Gotham: “A Dead Man Feels No Cold” — March 7, 2016
It seems that things are going to get very interesting during the second part of this season on Gotham, says Special Contributor Ralph S. after watching this week’s episode. See what he had to say in his latest recap. – David F.
Photo: FOX
We find Gordon and Bullock in active pursuit of Victor Fries. They’ve managed to track him to a chemical plant where he went to obtain the liquid helium that fuels his weapons.It’s obvious to the cops that Fries has been there, he left a trail of frozen be security guards and other cops all over the place. They appeared to be frozen while trying to defend themselves, something made evident by the fact that they were firing their guns at the time; the bullets were stopped in mid-air. Seeing this gives the pursuing detectives and their squad reason to pause for a tick or two. At the end of their search they find Fries has left them a message demanding that they free his wife.
At stately Wayne manor Lee Thompkins visits young Bruce Wayne to see how he’s dealing with the aftermath of his recent abduction by Theo Galavan. Bruce tells her that he’s feeling fine, in fact he now feels more alive than ever. In response to her questions about his future plans, Bruce tells Lee that he still intends to find his parents’ killer. When she asks what he intends to do once he’s found the culprit, Bruce responds that he’ll let the authorities handle the case from there. Both of them know he’s not telling the truth. We now really start to see the shadow of what the boy will become begin to take shape.
Barns and Gordon decide at the precinct that they need to move Fries’ wife Nora (Kristen Hager) to the hospital wing at Arkham rather than risk a Fries attack. Since Lee is the physician responsible for Nora’s care she demands to accompany the sick woman. Gordon is against the idea but he relents under his pregnant fiancée’s stern stare.
When word gets to Hugo Strange at Arkham of the arrangements being made to house Nora Fries he looks as if Christmas has come early. He’s been trying to discover the secret of Fries’ cryogenic chaos with no luck and now it seems the answers will be delivered right to his doorstep. Upon hearing about this over the radio Victor realizes that it’s a trap and begins to plan accordingly. Aside from his concern about Fries’ scientific achievements Hugo Strange is also busy conducting experimental ‘treatments’ on the inmates at Arkham. It’s now Penguin’s turn and he’s strapped into a chair and a rather strange looking evil contraption is placed on his head. Once the switch is thrown there’s the usual amount of tortured, hysterical screaming. Afterward though it appears that Oswald’s only become just a bit more docile.
Gordon and Bullock arrive with Nora, Lee and a platoon of SWAT guys. Lee and Nora are taken to the hospital wing where the only other patient there turns out to be Barbara Kean, Lee’s rival for Jimbo’s affection. Fortunately for Lee, Babs seems to be in a bit of a coma so she won’t be posing any kind of a predicament for Jimbo or Lee in this episode. Outside, Gordon encounters Oswald who wastes no time complaining about treatment he’s getting now in his new surroundings. Saying that he’s being mentally tortured Oswald begs Jimbo to help him but Gordon’s having none of it. “You’re insane, remember. That’s what your lawyer said..,” Jimbo replies. This causes Oswald to fly into hysterics and begin shouting about what happened to Theo Galavan. Thinking no one is paying attention to a lunatic’s ravings Gordon just walks off as Oswald is hauled way but all is not as it seems. Hugo Strange has cameras placed all over the facility and he happens to be watching the one that catches the exchange between Gordon and Cobblepot. Now you know this will have future ramifications.
Young Bruce is having his daily workout when Alfred shows up and they enter into a discussion about Bruce’s plan. After assurances from Bruce that he will allow Alfred to assist, he hands over a police file to his young charge. The butler extracts a promise from the boy that he won’t kill the murderer and tells Bruce that he, Alfred, will be the one doing the execution. The lad doesn’t appear to be too satisfied with this arrangement though.
Victor makes his move at Arkham. He sends in a van with his hostage frozen to the steering wheel as a decoy while he breaks into the other side of the facility. He appears wearing the suit that is associated with the character in the comic books. Once inside, Strange contacts him with an offer he can’t refuse: In exchange for a sample of his cryogenic formula, Strange will help Victor get his wife back and safely escape the premises. Vic accepts this offer and we’re off to the races. Strange holds Gordon and the cops at bay while guiding Victor to the hospital wing and Nora and then helps them safely leave the building with Lee in tow. It seems she refuses to leave her patient. If that ain’t dedication to your job I don’t know what is. Once outside they head back to the Fries’ residence.
Gordon and Bullock figure out where Victor’s headed and go off in pursuit. Once back at the house Nora begs Victor to let her die because she knows she’s growing weaker. She also knows that they won’t be able to be together because Vic’s going to the big house for a long time. After she distracts both Victor and Lee, Nora manages to switch the formula cartridge on Victor’s gun. The cartridge she inserts is filled with and older version of the formula – a lethal version. Afterward she tells Lee that she’s accepted her part of the blame for her husband’s action. She saw what he was becoming and she did nothing to stop it. Lee seems to understand and empathize with Nora about her plight. Once Victor returns he and Nora exchange a tender moment and then Victor points his freeze gun at her and pulls the trigger not knowing what she did. The freezing process immediately starts to go awry and by the time Victor figures out what’s up, it’s too late. He also accepts the fact that Nora is the one who is responsible. He tells Lee to go and then he uses one of the cartridges on himself. It appears to be all over.
Selina silently slips into Wayne manor to visit Bruce. Though she tries to sneak up on him he knows she’s there because he felt the breeze when she came in. Like I said, he’s starting to develop the habits that will serve him well later in life. He tells her about finding his parents’ killer and then asks her for a favor – he needs a gun. “You don’t even know what you’re asking,” she tells him. “You won’t ever, ever be the same.” “That’s what I’m counting on,” he replies.
After the day’s events we find ourselves back at the Gordon residence and it looks like trouble in paradise. After telling Lee that Fries died after being taken to Arkham Gordon tells Lee she shouldn’t have gotten involved because she put both herself and their child at risk. Lee then drops a bomb on Gordon by telling him that she knows he lied to her about what happened to Theo Galavan. She doesn’t know exactly what happened but she knows things aren’t right.
Back at Arkham, while Oswald receives another ‘treatment’, Hugo Strange checks in on his latest charge. It seems Victor was unsuccessful in his attempt to join his wife in the next world. He awakes to find himself in the secret Indian Hill facility being observed by Hugo Strange. Strange explains that Victor can now only exist in sub-zero temperatures and he’s being housed in a climate-controlled room that is kept at a comfortable twenty degrees below zero. He also tells Vic that his suit has been modified to enable him to leave the room at will. Hugo tells Victor that they will be working together in the days to come. The camera then begins to focus in on some of the obvious subjects that Strange has in mind for his ‘work’. The first one we see is a well preserved Theo Galavan and, well hush-my-puppies, I do believe I spotted Jerome among the other subjects as well…
