So the virus is now loose upon the citizens of Gotham. It seems to be causing the same kind of chaos that one would imagine if the trump administration was allowed to function completely unchecked. Obviously the GCPD is overwhelmed with all this foolishness and Gordon and Bullock are the ‘go-to guys’ to try to handle it. Jimbo’s trying to fight the virus during all this and he’s making a valiant effort. Bullock knows all this. He also knows that Lee Thompkins is betting that Gordon will lose the battle because, ultimately, he wants to be with her. Lucious Fox shows up with hopeful news. Apparently there is an antidote to the virus and he knows that Hugo Strange was working on this antidote for the Court. Now all they need to do is find Strange. He was in police custody BUT due to a mis-management of events he got away. They go to look for Strange at the train station figuring he’ll be trying to leave the city. They’re right. But they aren’t the only ones who know where to find Strange. Fish gets there first. She wants to use Strange to give her more of the virus so she can gain total control of the city. In their attempt to exit, they run into Gordon and Bullock. A scuffle ensues, of course, and during the said scuffle Fish learns that Strange also knows how to concoct the antidote for the virus. This only increases his value to her. As Gordon and Bullock make their move to take Strange, Fish unleashes a surprise on them. Mr. Freeze and Firefly appear. Freeze creates a wall of ice that allows Fish to escape with Strange. Curses, the good guys are foiled again — or are they. Using the super-human strength given to him by the virus Gordon pummels through the wall, but not before Fish manages to get away.

While in captivity Strange admits to Penguin that he knows that there is a supply of the antidote and where it is. Once they arrive at the location of the antidote Fish tells Penguin that she plans for them to rule Gotham together. However, upon trying to exit the building they run into a bit of a delay in the form of, hood assassins. A tussle ensues and Fish’s crew appears to be a bit overmatched. Gordon and Bullock show up in the middle of this mess and Jimbo proves to be quite the match for the assassins. During the goings-on Gordon accidentally manages to stab Fish, killing her. Oswald is quite upset by this development. A touching death scene ensues. The cops, however, get Strange. He admits that he can make more of the antidote, which was destroyed during said tussle, though he needs a key ingredient — some blood from Jervis Tetch. Tisk, tisk, there’s always something.

Tetch may be a bit hard to acquire. It seems that while he was being transferred he managed to get abducted by none other than Tabitha Galavan and Butch Gilzean. Now Barbara Keane and Ed Nygma are in possession of a vital piece of the antidote puzzle. Meanwhile, during all that’s going on, Lee contacts Gordon. Again she tells him that he needs to give into the virus and join her. She plans to leave the city by train in the afternoon and she wants him to go with her. He agrees. He and Bullock come up with a plan to save the city. They have Penguin in custody and Gordon wants to trade him to Nygma and Babs for Tetch. Jimbo contacts Ed and they agree to a time and place for the exchange. This, of course, throws a monkey in the wrench of Babs’ plans. Penguin protests that plan all the way to the meeting site. They meet and the exchange takes place. Babs, Butch and Tabby show up in an attempt to thwart the exchange but to no avail. Penguin makes his getaway during the ensuing chaos but Gordon improvises a solution when he, Tetch and Bullock are cornered. Babs gets Tetch but Gordon got what he needed — a jar full of Tetch’s blood. He and Bullock get the jar into the hands of the GCPD’s lab techs who immediately produce the antidote.

In an effort to save Lee from the virus Gordon, still under its effects himself, goes to the train station to meet her. After a bit of a showdown with Bullock, who followed him, Gordon boards the train with his beloved and they head off into the twisted sunset. On the train though Gordon gets the upper hand on Lee and manages to inject her with the antidote. He then injects himself. Bullock slipped it to him earlier. Maybe things will work out between them, but alas, not so much. When Gordon arrives at Lee’s place later to chat he finds an envelope containing a ‘Dear Jim’ letter. In it she tells him that he needs to follow his heart and keep the city safe. After he accomplishes that then, maybe, they can be together.

After the episode with the Sensai ended Alfred and Bruce find themselves in the GCPD interrogation room with Bruce handcuffed to a table. Alfred attempts to reason with young Bruce and tries appealing to the better angels of the lad’s nature. He attempts to bring Bruce back to his ‘right mind’ by recounting stories of the boy’s childhood and the love and care of his parents. It doesn’t work. When the opportunity arises Bruce uses a part of a pen to unlock himself from the handcuffs and escape. He’s headed to find the mysterious ‘leader’ that the Sensai spoke of. As Bruce makes his way to the leader’s location Alfred manages to follow him. Once at his destination Bruce finds the one that he seeks — none other than Ras Al Ghul (the demon’s head). He also enters a chamber that contains a mysterious glowing pool (the Lazarus Pit). Ras, of course, rattles on about Bruce’s destiny but in the middle of the conversation Alfred interrupts. Ras takes the opportunity to issue Bruce an ultimatum, kill Alfred, complete his training and begin his path to become Das’ heir or fade into obscurity. After a few ticks of hesitation Bruce complies. He takes the sword that Ras hands him and stabs Alfred through the chest. Remorse is immediate though and Bruce panics.

As he tries to help the dying Alfred, Ras tells him that his destiny is complete. He also tells Bruce how to help Alfred, use the water from the pit. Bruce scoops out a bowlful and pours it over Alfred’s wound. The butler immediately comes back to life and Bruce gets him to the hospital. While Alfred is in surgery Bruce gets a visit from Selina. She heard what happened and wants to comfort Bruce. He rebuffs her and she leaves in a righteous huff. Shortly after this we see Bruce at Alfred’s bedside begging him to pull through. Of course Alfred does. However the next time we see the young Bruce he’s wearing dark clothing and a mask. He’s also rescuing a family, not unlike his own, from the gunpoint of a mugger. The genesis of ‘The Batman’ has begun.

While making his getaway it seems that Oswald also managed to capture Ed Nygma. Ed, being the resourceful bastard that he is, escapes from the handcuffs that Penguin placed him in and turns the tables on his captor. After pulling a gun on his foe, Ed takes Penguin back to the riverfront pier where Ed tried to kill him before. This time things won’t go the same way as before. Mr. Freeze and Ivy walk up behind Ed as he tries to shoot Oswald — with an empty gun. Penguin set him up. Babs showing up was a huge stroke of luck for Oswald. She knocked Ed out and this allowed Oswald to put his plan in motion. Penguin has Freeze turn Ed into a popsicle.

A very frustrated Barbara tells Butch and Tabby to meet her at their safe house so they can plan their next move. After she leaves Butch and Tabby plan to do away with Babs once they meet up again. It appears that she’s tap danced on their last nerve. They head for the safe house. Babs catches Butch preparing for their meeting and puts a bullet between his eyes. She then goes after Tabitha. Guess there’s gonna be a reckoning. Once she arrives at the safe house Barbara gets the drop on Tabitha and they try to talk things out. Once Tabby finds out that Babs shot Butch they go at it. Babs appears to get the upper hand until Tabby makes creative use of her whip and an exposed electric cable that brings Ms. Keane’s short criminal reign to a shocking end.

In the end we find that the antidote has been administered to the ailing populace of Gotham. Butch, after all this, isn’t dead and his real name is Cyrus Gold. Selina runs into Tabitha and the two agree to team up. Tabitha even lets Selina have a go with her whip. The young lady appears to be a natural with it.

Thus another season of Gotham come to an end.

As things get underway, the high council of the Court of Owls meet and vote on Gotham’s future. Once the tally is in, the members, Frank Gordon among them, all wearing asinine looking owl masks, make it a unanimous decision. Gotham must be destroyed. Ho hum, what else is new? It’s the mythology of the Batman, somebody’s always out to destroy the city. There’s mention of a custom made weapon that’s on its way to do the job.

Back at the GCPD Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock go over the old case file on the death of Gordon’s father. Gordon finds that the ‘drunk’ driver who caused the crash had a medical condition that would have resulted in death if he had even one shot of booze. Gordon has Bullock dig deeper into the driver’s file while he goes off to meet Frank. Gordon tells Frank about his findings on the drunk driver. Frank confirms this and then tells Jimbo of the Court’s plans to destroy the city. He mentions the weapon and then tells Jimbo that they should keep their distance from each other in case the Court’s finds out what he’s up to. He says that it’s up to Jim to stop the Court now. Bullock calls Gordon and tells him that the driver had quite a rap sheet and that his legal counsel was provided by Carmine Falcone. Ain’t that something?

Gordon and Falcone meet on somewhat tense terms. once Jimbo mentions what he’s found out concerning Gordon’s father things calm down. Falcone confirms that the Court put out a hit on Gordon’s father. He also confirms that he has worked with the Court. When asked, Falcone also tells Jimbo that the one who ordered the hit on his father was his Uncle Frank. Surprise, surprise, surprise! When Jimbo confronts his uncle with this news Frank confirms it. He also says that Falcone notified the Court about these recent developments. Frank had his brother Peter killed because he planned to expose the Court. When Jimbo tries to arrest him Franks turns the tables and cleans Jimbo’s clock. He then tells Gordon where on the docks and when the weapon will be arriving and then exits stage left.

