Lee's 'Gotham' Return Didn't Have The Best Timing

Gotham has always had plenty of drama, and now it has another love triangle. Just as Jim Gordon and Valerie Vale kissed for the first time in the Aug. 26 episode, Lee Thompkins returned to Gotham. Lee didn't leave much behind in the city, besides a terrible job working for the GCPD and several people who were dying to murder her, so it's safe to guess that her relationship with Jim may have been what brought her back, especially since that relationship is now in jeopardy. However, Jim has gone through a pretty profound transformation since he found out that Lee was with someone else, so I don't know if they'd even be compatible anymore. The ideologically pure, young Jim Gordon from Gotham's first episode doesn't exist anymore, and he's been replaced by a bounty hunter with barely any ties to the GCPD.

With that evolution in mind, Valerie has is a pretty good fit for the new Jim, as the two have been working together since the Season 3 premiere. Their back and forth might include the odd handcuffing-to-a-car moment, but Valerie is so far the only person that Gordon will even tolerate working alongside, despite Bullock practically begging him to come back to the force. After such a long absence, it's hard to predict how Lee will react to this new version of Jim once she spends some time with him.

Still, it seems clear that the "new" Gordon will be tested by Leslie's reappearance, and possibly find himself losing his tough exterior. After all, when Gordon first met Lee, she helped him solve mysteries too, like the trouble of what was going down at Arkham and Jerome's crimes at the circus. But over time, she realized that his devotion to his work was negatively impacting their relationship and family. Perhaps Valerie's relationship with Jim will wind up being the opposite, with their shared focus on their jobs actually bringing them closer together.

With everything that's going on in the city right now — from Fish and her cavalcade of mutants, who now have Hugo Strange in their clutches, to Bruce Wayne, who just discovered that he has some kind of secret clone — Jim may not even have enough time for romance. But after this moment with Valerie and Lee's surprise reappearance, he may soon be forced to make a choice, even if that choice is to put solving this mystery ahead of any relationship with another person.

Images: Jeff Neumann/FOX (2)