This is the final installment of a special five part series on Gotham. We’ve recapped all ten episodes that have aired so far, and today we’ll take a special look at the journey so far and speculate on what’s to come. Remember to tune in to the midseason premiere of Gotham tomorrow on Fox! We would also like to remind readers that Gotham contains some content suited only for older viewers, and viewer discretion is advised. Spoiler warning for past (and possibly some future) episodes!

Gotham has only aired half a season so far, and yet quite a lot has happened in that short amount of time. We saw the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne, as well as the beginning of a gang war. We’ve been introduced to famous heroes and villains alike, some long before they were ready to take up their  iconic identities, and others already well on their way to becoming the characters we’ve always known. Reviews were mixed in the beginning. Opinions of the show overall are still pretty varied, but it’s nevertheless risen to being the number one show on Fox.

Like all shows, it has its strengths and weaknesses. Its main strength seems to be its fantastic supporting cast. The show’s weakness, sadly, seems mostly to be a couple of the main characters.

I’m normally a huge fan of Commissioner Gordon. In fact, I usually find him more of a hero than Batman himself. Not so this time. Gotham’s Jim Gordon is a good man. He definitely means well and is on the Good Side. But he is also very stony, serious, and not as compassionate as one would expect Gordon to be. What’s worse, considering he’s good and the GCPD is corrupt, you would expect his fellow cops to be wrong about the way they look at him. But they are actually right about him most of the time. Jim is very naïve, idealistic, and it causes him to go about almost everything in the wrong way. (Arresting Mayor James and Falcone out of the blue? Come on! There’s no way that was going to work!) Interestingly, I’ve seen interviews hint that he will turn somewhat bad himself during his mission to erase the evil in Gotham. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with him now that he’s being sent to work at Arkham Asylum.

(Source: mihtrandir.tumblr.com)

The other main character I found problematic was Barbara, who is not exactly an example of a great female character. Her main purpose on the show so far seems to be looking beautiful, and switching between comforting Jim and adding unnecessary drama to his life. She betrays his trust by blabbing his business to the newspapers, and then wonders why he keeps secrets from her. She works so hard to get him to open up to her again, and when he does, she decides she can’t handle it and leaves. I also doubt she’s the sort of representation the bisexual community was hoping for, as her past relationship with Montoya is used only to make her life more dysfunctional and eventually leads her to be unfaithful to her fiancé. What’s more, her drug problem totally came out of left field, and was only mentioned once before being forgotten entirely.

Apart from them, however, I think the characterizations have been consistently good. Even Harvey Bullock took me by surprise. When we first meet him, we get the impression that he’s just a lazy jerk who isn’t afraid to break any law (including murder) to avoid trouble. Which… is true. But there’s more to him than that. Though he starts out very hard to like, he somehow becomes very hard to hate in the end. And honestly, I don’t quite understand it myself. His apparent lack of cleverness combined with his growing devotion to Jim makes him strangely endearing. Not everyone agrees with me, however. Several viewers I’ve seen have complained he’s too corny, and they make fun of the way his dialogue is written.

(Source: mylittle-penguin.tumblr.com and grandecaps.tumblr.com)

But, to be honest, I think he’s probably supposed to be cheesy. In all his scenes, there’s this air of self importance he carries, coupled with a complete lack of self-awareness. It just seems to fit his character.

I even find Captain Essen interesting, though she’s not really a major character. She definitely has her own share of personal conflict. Like the others at the GCPD, Essen is a proponent of the motto “Go along to get along”, which includes engaging in illegal and evil activity when it suits. But we do get glimpses of the “real” Essen below that, and she’s a woman who doesn’t want it to be that way. She’s a woman who, like Jim, wants to stand up for justice. But because she’s also a woman with a family whose safety she cares about, she doesn’t feel she has the freedom to take that stance.

Of course, out of all the characters, Eddie is my baby. On one hand, I’m really excited to see what he’ll be like when he turns bad. But on the other hand, I don’t want to see it at all ever because I know it will absolutely break me. It’s true I’ve had lots of favorite characters that did villainous things or killed people and all that. But they weren’t Eddie. Eddie can’t do that stuff. I mean, just look at that happy little nerd.

See. He doesn’t have a bad bone in his body.

At least, as far as I can tell.