Later Gordon tells Bullock the whole sordid tale about Frank and the Court. Gordon doesn’t have anyone else he trusts. Bullock is in. They need to get info on the docks without tipping their hand to the Court. Who they gonna call? Next we see the phone ringing at Barbara Keane’s club. She picks up and discovers who’s on the other end. “Lemme guess,” she says. “Do I hear a favor coming on?”

Down on the docks Babs and Tabby find that the package Gordon is interested in has already arrived. It’s stamped with the Indian Hill insignia. When they go to check it out, with a full complement of henchmen, they are met by one of the Court’s fanatical assassins. The henchmen carry guns, of course, while the assassin carries only a katana. Obviously the Court’s man makes short work of Babs’ boys. She and Tabby make a hasty exit stage right.

Meanwhile Frank appears before the Court because they’ve learned from Falcone that Jimbo is on to them. Kathryn orders his death. Frank calls and tells Jimbo to meet him. When Jim shows up Frank tells him about the Court’s order. Frank tells him that he needs to join the court and he tells him how. Frank then shoots himself in the head.

Later Gordon receives a call from Katheryn. He tells her that he’s killed Frank, just as his uncle advised. She suggests that they meet.

Young Bruce Wayne awakens to find himself locked up something that looks like a cross between a monastery and a prison. He has one mysterious captor, with no name, who tells him that they have quite the agenda planned. He starts out by giving Bruce the illusion of a chance to escape. This only shows the boy that he’s his prison is something of a maze. His captor tells Bruce that it’s time for him face his fears and this is the place where he will do it.

The captor unrolls a set of acupuncture needles. He picks one and places it in the boy’s forehead. Bruce immediately begins to relive the memory of the night of his parent’s murder. The experience frightens Bruce. The stranger tells Bruce that he wants him to go back to Gotham but not before Bruce learns what the captor has to teach. He says Bruce can’t do this until he is able to confront the fear of that night.

The next time his captor comes to the cell Bruce attacks him in an effort to escape. The boy is overpowered and his captor produces the needle, again. Bruce is again taken back to the time of his parents’ murder. This time his captor is there and Bruce lashes out at him again. He fails again. The captor tells him that he must rid himself of his pain so that he can become the person Gotham needs.

Penguin is still convalescing at Ivy’s but he’s getting a bit impatient. Ivy’s care has helped him feel better and now he wants to get on with his plans for revenge on Ed Nygma. After he and Ivy come to a small understanding he has her trot off to find one of his henchmen. A somewhat addle-minded soul named Gabe. Once said moron shows up Penguin lays out his plans to regain his post of the city’s crime kingpin. Gabe informs him that things are now being run by Barbara Keane, and Penguin can’t have that. He tells Gabe to get the gang together and get ready for action. While Gabe is making some calls Ivy voices her suspicions about Gabe but Penguin blows her off. Once off the phone Gabe asks Penguin if Ivy is suspicious of him. When Penguin confirms this Gabe cold cocks him. “Smart girl,” he tells the unconscious Oswald.

Penguin awakens to find himself held captive by Gabe who tells him that the gang is coming and they plan to auction off the right to kill him. Ivy, who stormed out after Penguin blew her off, gets herself captured while watching the happenings from outside. This may prove to be fortuitous for Penguin. See, in keeping with the actual mythology, it seems that Ivy’s already developed the perfume that she uses to bend any man to her will. After she and Penguin come to yet another agreement, Ivy demonstrates the power of the perfume. Calling over one of Gabe’s goons and letting the perfume take effect Ivy has him kill all the others except Gabe. They take his gun and Penguin takes action. After killing the last goon he has Gabe sniff Ivy’s perfume. This causes Gabe to tell the truth. He calls Penguin a freak and then Oswald dispenses with Gabe using a gardening tool.

Afterwards Ivy tells Penguin about the freaks from Indian Hill that Selina mentioned to her. She suggests that he use them to build the army he needs to reclaim his throne.

As things get underway we find Ed Nygma in the middle of a killing spree. Having appeared to kill Penguin as revenge for the murder of his beloved Isabella, Ed seems to have gotten a homicidal craving that he just can’t satisfy. Now he seems to be in the mood to dispense with folks whom he considers to have high IQs. If they can’t come up with the correct answers to the riddles he poses a disappointed Nygma does away with them. He also manages to make the deaths look like either accidents or suicides. It seems this is Ed’s way of trying to find himself. If he can find the person who can solve the riddles he poses he believes that person can help him become a proper villain. Well, that is certainly logical. It’s the type of logic that has members of a certain political party following a big orange windbag because they believe he’ll help them achieve world domination. Yeah, it’s REAL genius.

During Nygma’s down time he consumes little hallucinogenic pills and then indulges in strategic conversations with his dead pal Penguin. In these psychotic episodes they discuss Ed’s current state of mind and then plan his next move. Ed soon realizes that he needs an enemy, rather than a teacher, to help him achieve his goal. “The greatest villains have always been defined by the men who try to stop them,” Ed tells an imaginary Oswald. Of course there’s only one guy for the job: Jim Gordon. Ed plans accordingly.

All of this, of course, does not escape the ever-watchful eyes of the Gotham P.D. However Gordon’s not the one who begins to connect the dots of the murders. He’s taking some well deserved R&R. Nope, this time it’s Lucious Fox who picks up the criminal trail and brings the killings to the attention of Harvey Bullock. Bullock isn’t having it. He’s still trying to clean up from the chaos that Jerome caused and he’s also trying to locate missing Mayor Cobblepot. But Nygma will not be denied. He sends clues to his future crimes to Bullock and Fox using singing messengers. He next targets chess master competitions. When Bullock and Fox arrive on the scene a hidden Ed starts killing off the chess masters with electrical shocks. Somewhat disappointed that Gordon didn’t respond to his clues, Ed seems to be more than satisfied when he finds that Fox has taken Gordon’s place. Fox finds Ed’s next set of clues on the bottom of some chess pieces and they lead to a phone conversation between the two, though Fox doesn’t yet know he’s dealing with Nygma.

Nygma’s next little escapade involves attacking the G.C.P.D.’s cadet class graduation and taking Bullock hostage. He thinks that this will help him finally discover his true self and give him an identity that will strike terror into the denizens of Gotham. Yet it won’t be that easy. When Fox finally figures out what’s going on and shows up at the graduation ceremony he finds Nygma there threatening to kill Bullock if Fox can’t solve Ed’s riddles. Nygma gives Fox three tries. Of course, in an effort to ratchet up suspense. the first two fail. This predicament has Bullock dangling over the railing of a staircase facing a very lethal fall. If Fox can’t solve Ed’s final riddle Ed will cut the rope holding Bullock in place, leaving the detective a somewhat colorful spot on the floor several stories below. In the usual nick of time, Fox solves the riddle BUT the rope breaks. Again, in the usual nick of time, Fox lunges out and grabs Bullock saving him from the plunge. This gives Nygma time to make his getaway.

Curses, missed the bad guy again!

The Court of Owls is becoming more active. Katheryn and Frank Gordon discuss plans to bring Jim Gordon into the fold. In the meantime, Katheryn has trained the Bruce Wayne clone to impersonate the real young millionaire and she sends him out into the world on his mission.

Gordon joins his uncle on a hunting trip and Uncle Frank takes this opportunity to begin his attempt to get Jimbo to join the Court. Frank begins to explain the mission of the Court and he also tells his nephew that both he and his brother, Gordon’s father, were members at one time. Frank says he wants to get all this off his chest so that he can make things right between himself and Jimbo. It seems the Court came between Frank and Gordon’s father. Frank just wants Gordon to know the truth about what happened. He tells Gordon that the Court was, at one time, trying to strike a balance of power in Gotham for the good of the city. When this all started to go wrong Gordon’s father left the Court and began to oppose it. This caused the split between the brothers, Frank tells his nephew, because Frank stayed in the Court. The Court eventually caused Jimbo’s father’s death. They set it up to look like a car accident. Jimbo even witnessed the whole thing as a child yet he had no idea it was a set up. Frank then tells Gordon that the Court doesn’t want to harm him, they want him to join. This news doesn’t exactly hush Jimbo’s puppies. Frank apologizes to Jimbo for his actions after the death of Jimbo’s father. He then tells Gordon that together they can bring down the Court. Gordon just needs to trust him.

Stately Wayne Manor is just a hive of activity these days. Alfred continues training young Bruce in the finer arts of combat. He notices, however, that his young charge’s mind is not completely in the game. Although Bruce initially denies it, Alfred correctly surmises that the young lad is having a bit of girl trouble. Bruce is still smarting from the rebuff Selina Kyle gave him after he tried to ‘shield’ her from the fact that her mother wanted to con Bruce out of some money. Alfred gives Bruce a note from Selina saying that she wants to see him. After initially refusing to see her he gives in and goes into the city to find her.

