Gotham Recap S1E16: The Blind Fortune Teller

Gotham S1E16: The Blind Fortune Teller

Original Airdate: February 16, 2015

Recap by Sarabeth Pollock

 

Gotham Fans, I apologize for my absence.  I blame my DVR and the delay in getting shows up on demand.  That said, let’s get to tonight’s episode!

(By the way, did you catch Robin Lord Taylor on last night’s Talking Dead?)

Bruce is sleeping on the couch, surrounded by notebooks and files.  He has been taking notes, clearly.

Penguin is at his club listening to his mother singing on stage.  No one else thinks she’s as good as he does.

Fish is sleeping in her new world.  She hears someone crying and wakes her people to provide water to the prisoners whose limbs have been amputated.

Barbara returns to her apartment to find Selina and Ivy in her apartment.  Selina lets her know that Gordon dropped off his keys the week before.  “So screw him, anyway,” Barbara says, plopping down on the couch with Ivy’s cereal.

Gordon and Leslie are at the circus together.  They’re eating popcorn in a scene that reminds me of Val Kilmer and Nicole Kidman in Batman Forever.  There’s a trapeze act onstage at Haly’s Circus, and while they canoodle, the Flying Graysons are introduced.  But the MC is interrupted by a clown car full of…clowns.  These clowns don’t seem to be clowning around, though.  They have beef with the Graysons, and a fight breaks out in the center ring.  Gordon springs into action, breaking it up.

Back at Penguin’s club, Penguin’s mother finishes her song to a rousing round of applause from her son.  When someone boos, Penguin storms over and bashes his head in with a bottle.

Gordon proceeds to interview the suspects but no one is talking.  Meanwhile, Leslie tends to John Grayson while his rival, Mary, is tended to on a stretcher across from him.  He reveals that the Graysons and Lloyds have always been rivals, and this particular fight was over a woman named Lilah, who is also a snake dancer.  Mary snaps at John for being so forthcoming.  It doesn’t look like they’re married yet, or even dating.  (Aside: Ahhh!  It’s Dick Grayson’s parents!!!)  Gordon meets back up with Leslie and apologizes for the date, but she’s thrilled.  He’s stunned at how much information she was able to find out, and she begs him to allow her to go with him to see the snake dancer.  But when Gordon gets a “look” from the MC at the mention of the snake dancer, we know that there is much more going on.

A young man exits Lilah’s trailer.  Her red-headed son, Jerome, hasn’t seen his mother in a day. The MC tells Gordon that Lilah is a party-girl, but given that she left without her purse or coat, there is cause for concern.  Gordon notices that the snake is agitated and tells Jerome to let it out.  It isn’t long before the snake goes off toward a truck.  It disappears under a tarp, and that’s where they find Lilah’s bloody body.  Jerome falls to his knees while the snake cuddles up to its owner.  Leslie comforts the boy.  Gordon knows that the MC knew her body was there.  He admits that they found her body there that morning.

Fish addresses her people, telling them that they are nothing more than transplant donors.  She can get some of them out of there, but some of them will die on the way.  She says they’re all family now, and they have to fight together to get out.  The crowd loves her.

The MC says that some rigging people found the body that morning, and then they moved her to the truck.  He says that only the heads of the families know about it, but they have their own justice and justice will be served.  Gordon arrests him.

When Gordon and Leslie arrive at the station, he recruits Bullock’s help.  Bullock thinks that the group of performers being led into the station is part of a joke until he realizes that it isn’t. Gordon interviews Jerome, who says that him mom was perfect, aside from her bad cooking.  She didn’t have any enemies, and she didn’t have boyfriends.  Just lovers, apparently, including a Grayson and Lloyd.  Jerome isn’t embarrassed about the number of sexual partners his mother had.

When Gordon talks to Owen Lloyd, he says that Grayson killed Lilah.  He explains that the feud between the two families started ”before the Great War” after a Lloyd was accused of stealing a horse.  Bullock talks to the Grayson brother, who corroborates the horse story but says that Lloyd killed Lilah.  In the outer office, Mary and John bicker while they’re being interviewed.  Mary can’t believe she ever thought she loved pigheaded John.

