Much will have changed when Gotham returns for season three with a six month time jump. Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) will be working outside of the GCPD as a bounty hunter (and drinking himself stupid). Poison Ivy will have somehow aged into a grown woman. And a shadowy faction will reveal themselves to be Gotham City's true controlling class.
As Gotham fans familiar with Batman comic lore had suspected would be the case, The Court of Owls is finally coming into play. So, who are these suspicious-sounding people, exactly?
"The Court of Owls, as we discover, really are the puppetmasters for the whole of Gotham," Sean Pertwee (Alfred) told E! News about the season's new big mystery.
"Like Sean said, they control everything in Gotham, mysteriously, behind the scenes," David Mazouz (Bruce Wayne) added. "And the thing that I love about it is that, at the end of season two, Bruce...is really the only character that realizes, 'Oh crap, we're in trouble.'"
According to Catwoman herself Carmen Bicondova, the revelation that the Court of Owls is pulling all the strings will upend everything you thought you knew about Gotham City. "I think the Court of Owls is definitely going to be a big part of this season. We're learning that this whole time, Gotham has been ruled by this secret society and this secret group of people. This whole time, people have been thinking that anarchy has been happening, when really it's oligarchy, I guess you could say."
Of course, this being Gotham, don't expect the Court of Owls to be the only bad guys our heroes have to concern themselves with. "There's Talon, [the Court of Owls'] sort-of chief hitman, he features," Pertwee teased.
"And Mad Hatter, Poison Ivy," Mazouz added. "I know Killer Croc will be coming to town later on. Solomon Grundy."
In other words, expect plenty of traffic on the mean streets of Gotham City.
For more season three scoop from the cast, including details on Alfred and Bruce's evolving relationship and which new Gotham hot spot all your favorite villains will be talking about this fall, be sure to check out the videos above.
Gotham premieres Monday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. on Fox.