place. Gordon tells Bruce to get away from Theo and announces Theo is under arrest for kidnapping James. Before being taken into custody, Theo throws the folder containing the identity of Bruce’s parents' killer into the fireplace, leaving Bruce still searching for answers.

Other Major Moments From Episode 8:

  • Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) drives into the woods to get rid of Ms. Kringle’s (Chelsea Spack) remains. After digging a hole, he pours some wine and sets out sandwiches for a toast to Ms. Kringle, when a hunter sneaks up on him. The hunter sees the box containing the remains and Nygma hits him on the head with a shovel. He walks back to the car to get tools to cut up the hunter, when he discovers someone has eaten the food he brought with him. Nygma walks through the woods and comes to a trailer, where he finds Penguin looking for help.
  • Barbara has caused some problems between Gordon and Lee and the two of them are now going to have to try and work them out.