Fish meditates when she hears the men coming.  She rallies her troops so that when the lead guard calls for the desired inmate, no one moves.  Inmate 57A finally raises his hand, and Fish steps forward.  “We need to talk,” she drawls.  He tells her to back up.  She introduces herself and says that she’s in charge now.  She demands water, blankets and supplies, and when he says no, she has her men kill 57A.  The guards are stunned.  Fish repeats her demands, and she’s told that she has to go speak to the manager.  The manager doesn’t go down to the cells, but Fish isn’t going anywhere.  They have a standoff.  Eventually the guards leave, and Fish’s men cheer.  She kisses 57A’s forehead in appreciation for his sacrifice.

The Captain can’t believe that Gordon let the snake out to find the body.  And their prime suspects are an acrobat and a clown.  She laughs.  Leslie and Nygma have identified the cause of death, but the timing makes it unlikely that either Lloyd or Grayson could have done it, as both were performing.  They will be kept in custody while the others are released.  Gordon tells the group they’re free to go, but he says that the feud must end, as it has gotten their families nowhere.

Leslie meets Gordon back at his desk.  She teases him about his stern voice and then asks him over for dinner to finish their date.  They’re interrupted by a man named Cicero, who is a blind psychic. He is accompanied by a boy in a coonskin hat.  He tells Gordon that Lilah sent a message from beyond the grave, that the killer can be found by the iron sisters.  Gordon dismisses him, but Leslie wonders why Gordon is so closed-minded.  It creates a rift between them.

At Wayne Manor, Bruce pours over documents while Alfred enters and says that the meeting with the board of Wayne Enterprises has been confirmed.  Apparently they didn’t cancel or postpone again.  Alfred still thinks the meeting is a bad idea and voices his concern, but Bruce wont’ hear it.  Alfred says it won’t be his fault if they end up in a ditch.  This catches Bruce’s attention…momentarily.

Penguin is playing Greensleeves on the piano while a group of men at a table play cards.

Barbara twirls in front of her new friends, showing off her outfit.  Selina thinks she’s trying too hard to get Gordon’s attention, while Ivy rolls her eyes.

Leslie and Gordon clink glasses and start dinner.  Gordon loves the food.  Leslie has a realization that the psychic’s message related to the iron gates at Arkham.  She wants to go with him.  They go off in search of “clues” but Gordon doesn’t think it’s a place for a nice lady.  Leslie points out that he’s contradicting himself in his choice of women.  He finds a hatchet on the ground from a member of the Hellfire Club, a group of Satanists who have been inactive for some time.  He calls for backup, urging caution.

The duo return to the police station, where Leslie knows that she’s being dismissed.  He quickly says that he wanted to stay at home to finish their date.  Eventually he acquiesces and lets Leslie interview the suspects with him.  Mr. Cicero is in a room by himself.  He greets the duo, and he appears frustrated when Gordon tries to pin him for the crime.  He’s trying to cover for someone.  Cicero looks uncomfortable.  He brings in Jerome, and as soon as the boy sits down, Gordon says that Jerome killed his mother and cleaned up in Cicero’s trailer.  Gordon suspects that Cicero was Jerome’s father.  Jerome denies it, saying that his mother said his father died at sea, but Cicero cracks and says that it’s true.  Jerome starts to cry…but he’s really laughing.  He laughs and admits that he killed his whore of a mother for nagging at him, and pushing him to do the dishes while she was banging a clown in the next room.  He laughs maniacally.

Are we witnessing the birth of the most notorious Gotham criminal of all time?

Leslie sits in the locker room and gathers her thoughts.  Gordon knows she’s emotionally drained.  It was ugly, she says, but thrilling.  And scary.  She thanks Gordon for letting her be there.  He’s blown away by her.  “Can we go home now?” she asks.  He kisses her passionately, and of course Barbara walks in at that moment and sees them.  She storms off in a fury.

A violinist plays a sad song at Penguin’s club.  Victor Zsasz shows up and says that Falcone thinks he doesn’t know how to run a club.  He whistles, and Butch is standing near the stage.  Penguin backs away in terror.  Victor says Butch is harmless now, after working him over in his basement for a few weeks.  Victor says that Butch is there to help him run the club, and that he will do exactly what Penguin says.  Penguin asks him to dance, and he dances.  “I do good work,” Victor sighs.

