Warning: Spoiler Alert
There are many reasons why the FOX series “Gotham,” may evolve as the best network series ever based on comic-book characters, one of those reasons being the ability to juggle stories covering the present, the near-future and the long-term future of those characters. The latest episode “The Anvil Or The Hammer,” illustrated that point perfectly, as the GCPD attempted to apprehend a serial killer, Bruce Wayne had “The Talk” and the criminal element finally engaged in a long simmering war. Yes, this is the war Oswald Cobblepot predicted early in the season and it looks like his vision of the conflict was spot-on.
We also witnessed Edward Nygma losing his fear and starting to embrace his destiny as the Riddler, as he gets rid of GCPD Officer Tom Dougherty’s body in the GCPD lab. His logic’s that without a body there isn’t a crime and he learns that being dishonest with people, might serve him better than being direct.
Along with that we got our first meeting with another familiar and in this case friendly face, as Bruce Wayne got introduced to a man that will prove to be one of his most trusted allies, one day. Once again young Bruce’s bond with his guardian and family butler Alfred Pennyworth, showed to be unbreakable as the boy confessed to keeping secrets from Alfred. All and all, it made for another entertaining and fast paced hours.
The immediate issue that the show had to deal with, was the whereabouts of serial killer Jason Lennon, otherwise known as the Ogre. Detective Jim Gordon’s aware that his former fiancée Barbara Kean’s being held captive by Lennon, but the GCPD doesn’t have any information to help them track the killer, except for a sketch drawn by Lennon’s plastic surgeon.
It’s the morning after the Wayne Enterprises Charity Ball and Kean walks downstairs from Jason’s bedroom to his kitchen, as Lennon puts the finishing touches on the breakfast he prepared. She says she’ll skip breakfast and though he talked a great game at the ball, she knows he was pretending. He tells her he was pretending, but not the way she thinks he was. He tells her he was going to murder her the night he met her, until he discovered the real Barbara Kean. He tells her that she embodies everything he’s dreamed of in a woman. He then says he’s going to let her go, then they’ll have breakfast together. However she bolts for the door, which she can’t get out of. He puts a black bag over her head and carries her away, saying he’ll have to do this the hard-way.
Gordon’s at his desk at the precinct when Lee walks over with some breakfast but he refuses it. She tells him it’s not his fault that Barbara’s with the Ogre, but he responds that the serial-killer warned him. He says that if Barbara dies, her blood’s on his hands.
Ed enters the station dragging two steamer trunks and brings it into his lab. We watch him open one of the trunks, revealing Dougherty’s body cut up into pieces. His plan’s to use the GCPD facility to help him cover-up the murder he committed outside of Kristen Kringle’s home the night before.
Harvey walks in with a teenager whose been bragging on the streets that he knows who the Ogre is. They inform him that he’s got another intended victim in his grasp and she’s a good friend of theirs. The kid asks how much she’s worth, after Gordon scares the punk to death, he reveals that the Ogre was a regular at a traveling brothel, the Fox Club.
Our first visit of the evening to Wayne Manor, as Alfred delivers an envelope to Bruce, that came via a messenger. The boy puts it aside and continues reading the sheath of papers in front of him. Alfred says he’s off to identify the body of Reggie Payne, it just doesn’t make sense to him that his old mate’s dead. He tells Bruce he’s going to take care of the funeral arrangements and he won’t be back until the evening. As soon as Alfred leaves, Bruce opens the envelope containing the key to Sid Bunderslaw’s safe. There’s a note attached: Hope you find what you need. Be careful. Selina.
Butch Gilzean pays a visit to Lydia’s restaurant, the dump that Penguin recently became a silent partner in. This is the day that the hitman Connor, that Penguin hired will knock off Sal Maroni and all his gang-leaders. Gilzean plants a revolver under the bar and a machine-gun behind the jukebox. Their discussion ends as Gordon walks into the Umbrella.