While waiting for Selina to show, Bruce runs into a bunch of young thugs who proceed to rough him up and try to rob him. Selina shows up just in time to bring things to a halt. With the baby goons watching she and Bruce have a small row bout things past and Selina tells him that she didn’t send the note requesting to see him. She then tells him to get lost and exits stage left. The goons then take up where they left off with Bruce. They get in a few good punches at the lad, but then the tables turn. It seems that Alfred’s training is paying off. In the quick round of fisticuffs that ensues we definitely see the shadow of the Bat as Bruce quickly deals out an efficient ass whipping to the four young ‘toughs’. He then repairs to a nearby alley to contemplate his situation, where he meets some unexpected company: The clone. Surprise, an injection is administered to Bruce’s neck and he’s knocked out. Alas, things look grim.

The clone returns to Wayne manor to begin his mission for the Court. After a cheerful exchange with Alfred, it looks as though he’s off to a good start however there’s just a small hint that Alfred may not think that all is well. Bullock and the Strike Force conduct a raid on Cobblepot Manor looking for Nygma, who of course is not there. Instead they find Oswald’s portrait spray painted with a big green question mark. Meanwhile Ed confronts Fox and explains that he just wanted the cops to play his game. Ed then explains to Fox why he killed Penguin and then thanks Fox for helping him to find himself. “So who are you now?” Fox asked. “Oh come on Foxxy,” Nygma replies before taking his leave. “I’m The Riddler!”

Meanwhile, in an undisclosed location in the city, Penguin is still alive and being cared for by Ivy Pepper. She tells him that he’s been out for quite a while. Penguin quickly realizes what he has to do. Back at the Court, Frank tells Katheryn that things with Gordon are proceeding to plan. When he asks about her endeavor and the whereabouts of Bruce Wayne she smile in the affirmative. Next we see young Bruce coming to in a prison cell. The cell window has a view of a snowy mountain range. It seems young Mr. Wayne is a long way from home.

Oh Lawd! Instead of the usual can of krazy they decided to let loose a butt-load of chaos in Gotham-town this week. I haven’t seen this many nuts running around since the inauguration. Sorry there were actually more nuts in this week’s episode. Anyway Jerome’s rampage produces a bit of foreshadowing. Ed Nygma and Penguin express their true feelings for each other. And a relative, with connections, shows up at Jim Gordon’s door. The hijinks await, shall we.

At the end of last week’s story Jerome blew up a power plant and left the entire city in the dark. As things get going this week the city is literally under siege from Jerome and his band of looney toons. Gordon, Harvey Bullock and the GCPD are struggling to get things under control. Needless to say they’re having about a much success as the trump ‘administration’ is having trying to get folks to fall in line with its program.

While the city burns two mysterious figures watch the events unfold. One of these is Katheryn, a powerful figure in the Court of Owls. The other is a man we haven’t met yet. Katheryn considers whether or not to have the Court take a hand in the situation. The gentleman advises against acting to hastily. “Give the GCPD a chance,” he says. “Your faith in him is touching,” she replies. Hmmm.

Back at the precinct Gordon is serious about finding Jerome. He’s the key to all this. It now seems that not only Jerome’s goons but ‘regular’ citizens are starting to get into the act. Gordon questions Lee Thompkins to see if she has any idea where Jerome might have gone. She was the last one Jerome talked to before he left the station. She tells Jimbo that Jerome mentioned something about going to kill Bruce Wayne. Gordon heads out for stately Wayne manor telling Lee to phone ahead and warn Alfred.

As the phone rings at the manor Jerome makes his entrance. His goons knock Alfred out and hold Bruce captive as they ransack the joint. They find the owl statue that Bruce and Selina lifted from the Court’s stronghold. During the ensuing ‘discussion’ the statue gets broken. Aww, looks like we may not find out what that hidden diagram referred to. Jerome then announces his plans to kill Bruce, simply because that’s the last thing he remembered wanting to do before Theo Galavan shut his lights out last season. When Bruce refuses to cower and beg for his life Jerome backs off for a bit. In an effort to buy time Bruce convinces Jerome to give him a more ‘public’ send off. The idea appeals to him, so Jerome agrees. As they exit he orders the remaining goons to kill Alfred. Gordon shows up and he and Alfred feed hot lead to the remaining thugs. Then it’s off to find Bruce.

It seems that Jerome has commandeered a carnival for the evening’s events. It comes complete with all those sideshow games that everyone likes. However, these games use human targets and quite a few of the targets get themselves perished during the evening’s events. If Jerome really is going to be Gotham’s version of the Joker then this episode establishes the beginning of the relationship between Batman and the Joker. The dialog between Bruce and Jerome does a decent job of this. It even shows Bruce’s steely resolve as Jerome shoots staples into his arm.

Gordon, Alfred and Bullock arrive at the carnival ahead of their back-up. Of course they go in without waiting for the other cops. Inside Jerome has Bruce handcuffed to a stake and points a huge cannon at him. All of this, of course, goes on in front of a live audiences full of Jerome’s sycophants. While Jerome loads up the cannon Bruce pulls one of the staples out of his arm and uses it to begin picking the lock on the handcuffs. This demonstrates that the writers are still adhering to the basic mythology of the Batman. The comics made many references to the time and effort that Bruce Wayne put into the study of locks and how to pick them with almost any object that was handy. Gordon and crew bust in at the opportune time to create a distraction that aids Bruce in his effort.

Finally free, Bruce lures Jerome into the hall of mirrors while the cops clean up Jerome’s thugs. Obviously a confrontation ensues in the hall. After a bit of cat and mouse through the maze there’s a considerable amount of the rough and tumble and Bruce gains the advantage. It appears that all that training has paid off because Bruce quickly gets the upper hand and delivers an admirable beat-down to Jerome. (The Joker never was much at fisticuffs. The Batman always gave him a sound ass-whipping.) This ‘first’ time though it looks like Bruce might lose control and go too far. But he manages to stop just short of killing Jerome. He then comes out of the maze to find Alfred there alive. The reunion is temporarily halted as Gordon attacks Jerome, who comes out of the maze, and literally knocks his face off. After that the situation quickly comes under control.

Back at stately Wayne manor Alfred and Bruce discuss the evening’s events. Alfred applauds the control Bruce had over his anger. They talk about the fine line between justice and vengeance. Bruce begins to realize that there will be rules that he will have to follow in his quest to battle crime. The seeds of the Batman have been planted.

Meanwhile it seems that the Court now has control of the Bruce Wayne doppelgänger that came out of Indian Hill and they have plans for him. What those plans are remain a mystery, for now.

Thinking that his beloved Ed Nygma is in mortal danger, Penguin rushes to the rescue only to find when he gets there Ed’s not the one in trouble; Penguin is. When Ed appears unharmed Penguin is relieved and overjoyed to see him. That rapture is quickly put in check when Ed pulls out a pistol and dispatches the two goons that Penguin brought along as backup. Shock and surprise crosses Penguin’s face as he declares that he doesn’t understand what’s going on. “That’s been half the fun,” Ed tells him. He then shows Penguin the wrecked car in which Isabella was killed. Nygma’s now taking his revenge. It’s looking like curtains for Oswald.

Nygma straps Oswald to the wreck and then points out a giant vat suspended over the car. It contains highly corrosive acid. The acid is held in place by a chain anchored by a block of ice. Ed lights a fire under the block of ice. The fire melts the ice and that releases the chain which then dumps the acid on the wrecked car. Oh yeah, the acid will get dumped on Oswald as well. Holy fricassee Batman! During all the preparation Oswald confess his true love for Ed but that only infuriates Nygma and he scoffs at Oswald’s declaration. He then exits stage right leaving Oswald with his thoughts.

As the ice melts and the acid starts to dribble on to the hood of the car near Oswald a night watchman happens through. They do have an annoying habit of doing this type of thing don’t they, these night watchmen. After a short discourse Oswald gets the guy to free him.

Penguin heads straight home where he encounters Butch and Tabitha who immediately overpower him. They have to wait for Barbara Keane to show up so they can finish off hizzonor. Rather than wait they head for her club.

Once there Babs and Penguin have a conversation about how they can benefit each other. Penguin figures out that Babs, Butch and Tabby plan to do away with Ed so they can rule Gotham’s underworld. Penguin then refuses Babs’ request to call Ed so they can kill him. Ed then comes out of the shadows and Oswald realizes that they were all in this together. Still he continues to profess his love for Ed. Ed’s not moved.

The scene moves to the docks where Oswald stands with his back to the river and his front to a gun that Ed is holding. He tries for the last time to convince Ed that they need each other but Ed isn’t having it. He pulls the trigger and Oswald falls into the river. As he falls his face has a shocked expression plastered on it. It’s not unlike the expression that comes over trump’s face when he’s confronted with an inconvenient truth but then, let’s face it, for trump any truth is inconvenient.