Alfred preps Bruce for the big meeting.  Bruce salutes him.  In the boardroom, Bruce takes his place at the head of the table, and Alfred stands at his side.  The board is nice to Bruce, thinking him harmless, until he says he has two areas of concern: underworld involvement at Arkham, and chemical weapons manufacturing.  The board doesn’t see him as harmless anymore.

Gordon congratulates Mary and John on their engagement.  Since Gordon put the feud to rest they can be together.  They leave, but not before Mary pecks him on the cheek.  Bullock walks up and notes that Gordon must have gotten laid because he smells like ladies soap and he didn’t shave.  Gordon can’t deny it.

Bruce is relentless with the board.  He assures them that he plans to take this information to the shareholders meeting.  The board is mostly silent, but they try to placate him.  He says he knows much more than he’s letting on, and he plans to pursue legal action.  And if he was a grown man, he’d be the Chairman of his company.

The guards return and tell Fish she has a deal. She tells Thomas Schmidt, the guard, to relax while she meets the manager.  Her family surrounds him as she leaves.

Can you believe there are only 5 episodes left of this amazing season?

Up next: Red Hood!

Gotham Recap S1E11: Rogues’ Gallery

Gotham S1E11: Rogues’ Gallery

Original Airdate: January 5, 2015

Recap by Sarabeth Pollock

 

Welcome to 2015, Gothamites, and welcome to the midseason premiere of Gotham!

We start out tonight at Arkham Asylum.  The inmates are staging a play.  The inmates are taking their parts seriously while Jim Gordon and the other inmates watch from the audience.  The nurse turns on music so that a mousy inmate wearing feathered wings can sing a song.  While he sings, Jim reflects.  We see Selina crawl out from under a building.  Bullock is sitting at his desk taking a nip from his flask.  Barbara is in bed with Montoya, and there are pills on the nightstand.  Meanwhile, back at Arkham, the Frogman has decided that the song needs to end as the notes get higher and higher.  He rushes the stage and pulls the singing angel off, punching him repeatedly.  Jim pries him away from the other man and a riot breaks out.

The broken angel is taken to the infirmary and Gordon is chewed out by his new boss, Director Lang.  The nurse tries to stand up for Gordon, suggesting a return to comedies from now on, but Lang insists that Gordon failed in his duty to maintain order.  Clearly, Lang is out to get Gordon.  Lang tells Gordon that if there are any more incidents, he’ll pull him from duty and Gordon will sink even farther.

Gordon dozes as he waits for the doctor to arrive.  When she does, she gets to work on the inmate.  Gordon snaps to attention when he sees how attractive the doctor it.  She insists that the inmate is fine, and she asks how Gordon is doing.  She recognizes him as the “famous” detective, and introduces herself as Dr. Leslie Tomkins.  She’s assigned to the female ward but helps out on occasion.  Leslie says the female inmates think he’s handsome and brave.  She commends him for not quitting when he’s facing so much adversity.  Gordon is taken aback by her openness, and she apologizes.  The inmate tells them to get a room because he’s trying to sleep.

Back in the alley, Selina crawls out from her hiding place. She hears someone coughing and finds Ivy tucked away in a box.  Ivy is really sick.  Selina insists that Ivy come with her, but Ivy says she’s fine.  She refuses to see a doctor.  As she stands up, Ivy starts to collapse.  Selina gathers her up and takes her to Gordon’s apartment.  Selina climbs in through the balcony and lets Ivy inside.  From the amount of dust on everything, no one has been there in a while.  She tells Ivy to rest on the couch while she finds a blanket.

At the docks, Penguin and his men approach the laborers and ask if they have considered his proposition.  Penguin wants to raise prices, but the men say that Maroni already raised the rates.  “Inflation is a bitch,” Penguin shrugs.  A police car pulls up and Penguin laughs, saying that they own the wharf patrols.  The cops approach Penguin and one of them knocks Penguin out cold.

Gordon is patrolling the halls when he comes upon Frogman’s cell.  The Frogman is unresponsive, so he goes inside and sees that someone has burned his temples, as if from an electroshock therapy session.   He’s a vegetable.  He taps Frogman’s shoulder, and the man falls to the ground.