But there have been several scenes already where I’ve expected him to do something evil, and he didn’t. Scenes where he slowly looks at the camera, and you expect an evil grin to spread across his face… but it doesn’t. Or the part where he picks up a knife that glitters in the lamplight, only for the scene to reveal he’s performing an autopsy. It often feels like there’s an invisible evil force floating outside his body that even he isn’t aware of, and its waiting for just the right moment to seep into his skin and take control.

The behavior of his coworkers puzzles me as well. I understand that he’s awkward, and his love of puzzles gets on their nerves. But they seem almost to go out of their way to dislike him. Even when he’s kind to them, helpful to the case, and shows an interest in them as people. Do they sense something evil is in him and avoid him because of that? Or are they just being shallow and cruel, and their behavior is what will lead him to become evil later?

Either way, I do often wonder what will ultimately send him over the edge. At first I thought his coworkers would just keep ignoring him until he lost it and started staging stunts to get attention. But now I’ve been hearing in interviews that his character will start receiving recognition and appreciation for his accomplishments. This choice of direction confuses me a great deal, since it seems to erase all the things in his life that are pushing him toward bitterness. Why will he eventually choose to go to the dark side, then? Will it be the opposite problem? Will the recognition go to his head? Or will he end up losing all that recognition again somehow, so that his unwillingness to return to failure drives him mad? Questions, questions.

(Source: wouldyouliketoseemymask.tumblr.com)

I just hope that, whatever sends him over the edge, it’s not rejection from Kristen Kringle. I’ve been worried about that ever since I saw his failed attempts to flirt with her in episode six. Don’t do this to me, Gotham writers! I hope I don’t have to tell you why that direction would be an unspeakably bad idea. Men turning murderous after being friendzoned is such a terrible old trope. I don’t want it used for my Eddie, of all characters. What’s more, when that trope is used, the female character involved always ends up getting the most unfair treatment. Eddie’s going bad should not, in any way, be labeled as Kristin’s fault. Especially since there are so many other things done to Eddie that he can be rightfully angry about. I mean, even Jim is rude to him.

(Source: saditasaxton.tumblr.com)

Jim Gordon, people.

Whatever direction they take his story, I hope we see something happen with him soon, good or bad. They can only show so many episodes of him being snubbed by coworkers before it gets repetitive. I doubt we’ll see him actually go bad this season, as the showrunners said each season will focus on one villain at a time, and this one’s Penguin’s. We could maayybee see something of him going bad in the finale. But I think the majority of it will be saved for his own personal season, which I’m guessing will be either season two or three.

As sad as it will be, I am looking forward to seeing the actor show a more villainous side to his role. Cory Michael Smith is a great actor. He hasn’t had too many scenes to prove it yet. But I think once the show focuses on Eddie more, he could even give Robin Lord Taylor a run for his money as best Gotham actor. (And Robin Lord Taylor has consistently been hailed as the best actor on the show so far, hands down.) I think it will be a friendly rivalry, though, as both actors appear to be good friends in real life and are dying to do a scene together. And I‘m dying to see one! Imagine a scene with Oswald and Eddie interacting. And both such iconic villains, too. In one interview I saw, it was even mentioned that a confrontation between Oswald and Eddie is planned in a future episode. I can’t imagine what would prompt such a confrontation, but I hope we don’t have to wait too long to find out. It sounds fantastic.

I have to admit, as much as I’ve always loved the Batman universe, watching Gotham is the first time I’ve actually liked Bruce Wayne. I usually liked it for the other characters. I’m sure many people will call me a heretic now, but Bruce is a character that has always uninterested me. He was cold, distant, wealthy, and overly dramatic about his parents’ deaths (which I could never connect to before). But David Mazouz is fantastic as young Bruce. I’m really looking forward to seeing more of him. And I’m especially excited to see him meet the other characters he hasn’t had scenes with. Such as Eddie, Oswald, Fish. People he’ll one day grow to fight.

I was skeptical about Alfred at first, since he seemed so much more gruff than I expected him to be. But I really think they did the best possible thing with his character. I like that he’s so strict and yet such an enabler. I often think Bruce is really the adult in their relationship. One thing that surprised me was how they become such good friends so fast. At the start of the show, Alfred’s fatherly feelings for Bruce are obvious to viewers, but Bruce is unaware of them. I thought that would turn into a multi-season arc for their relationship, but they already seem to have bonded. I wonder what the showrunners will do now to make the relationship interesting?