As Jimbo relaxes with a drink after a tough day at the office a visitor arrives at his door. Upon answering it Gordon greets the man, his Uncle Frank. Frank is the same gentleman who had been conferring with Katheryn earlier in the episode. Well now, yet another interesting development.

Fox claims that this episode is the winter finale. It seems that when the show returns in April the focus will be on the rise of the Riddler. Guess we’ll have to wait in breathless anticipation until then.

As our story opens Dwight (David Dastmalchian) is busy retrieving a frozen Jerome from the warehouse where we found him last week. The guards provide little resistance even after wounding one of Dwight’s gang. Of course after the deed is done Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock arrive on the scene and we find out that the warehouse belongs to Wayne Enterprises and it houses all the stuff that was removed from the Indian Hill facility. Lucious Fox shows up and explains to Gordon how Jerome’s body can be reanimated. The process could take three hours at most. Before taking off though, Gordon finds the wounded gang member and takes him back to the station instead of the hospital.

Gordon and Bullock go to work questioning the little thug. He tells Jimbo that Dwight’s network is much larger than the cops know. With help from Lucious the boys get a bead on where Dwight may be holding up. As the cops assemble, a mole in the department makes a call warning Dwight’s sidekick that the cops are on the move.

At the same time Dwight is busy trying to bring Jerome (Cameron Monaghan) back from the dead. It doesn’t go so hot. Jerome won’t wake up. Then there’s the matter of the anxious group of misfits eagerly waiting at another location for the resurrection of their leader. With his back up against the wall Dwight tries to get creative. He hacks off Jerome’s face and, using it as a Halloween mask, goes to face the mob. At first it doesn’t go over to well. The mob isn’t buying it. But, just like the real-life trump fans, soon enough they begin to buy into the lie. It’s time to move on to the next phase.

When Gordon and Bullock arrive at the now deserted location they find Jerome’s body — minus his face. This puzzles the detectives a bit and they take the body back to the station where Lee Thompkins can have a look at it. It twitches. In the meantime, Bullock, Fox and Gordon discover the mole’s existence. Gordon expertly smokes him out. As Gordon and Bullock wait for the traitorous cop to get info, Lee walks in and shoots the guy up with truth serum. She’s still really pissed at Jimbo for killing Mario, by the way. The guy gives up the next part of Dwight’s plan. They’re taking over a TV station. The cops speed off again to save the day.

When Lee walks back into the morgue she finds that her table is empty and Jerome is up and at ‘em, bandaged face and all. Jerome takes a few minutes to have a reluctant Lee catch him up on all the events that went on while he was, well, dead. Lee does tell him what’s most important to him, the location of his face. He heads out to get it back.

Bullock, Gordon and the Strike Force arrive at the TV station and begin to try to get control of the situation. The cops gain entry to the station and quickly defuse the situation. Gordon captures Dwight and puts him in a car sending him to the precinct. Too bad he didn’t pay attention when he took custody of Dwight. Gordon gets a call from Lee telling him that Jerome is back from the dead.

Meanwhile back at stately Wayne manor young Bruce Wayne is still on a mission to help patch things up between Maria Kyle (Ivana Milicevic) and her daughter, a wary Selina. Bruce receives a visit from Cole Clemmons (P.J. Marshall) who claims that Maria owes him a considerable sum and if she doesn’t pay up he’ll go to the cops and unload all the info he knows concerning Maria and one of her recent criminal endeavors. The price is $200 grand and if it isn’t paid in 24 hours Cole promises that the next conversation Selina has with her mom will be in the visitation room at Blackgate prison.

Of course, Bruce is rather sincere about parents playing active parts in their children’s lives so he ponies up the cash. This only serves to aggravate Selina because since she is still extremely suspicious of her mother’s motives. Sure enough the next time we see Maria she’s with Cole and the two are busy congratulating each other on their big score. It was all a con, or as it’s called these days—a bit of social engineering. But the two don’t get away Scott free. Selina interrupts their celebration telling them that she knows what they’re up to. When Cole tries to go all badass and threaten her, Selina one-ups him and quickly gains the upper hand by holding a knife to his throat. She tells the two that they better exit Gotham. Permanently!

Later Selina visits Bruce while he’s having his daily workout. Words are exchanged and Selina expresses her displeasure that Bruce gave into the con so easily. Bruce says that he paid Maria in hopes that she would stick around and be a mother to Selina. Selina is pissed at Bruce for lying to her and she hits him. She proceeds to take several more swings at him and he dodges them easily, reflexively. He even blocks a kick that she aims at him with ease. We now see the future Batman taking shape. “You know the only reason she tracked me down after eleven years,” Selina tells him. “Was you.” Then she walks out.

Things appear to be going from bad to worse for Oswald Cobblepot. He’s being barbecued in the press for his performance during a TV interview last week. (Gee, how much life is imitating art these days. COUGH ::trump:: COUGH). However it’s Barbara Keane to the rescue. While Oswald does’t seem to be that pressed about his mayoral duties, “The city runs itself,” he tells Babs. She reminds him that he needs to be paying serious attention to his REAL job, running the city’s underworld. He’s starting to look weak among the city’s crime families. She’s set up a meeting for him with the heads of the crime families so he can exert his dominance. When asked why she’s helping him, Babs tells Oswald that the crime lords think he likes her. “And as long as they’re scared of you, I get to keep breathing.” Oswald gets a move on all the while moaning about how he really needs help from Ed Nygma.

When Oswald shows up for the meeting at Barbara’s club he finds that the joint is empty. Nobody showed. Oswald gets suspicious now and figures out that Babs is not only playing him but she’s also making a power play for control of the city’s underworld. We get a glimpse of the old menacing Penguin but then the phone rings. On the line is Tommy Bones, one of the crime lords. He tells Oswald that if he doesn’t relinquish his power they’ll kill Nygma, who they’re holding hostage. Oswald exits stage right in a fit of rage vowing retribution. Afterward Babs makes a phone call to Tabitha who is with Bones coaching him on what to say. Telling Tabby that the plan’s working she hangs up and Tabitha feeds Bones some hot lead. One down. Oswald was right, he just didn’t realize it.

Tabby and Babs meet up at their place along with the remaining crime lords. After complimenting each other on expertly playing Penguin for a sucker, they agree to do away with Nygma once everything is all over and they have that they want. Then they go all Michael Corleone on the remaining crime bosses. Babs gets back on the phone to let Nygma know that he can go ahead with his plans for the Penguin. That he does, phoning Penguin, acting like he’s in danger, and giving his location. Penguin grabs a couple of his goons and storms off to the rescue.

We next see Jerome stapling his face back onto his head. Oh yeah he’s also got Dwight trussed up and surrounded by all kinds of explosives. He managed to abscond with an ENG camera and decides to broadcast his next move to the city. He blows up a power plant leaving the city in total darkness.

Seems like it’s gonna be a hot time in the old town tonite!

Meanwhile duty calls. Gordon and Bullock catch a strange case in which a body turns up at the M.E’s office. The victim was found wondering the train tracks naked and died shortly afterward. There’s one small problem – this was the second time that the victim had died. In between deaths she appeared to have received a rather high dose of electricity. The first time she died, after being stabbed, she was taken to the morgue. From there she just disappeared. Shades of Indian Hill! On their way to the morgue Gordon and Bullock are interrupted by an obviously distraught Lee who requests that Gordon be arrested for the murder of her husband. Of course there’s a scene but Lucious Fox comes to Gordon’s aid, explaining that Mario was infected with the virus. Lee points out that Capt. Barnes was also infected but he’s alive and taking up space at Arkham. She then leaves in a huff telling Gordon that it’s not over.

At the morgue the detectives meet Dwight Pollard, the night manager. They inquire about the twice-dead victim but, of course, Dwight claims to know nothing about the situation. Gordon and Bullock decide to follow him and see what’s what. While this shapes up we witness a scene between Lee and Falcone where the don swears to kill Gordon.

Following Dwight leads Gordon and Bullock to a suspicious gathering where Dwight addresses the crowd and then plays them a video featuring the ‘late’ Jerome. Apparently Jerome has become a cult figure and Dwight wants to use this video to rile up the crowd. Before things get too out of hand the detectives break up the party and go off in pursuit of Dwight. They’re interrupted by Zsasz who’s now back to carry out his threat. Bullock chastises Jimbo for not letting him in on this little development before Gordon beats a hasty retreat. Zsasz and his two hit-girls chase Gordon in to a restaurant kitchen where Jimbo quickly dispatches the two women. He manages to get the drop on Zsasz and they tussle for a bit with Gordon getting the better end of it. He escapes leaving Zsasz with empty pistols. Meanwhile Lee visits Arkham to see Barnes. She wants to see how the virus is affecting him. Barnes proves to be completely out there where the buses don’t stop. He’s still on that rant about judging and executing well, everybody, but Gordon especially. Lee then begins to realize that all that talk about the effects of the virus is true. She goes and tells Falcone to call off the hit. He then confronts her with the fact that she’s still in love with Gordon. She doesn’t refute him.

