In the episode, Barnes (Michael Chiklis) loses control of the effects of Alice Tetch's blood and begins to use his powers to target a killer, no matter the cost of those who stand in his way.
Before their engagement party, Lee (Morena Baccarin) informs Mario (James Carpinello) that Gordon (Ben McKenzie) is back in the GCPD, but that she is fine with it.
Barnes tracks The Toad (Gerald Bunsen) to a bar and uses his strength to make him confess to having hired the cleaner but that he was contracted by a person named Dr. Symon, a plastic surgeon who gives new identities to the criminals.
While Fox (Chris Chalk) shows Gordon the toxicology reports on the case of the victim, Bullock informs them that the woman refused to press charges against Symon, seemingly being paid off, and a judge ordered his release.
In September 2016, it was announced that the eighth episode of the season will be titled "Blood Rush" and was to be written by Tze Chun and directed by Rob Bailey.
[1] David Mazouz, Sean Pertwee, Camren Bicondova, Jessica Lucas, Drew Powell and Maggie Geha don't appear in the episode as their respective characters.
In October 2016, it was announced that the guest cast for the episode would include James Carpinello as Mario Calvi, Chelsea Spack as Isabella, John Doman as Carmine Falcone, William Abadie as Dr. Maxwell Symon and Gerald Bunsen as The Toad.
[7] Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a "good" 7.2 out of 10 and wrote in his verdict, "'Blood Rush' shined a bright spotlight on Barnes for the first time since his introduction (and the insta-failure that was Strike Force).
I like that he's been spun into the show's new villain, and how it also feels like a natural "Mad City" extension of the Hatter arc, though it's still hard to buy that a guy like Barnes would have let his condition get so out of control.
"[8] Nick Hogan of TV Overmind gave the series a star rating of 4.5 out of 5, writing "With the possibility that Nygma will be part of repetitive history taken into account, this was still an excellent episode.
"[10] Sage Young of EW gave the episode a "B" and stated: "Thanks to his Red Queen trip, James Gordon has reconnected with his family's motto of service: 'While we breathe, we shall defend.'
When he walks through the door of the precinct — hair slicked back and tie in place — Gordon is greeted with a familiar sight: the GCPD juggling a parade of lowlifes and career criminals.
)"[11] Lisa Babick from TV Fanatic, gave a 2.5 star rating out of 5, stating: "Other than Barnes going dark, the rest of the hour made no sense.
"[13] Robert Yanis, Jr. of Screenrant wrote, "Gotham may have temporarily put a pin in its Mad Hatter storyline last week, but the 'Mad City' still has plenty of wild cards still in play.
"[14] Kayti Burt of Den of Geek gave a 2 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "On a show that once saw someone bazooka someone else, it's hard to sit through an entire episode semi-dedicated to an awkward engagement party.