BD Wong is Dr Hugo Strange in 'Gotham' Season 2
Actor BD Wong makes a video of reporters as he arrives for the state dinner hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama for President of China Hu Jintao at the White House in Washington, January 19, 2011. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

"Gotham" Season 2, Episode 12 ("Wrath of the Villains: Mr. Freeze") aired Monday, Feb. 29, on Fox. This mid-season premiere episode will be followed by "Wrath of the Villains: A Dead Man Feels No Cold," where fans would see more Dr. Strange (BD Wong), Mr. Freeze (Nathan Darrow) and Nora Fries (Kristen Hager). This mid-season opener has been warmly welcomed by fans who waited for three months to find out what happens next in the DC Comics-inspired adaptation developed by Bruno Heller.

Spoiler alert: This review contains "Gotham" Season 2 spoilers. "Gotham" Season 2, Episode 12 is the latest episode of the series. The next episode will air on March 7.

For months, the appearance of BD Wong ("Law & Order"), Nathan Darrow ("House of Cards") and Kristen Hager ("Being Human") have been hyped up in social media discussions. Their "Gotham" roles are pretty special, and they are set to recur in the hit series. After watching "Gotham" Season 2, Episode 12, many fans are saying the three are worth the long wait. They'll all be back in the next episode, which means things have only just begun for Hugo Strange in Arkham and Mr. Freeze in his quest for successful re-animation of frozen humans. (Re-animation is one big step ahead of DC Comics' Captain Cold in The CW's "Arrow" and "The Flash.")

James Gordon (Benjamin McKenzie) and Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) find themselves dealing with a man-freezing villain in the Feb. 29 episode of "Gotham" Season 2. At this point, all charges against Gordon has been lifted and he has been reinstated to fight crimes the legit way, again. How long before Capt. Nathaniel Barnes (Michael Chiklis) find out the truth about Gordon and Penguin?

Gotham 2x12 seems to hint that DC Comics' Dr. Strange is bad news for the (former) king of Gotham. Dr. Hugo Strange of Gotham's Arkham Asylum is going to break Oswald Cobblepot a.k.a. Penguin (Robin Taylor) in ways that could be just as mad as the usual M.O. of the late Theo Galavan (James Frain). Just when he seems to have resigned to his fate, telling Ed Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) to visit his mother's grave, Penguin's inner madman encounters another villain. He kicked out Fish Mooney and successfully killed Galavan. Does Dr. Strange stand a chance against Penguin?

This is what viewers learned in Gotham 2x12: Mrs. Nora Fries is not a villain, at least not yet. (The pronunciation of her last name is the same as French fries, Harvey confirmed.) She is very ill, and her medication alone is not likely to help her fully recover. Her husband Victor Fries is desperately exploring cryogenics in order to save her. When Victor a.k.a. Mr. Freeze realizes that his re-animation experiments have worked, he decides against surrendering himself to the police. Instead, he sets out on a mission to save his wife while hiding from Gotham authorities. Meanwhile, Hugo Strange learns about Mr Freeze in a news report. The dark Arkham therapist is expected to hunt Mr Freeze and use his re-animation formula.

As the plot thickens for the "Gotham" cast, Morena Baccarin's Leslie Thompkins baby bump becomes more obvious in this week's new episode. (Note to viewers who might not know much about the "Gotham" cast: Baccarin is also pregnant in real life, with Benjamin McKenzie's baby. The two make a lovely romantic couple on and off screen.) It would be interesting to see how the series would treat this James Gordon baby story. in the comics, Gordon has a child with Barbara (Erin Richards).

The mid-season premiere skipped the young Batman (David Mazouz), but it showed a quick look into Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova). Selina watches as the other Galavan, Tabitha (Jessica Lucas), seals a partnership with Butch (Drew Powell). There is also a deepening bond between Penguin and Ed Nygma, whose character is getting darker by each episode. With these developments, there are sufficient seeds planted in Gotham 2x12 for a post-Galavan story arc. Next week, more viewers are expected to tune in to witness BD Wong's brilliance as Dr Hugo Strange, and to find out what happens next to Mr Freeze.

"Gotham" Season 2 airs Mondays on Fox. The next new episode will air on March 7. Watch the Episode 13 promo video here:

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