Back at his apartment, Gordon prepares to take on Victor again when Bullock shows up carrying heavier fire power. Zsasz is right behind him and the fireworks commence. Just as things begin to get interesting Falcone shows up to call the whole thing off. When Gordon tries to apologize the don implies that it wasn’t his decision to leave Jimbo breathing.

Things seem to be looking up for Oswald. Crime is down, the economy is up and the press is there to congratulate him. Also, his deputy chief of staff is there to help him take the praise. Taking over for the still grieving Ed Nigma the deputy has also arranged a live interview with Margaret Hurst, one of Gotham’s top reporters. Promising to make Oswald a national figure, Hurst makes an appointment for the interview giving Oswald a few days to prepare. Things start to go downhill from there.

Back home trying to relax Oswald sees the ghost of his father, Elijah Van Dahl, wondering the halls. Said ghost pleads for Oswald to help him and then vanishes before Oswald can ask how. Shortly though we get an idea of what might be transpiring when the cops show up at the mayor’s door to inform him that his father’s body has been stolen form the cemetery. Needless to say this throws Oswald into a bit of a tizzy. Poor birdie. All this new stress and he still has to prepare for the interview. The ghost appears once more to Oswald telling him that someone is not to be trusted.

On the day of the interview Oswald discovers what the ghost is referring to when he finds his father’s decomposing remains hidden in the deputy chief of staff’s closet. When the man comes in and finds Oswald there, birdie snaps. He beats the poor devil to death with a sports trophy. Then, still somewhat rattled from the experience, he goes out to do the interview. Needless to say, Oswald’s performance in the interview goes about as well as trump’s performance during the first presidential debate. However Oswald cuts things short when he sees the ghost walking behind the crowd carrying the murder weapon. Upon returning to the dead man’s office he finds both bodies gone. Oh boy!

As Oswald’s on his way to the station to purchase a ticket to krazyville we find out what’s really going on. It seems that Ed Nygma has been spending all his time off grieving. He’s been conspiring with Tabitha and Barbara Kean to send Oswald over the edge. The ghost is actually someone Ed used to impersonate Elijah. The three plan to drive Oswald completely insane and then put him out of his misery. Sometimes revenge is just so complicated.

Last time we saw young Bruce Wayne, he Selina and Alfred were picking up a precious item that belonged to the Court of Owls. They had a bit of trouble getting away but were assisted by a mysterious stranger who turned out to be Selina’s mother Maria. It turns out that she came back, after an 11-year hiatus, to try to make things up to her little girl. Well, Selina isn’t having it. She gives Moms the cold shoulder. It’s only when Maria shows up at stately Wayne Manor and talks to Bruce that she starts to get any traction with her daughter. Bruce gets the two together and after a bit of conversation the ice melts and there’s a touching reunion between mother and daughter. Oh, by the way, during all this the crystal owl figure that the group stole from the Court, and Bruce hid in a room in Wayne manor is hit by sunlight. It casts a reflection in the shape of what appears to be some kind of diagram.

Once Selina and Maria return to Maria’s hotel room they find that they now have an uninvited visitor. Damn, the pesky visitors in this episode are about as welcome as reporters at a trump press conference. Anyway, this guy turns out to be someone Maria owes money to and he’s rather keen to get his cash. The gun in his hand proves this, and just for effect he shoves it right in Maria’s face. Selina promises that she can get the money for him and when he finds out that she knows Bruce Wayne his demeanor takes a slightly less menacing tone. There’s probably a whole lot of no good that’s gonna come out of this.

As the episode ends we follow Dwight to a dark chamber. He discusses plans for his process to reanimate the dead. Further exploration of the chamber shows that it contains several of what appear to be cryo-tubes. One of these tubes contains the frozen body of Jerome. It seems that the Joker might be making an appearance in Gotham after all.
—
‘I hear my train a comin.’
– Jimi Hendrix

Things open up this week with groom-to-be Mario Calvi chatting up (actually stalking would be a more accurate term) a lab tech from the Gotham Bio Labs. It seems that this guy has been doing research on the Tetch virus and he’s been instrumental in creating the test that detects the virus. Well, Mario’s all ears about how the test works and he’s so intrigued by what this gentleman has to tell him about the test that after he gets all the info he needs — Mario kills the poor bastard. Oh yeah, did I mention that last week we learned that Mario has been infected with the virus. Not only does it give him the kind of super strength we saw Capt. Barnes exhibit but it also amps up a small fault that Mario has, jealousy.

When the lab tech’s body is found who do they call? Why Jim Gordon, of course. Although Harvey Bullock advises him to take the day off and blow town so he won’t have to be around on Lee’s wedding day, Gordon refuses and goes right to work. Gordon figures out that the guy worked at the Lab and heads over there to see what’s what. On arrival Jimbo finds that someone’s already in the building using the dead guys card key. What a coincidence! Gordon has the guard call for backup and goes to have a look. Upon entering the room where the guy is supposed to be Jimbo gets blind-sided and knocked out — by Mario. Mario’s there to find out more info about the test for the virus and wasn’t expecting company. While Gordon lays there out cold Mario reveals his plan. He intends to make Lee despise Gordon so that she will never want to see him again. Later, after the cops arrive, Lucious Fox tells Gordon and Bullock that the culprit was looking for info on the test for the virus. Just then they notice that the word ‘Arkham’ is written on Gordon’s hand, obviously by the culprit. So guess where Jimbo’s off to next.

In the cheery visiting room at Arkham, Gordon has a short con-fab with Jervis Tetch, now sporting a top hat made from newsprint. After a bit of the back and forth they get down to business. Tetch knows what’s going on because he’s the one who infected Mario. But he doesn’t want to tell Gordon this. Finally Gordon, to his horror, tricks Tetch into telling him the truth. Gordon now knows he’s looking for Mario. Gordon then has Mario detained and tested for the virus. The test comes up negative, three times. Fox give the news to Gordon and Bullock. Things look bad for Jimbo. Gordon figures out that this is why Mario broke into the lab, to find out how to beat the test. But right now he’s powerless to do anything about it.

Gordon races over to Lee’s place only to find Mario there waiting for him. Jeez that’s guy’s really beginning to be annoying. First murder and now showing up everywhere Jimbo goes. The two have words about Lee. Gordon then explains how he thinks Tetch dosed Mario with the virus and then tells him that the virus has amped up Mario’s jealousy. When Gordon tries to detain Mario he finds Mario has gotten the drop on him. Victor Zsazz appears with a gun and detains Gordon while Mario heads off to the church. Victor lets Gordon go after a short time stating that he wasn’t supposed to hold Gordon for long.

Gordon then heads to the church to find Lee. They talk and Gordon starts to tell her all that’s gone on but she stops him. Mario has already told her all everything – from his point of view. She then tells Gordon that she thinks Tetch is planting ideas in Gordon’s head again. She wants him to go. Gordon figures out that this is Mario’s plan to get him out of Lee’s life for good. Gordon then fesses up to Lee. He tells her he loves her and that he should have come to find her after getting out of jail but he had to set things right first. He then tells her how he did find her house, after she left Gotham, and was going to ring the bell to see her but he saw she was there with Mario. “I saw you through the window with him. You were smiling. You looked happy,” he tells her. “I couldn’t bring myself to go in.” He tells her he’s regretted that and then asks her not to marry Mario. Lee curses him for telling her this and then she tells him that after the wedding she and Mario are leaving Gotham for good. This is all followed with Lee giving Jimbo a cold slap in the face. She then asks Carmine Falcone, who’s just shown up, to have Gordon removed from the premises. So as Lee and Mario are married Gordon gets a serious ass-whipping at the hands of Falcone’s men. Oh so sad.

Back at the precinct Fox explains to Bullock that he’s figured out how Mario beat the test. This is proof enough for Bullock to issue a search warrant for Mario’s house and then call Gordon. At the house they find the evidence proving Mario beat the test. But the tail that they put on the happy couple manages to loose them. Gordon then goes to see Falcone. He explains the situation to the old man and Carmine begins to put everything together. Carmine says he’ll send his own men to bring Mario in so that he can get help. Gordon isn’t having it but Carmine insists. So Gordon shoots the two guys Carmine was going to send. Carmine makes Gordon swear not to hurt Mario before he tells him where the happy couple is.

Things at stately Wayne manor are in a bit of a quiet panic. Last week Bruce threw in his lot with the Whisper Gang to destroy the Court of Owls. Now one of the remaining gang members delivers the news to Bruce and Alfred that things didn’t go so well. The gang’s leader and another member were found murdered on the docks, obviously the work of Court henchman Talon. Knowing that all is at stake, the Court appears to be responsible for his parents’ murder and Bruce wants to know what the next step is. Failure is not on option.

Bruce, Alfred and Selina join one of the remaining gang members in casing a building belonging to the Court. It’s believed that a vault in this building contains an object that can destroy the Court. Naturally the building is heavily guarded and the room housing the vault has a floor fitted with infrared sensors. This means that they must get to the vault by means other than using the floor. Holy acrobats Batman! The gang member says that he’s trained on a tightrope for just this task. Bruce, of course, still holds the key that opens the vault. Meanwhile Selina can’t shake the feeling that they’re being watched.

