Warning: Spoiler Alert
After returning from their “Fall Hiatus,” only to broadcast one episode and then take another week off, the new FOX Network series “Gotham,” returned to the airwaves this week and by the episode’s conclusion, some characters were ecstatic, while others realized their time left on this planet, might run out quickly. The series showed equal importance in both the short and long-term story-arcs and while they concluded the short-term story, the tale that drives the series, went in a direction that perhaps few saw coming.
In case you missed the previous couple of episodes, former Gotham City Detective James Gordon, finally pushed the city’s corrupt Mayor Aubrey James too far, which resulted in his demotion to a guard’s position at the Arkham Asylum. In the previous episode, a patient known as Jack Gruber, conducted his own version of electro-shock therapy, on many of his fellow patients, killed one of the guards and the facility’s director, then escaped with another patient Aaron Helzinger, whose completely under Gruber’s control.
This episode opens with the fire and brimstone of Johnny Cash’s rendition of “God’s Gonna Cut You Down,” on the soundtrack and Helzinger and Gruber wheeling a rack loaded with car batteries and each carrying electrical equipment, their destination’s Irwin’s Electronics, right across the street. Gruber attaches a live wire to the building’s door then rings the doorbell, the employee answering it gets jolted to death. Irwin recognizes Gruber and shows the fear on his face of seeing him.
We head to the police station as Captain Sarah Essen addresses her officers about the pair that escaped from the Asylum, Helzinger’s tall and strong, but has the mind of a child (even before Gruber messed with it.) Gruber’s identity only goes back as far as his time at Arkham Asylum and they’re checking for possible other identities. Suddenly Gordon shows up wearing a suit and the Captain says he’s out of his jurisdiction, but Jim says it’s his case.
Gordon’s partner Harvey Bullock tries to get him out of the station as Commissioner Loeb (Peter Scolari, adding some humor to the part.) However as Harvey attempts to steer the pair toward the door, Loeb walks in through it, Bullock attempts to keep Gordon hidden behind a corner, it fails to succeed. The Commissioner greets Essen, then addresses Gordon and ask why he’s at the station.
Jim knowing he’s got nothing to lose, points the query back at Loeb, saying the better question is, what’s Loeb doing there, this is the first time Gordon’s seen the Commissioner address the rank and file. Is he that desperate? Loeb tells Gordon to follow him and Harvey wishes him luck, but a split-second later the Commissioner says bring your friend Bullock with you as well and Harvey starts chanting to Jim that he hates him.
Back at Irwin’s Electronics. Irwin tells Gruber that it was Jack’s friend who moved Gruber’s equipment to the store. Irwin says he just kept everything safe as he knew the projects were special to Jack. Gruber then tells Irwin his mind became clearer during his time at the Arkham Asylum. He has a factory of broken machines, some can be repaired, but most must get scrapped, he has Aaron hold Irwin, while he puts his shock-therapy machine on the owner’s head.
Loeb, Gordon and Bullock enter an office and close the door. The Commissioner tells Jim he’s acting like he’s above sin, when the escapes of the two men happened under his watch. Gordon tells him to blame it all on him, his name’s trashed already. But the Commissioner needs him, to catch Gruber, he knows Jack and realizes how he thinks and knows what he’s planning next. Loeb tells him to take the case, but Gordon refuses unless he’s restored to Detective status. The Commissioner gives him 24-hours, or Harvey and he will get stuck at Arkham until they retire. Gordon tells Bullock he’s got no idea what Gruber’s doing next.
Carmine Falcone has a flashback, of his father’s wake when he was a boy, his beloved mother holding him, he returns to the present and we see a gangster begging the Don for his life, Falcone as always shows no mercy. He then goes to meet Liza, the woman who uncannily reminds him of his departed mother. What he’s unaware of, is Fish Mooney trained her and then implanted Liza in Falcone’s life.
He tells Liza that he’s kept her cooped up taking care of him for too long and he wants to set her up in business, perhaps a small bake-shop. Liza tells the Don she’d rather stay with him, she feels safe and protected, suddenly two of Falcone’s henchmen arrive. He leaves with one, while the other escorts Liza.
Back at the station Police scientist Ed Nygma, informs Bullock and Gordon, that he went through a bunch of data bases and found out that Gruber’s actually Jack Buchinsky, a career criminal that paid the right person off to get his identity changed and to get transferred to Arkham. Suddenly Ed’s lifetime crush walks over to the three men, Nygma gives Kristen Kringle who works in the records department some files back and she gives him back what she refers to as his latest sick joke. Nygma says it’s a riddle, Kristen hands it to him and says it’s a cupcake with a bullet in it, then walks off, while he quietly repeats it’s a riddle.
In another part of town, some thugs kidnap Liza and kill Falcone’s henchman, they slip a black bag over her head and she’s scared stiff. When the hood’s removed, she says there must be some mistake, then she sees Fish Mooney. Fish tells Liza they had to pull her out of there, as Falcone’s going down. Mooney then calls Falcone and using a voice scrambler tells the Don they’ve got her girl and she’s got an awfully low pain-threshold. They hold the phone in front of her and she yells, please, don’t. Mooney tells Falcone that he can get her back if he agrees to leave Gotham and give up all his power and Falcone agrees.