Leslie explains to Gordon that the wounds are caused by electrodes.  Someone put metal needles into his head and fried his brain.  Lang hurries in and observes that another inmate has been injured under his watch.  Gordon says that they rushed the opening of Arkham and don’t have the staff to keep watch over everything.  Lang says they’re making do with what they have.  So long as Frogman is breathing on his own, he’s fine.  He tells Leslie to keep him comfortable while he tells Gordon to find out how this happened. Gordon asks Leslie what they’re looking for.  Someone needs to know what they’re doing, and they also need door keys.

Gordon questions Steven because he’s the most defensive of the five guards.  Eventually Steven admits that he lost his keys in the inmate fight, and that he doesn’t know where his set went.  This gives Gordon a start, at least.

Fish Mooney talks to the other members of Falcone’s syndicate and wonders, hypothetically, what would happen if Falcone was out of the picture.  He would love something to get Falcone out of the way.  The man says that he’d be in charge, clearly, because of the pecking order.  Of course, Fish plans to be the last one standing.  She thinks the family needs fresh thinking.  The men exchange looks with Butch, who looks on uncomfortably.

Gordon conducts interviews inmates.  Gruber, the director of the play, is channeling his inner-Hannibal Lector and he tells “Jim” that he didn’t take the keys.  Gordon goes through interview after interview, meeting most of the wing’s finest inmates.  They range from psychotic to violent and everywhere in between.  Poor soul Aaron doesn’t know how to lie, and the nurse defends him even though he killed his whole family with an ax.  “I said I was sorry,” Aaron says.

Selina sits atop the building, balancing on the railing.  A fire is burning.  She has made herself at home.

Fish tells Butch that Saviano is the problem.  Butch says that he and Saviano go way back, and that inwardly he knows Fish will be the best candidate.  He just won’t admit it to her face.  She asks if Butch is turning on her, and he insists that he isn’t.  “A girl gets insecure every once in a while.”

Back at Arkham, the winged angel is getting a dose of shock therapy.  He screams as the voltage is turned way up.  Gordon dozes in the lounge when he hears a noise. He goes into the hallway to find the angel hitting his head against the gate.  Gordon spins him around to see that he’s been shocked.  The angel recites his lines over again.

Leslie examines the angel, Royston.  Somehow he can walk and talk and recite his lines.  He received the same treatment as Frogman but he isn’t as damaged.  Gordon advises her to stay in the female ward for a while, because things are going to get tense.  He thinks the missing keys are a misdirection, and that they need to focus on the staff.  She asks why she isn’t considered a suspect, and he says she isn’t the type.  Later, Gordon tells Lang that he thinks the culprit is a staff member.  Lang scoffs, not surprisingly, and tells Gordon he isn’t authorized to conduct an investigation.  Lang thinks that Gordon is trying to force Lang to call the police, but Gordon already called them.

Montoya arrives with coffee as Barbara hides her phone.  She has Barbara’s favorite coffee for her.  Montoya thinks they have made a mistake.  They’re toxic together; Barbara has been drinking and doing drugs.  Montoya wants her to call Jim but she won’t.

Bullock arrives in the hospital ward and studies the burn marks on Frogman.  Royston quotes some more Shakespeare and Bullock digs it.  Gordon and Lang arrive, and Bullock breezes past Lang and plants a kiss on Gordon’s head, taking a good look at him.  He has words for Director-Doctor Lang, who is furious at the police intrusion.  Bullock says that Frogman’s condition is the result of an assault, and from Lang’s actions he suspects that Lang wants to keep it quiet. In fact, Lang is a doctor, so he could be the culprit.  He decides that Lang needs to go downtown for a chat, and that this is now a GCPD investigation.  Bullock orders Gordon to search staff records while they’re gone.  The duo exchange salutes.

Butch meets Saviano at the docks.  They lean against the hood of the car and they reminisce about their childhoods.  Butch says that he told Fish that he should talk to him to change his mind.  Saviano trusts Butch and he tells him that Fish has a good plan but it won’t work.  He makes Butch an offer to come over to his side.  Butch wants some time to consider it.