Back at the manor while Bruce practices on a tight rope, just in case, Alfred and Selina have a heart to heart before she takes off. Alfred tells her about the deal that Bruce made with the Court to protect the people he cares about. He let Selina know that she is one of those people he made the deal to protect. “And it cost him dearly,” Alfred tells the young woman. Selina gives him a look and then walks out. It seems Alfred’s words may have hit home though. Oh yeah, before going she does tell Alfred her suspicion that they were being watched.

While Bruce and Alfred gear up for the mission at hand, the Court’s henchman, Talon, makes short work of disposing of what appears to be the remaining living members of the Whisper Gang. He hangs them upside down, slits their throats and let’s their blood drain like pigs in the slaughter house. Can’t say he’s not imaginative, this one.

Back at the building housing the object Alfred wants to abort the mission because the gang hasn’t shown up. He knows something’s amiss. Bruce implores him to carry on saying that he, Bruce, can walk the tight rope over the floor. He’s practiced. Alfred reminds him that he failed more times than he succeeded during that practice. Then Selina shows up and says she can do it. Alfred gives in but lays down the rules and says that if he decides to abort the mission they must follow his orders. As they proceed we see a figure in an overcoat and a slouch hat watching them.

Alfred drives up in front of the building and creates a diversion that allows Bruce and Selina to get inside. They let Alfred into the building and then head for the vault. While Alfred scouts the rest of the area to take out any guards, Bruce sets up the tight rope. He give her the key to the vault and she gives him a kiss. She gets up on the tight rope. She reaches the vault and opens it. Inside is what appears to be a crystal statue of an owl. Selina grabs it and stuffs it in her backpack. Talon, meanwhile, slips by Alfred and attacks Bruce who had been holding the rope steady. This causes Selina to fall to the floor and set off the alarm. Alfred appears and there ensues a bit of the rough and tumble between the three of them and Talon. The stranger in the hat storms in and hits Talon with a vase enabling Alfred to administer the killing stroke. The stranger, a woman, then reveals herself. “That’s my mom,” Selina says.

Barbara Kean pays Ed Nygma a visit at the Cobblepot mansion. “Relax,” she tells him. “I’m not here to get revenge for you lopping off Tabby’s paw.” She is there to begin to point him in the direction of the real person responsible for Isabella’s death. She drops Penguin’s name but Ed ain’t biting. Not at first anyway. Babs mentions that she thinks Penguin has a thing for Ed. Nygma scoffs at the idea at first but the thought sticks in his head. Babs then intones that Isabella’s death was probably the act of a jealous suitor. She leaves Ed to ponder those thoughts.

Later, after going over several articles of city business with Penguin, Ed submits his resignation. Penguin strongly objects to this action. Ed then states that he wants to be more than friends with Oswald. Oswald then lets his feelings run away with him demonstrating to Ed that Barbara’s theory was correct. An obviously shaken Nygma backs away from Oswald and then explains that he was only going to suggest that they become business partners. Too late though, ‘cause now there’s this bag on the table and there’s a cat that just crawled out of it. Before Oswald can utter another word Ed exits stage right.

Later, after an award ceremony, during which Ed imagines knifing Oswald in the back, Oswald approaches cautiously Ed. He wants them to forget the earlier events of the day. Oswald just wants things to go back to how they were before. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had. I don’t wanna lose you,” he tells Ed. “You’re my best friend as well, Oswald,” Nygma tells him. “Remember that.” Ed then walks out again leaving Oswald looking dazed and confused.

At their club Tabby is trying to grasp a knife with her re-attached hand, and failing. She and Butch vow vengeance on Nygma as soon as they can find him. Speak of the devil and in he walks. Before Butch and Tabby can get at him Barbara stops them and asks them to hear what Ed has to say. Ed tells them that he wants to destroy Penguin. Barbara explains to Butch and Tabby that Penguin killed Isabella. She then says that with Penguin gone she wants to take his place. She knows that Ed has a rapport with Gotham’s crime families. She tells him that they could make quite a team. He agrees and then apologizes for chopping of Tabby’s hand.

At their honeymoon hideaway Mario asks Lee if she still cares for Gordon. She tells him that a small part of her will always care for Gordon but that she loves Mario. “That’s all I needed to know,” Mario tells her. Out on the balcony, overlooking a lake, Lee pours two glasses of champagne as Mario walks toward her with the voices in his head telling him she loves Gordon. He’s holding a rather sharp looking knife in is hand. As he heads out to kill her Gordon shows up and unloads two slugs into Mario’s chest causing him to drop the knife which falls off the balcony into the water. Lee never saw what Mario was intending to do. She just looks at Jimbo in shock.

Fade to black.

‘I hear my train a comin.’
– Jimi Hendrix

Damn! That title is more relevant to the current real-life situation than to the goings-on in the story. Anyway, political commentary aside, it seems to be couples week in Gotham. Lee Thompkins and her fiancee, Mario Falcone, are ready to tie the knot but there’s a small hitch in their git-along. Butch Glizean and Tabitha Galavan’s little bond is tested by Ed Nygma. Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle sink deeper into the mess that was created by their pal Ivy Pepper. And James Gordon and Barbara Kean find themselves involuntarily thrown into these situations to act as voices of sanity. Confused yet? Good. Now, shall we.

The scene opens with a quiet, cozy dinner for three. Carmine Falcone has brought his son and future daughter-in-law to the restaurant where he wants to hold the wedding rehearsal dinner. He wants to know if the place meets with their approval. It does. On the way out, Carmine asks that his car be brought around. The valet, wearing a red jacket, (hint to you Star Trek fans) eagerly obliges. When he starts the car up it explodes. Well, at least Carmine won’t have to tip him. Things are off to an explosive start. Of course Gordon shows up at the scene and he and Carmine have a little aside. Gordon tells Falcone to stay out of it and let him handle it. Falcone gives him 24 hours.

Back at the precinct we find Harvey Bullock in charge in Barnes’ absence. When Lucious Fox turns up with the info on the explosive used in the car bombing Bullock immediately knows who to look for, a local bomb maker named Fuse. Of course when he and Jimbo arrive at Fuse’s place of residence they find the explosives nut on the floor in a pool of his own blood. Talk about a dead-end. Gordon finds a file under the bed that points to the real target of the attack – Mario. Sure enough a couple of killers on a motorcycle attempt an attack on Mario in the hospital courtyard. Gordon, of course, arrives just in time to save his ex-squeeze’s fiancee’s life. He takes Mario into protective custody.

At the precinct, Gordon tries to get Mario to cancel the wedding until he can catch the would-be killers. Mario won’t play along so Gordon has Bullock keep an eye on him while Jimbo goes for a sit-down with Carmine. Gordon asks Carmine if Mario is mixed up in something. That’s the only reason Gordon can figure that somebody’s after him. Carmine has no info to give. Bullock calls to say that Mario left the station intending to handle the situation on his own.

Gordon finds Mario out in public at a local jeweler. He’s looking to draw the killers out and finish things. His plan works: the goons show up and a bit of the rough and tumble ensues. During the tussle Mario exhibits an all-too-familiar rage and ends up dispensing with one of the goons — permanently. Gordon lets it go for the time being. Back at the station, the surviving suspect in in the interrogation room. Carmine has a talk with him while Gordon and Bullock are otherwise occupied. Carmine’s figured out what’s going on and all he wants is confirmation. He gets it by removing one of the goon’s teeth, which has the owl insignia on it. Well, this is an interesting turn of events. When we next see Carmine he’s meeting with Katheryn. He requests that the Court leave his son alone. When she refuses, he mentions that he will make things very difficult for them. Katheryn requests Carmine’s assistance when needed; in return the Court will allow Mario to live.

Penguin is having a small get-together with the heads of Gotham’s five crime families to discuss how to take advantage of the fact that the head of the GCPD is currently lodging in Arkham Asylum. Things are suddenly interrupted by a gun-wielding Barbara Kean who’s rather intent on finding out about her gal-pal Tabitha and their buddy Butch. It seems they’ve gone missing. After the guns are lowered Penguin manages to convince her that he doesn’t know anything about the situation. Babs backs away, for the moment.

Afterward Penguin rings up Ed Nygma to inform him that Babs is on the hunt for her pals. He implores Ed to finish up the little project with which he is currently involved and get back to his duties as the mayor’s chief of staff. Ed politely brushes him off. “I need to work through my grief my way,” he says. He’s still suffering from the loss of his latest one and only, Isabella. Believing Butch to be responsible for Isabella’s untimely demise it seems Ed’s gone and abducted both Butch and Tabby. They sit bound and gagged before him waiting his next move.