Cat has done nothing but impress me consistently so far. Camren Bicondova is an amazing young actress. She effortlessly portrays both a fun, gentle side, and the side of a ruthless street thief, and it flows together seamlessly. She even looks and moves quite like a Cat.

(Source: rosamundqpike.tumblr.com)

I’m also impressed with Ivy, though we haven’t seen much of her yet. What we have seen of her has been delightfully disturbing, and I hope she makes more frequent appearances on the show. From what I’ve seen of the previews, it looks like we’ll be seeing a good deal of both her and Cat together.

While watching TV shows, most viewers, of course, root for the good guys. But it’s okay to root for some of the bad guys too. Especially when there are multiple bad sides fighting to become the top bad guy. Even if you do ultimately root for the good side, you must have some opinion on which bad guy you want the good side to have to fight in the end. And there are many different Gotham baddies vying to take that place. In-fandom fighting over which one of them should win is already happening (if you haven’t heard someone cry “Penguins eat fish!!!’ yet, you will). The main competition in fans’ eyes seems to be between Oswald and Fish. These debates can get even more passionate and personal when you take into account that Oswald is a white male character, and Fish is a powerful woman of color — a rare character to see in most media.

I personally adore both characters. I think you all know of my obsession with Oswald Cobblepot. And Fish is undeniably the queen of the fandom.

(Source: llynirr.tumblr.com) 

They are both two of the most fantastic characters on the show. However, while I understand and appreciate what an important character Fish is (and I am truly in awe of her), I can’t help ultimately being Team Oswald.

Take a look at Oswald Cobblepot. He’s small, he’s weak, he comes across as powerless. His motivations are to prove he can be somebody when everyone else thinks he can’t. Everything he does, he does despite giant odds against him. I’m not trying to excuse him at all, or claim he’s a good person at heart, because he most certainly is not. But as twisted as he is, there is something oddly inspiring about him. Then take a look at Fish. She is literally like an evil queen in a fairy tale. Fish seems to have been born with a natural power and presence that demands respect and obedience from people, and it's rare for her not to get her way. She wasn’t abused, mistreated, or looked down upon as far as we know. In the real world, there is a lot going against a woman of color trying to rise to power. But are things the same way in the fictional Gotham universe? It seems in her world, she has no needs and nothing to prove. Only an insatiable lust for power. And the power she already has, she lords over those weaker than her. While Oswald seems like he would be bullied, Fish would be the bully. And that makes it very difficult for me to root for her wholeheartedly. Although, once we dig deeper into her character, we may discover something that changes that.

I also find it difficult to imagine Fish defeating Oswald, if the show decides to follow the comics at all. Fish is, as an original character, not someone that exists at all in Bruce Wayne’s future world as Batman. Whereas, Oswald becomes the Penguin. And as the future Penguin, he’ll have to defeat a lot of people who are above him to get to the top. Unless she’s also secretly a Batman villain from the comics, and they both end up taking control of the city in different ways, Oswald defeating Fish seems inevitable.

But then, I haven’t exactly ruled out the possibility of her secretly being a villain from the comics, whose future identity has not been revealed yet. It would make for an interesting twist. And I’ve found it strange that, in the promotional material, whenever the “future Batman nemeses” are lined up, Fish is among them. I guess we’ll have to keep our eye on her.

Oswald, meanwhile, seems to be captivating viewers. Most critics I’ve seen have named him as the main reason for the show’s success. And I’ve come across several people who are not at all fond of the show, but watch it anyway solely for Oswald. Robin Lord Taylor is certainly deserving of such recognition, as he steals every scene he‘s in. His character is fascinating, terrifying, funny. Not to mention the fantastic amount of sass. I mean… look at him. He even eats apples sassily.

(Source: lokineedsprozac.tumblr.com)

And I didn’t even know that was a thing you could do.

Of course, I’ve already talked in-depth in a previous article about how interesting I find the relationship between him and his mother, Gertrud. And I’ve heard hints of a very intriguing scene coming up between the two of them. So I think we still have lots more to look forward to there. I’m also very interested in his relationship with Jim Gordon. They are two very different people, and only have a few scenes together so far. Yet, they seem to have developed almost a codependent relationship, in some ways. Oswald has skills that could come in handy for Jim, and Oswald seems determined to either help Jim or bring Jim over to the “dark side” (although… maybe those are the same thing in his eyes?). I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up needing each other to achieve their goals in the end, and often end up working together somehow.

