‘Gotham’ Fires Up A Female Firefly In A Two-Part Origin Arc

Warning: This article may contain spoilers for Gotham.

Gotham introduced Firefly on Monday, making the character female for the first time and beginning an origin story that will span two episodes, which began with last night’s “Scarification” and will conclude with “By Fire,” when Gotham returns on Monday, October 26.

Bridgit Pike Becomes Firefly On Gotham

In Gotham “Scarification,” Bridgit Pike (Michelle Veintimilla) is enslaved by her brothers, all of whom have banded together as a gang of arsonists, and forced to help them, though she soon comes to enjoy the thrill of it all.

“She’s doing all of these things for the first time — she’s seen her brothers do it but she’s never actually handled fire… [so] she is scared,” Gotham‘s Veintimilla said. “Because she’s testing her limits and she’s learning, she doesn’t really know her strengths yet and what the limits are, so she makes mistakes, and some of them end up being destructive.”

Complicating matters further for Gotham‘s Firefly, Bridgit comes to meet up with Selena Kyle (Camren Bicondova), and it’s soon revealed that the two girls had been raised in the same neighborhoods before growing apart. Now reunited, Selena and Bridgit find that they have an opportunity to bond in ways that were never before possible. Gotham fans have already known that Selena only really has Bruce Wayne to connect with, but he lives in a completely different world and, even more basic than that, he is a boy. Bridgit feels just as alienated, having been separated from other girls and surrounded by her brothers.

As it turns out, Selena helps Bridgit overcome her fears and insecurities when it comes time for her to perform and help her brothers with a few arson jobs around Gotham. Veintimilla tells IGN that Gotham‘s future Catwoman really takes Bridgit A.K.A. Firefly under her wing and helps to toughen her up, which is something she will need as things heat up in the second part of Gotham‘s Firefly origin story.

Michelle Veintimilla also acknowledged that some Gotham fans weren’t happy that there was a gender swap in the character of Firefly, but she’s very happy that the Gotham producers chose to go with the female version of the character.

“I’m happy that they’ve gone with a female Firefly for the show, bringing some female energy into the mix. Females are fierce and so I’m excited to represent that.”

Gotham Reveals What Drives Theo Galavan’s Hatred Of Bruce Wayne

Theo Galavan (James Frain) has been harboring a vendetta against Gotham’s Wayne family that is the result of an event that happened centuries earlier, when five families -the Waynes, Elliots, Dumas, Kanes and Crownes- ruled Gotham together. When Celestine Wayne was found in an intimate circumstance with Caleb Dumas, she protected herself and her family’s name by claiming that Dumas had forced himself upon her. As a result, the Waynes seized the financial holdings of the Dumas family, who then changed their name to Galavan.

Being exiled overseas, Caleb joined a sect “founded by his family’s patron saint,” called The Order of St. Dumas. According to Gotham myth, the order was spawned as an offshoot of The Knights Templar and was tasked with creating the warrior assassin Azrael. Variety suggests that Gotham will incorporate this legend into an origin story for Theo Galavan, making him a modern version of Azrael in future episodes of Gotham‘s second season.

“We will be going deeper into the Order of St. Dumas over the next run of episodes, and it will continue to play an evolving role for the rest of the season… And yes, we wouldn’t be telling an Order of St. Dumas story without also intending to tell an Azrael story. Just keep watching,” says Gotham executive producer John Stephens.

[Featured image courtesy of Fox/Gotham]