Ed’s got some fun and games planned and he proceeds accordingly. After a small question-and-answer session followed by some electro-shock for Butch, Ed reveals his master plan. He demonstrates a small guillotine attached to a timer. At the end of 55 seconds the blade drops cleaving a small log in two, proving its sharpness. Nygma explains the his reasons of revenge to the un-happy couple and then proceeds to place Tabby’s hand in the guillotine. He then places a switch in the condemned hand and gives her a choice. The switch will stop the timer on the guillotine but it will also administer a lethal jolt of electricity to Butch. Ed sets the guillotine timer and leaves the decision to Tabby.

In the meantime, Barbara returns to Penguin’s estate, knowing that he’s out and about, to have a short con-fab with the maid. Using her charm, and a rather large emerald ring, she gets some info. The maid tells her about Penguin’s infatuation with Nygma and then presents her with a bill from a local shop that sells bondage wear. Now Babs is getting somewhere. She visits the shop and gets the location of Ed’s ‘hideout’.

Back at said ‘hideout’ things are a bit tense and truths start to come forth. Tabby admits that while she likes Butch he ain’t worth loosing a hand over. Butch says he understands but that he he loves her and he tells her to save herself. Butch then tells Nygma that he killed Isabella by putting a bullet in her head. As he’s telling Nygma this, Tabby turns to him and tells him she thinks he’s sweet. She then drops the switch just as the timer goes off. Next thing ya know her hand’s on the floor – still twitching. Tabby goes into shock and Ed realizes that Butch isn’t the guilty one here. Babs shows up and she, Butch and Tabby head for the hospital. At the hospital Babs figures out who killed Isabella. And she’s figured out how to make this info work for her, Tabby and Butch.

So stately Wayne manor has been giving shelter to Selina and Ivy since the events of last week made them and Bruce targets of a group of murderers. Selina is none too pleased with the current arrangements. They are cramping her style. She implores Bruce to let her leave but he isn’t having it. The house has a top rate security system and he’s worried about her safety. Ain’t that sweet. Meanwhile Bruce is trying to discover the secret of the key they found in the necklace that Ivy stole. It appears to be the reason for their current predicament. While Bruce studies and Selina stews, Ivy is busy using her chemically induced charms to get Alfred to tell her how to disarm the security system so she can take some plants outside to get sunlight. Needless to say that’s not a bright idea.

Impatience being the mother of invention, in this case anyway, Selina takes matters into her own hands concerning the key. Figuring that it’s very old she drops it into a solution of vinegar and baking soda hoping that this will remove decades of grime from the key. It works and she and Bruce discover an insignia on the key in the shape of an owl. This leads Bruce to consult Alfred and they figure out that the key has something to do with the group responsible for the murder of Bruce’s parents. The group, headed by Katheryn, that Bruce agreed to stop investigating in order to keep breathing. Having this key could make things a bit difficult. Believing the killers to be in the employ of said group Bruce figures that they need to meet with these people to explain themselves. It’s about that time that they find Ivy missing. As if on cue (and it was on cue, this IS TV, remember?) the phone rings. Ivy’s abductors are calling. They want the key.

Alfred, Bruce and Selina arrive at the location and end up going down into the sewers for the meet. When they come face to face with Ivy’s abductors Bruce finds out things are not what they seem. It turns out that this bunch does not work for Katheryn’s group, they are working to destroy it. Bruce also finds out that Kathryn’s group has a name, the Court of Owls. The gentlemen standing before Bruce call themselves the Whisper Gang. They’re smugglers who have been crossed by the Court. They want the key because it opens a safe housed in one of the Court’s building. This safe contains a device that the gang believes will destroy the Court. Bruce enters into negotiations with the gang to arrive at a conclusion both parties hope will be beneficial.

Later on the docks the two gang members Bruce spoke with encounter the Court’s hitman who comes at them with a blade, killing one of them instantly. The other, the one Bruce spoke with, manages to hold his own. The hitman asks bout the key. When no answer is given the hitman completes his task.

Lee Thompkins makes an unplanned stop on her way to the rehearsal dinner. Gordon opens his door to find her standing there. They converse and he tells her that he missed his chance with her. Now he just wants her to be happy. She says they never had a proper goodbye. They share a kiss and then she leaves and gets back into her waiting cab. As the cab drives off we see that Mario has been standing on the street watching. He doesn’t look happy. When he’s accosted be a couple of street thugs we see what the real deal is. As the voices in his head tell him that Lee loves Gordon the two thugs attack. They don’t last very long and we see that Mario has a ‘touch of the Tetch’ in him. Looks like ‘love on the rocks’ to me.

Last week’s episode of Gotham ended with a bit of suspense and it continues this week. Capt. Barnes decides to serve true justice. Selina Kyle gets a surprise visit from an old friend. And Ed Nygma suffers a devastating loss, which I think I can say that a lot of us can understand. Might as well get started, shall we.

As things open the GCPD precinct is abuzz with activity in the aftermath of the events that occurred at Lee Thompkins’ engagement party. A mobbed-up surgeon was murdered there and, before he died, named his killer to Jim Gordon. It was Capt. Barnes. Gordon questions Lee about Barnes’ activity at the party and she quickly figures out what his angle is. He then mentions his theory to Harvey Bullock who can’t believe him but agrees to help Gordon just to prove Barnes’ innocence. Meanwhile the good captain is elsewhere serving out ‘justice’ on three criminals that he has been investigating for quite some time. The three, a sex trafficker, a drug dealer and a murderer, all meet the hangman’s rope. Barnes, of course, is the hangman.

Upon arriving back at the precinct, Barnes finds Jimbo in his office going through the files on his desk. Gordon claims that he was looking for the file on the Paulie Pennies murder; Barnes quickly hands him the file. He then questions Jimbo about finding the body of the murdered doctor. Barnes says witnesses saw Gordon talking to the doctor before he died. Gordon says that the man was just mumbling. Barnes then tells Jimbo that an informant gave him the name of the murderer and invites him to go along for the arrest. Gordon calls Bullock and leaves him a message about what’s going on. On the way, Gordon questions Barnes about his doings at the party. Barnes, of course, denies having anything to do with the murder. He implies that he’s out to clean up all the crime in the city and invites Jimbo to join him.

When they arrive at the suspect’s hideout they question him for a bit and Barnes kills him. The dead man didn’t kill anyone, Barnes says, but he was definitely not innocent. After getting Jimbo to move the dead man’s body, the captain admits to not only killing the doctor but also Paulie Pennies. Barnes then tries to reason with Gordon again to get him to join his crusade against crime. No luck, Jimbo will have none of it. However this does lead Gordon to figure out that Barnes has been infected by the virus in Alice Tetch’s blood. While Gordon says that this proves Barnes is ultimately innocent, Barnes intends to frame Gordon for these crimes if he won’t play along. Gordon won’t play, but before Barnes can shoot him they are interrupted and Gordon makes a break for it.

Bullock comes back to the precinct to find that all the cops in the city are now on the hunt for his partner. Barnes, true to his word, has called in and framed Gordon for the murders. Gordon manages to call Bullock and tells him what’s going on. He just has time to give Bullock his location before Barnes shows up and sends Jimbo on the run again. Bullock finds Lee and tells her what’s up. They agree to help Gordon. Meanwhile Barnes pursues an un-armed Gordon and catches up with him.

Of course a bit of the rough and tumble follows, in which Gordon is able to obtain Barnes’ pistol. But Barnes is able to retrieve his shotgun and the two end up in a stand off. About that time Bullock and the cops arrive on the scene and, hearing a shot, bum rush the building. They find Gordon, holding a smoking gun, standing over a fallen Barnes. Gordon shot him in the shoulder. The cops take him into custody.

Back at the precinct again, Gordon runs into Lee and thanks her for cooking up evidence pointing to the fact that Barnes was infected with the Tetch virus. The two have what appears to be a brief moment and then all goes back to normal.

Next we find a physically mature Ivy Pepper (Maggie Geha) back in Gotham plying her new trade. She’s using her new found good looks to entice wealthy men into giving her whatever she desires. In this case she’s managed to charm a distinguished older gentleman collector into not only letting her into his home, but also allowing her into his vault where she absconds with what appeared to be a priceless jewel necklace. She was unable to do this without some difficulty, however. Although she was able to use a perfume she created from a plant compound to entice the collector to open the vault for her, the effects of the perfume wore off too quickly, and the old man figured out what was going on and tried to stop her. In order to escape, Ivy resorted to knocking the old man out.

Next she turns up at the hideout of her pal Selina Kyle. Of course Selina doesn’t recognize her at first. After all Ivy was aged up a bit by one of Fish Mooney’s genetically modified goons. Once Selina realizes who Ivy is she’s shocked and calls her new boyfriend, Bruce Wayne, who immediately shows up. Ivy then busies herself eating Selina out of house and home while she regales her friends with her latest exploits. She tells them how her looks have helped in her efforts to move up in the world. When Selina presses her about why she has shown up after so long, Ivy confesses to her latest crime with the necklace. She was looking for a place to lay low for a bit. About that time the three are attacked by masked intruders armed with bows and arrows. They just barely escape using one of Selina’s secret exits.