When Bullock returns to the station, Penguin sees him from his holding cell and calls him over.  Bullock leaves Lang momentarily and goes to talk to him.  Penguin says there has been a misunderstanding, and that a simple call to Maroni will fix everything.  Bullock smiles and says that he likes sitting at his desk watching Penguin in the cell.  It’s like a bonsai tree.  Penguin’s henchman asks what a bonsai tree is.  Penguin hits his head against the bars.  Poor Penguin.

Fish approaches Butch back at her club and asks about the meeting.  Butch says that Saviano is stubborn, but he’s working on it.  Give it time.  Fish agrees to give him time.  “I’m optimistic,” Butch says.

Bullock tells Lang to explain the electroshock therapy procedure. Lang says that it’s like mind control, but they haven’t been able to run tests on it.  It would take a skilled surgeon to do it, and Lang is no surgeon.  Bullock knows that Lang is hiding something, which Lang admits, but he is too afraid of authority to tell him.  Lang tells Bullock that it has nothing to do with the case, though.

The nurse brings Gordon some coffee as he pours over Arkham blueprints. He asks her about the basement, but she says that it’s been closed off for years due to unsafe chemicals.  Gordon asks her to take him there.

Bullock is still pressing Lang for information.  He asks which of the staff Lang would be a culprit.  Lang says that his staff has been together for years.  A troubled look passes over him.  Bullock doesn’t miss it.

As Gordon and Nurse Dorothy head to the basement, they run into Leslie.  Dorothy positions herself next to Leslie as Gordon explains that they’re going to the basement and that she should go home.  Leslie hesitates, which gives Dorothy time to push her into Gordon and run away.  Gordon tells Leslie to find a guard and then he gets a call from Bullock saying that Dorothy Duncan is another inmate.

Dorothy runs down the hall with her set of keys and enters the restricted area.  She unlocks the doors and releases all of the inmates.  Gruber, however, stays in his cell.  She sees Leslie in the hall and calls out to her, and then she and a herd of inmates give chase.

Gordon hears Leslie scream and he runs after her.  Dorothy is leading the herd when she trips.  The herd tramples her, leaving her dead on the floor.  Leslie runs into a locked gate, but Gordon catches up to her and holds off the herd while she unlocks the gate.  Gordon orders the men to stop, and for a moment his firm command works, but when the gate opens, they charge at him.  Gordon and Leslie make it past the gate in the nick of time.

Ivy reminds Selina that she’s vegan.  The phone rings and it’s Barbara.  Ivy pretends to be a friend of Jim’s, which sends Barbara into a rage.  She throws the phone against the wall while Ivy laughs impishly.

Gordon, Bullock and Essen dissect the case.  Dorothy Duncan was sent to the original Arkham for poisoning five kids when she was young.  They suspect that she stayed in the basement when Arkham closed and she was hiding there ever since.  Essen congratulates Gordon on another win, but Gordon knows his boss won’t see it that way.  Bullock says that they have to get him back, but Essen’s hands are tied.  She offers them a drink instead.

Maroni arrives at the station and Penguin hurries to greet him.  As it turns out, Maroni put Penguin there on purpose.  It’s hubris, Maroni says.  He’s upset that Penguin tried to raise taxes on the fishermen without asking permission.  The fishermen risk their lives for them.  You don’t attack the fishermen.  Maroni wanted to teach Penguin a lesson.  Penguin, he says, is a good monkey, but he’s still a monkey.  And Maroni is the zookeeper.

While Essen and company celebrate, the coroner comes in and says that Dorothy had the same burns on her head.  Clearly she didn’t perform the procedure on herself, so that means the culprit is still out there.

Back at Arkham, Aaron approaches the guard station where Steven is reading a magazine.  He takes out a set of keys and opens the door while Steven tries to keep the door closed.  Gentle Aaron holds Steven to the wall by the throat and snaps his neck. Gruber approaches and studies Aaron’s handiwork.  Aaron has the same burn marks, but Gruber says that he’s his best creation yet.  Lang walks out of his office and sees the men standing there with Steven’s body crumpled on the ground.  Uh oh.

When Gordon and Bullock arrive, Lang is on the ground.  He’s not dead, though.  He manages to tell Gordon that Gruber was the perpetrator.  He has a note in his hand from Gruber.  The letter is addressed to Gordon.  He says he had to run, but he hopes to see him around in the future.

