"A Dead Man Feels No Cold" is the thirteenth episode of the second season, and 35th episode overall from the FOX series Gotham. It was written by new series writer Seth Boston and directed by Eagle Egilsson and first broadcast on March 7, 2016, on FOX. In the episode, Gordon and Bullock continue their quest to stop Victor Fries, now dubbed "Mr. Freeze" by the media, with the help of his wife, Nora.
The episode was watched by 4.54 million viewers, and received critical acclaim, with critics praising Mazouz's and Darrow's performances and Strange's intentions.
Plot
Gordon (Ben McKenzie) leads a raid into Ace Chemicals, the company that Victor Fries (Nathan Darrow) uses for his weapon supplies. Inside the factory, they discover multiple frozen cops, a guard was kidnapped by Fries and a canister is missing with a message reading "free my wife", carved in a wall. At Wayne Manor, Bruce (David Mazouz) is visited by Lee (Morena Baccarin) where she tries to help him with his trauma after his assassination attempt, but Bruce reveals he felt alive and plans on continuing to try to find his parents' murderer.
In the GCPD, Barnes (Michael Chiklis) learns that Nora's (Kristen Hager) health has worsened. Realizing hospital general population would be dangerous for civilians as Fries would try to rescue her, he decides to transfer her to the Arkham Asylum hospital and use her as bait. Dr. Strange (B. D. Wong) is notified of this by Ethel Peabody (Tonya Pinkins) and decides to use this as a way to recruit Fries for Indian Hill.
Fries finds out about Nora's transfer and while discussing it with the bound and gagged kidnapped guard, he throws a device in the ocean, causing it to freeze. Meanwhile, Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) is used for experimentation in Arkham Asylum and then wakes to find himself playing a recreational game with the other inmates. The GCPD arrive and close down Arkham to stop Fries from entering. Gordon runs into Cobblepot as he's dragged away and ignores his pleas for help, which makes Cobblepot shout Gordon was the one who killed Galavan, something that is witnessed by Strange. Lee takes Nora to the hospital ward, where she discovers a comatose Barbara (Erin Richards).
In Wayne Manor, Bruce is confronted by Alfred (Sean Pertwee) for his methods and is finally given the information of the man who killed his parents: Patrick "Matches" Malone. He plans on finding him and killing him, but Alfred makes him promise that, come the time, he'll let Alfred kill him. Selina (Camren Bicondova) later visits him and Bruce wants her to get him a gun to kill Malone. Fries sends a man with frozen limbs to drive a bus into Arkham so he can break through a wall in a new suit while the police are distracted. Gordon, Bullock (Donal Logue) and the Strike Force charge through the hallways, but Strange closes multiple gates, but Gordon slips through in enough time to reach the hospital ward. Fries encounters the electroshock chair room and Strange talks to him through a monitor, stating that he will give him a car so he and Nora can escape if Fries leaves a cryogenic cartridge. He leaves behind a cartridge and takes the keys to the car.
Fries arrives at the hospital ward and makes Lee assist Nora and leave with him, before trapping Gordon in a closet. He then escapes with them to his home. In the basement, Nora urges Lee to realize Fries is not a bad man and feeling guilt for not stopping him earlier, Nora, unknown to Lee, changes the cartridge from Fries' gun to one of the earlier, faulty cartridges. Fries then finally freezes Nora, but the process unfortunately tears her apart. Discovering that Nora changed the cartridge, he lets Lee go and decides to commit suicide by freezing himself to death.
His body is transferred to Arkham Asylum, and although reported as "dead", he wakes up in a room with bright white hair and blue eyes. Strange visits him, stating the room is designed to accommodate his severe hypothermia so he can survive, otherwise he would die as any temperature above freezing will cause him to overheat. Strange guesses that Fries absorbed multiple doses of formula as he worked on them, and his cells underwent a change when he tried to kill himself. He also tells him they designed a new suit for him and that they would begin work later. Strange later passes a room filled with multiple corpses in tanks, including Theo Galavan, Jerome Valeska, and Fish Mooney.