While they’re on the lam Selina questions Ivy about who’s after her. Ivy reasons that it must be people after the necklace. After a heated discussion, Bruce tells Ivy that he’ll pay her for the necklace and then they can return it and get the goons off their tales. Sounds easy enough.

When they go to return the necklace they find the old man dead on the floor with an arrow through his eye. Obviously that necklace is in big demand. Selina tosses the necklace on the floor and suggests that they scram. Ivy goes to pick it up and finds that it contains a hidden key, probably the reason why it’s so popular. Bruce suggests they head to his place. Back at Selina’s, the masked men are giving it a thorough going over when they find a box in a hidden compartment that appears to contain info on the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne…. how interesting.

While having breakfast with the mayor, Ed Nygma gets a call from the cops requesting his presence. He arrives at the precinct to find his new lady love, Isabella, laid out on a table in the morgue,  apparently the victim of a car accident. The cops claim that she must have fallen asleep at the wheel and then her car was hit by a train as it ran through a railroad crossing. Ah, but we know better now don’t we dear readers. In a fit of jealous rage Oswald had on of his minions cut the brake lines on Isabella’s car, thus sealing her doom. Penguin takes the opportunity to console his chief of staff, and the object of his desire.

Back at the mayor’s mansion Ed falls into deep, deep despair. Nothing that Oswald can do will pull him out of it. However Ed does believe that visiting the scene of Isabella’s death, to pay his respects, might help him. At the railroad crossing Ed notices that it is just four blocks from Isabella’s apartment. He next encounters a blind homeless man who was present at the time of the accident. This guy tells Ed that although the can’t see he did hear Isabella screaming for help at the time of the crash. Now walking around with a big sign over his head, flashing the words, ‘Denmark – something rotten in the state of’, Ed heads off to the precinct. Upon inspecting the car Ed finds that the brake lines have been cut.

Ed returns to the mayor’s mansion, demanding to speak to Oswald. Oswald apologizes for not being so understanding about Isabella’s death. A rather flustered Ed somewhat ignores this as he tells Oswald about his discovery that Isabella was murdered. Ed then announces that he knows who the guilty party is — Butch! Oswald quickly agrees and then swears to Ed that Butch will be found and made to pay for his crimes.

As things fade to black this week we see a straight-jacketed Barnes locked away in Arkham screaming at the top of his lungs and proclaiming all around him, ‘Guilty!’

Pal, you don’t know the half of it.

This was a bit of a violent week for some of the denizens of Gotham. Capt. Barnes begins to experience some intense feelings as a result of his exposure to Alice Tetch’s blood. Ed Nygma’s roller-coaster romance with Isabella hits new highs and lows, with some assistance from Mayor Cobblepot. And James Gordon goes back to the GCPD, getting a ‘heads-up’ on clues for his first case. Although Halloween occurred the week before, it’s gonna get rather gruesome in Gotham, so shall we.

Barnes is on his way home from grocery shopping when he notices some suspicious activity occurring on the street. A man covered in blood is getting into a van and speeding off. Barnes follows and walks into a crime scene at the end of his journey. It appears that he’s come upon Paulie Pennies plying his trade. Pennies is an underworld ‘cleaner’, meaning that he gets rid of the evidence of a crime – dead bodies and such. It just so happens that Barnes has come upon Paulie while he is in the process of chopping up and dissolving a body in acid. Not the most civic of professions, but hey, these are hard economic times. A man’s gotta have a livelihood. If you’ll remember Barnes was infected with a drop of Alice Tetch’s blood a few episodes back and its effects have slowly been building up in him. Now, it seems, those effects have fully matured. Barnes loses it and attacks Paulie. Barnes is able to get Paulie to say that someone named the Toad ordered the clean-up job. Having acquired that bit of valuable information Barnes’ bloodlust then takes over and he quickly dispatches with Paulie in a rather permanent manner.

It’s Gordon’s first day back on the detective beat and he and Bullock catch a murder in which the victim has suffered a most violent end; he was decapitated. The victim, of course, is Paulie. At the crime scene even the two hardened detectives are shocked by the gruesome sight. Paulie’s head appears to have been ripped from his body by hand. Ouch! Meanwhile Barnes, fully aware of what he’s done, pays a visit to Arkham in order to speak to the now incarcerated Jervis Tetch. He wants Tetch to tell him how to get rid of the effects of Alice’s blood. Tetch takes great delight in Barnes’ predicament. He wants Barnes to tell him about his symptoms. Barnes does so and then demands to know about the cure. Tetch, in essence, tells him that there is no cure and then he warns Barnes that next symptom to show up will be voices in his head. As the voices grow stronger Barnes will then descend into complete madness. Hmmm, not such a promising diagnosis, is it. Barnes declares that this won’t happen to him but Jervis knows better.

At the precinct, Jimbo has to face an awkward situation. Being back on the job also means that he has to work with Lee Thompkins,  she is the medical examiner after all, and he needs the info she has on Paulie’s case. After an initial few uncomfortable moments the two come to an understanding and agree to work together professionally. Lee tells Gordon what she has found so far and says that she’ll give him the final report when she’s finished. She also mentions that she’s having an engagement party later that evening. Gordon, obviously, won’t be attending.

Gordon also got the report on the body that Paulie was in the process of disposing of. It seems that the victim’s face had been removed prior to his death. When this is reported to Barnes, he says that he wants to be kept informed of every move that’s made in this case. Shortly thereafter Barnes gets info on the whereabouts of the Toad and goes off for a visit. When the Toad refuses to cooperate Barnes hands out a first class ass-whipping and then, using a broken bottle as a means of persuasion, gets the name of a prominent plastic surgeon, a Dr. Simon, as the source for the faceless dead body. It seems Simon is in the business of giving criminals new faces, taken from hapless victims.

Well it looks like there’s trouble in paradise for Ed Nygma and his new lady love, Isabella. At breakfast Isabella dons a pair of glasses exactly like the ones worn by Ed’s ex, the late Kristin Kringle. This sends Ed into a bit of a panic attack and he retreats to the bathroom where he has a rather disturbing conversation with Kristen, who shows up in the bathroom mirror. The mirror image convinces Ed that he’s destined to kill Isabella. Ed can’t deal with this idea so he enlists the advice of a close confidant, Oswald. Penguin, of course is still trying to deal with his own romantic feelings for Ed and sees this as an opportunity. He advises Ed that the relationship with Isabella must be ended for the good of all concerned. Ed knows that he can’t do this deed in person so he sends Oswald to tell Isabella. This Oswald does with relish but it doesn’t seem to be as effective as both Ed and Oswald had hoped. When confronted by Oswald, Isabella figures out that he is also vying for Ed’s affections. She refuses to let Oswald win. 

Later Ed shows up at Isabella’s place in answer to a note she sent him. She confronts him dressed exactly like Kristen Kringle. This causes Ed to panic initially but she forces him to face his fear and he slowly comes to his senses. His fear overcome, Ed and Isabella resume their passionate romance. When Ed later tells Oswald that things worked out after all Oswald appears to take the news well. That was just an appearance. Oswald has one of his goons cut the brake line on Isabella’s car. On her way to a conference Isabella’s car is headed straight for a railroad crossing complete with an oncoming train, and she can’t stop. Oh dear!

Barnes goes to confront Dr. Simon and catches him just as he’s about to take the face of another victim. It’s at this time that the voices that Tetch spoke of start to take over Barnes’ mind and he goes berserk on Simon. Barnes manages to control himself and hauls Simon into the precinct. When Gordon asks about Paulie’s killer, Barnes simply says that he’ll get the guy tomorrow. Simon, however, manages to make bail, and the victim, who was on his table when Barnes walked in, refuses to press charges. Ironically enough the doctor ends up at Lee’s engagement party, as does Barnes. Meanwhile Gordon and Bullock find evidence that definitely connects Simon to the body that Paulie was trying to get rid of. Looks like that party is gonna get crashed.

Jimbo and Bullock show up at the party to arrest Simon but before they can get to him Barnes finds him first and corners him in the rest room. However before spotting Simon, Barnes gets called into the precinct and tells an officer to let Gordon know that Paulie’s killer will be coming in to give himself up. Once he spots Simon, though, all that goes out the window as the voices take over. A tussle ensues and as a result Barnes puts Simon through a wall and drops him several stories onto the roof of a car. Inside Bullock tells Gordon that it looks like Simon gave them the slip. Gordon decides to head over to the doctor’s residence to look for him. On the way out he runs into Barnes and Jimbo mentions that he got the message about Paulie’s killer turning himself in. Barnes tells him that this too is a dead end. As this episode comes to its end we see the effects of the blood working on Barnes, he’s starting to see evil everywhere.

Meanwhile, on his way out of the building, Gordon comes across the body of Dr. Simon on top of the car that broke his fall. It seems that the doctor isn’t dead, at least not yet. When Gordon asks him who did this to him Simon is able to give a weak one word answer. Barnes.

Well Bat-fans it looks like we have a gen-u-ine cliff-hanger in the works here. See you next week then. Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.