Barbara Kean, Gotham

Barbara Kean (Erin Richards)

On DC Comics crime series Gotham, wealthy art gallery owner Barbara Kean was engaged to police detective Jim Gordon, and initially was portrayed as kind, caring, selfless, and with a strong moral compass. She shared a romantic past with female detective Renee Montoya and cheated on Jim with her, before they officially rekindled their romance and Barbara left Gordon.

However, Renee ended up leaving Barbara after she relapsed into abusing drugs. After this, Barbara was kidnapped, severely traumatized, became unstable, and started to become a villain. By the end of Season 1, Barbara had turned into a psychotic murderer, Renee, the lesbian character, was written off the show and a “bisexual love triangle” between Barbara and villains Tabitha and Butch was introduced.

Season 2

Barbara first met Tabitha when she helped break her out of Arkham Asylum, after which the the two became part of a criminal group that terrorize Gotham and started a romantic relationship.

Before the start of season 2, executive producer John Stephens had this to say about the storyline: “She’s in a little difficult romantic situation. A romantic triangle with basically two main villains this year—one of whom is a man, one of whom is a woman. So she’s caught in the middle between the two. So it’s a triumvirate of romantic villainy. By episode two you’ll know”.

When Barbara fell into a coma after a fight with her ex-fiance in which she fell out a window, Tabitha formed an alliance with criminal Butch and the two also started a relationship. Barbara moved in with them when she woke up, but was later thrown out by Butch. By the end of Season 2, Tabitha was left unconscious in the hospital, while Butch tried to confess his feelings for her.

Read more: Just a Phase: Why Barbara Kean is Gotham’s Most Problematic Character, The Mary Sue

Season 3

In season 3, Barbara and Tabitha opened a new nightclub called The Sirens but for the most part, they were relegated to sidekick status, to the benefit of male characters, with Tabitha babysitting a fugitive Butch, and Barbara trading information (and insults) with Gordon, or appearing as part of his dream sequence (3×07).

In episode 3×10 Barbara interrupted Penguin’s meeting demanding to know where Butch and Tabitha were. Tabitha was with Butch helping him hide (which led to a revival of their relationship), but missed her nightly check-in with Barbara. Butch and Tabitha were prisoners, strapped to a torture mechanism and Tabitha was given a device: push a button and have Butch electrocuted to death or let the timer run out and lose her hand that was strapped to a guillotine.

Tabitha told Butch she wasn’t in a “love place” with him, and Butch seemed resigned: “Tabby, baby, the last few weeks have been the best of my life, and it’s okay you don’t love me ’cause I love you. And for a guy like me, that’s enough.” Tabitha then dropped the device and lost her hand. Barbara arrived just in time to see the bloody stump and Tabitha pass out, and she and Butch rushed her to a hospital. The following episode, Butch and Barbara were at the club cheering her on as she tried to grasp a knife with her reattached hand.

In the later part of the season, Barbara and Tabitha started taking charge of the Gotham underworld and picking off the male leaders of organized crime one by one (3×13), with Barbara holding court over Gotham’s underbelly and calling herself Barbara Queen (3×16). However, Barbara had little screen-time compared to other regular characters (and she’s missing from 3×09, 3×15, 3×18, 3×199), while Tabitha also faded into the background.

In the season finale, Butch tried to convince Tabitha to betray Barbara, who “treated her like dirt”. Tabitha finally agreed, but Barbara killed Butch with a bullet to his head. When Barbara afterwards confronted Tabitha, the two fought, and kissed mid-fight, and Tabitha finally electrocuted Barbara, presumably killing her.

Despite speculation that Harley Quinn would appear in the season finale – and speculation it would be Barbara, TVLine confirmed Barbara was not Harley Quinn – leaving her status as “dead” until further notice. In May 2017, Fox renewed the series for a fourth season.

Female love interests:

• Renee Montoya (Victoria Cartagena, regular S1, 7 episodes, credited for 22)
• Tabitha (Jessica Lucas, regular S2 and S3)

Relationship story arc with a woman: Yes

Male love interests:

• Jim Gordon (ex-fiancée, Ben McKenzi, regular all 3 seasons)

Relationship story arc with a man: Yes

Filter Relationship Arc:

• Female (Regular), Male (Regular)

[1] A relationship story arc is defined as explicit, developed on screen, and lasting more than 3 episodes. It is listed as questionable or subtext if romance is only implied, mentioned instead of shown on screen, part of a dream sequence, or otherwise not explicit for the viewer.