'Gotham' Is Laying Off The Jim & Barbara Romance

Fans of the Batman comics and movies know that Commissioner James Gordon is usually married to Barbara Kean. But on Gotham, they've been broken up for a while now, ever since Babs skipped town, fearing for Jim's life in the face of the dangerous vigilante problem. So when will Barbara and Jim get back together? The show has plenty of other, more urgent balls in the air, like the Arkham Asylum escape of Jack Gruber, but once Jim's back on the force as a detective, he'll have the time to worry about his love life.

But this episode is teasing a new love story, between Gordon and Dr. Leslie Thompkins, who's finding herself drawn to Jim even though he's so prim and proper that he refuses to call her by her first name. But she's not one to give up easily, and it looks like by the end of the episode, there's going to be at least one romantically charged moment between them. He's usually so serious, but Leslie is bringing out Jim's sexy side. She shows up at the GCPD, where Gordon and Bullock are working furiously to find Gruber before 24 hours go by and Commissioner Loeb kicks them both off the force, and offers some psychological insight to Gruber's time in Arkham. And then, after offering that break in the case, looks like they'll meet up again before the end of the episode... and make out. Watch the preview below.

I'm excited to see the type of Jim Gordon who's "done being careful." That's awesome, and Leslie is an accomplished, confident woman — the perfect person for Jim to move on with, if he still has any residual hurt feelings about Barbara dumping him.

What's interesting is that in the most recent episode, "Rogues Gallery," Renee Montoya seemingly broke up with Barbara because of her substance abuse and their incompatibility. I don't think Barbara should be dating anyone right now until she works out the alcoholism the show is trying to suggest that she has. I guess it's fair to say that Barbara and Jim are on a pretty serious break if they're both seeing other people. The only loose end is where Jim will live once Barbara has to move back into her apartment now that she can't stay with Renee anymore. I'd be disappointed if I was Jim — can't be easy to find an apartment that swanky in the industrial wasteland that is Gotham City.

In the comics, Jim and Barbara were married since they were pretty young. But, they usually end up getting divorced by the time they're middle-aged because Jim cheats with his partner, Sarah Essen. So we know that these crazy kids will likely get back together before Gotham ends, but for now, it seems like the healthiest thing for their relationship is to take a break if they wants to avoid the infidelities of their comic book counterparts.

Images: Jessica Miglio/FOX; Giphy