Gordon returns home and calls out for Barbara.  He sees the dirty dishes next to the couch and thinks that she has returned home to him.

Butch sits in the car listening to the music of his childhood.  Saviano pulls up next to him and Butch gets into the car with him.  Butch agrees to the terms but he wants to apologize for not equally distributing the meat they stole when they were fourteen.  Saviano accepts the apology, and Butch shoots him in the head.

That’s all part of the game.

It looks like we have to wait two weeks for the next episode of Gotham, but that will be two weeks’ worth the wait.  This show keeps getting better and better!

Gotham Midseason Finale S1E10: Lovecraft

Gotham S1E10: LoveCraft

Original Airdate: November 24, 2014

Recap by Sarabeth Pollock

 

Has it been 10 episodes already?  Let the midseason finale begin!

At Wayne Manor, a woman stands in the bushes.  The gardener finds her and offers help, but she says she is where she needs to be.  She chokes him to death and then orders her men to “open him.”  Once he’s open, she spreads his blood on her face.

Inside Wayne Manor, Bruce practices his balancing act on the banister.  Selina gets on in front of him and advises him to tighten his core.  She says that she could take him to the Midtown Bridge to climb it.  That’s where the kids go to make out.  She asks why he’s doing all of the homework on his parents.  Bruce says that he’s trying to understand why it happened, but she says those things happen all the time.  Selina switches subjects again and asks if he wants to kiss her, but Bruce doesn’t suspect that she sees him as a “suitable romantic partner.”  In fact, he doesn’t think she’s a nice person.  She’s good, but not nice.  “Screw you,” she says.

The doorbell rings and Alfred sees that it’s the assassin, but she claims that she was in an accident (hence the blood).  He escorts her inside.  Bruce and Selina come down the stairs as the woman asks for an ambulance.  That’s when she sees Selina.  Alfred sees Selina’s expression and tells them to run.  Alfred fights the woman, and then her accomplices, while Bruce and Selina make their way through the servants’ corridor to the roof.  Selina jumps down, and Bruce follows.  Alfred is holding his own against the assassins.  The woman and one of the men chase after Bruce, and Alfred manages to get one of their guns and shoots the other man, but not before getting shot in the arm.  Of course, Alfred doesn’t even flinch.  He gives chase and calls out for Bruce.

Gordon and the medics are in the study.  Alfred shakes off the medics, saying he has work to do.  Gordon says they have a perimeter set up but Alfred is upset that Selina is the one who drew the assassins to Wayne Manor.  That’s when Bullock shows up with a picture of Selina that was found on the dead man’s body.  He demands to know the truth, given that he knows Selina’s reputation and knew she had been one of the street kids that was kidnapped.  Gordon tells Bullock about the ties to Lovecraft, that Selina was a witness to the Wayne murders, and that she had been staying there for protection. Bullock flies off the rails at being deceived once again, but Alfred silences them and says they need to find Bruce.  Gordon leaves, telling Bullock to scour the streets.  Alfred wants to go with Bullock, who easily accepts the offer, saying he’s a pretty useful valet.  “Butler, mate,” Alfred replies.

Bruce and Selina wander through a field.  Bruce wants to call Alfred, but there’s no phone.  She says that the police are no help to them.  He wonders who wanted to kill her.  She points out that no one knew she was there, so they were after Bruce.  She promises to hide Bruce and then find him a phone.  He thanks her, and she tells him she’s just trying to be nice.

Falcone’s house.  His thugs drop the Penguin off and pull off the bag on his head.  Falcone wants to know how Maroni knew about the location of his money.  Penguin says that it wasn’t Maroni, and that it was someone who wants to hurt him.  Falcone is still protective of Fish because of the money she makes him, but he is willing to consider proof.  That’s when Liza comes in with his tea.  Liza and Penguin see each other and she quickly leaves.  Clearly, Penguin says, there is a mole operating, and moles are not something Maroni is good at.  Falcone asks for proof.  Penguin promises to get it.

Later, in the car, Penguin tells Gabriel that he isn’t going to tell Falcone about Liza just yet.  He wants to wait til the perfect moment.  He says Liza is a ticking time bomb who will eventually crack on her own.

