We start the episode with Oswald Cobblepot walking down a street. He even has his own goons now! We then hear Mooney yelling that he’s alive! She also knows now that he’s working for Maroni. Mooney is pissed! She asks Butch to bring Gordon to her alive.
Speaking of Gordon he is still at the precinct at his locker. He leaves a message for Barbara to leave now if she hasn’t already. Just as he closes his locker door, Harvey punches him in the face and points a gun at him. He feels like he has to kill Gordon now and beg Falcone for mercy. Gordon tries to convince him to help him. He has a plan. Gordon manages to get the gun away from him. Harvey tells him he hopes to never see him again. Gordon walks away.
Back at the penthouse, Barbara hears her cell ring but doesn’t answer it. Butch is there with another henchman. Barbara asks what he wants. Butch tells Barbara that Gordon was supposed to kill someone but didn’t. The person that wanted it done is upset. Barbara figures out that it was Cobblepot that Gordon didn’t kill. Two points for you Barbara! Butch tries to hit on her. Gordon shows up gun raised. Butch tries to act like he has all the cards but Gordon winds up shooting the henchman and knocking him out. Barbara’s initially in shock as Gordon tries to get her to leave. They arrive at the bus station. He tells Barbara that she has to go and he will join her soon. He needs to take care of things first. Barbara of course protests but she leaves anyway.
Gordon is back at the precinct. Things get really awkward with the other officers staring at him as he goes to an officer’s desk for some blank warrants that were signed by a judge Bam Bam. Was that a Flinstones reference?
Carmine Falcone (John Doman), Mooney, and Nikolai (Jeremy Davidson) meet in a warehouse. Falcone is selecting live chickens while Mooney says she wants Gordon, Bullock, and Cobblepot dead. Falcone thinks that Cobblepot is a nobody. Mooney brings up that Oswald knows too much. Falcone suggest that she go to Maroni and asks politely to hand Oswald over to them. If Maroni refuses then they can discuss tougher measures. Nikolai thinks they need to send a message now. When Falcone asks about Gordon, Mooney reports that he put up a fight and he’s back at the station. Falcone sends Victor Zsasz (Anthony Carrigan) to fetch Gordon. He insists when Mooney suggests her men instead. Yeah Fish, like your goons did such a good job last time. Falcone dismisses the meeting by commenting on a chicken he’s holding. Mooney walks way with Nikolai. When he grabs her butt, she hisses to stop since Falcone would be watching. Nikolai thinks Falcone is done so they should make their move now. Mooney still hesitates because she thinks Falcone is up to something because he’s too relaxed. She mentions her female spy just cooks and cleans for Falcone which is weird. Falcone looks at them from afar.
Gordon is about to type up a form when the police captain Sarah Essen (Zabryna Guevara) appears at his desk wondering why he’s working instead of out of town. She asks who the arrest warrants are for and he replies Mayor Aubrey James (Richard Kind) and Falcone for conspiracy and trying to cover up the Wayne’s murder. She thinks he’s insane and no one will help him, including her. Not even the DA’s office. He has hope people will help once they realize they can fight back.
Victor Zsasz shows up at the precinct and warns everyone not to interfere because he just wants Gordon. Victor calls out “Jimmmm” and Gordon comes out. He thinks that Victor won’t try anything with 50 cops around. Unfortunately the other cops leave Gordon hanging at the first sign of trouble. The Captain tries to stay but Gordon says he’s got this.
A gunfight ensues. Gordon gets wounded twice from the gunshots. Right when Zsasz is about to kill Gordon another cop shows up wondering what is going on. It is enough of a distraction for Gordon to attempt to get away. Officers Montoya and Allen rescue Gordon! The cop that distracted Victor got killed instead. I felt bad for her because she was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Victor opens his sleeve and cuts another mark that counts the number of people he killed. Gordon later wakes up in a rat lab and tries to leave. The woman that helped take two bullets out of him is a friend of Montoya’s.
Mooney meets with Sal Maroni (David Zayas) to get Oswald back. Mooney’s angle is that it’s about respect because Oswald snitched. Maroni asks Oswald, who is hiding in the kitchen to come out and apologize, which he does. Mooney is not satisfied so she’s looking forward to war. She sidles up to Oswald threatening him with torture. She slaps him for good measure when he calls her Fish. She only lets friends call her by that name. Oswald still keeps it cool though. Mooney leaves. Maroni seems to get a kick out of this.
Some poor nuns get kidnapped by Butch, chained up near an overpass and almost get hit by one of Maroni’s trucks. Butch “robs” the drivers and sends a message by shooting them both in the leg. Maroni’s pissed because that shipment cost 3 million. Geez. Maroni thinks Oswald’s a goldmine which is why Falcone is hitting hard. He wants to hit harder. Frankie Carbone (Danny Mastrogiorgio) suggests giving Falcone what he wants or at least paying him off. Maroni wants to push back instead. Oswald acts supportive of Maroni and even has a suggestion of where to strike back at Falcone. I love how Oswald appears to be pulling the strings in that situation, despite the suspicious looks from Carbone.