Gordon says he needs the location and an invitation to the Fox Club, Cobblepot’s surprised at the request. Gordon asks if he can help him or not, Oswald says he enjoys their give and take relationship, but he seems to be the only giver in the tandem. Gordon grabs the Penguin by the lapels with one hand, and aims his pistol at Butch with the other. He says to Cobblepot, that he thinks he knows him, but he has no idea what Jim’s capable of. Cobblepot says this is a big day for him, so he’ll accommodate the detective’s request, but now Gordon owes him a huge favor. Jim smiles cruelly as he lets got of the Penguin’s jacket.
Bruce’s being guided around Wayne Enterprises by a public relations employee, when they get to the division that Bunderslaw runs. He excuses himself to use the restroom, but instead pulls the fire alarm. This is the chance for him to enter Bunderslaw’s office undetected and to find out what the executive keeps in his safe.
Jim tells Harvey that the Fox Club’s now in the old Klondike Building, he’s got one invitation and Bullock will pretend to be a John. He’ll bust them and then they’ll squeeze hard until someone gives up the Ogre.
Jason’s got Barbara hanging from the ceiling by her wrists and a gag around her mouth. He enters his playroom, apologizing that he’s left her alone for so long. However he says he wanted to give her time to realize the situation’s she’s in is real. He tells her the walls are sound proof, so don’t waste her lungs, she spits in his face instead. He unbinds her hands and lets her stand on the floor unchained, she slaps him in the face, once she feels her legs are recovering.
He says that she’s scared and that’s why she slapped him, she says Jim will rescue her and he slaps her in the face, her legs give way. He says the only time he’ll get angry is if she says Gordon’s name. He then calls her over to look at something, when she looks down he says you have to kiss a lot of frogs on the road to love. She sees the pictures of his victims, then asks if he killed them all there. He says yes and she crumbles to the ground, but her eyes remain open, he says he won’t kill her he’s going to set her free.
With the complex being evacuated due to the fire alarm, Bruce sneaks into Sid Bunderslaw’s office, finds the safe and opens it, to find the safe’s empty. Suddenly he hears Bunderslaw’s voice, saying he’s been expecting Bruce, since the boy’s friend borrowed Bunderslaw’s key. He then offers Bruce a cookie, saying when he was a boy he never turned down the offer of a cookie.
Wayne finds his voice and accuses the executive of trying to kill Alfred, Bunderslaw counters that he sent Bruce’s guardian’s comrade to the home to determine what Bruce knew. He says he never sanctioned anyone getting hurt. Bruce says that Wayne Enterprises is involved in criminal activity. Bunderslaw sounds somewhat jovial, when he responds Oh my yes. He says they’re a multinational corporation, that would usurp the laws of every nation if it could to make a profit.
He then says he told the board that Bruce was special and needed to have “The Talk” early on. He tells him when members of the Wayne family reach a certain age, they are sat down and informed of all the dealings of Wayne Enterprises. He says his father was just like Bruce at first, coming to Sid with his secret files. But Thomas Wayne as Bruce’s grandfather, eventually came to accept the criminal activities, as part of the price of doing business.
Just then, a younger man enters the room and he introduces Bruce to another Wayne Enterprises employee, Lucius Fox. The character portrayed in the Dark-Knight Trilogy by Morgan Freeman, is played by former cast member of The Newsroom, Chris Chalk. He tells Bunderslaw that the Public Relations employee’s looking frantically for the boy, Sid tells Fox to escort Bruce to her.
As they leave the office and head towards the lobby, Lucius says to Bruce try not to let your face react to what I’m about to tell you, as it will be picked up by all the security cameras I installed here. Fox tells Bruce that he was very close to Thomas and he knew things about his father that others in the company had no knowledge of. He says your father was a good man, a true stoic, that kept lots of important information secretive. They shake hands and go their separate ways.
Barbara’s asleep on Jason’s couch he kisses her on the forehead and rouses her awake, once reality sets in she starts crying uncontrollably. He puts her on his lap and tries to calm her, but she says he’s going to kill her. He asks her if she wants her to kill him and she cries no, he asks her whom he wants her to kill instead. He then says she’s wanted to kill someone forever, but never found the strength. She whispers into his ear who the person is.