Gordon charges into Dent’s office and says that Lovecraft hasn’t been home, and Dent says he wasn’t in his office.  Gordon wants to know how they knew where the witness was.  And now Bruce and Selina are on the streets running from assassins.  Dent admits that he leaked Gordon’s name to a select few sources for credibility.  This sends Gordon into a deeper rage.  Now this is on Dent’s head.  Dent tells Gordon that Lovecraft keeps a few apartments around town for his mistresses.  They split up to search for him.

Bullock and Alfred interrogate one of Selina’s friends.  He doesn’t want to talk, so Alfred pulls out his wallet and starts making it rain.  The guy starts to sing.  Her new fence will know where she is.  He names Fish Mooney.

Falcone kills one of his guys at the lunch table.  He says that Bannion slipped up and leaked the location of the armory.  Now he has paid for it.  Everything Falcone does is based on trust, so if you trust him, he trusts you.  And in light of the situation, he is requiring more tariffs from each location.  He asks Fish if this is fair.  Fish, who had been looking a bit uneasy at the thought of being caught, agrees that it’s fair.  They’re family, after all.  Falcone calls for their food, and they proceed to eat while Bannion is dead, his face planted in his pasta at the table.

Selina and Bruce are in the city, and Bruce finds a phone.  He doesn’t have any change.  Selina wants to know why Alfred matters so much.  Alfred is family, Bruce explains.  She hands him a quarter and as he makes a call, she says she’s leaving.  She only stuck around to play with him, and she made it up when she said he was the target.  He says she needs to testify at the trial, but she says that was never going to happen.  She bolts, climbing up the fire escape.  He follows.  She leaps across the top of a building, and she’s shocked when she sees Bruce start to follow.  He jumps, and she pulls him to safety.  “Please don’t run off again.  I’m out of breath,” he says.  She says this is her world, so it’s her rules.  “Yes, ma’am,” he agrees.

Bruce and Selina show up at The Flea, a mall for street kids.  They’re hiding out there until later.

Butch is nervous that Falcone will find them out.  Fish says that there are other bosses who are hurting and he needs to go put some pressure on them.  Of course, Butch is working with Penguin, so he’s in a tight spot.  He’s about to leave when Bullock and Alfred walk in.  He tells them it’s a busy day, but Alfred steps in and talks about a guy he knew in England named Butch.  Butch picks up a threat, but not in time to stop Alfred from taking him to the ground and pressing the point of a knife to his neck.  Fish appears, and Bullock asks about Selina.  She knows all about the Wayne witness and doesn’t want to be involved.  Bullock realizes that there was a leak, and she agrees, saying that streets talk.  Alfred steps in when he sees that she’s not interested in doing something that is outside of her interests.  He charms her and plays on her compassion and intelligence to do the right thing.  She acquiesces, but says that she will remind him of this favor someday.

At the Flea, Bruce changes into suitable street clothes.  She says he looks “badass.”  A little girl walks up.  It’s Ivy Pepper.  She has run away from her new foster home because they’re trying to make her cut her hair.  She asks who Bruce is, and when he says her name she rolls her eyes and wonders if he had anything to do with her father’s death or her mother’s suicide.  She switches from topic to topic.  She asks if Bruce is okay.  Selina asks about Clyde the Fence, and then she grabs Bruce and leaves. Ivy is too strange for her.

Gordon bursts into one of the apartments and finds Lovecraft hiding.  To Gordon’s surprise, Lovecraft has been chased by the same assassins after Selina Kyle.  He didn’t kill anyone, but he knows too much.  He has proof in his briefcase.  Someone was buying up Wayne stock before their deaths like they knew something.  The door creaks, and Gordon sees the assassins coming in.  They don’t want Gordon, though.  He raises his hands, but he takes out one of the men instead.  Lovecraft runs as Gordon fights with the woman, who knocks him out.  The assassins pursue Lovecraft while Gordon is out cold.

When Gordon wakes, his phone is ringing.  It’s Bullock, and Fish found Selina’s fence, Clyde.  He’s in the Narrows at The Factory.  They’re heading there now.  Bullock thanks Fish, who reminds him that he owes her.  Gordon gets up and looks for Lovecraft, but he’s in his bathtub, dead.  He’s been shot with Gordon’s gun.

