4 Ways to Gut a Fish: Dealing With Jada Pinkett Smith's (Probable) 'Gotham' Exit

Jada Pinkett Smith told Live With Kelly and Michael that she won’t be back for Season 2 of Gotham. She didn’t give a reason, and the show’s producers remained tight-lipped as well, saying only, “Fish Mooney’s storyline takes a lot of interesting twists and turns into the finale of Season 1 of Gotham.”

Related: Catch Up on ‘Gotham’ With Our Recaps

It’s likely Pinkett Smith’s early exit was the plan all along. The character of Fish Mooney has always been the odd man out. It’s the only role that’s lasted more than two episodes — aside from her lackey, Butch — which doesn’t exist in the comics. She was created simply to be an obstacle in the way of Penguin’s rise to power. Now that this is done, all that’s left for her is to go out in a blaze of glory, and this could happen any number of ways.

1. Fish vs. Penguin

The most obvious finale for Pinkett Smith’s character is a blowout clash between Mooney and Oswald Cobblepot. Penguin has risen through the ranks and now runs Fish’s old nightclub; it seems as if he has everything he’s ever wanted. But really, Cobblepot is driven by revenge — revenge against everyone who’s wronged him, probably going back to the doctor who smacked him on the butt when he was born. He can’t forgive her for treating him like dirt, and she can’t forgive him for his betrayal. Their confrontation is inevitable, and one won’t make it out alive.

2. Fish vs. Falcone

When Carmine Falcone strangled Liza, he showed that he’s willing to get his hands dirty when the situation calls for it. The most likely scenario here is that they both kill each other, clearing the way for Penguin to become the head of the Falcone family.

3. Fish vs. the Gotham City Police Department

Of course, it couldn’t hurt to keep her around. Gordon could just capture Fish and throw her in jail; that way, she can escape at any point for future shenanigans. Anticlimactic? OK, then how about this? Bullock, tortured about his “Cobblepot that didn’t come back,” gets a second chance to make the moral choice. Falcone forces him to put a bullet into Fish, and he lets her go. It’s in keeping with the implied relationship they once shared and gives a nice arc to Bullock’s character. Also, she’s available for future shenanigans.

4. Fish becomes… the Joker?

This possibility is pretty far-out, but with fans scouring every frame for information about Batman’s No. 1 nemesis, Gotham is already working extra hard to avoid telegraphing its Joker origin. The biggest knock on Pinkett Smith’s performance is that it’s over-the-top, but imagine that same performance with clown makeup on: All of a sudden, it’s not so over-the-top. In fact, what she’s been doing this entire season is pretty close to an understated Joker. Sure, it’s gender-swapped and that will make a whole lot of fans angry; but those people are going to be angry no matter which direction they go, so why not?

Pinkett Smith on her Fish Mooney audition:

Is this departure a good or a bad thing for the show? Gotham’s biggest problem has been its wildly varying tone — a gritty crime drama in one scene, a Tim Burton-era comic book movie the next. Removing Fish Mooney will probably make it less interesting but also more consistent. It simplifies things too. Currently, the show wants us to care about the stories of Gordon and Wayne and Cobblepot and Barbara and Selina and Fish equally. And because those characters cross paths only every other episode or so, it makes for a very splintered narrative.

What do you think? Are you sad Pinkett Smith is leaving? Glad to see her go? Do you watch the show for the crime element, or are you just there to see live-action comic book characters? Let us know in the comments below.

Gotham airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on Fox.