Bullock’s busted the brothel, telling everybody to stay where they are. Gordon speaks to the Madam and asks her to identify the sketch. She says you might as well arrest me, because I don’t talk about clients. Jim tells her he’ll call the Gazette and have them send a reporter and photographer, then all her clients will get their pictures in the paper. She tells the detectives to talk to Sally.
Turns out Sally was Jason’s first victim, but he just scarred her face instead of killing her. She says his name’s Jason, he assaulted her nine years ago. She remembers he lived in midtown and there was a neon sign across the street from his loft, but she could only see the last four letters, O-Y-A-L. Bullock recognizes it’s the sign for the Gotham Royal Hotel, they thank Sally for her help. She asks Jim to promise to kill Jason instead of arrest him, he says alright.
Maroni’s holding a getting out of prison party for one of his men Tommy Bones over at Lydia’s, when Connor and his man enter the restaurant. He says that Falcone sent him over as a sign of respect and gives Sal a jug of his favorite wine. Maroni says that he appreciates the gesture, then invites Connor to have a drink with them. Connor says that there’s a message with the present, he says Falcone said it wasn’t easy to decide to kill Maroni, then the pair grab the guns. However neither work, the man with the machine gun goes down in a flurry of bullets. Maroni says now Connor’s going to deliver his message to Falcone, that Connor messed up and now Sal’s going after Falcone. Tommy Bones then shoots him dead.
Harvey and Jim arrive at Lennon’s loft, but both Jason and Barbara are gone. Suddenly the phone rings and Gordon picks it up. Jason’s on the other end as Bullock and Gordon triggered an alarm when they entered. Lennon tells Jim that Barbara’s safe as milk, much safer than she ever was with Gordon. He hangs up, but the two detectives determine that he was driving on a bridge, that had a train nearby. The only bridge that meets the parameters, heads to upstate which is where Barbara’s parents live.
We’re at Barbara’s parents’ house and Jason has his gun pointed at them while they sit side by side on the living room sofa. Mrs. Kean asks her daughter what’s going on? Jason replies that their little girl’s finally woken up. He then pulls out his knife and looks at them coldly.
The Umbrella’s packed to the rafters as Butch gets off the telephone and tells Penguin that Maroni’s alive. Cobblepot laughs and says he set Connor and his man up, by removing the firing pins from their weapons. His plan all along was to draw Maroni and Falcone into a war, hoping the situation works out well for Oswald after the shooting stops.
Harvey and Jim enter Barbara’s parents’ home and encounter the butler’s dead body sprawled across the foyer. Harvey stays at the entrance near the staircases, as Jim enters the living room and sees Barbara’s parents’ bodies sitting upright on the couch with blood covering each body. Bullock thinks he hears someone, but turns the wrong way and Lennon knocks him out, then Harvey tumbles down the stairs.
Barbara walks into the living room disoriented and asks Jim why he’s there, she says he’s not supposed to be there. Lennon charges Gordon with his knife but Gordon side steps him. The two battle on the floor for control of the knife, but then Jason gets up, grabs Barbara and puts the knife to her neck. Gordon aims his gun at Lennon’s head and tells him to put down the knife. Bullock comes up from behind, Jason turns and Gordon shoots him in the forehead. Barbara falls to the ground but she’s unhurt, Jim tells her everything will be okay.
Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce confesses to Alfred that Selina pushed Reggie out the window, when he threatened to tell Bunderslaw about what they were doing. He then tells Alfred about their meeting in Sid’s office, he says that Bunderslaw told him both his father and grandfather kept quiet about the criminal activities that Wayne Enterprises engage in. Alfred says that Bruce’s father was a good man, Bruce responds even good men have their secrets.
Maroni goes on the attack, starting with sending Don Falcone Connors head in a box. Captain Sarah Essen addresses her squad-room, telling them that all leave’s are cancelled for the foreseeable future. Three of Falcone’s businesses were shot up badly, reportedly by Sal Maroni and his men and Falcone should soon respond. She says we’ve got a shooting war people.
The Season Finale For Gotham Airs Next Monday Night at 8:00 pm on FOX.