Selina shows up at Factory and gives Clyde the stuff she stole from Wayne Manor.  He wants to short her, and Bruce steps in and tells him how much the items are worth.  She grabs her stuff when Clyde won’t budge on the price, so his thugs grab her and says that some people are coming to meet them.  The assassins pull up. Selina and Bruce rig a ladder to the skylight while Clyde does business with the assassins.

A man comes up the stairs for them, just as Selina manages to open the skylight.  He comes in and sees the open window, which is when Selina jumps out and hits him.  They hide.  Alfred runs inside, shooting as he goes.  Bruce hears him and runs, leaving Selina.  Bruce starts throwing things to distract them.  The female assassin catches him and points a gun at him, asking about Selina. She says Bruce isn’t on the contract and gives him some advice about mistaking bravery and stupidity.  She takes off after Selina.  Alfred sees Bruce and approaches him.  “Fancy seeing you here,” Bruce says.  Alfred looks at him, dressed in street clothes.  Bruce jumps into his arms, and Alfred holds him tight.  Downstairs, Gordon cuffs the assassins they managed to capture.  He sees Bruce with Alfred. “Thank God,” he breathes.

The Mayor is furious that Lovecraft is dead.  He asks Dent and Gordon what he should tell the media.  Gordon reminds him that he was a crook, but the Mayor reminds him that he was killed with Gordon’s gun.  Therefore it was suicide.  Dent says he’s at the Mayor’s disposal, but the Mayor says they are chipping away at the foundations of the city.  He says that one of them has to take the fall.  Dent knows how to walk the line, knowing where the edge is.  Gordon doesn’t.  “Mayor James, kiss my ass,” Gordon growls.  Outside, the Mayor tells the media that he is dealing with the cop who pushed Lovecraft to kill himself.

Gordon packs up his desk, telling Bullock he’s being reassigned to Arkham.  Bullock can’t believe this.  Nygma comes up and says that he protests this change, and that he wants to write a letter on Gordon’s behalf.  He just doesn’t know who to write to.  He hugs Gordon, and then leaves quickly.  Bullock laughs and says that Gordon should take Nygma with him.  He wants to take Gordon for a drink some time.  “Soon,” Gordon says, shaking his hand.

Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce is interrupted when Selina sneaks in, telling him the security still sucks.  She never got to say goodbye.  She hands him all the things she stole from the house.  She says she’s keeping one thing, a little box, and when Bruce takes a closer look, she kisses him.  Alfred knocks on the door and Selina leaves.  Alfred asks if Bruce was having a chat, but Bruce tries to cover it up by saying that he was talking to himself.  Alfred sees the bag from Selina and comments that the house is quiet without her around.

Gordon approaches the gates at Arkham.  This is his new future.  The guard opens the gates and Gordon steps inside.  The music tells us that this is a scary place.

Ah, January can’t come soon enough.  This was an awesome episode that gives us canon along with a fresh perspective on the stories we all know and love.

See you in January!

Gotham Midseason Finale Tonight

The downfall to living on the West Coast (aside from the occasional earthquake) is that we have to wait to see television shows while our East Coast counterparts are already watching them.  This means no Twitter for me until 9pm Pacific Time.  Waiting for Gotham tonight is going to be rough.  Of the shows I watch (and recap), Gotham is the one that I look forward to the most.  It has captured my attention in ways that The Walking Dead does, and how American Horror Story kinda does. (I’m on the fence about AHS, only because Twisty was such a powerful character)

For now we know that Fox has ordered a full season of Gotham but still no word on a second season renewal.  Of course, stopping the show midseason always helps to build ratings…or does it?

In this case, I think fans will tune in next year for the second half of the season given that the show has seen such strong ratings so far.  The writing is solid and the cast is superb, so it stands to reason that Fox executives will do the right thing and renew the show.  That said, they don’t always do reasonable things.

With Gotham, a star has been born with Robin Lord Taylor, aka Oswald Cobblepot, aka The Penguin.  He has brought such vitality to a character that we all know…but he has done it in a way that makes The Penguin more interesting than ever before.

Are you looking forward to Gotham’s midseason finale?  Will you watch it when it returns in the spring?