Montoya takes Gordon to see Bruce. She apologizes for arresting him and is glad they are working on the same side. Gordon’s response was like yeah whatever and shakes hands with her. Alfred has Officer Allen by knifepoint and is relieved to see Gordon in the car. They all go inside. Gordon explains that he may not be able to solve the Wayne murders and that if something happens to him that Montoya and Allen will find the truth. Jim is initially vague about it but Bruce pouts that he’s not a child and to tell him what’s going on. Gordon reminds him that he is a child but that he will do his best to set things right. Bruce hugs Gordon.
Oswald has Carbone and his men hit Nikolai’s holdings by bombing and shooting up the place. Nikolai is killed in the gunfire. Carbone thinks Oswald is clever and calls him out thinking he’s manipulating Maroni. Oswald gets punched in the stomach by Carbone. He tells Oswald how he can kill him and blame it on the gunfire. Oswald counters back that Carbone is so greedy and so cheap that he was able to buy Carbone’s men by offering them a pay raise. The men then hold Carbone while Oswald stabs him. Oswald won that round.
Falcone and Maroni meet near a pier. They discuss their recent losses both in men and in business. Oswald is there along with Mooney. Falcone offers to let Maroni keep Oswald and they get one of Maroni’s properties. Oswald whispers in Maroni’s ear. He suggests Indian Head. Mooney warns that it is a waste because the area is on an Indian burial ground and toxic waste is dumped there. Falcone agrees to the terms. Maroni and Falcone hug it out. Mooney is giving Oswald a serious look like she knows his game. As they were leaving, Maroni asked about Gordon. He cryptically tells Falcone that there’s nothing more dangerous than an honest man. I’m sensing foreshadowing when he said that.
Gordon is putting clips in rifles and bullets in revolvers when Harvey shows up slightly drunk with a woman. He asked her to go to a bedroom (hopefully a guest’s bedroom) and wait for him. Gordon tells Harvey that he will arrest the Mayor and Falcone. He figures he can stir things up and if it makes the papers at least the people in the city of Gotham know the truth. Harvey thinks they are going to die but decides to join him anyway. He then excuses himself to be with his woman.
Gordon and Bullock arrest the Mayor first. The Mayor appeared scared but he thought that they were making a mistake. It goes downhill from there. They go to arrest Falcone next. He is very calm and tells Gordon that Victor has Barbara. He goes on to explain that Barbara came to him to convince him to spare Gordon. Harvey thinks he’s bluffing. Just in case Falcone is telling the truth, Gordon concedes. In the kitchen, Liza (Makenzie Leigh), Mooney’s spy, is baking muffins and offers one to Barbara, whose tied up. Victor answers Barbara’s phone and they go to the living room where Gordon is located. Looks like Falcone was telling the truth! Falcone appreciates that Gordon trusted him and he feels like there is hope for him. While normally Gordon would be dead, he decides to spare him. What’s the catch? He wants Gordon to think about what he said before and he will see the truth eventually.
Barbara and Gordon go back to their place. She apologizes again but Gordon quiets her with a kiss. She loves him sooo much. Barbara, you had one thing to do, and that was stay away while your man took care of business. He had an actual chance and you blew it by coming back. While admirable, it was still stupid.
Back at Falcone’s place, he tastes Liza’s muffins. She seems proud of herself for following the recipe. He apologizes for what she saw earlier but she shrugs it off as business. Falcone goes outside to check on the chickens. It’s raining outside. While there Oswald with his umbrella open, approaches. For me this was the best part of the whole episode and possibly the series so far. Falcone greets Oswald like an old friend. We then have a flashback to when they first met. It was after Falcone let Gordon and Harvey go in the first episode. Oswald pleads with Falcone that he can be his snitch. It was Oswald’s idea to have Gordon be the one to “shoot” him. He told Falcone that he would reinvent himself and work under Maroni and report back to him. He also revealed way back then that Mooney was in cahoots with Nikolai to try to overthrow Falcone. Well Mooney, your secret’s out and Falcone is now several steps ahead of you. Watch out! Falcone does think that sparing Gordon is a bad idea but Oswald reassures him that he will see the light eventually. The scene ends with Penguin giving Falcone this look like he’s coming for him and we see their backs, the umbrella up and the mansion in front of them.
We are really starting to see the mastermind that is Penguin. I’m looking forward to seeing that storyline develop even more! I like the mob drama and Gordon’s first serious attempt to take down corruption. It was naive but at least he was trying to make a statement.
From the previews, it looks like Bruce will be featured yet again. This time he wants to learn how to fight from Alfred. It appears as though he may need to defend himself. What are you looking forward to see in next week’s episode? What do you think about Penguin’s manipulations? Do you think Barbara helps or hinders Gordon? Sound off below in the comments!
Photos courtesy of Fox/Jessica Miglio and Justin Stephens