As Ed leaves Arkham Asylum Doctor Thompkins, arrives at Jim’s desk clutching some sort of doll, he greets her as Dr. Thompkins, but she said her friends call her Lee. After Harvey clears his throat, Jim introduces her partner and he asks her about her friend. She explains that one of her female patients is a sorceress, and other patients make dolls that look like people they hate and she puts curses on them in return for soda-pop and candy. The sorceress says the doll she’s carrying came from Gruber and the doll’s named Mr. M. Jim holds out the doll to Harvey and ask who does the doll’s face resemble.
We catch up with “Mr. M.” aka Sal Maroni in a restaurant holding court and spinning tales. Suddenly Oswald Cobblepot’s cell phone rings and the Penguin steps away from the table to answer it. Falcone’s on the other end and tells Penguin he needs to see him, they’ve got Liza. Cobblepot says he’ll be right there, then tells Maroni his mother’s sick and asks for permission to leave and Sal nods okay. What they don’t realize is Buchinsky’s already taken out one of Maroni’s men and electrified the restaurant. When Cobblepot grabs the doorknob the shock he’s hit with throws him to the back of the restaurant. Then Buchinsky throws in some weapon that causes a small explosion in the restaurant.
Penguin’s unconscious in the back of an ambulance while Sal’s sitting up, though he’s got burn marks on his face. Gordon comes up to Sal and says he knows he and Buchinsky pulled a job together and Maroni let him take all the blame and now that he’s free he’s going after Maroni. He wants to use Maroni as bait to catch Jack and offers him police custody at the station. Maroni reluctantly agrees, then suddenly Oswald sits up opens his eyes, says he must leave he’s got urgent information for Don Falcone then passes back out. Maroni doesn’t look happy.
Falcone’s phone rings and it’s Fish saying she’s the intermediary in the deal, but Carmine realizes right away Mooney set this up. She tells Falcone she’s trying to offer him an out as he practically raised her. She then says he’s to come to her club and he’ll get Liza back then.
Buchinsky’s chosen the moniker “The Electrocutioner,” and he and Aaron wire the entire police station. Ed runs into Kristen in the back room and says that the cupcake was a riddle, it’s like a beautiful woman, beautiful but dangerous. Kringle actually shyly smiles at the compliment, when we get our first look at another Detective, Arnold Flass (Dash Mihok from the Showtime series Ray Donovan,) tells Ed to stop harassing Kristen. She then thanks Flass saying Nygma’s creepy which he hears.
Penguin regains consciousness and swears on his mother’s soul he’s got no business or information for Falcone and Maroni believes him. Suddenly everybody hears a noise and all occupants of the station pass out at once. Buchinsky and Aaron enter in the next scene and Jack finds Maroni, but he’s disappointed all his weapon did was knock all the occupants out. Suddenly Gordon shows up and tells the pair they’re staying put. Jim subdues the powerful Aaron, then pulls out his pistol and points it at Jack. Buchinsky starts powering up all his electrical weapons and Gordon short-circuits the criminal by throwing a cup of water at Buchinsky’s chest.
Cobblepot finally makes it to Falcone’s and Carmine says that Penguin was right about Fish all along. Oswald then says he has news the Don won’t like but he needs to hear it, Liza got planted into Falcone’s life by Mooney, she taught her all about Carmine’s mother and that’s why he feels the bond he does. Falcone slaps Penguin across the face and says he’s wrong, Cobblepot looks him in the eye and says he’s always right.
Carmine shows up at Mooney’s club and he asks how this works, Fish tells him he needs to sign some documents and then he’ll get Liza and the two can take off to anywhere but Gotham. The Don says he won’t sign a thing until he gets to talk to Liza. Fish summons Butch to bring her out and Falcone asks her how she is and she says she’s okay, then he asks how long she’s known Fish and Liza stammers and says she just met her hours ago. However Falcone said a little bird told him they’re old friends.
Fish says that little bird’s being mischievous, but Falcone says he thought so to at first, but then realized he talked to Fish about his mother to her all the time in the old days. Falcone then strangles Liza to death and his main enforcer Victor Zsasz and his female crew tie up Butch and Fish. He tells Mooney they’ll live for now but she’ll suffer during her death.
Lee Thompkins enters the police locker room and Gordon comes out wearing pants and a t-shirt and asks what she’s doing there. She said the Desk Sergeant said he was in here and it was okay to come back, she says she came back for the doll. Jim asks her if that’s the only reason she came and she tentatively kisses him. She pulls away and he kisses her passionately. They pull apart and you can see in their eyes, this is the real-deal and start kissing again, when the Sergeant interrupts them, saying there’s been a shootout at Mooney’s.
The Story Continues Next Monday Night at 8:00 pm on FOX.