I’m also looking forward to finding out how they’ll continue to handle the Penguin’s rise to power. So far he’s steadily rose higher and higher. Will he continue to do so, or will it be more of a rollercoaster with ups and downs? What’s more, previews seem to indicate he’s not far from embracing the name “Penguin”, instead of fighting it.

Of course, there’s also the two Dons themselves, Falcone and Maroni. They’ve pretty much been the series’ center of conflict, and I think the story involving them has been handled well so far. Despite his “weakening” from the Wayne murder and Arkham loss, Falcone is certainly a powerful, shrewd man. Maroni is a lot less clever; but also more brutal and unpredictable.

I look forward to seeing which (if either) of them comes out on top. I have a hard time imagining that both men will still be alive by the end of the series (or possibly even the season). I don’t know if either of them dying would be canon to the comics, but this show doesn’t have a history of being faithful to the comics anyway. And I feel like the story will need some big event — such as the death of a major character — to shake things up and prevent it from becoming stale. Besides, neither Fish nor Oswald can take control if these two continually dominate the city.

Then there’s the matter of Liza. She is yet another character who I would be surprised to see still alive by the end of the season. I believe she is capable of being powerful and dangerous, but I don’t think she realizes this about herself. And she is far too easily manipulated. It’s pretty obvious to everyone but her that Fish doesn’t give a dime for her safety. And if Liza thinks Fish will just have her continue to spy on Falcone forever, she’s kidding herself. Either Fish will make her try to kill Falcone, or she’ll sacrifice Liza for some great purpose in her plot. Either way, it won’t end well from Liza‘s perspective, so she’d better start thinking up a gameplan.

(Source: cnnrswalsh.tumblr.com)

Her smartest move, I think, would be to come clean to Falcone in secret — to say that Fish tried to use her against him, but that she doesn’t want to work for her; she wants to work for Falcone instead. Since Oswald also has her in his clutches, she’d have to make up some lie about him also plotting against Falcone in secret. It’s probably true, anyway. And it would be easy enough, since Falcone has shown he already harbors suspicions against Oswald. Falcone cares a good deal for Liza, and would probably believe what she tells him. He is also still powerful enough in this point in time to protect her from Fish’s and Oswald’s revenge (probably by disposing of them). Not only would this help Falcone keep his power, it would also most likely lead to Liza becoming his right-hand woman, which would make her quite powerful as well. I very much doubt this will happen, however. Such a move would surely end in the deaths of both Fish and Oswald, and they are both too important to the story to die. Liza, on the other hand, is disposable. I can’t see things ending well for her.

Victor Zsasz thoroughly impressed me as a villain, and I hope we get to see more of him.

 We haven’t seen much of Harvey Dent yet for me to have much of an opinion on him.

(Source: jeniiferlawrence.tumblr.com)

I’ve heard they won’t focus overly much on him this season, and instead wait until later seasons. This is why I think Season Two will be either his or Eddie’s. (I’m hoping it will be Eddie’s, though, because I like him much more as a character.)

I’ve learned we will also meet two new characters this season — Leslie Thompkins and Jonathan Crane, both pretty famous figures in the Batman universe.

We can probably expect plenty more red herrings for the Joker this season. The showrunners have said there would be a number of them, and so far we’ve only seen one. Most viewers expect these red herrings to distract from the real clues being laid down about the future Joker. Whoever the real one is, it’s sure to be quite a shocking twist.

Many theorize that Oswald will actually turn out to be the Joker, and that his being the Penguin is just a front on the writers’ part. Robin Lord Taylor could totally pull off playing the Joker. But as cool a theory as it is, I kind of doubt it’ll be the case. However, it wouldn’t at all surprise me if the Joker turned out to be some character we never suspected. Imagine if it was Fish Mooney! I’d love to see how audiences would react to a female Joker. As I mentioned earlier, I do find it odd she’s always included in the lineup of “future Batman nemeses” when she’s supposedly an original character. And the showrunners did say they were going to take their Joker in a very different direction than others have. I suppose it is possible. Though, if so, her character will have to change a lot before reaching that point.

Another person to theorize about is the Wayne murderer. In the comics, he was just a mugger named Joe Chill. But I think Gotham will be going in a different direction. It’s most likely that the murderer will be a character we’ll get to know before being revealed as the Wayne killer. Whether that person is someone we’ve already met or not, I don’t know. A common fan theory is that the killer will turn out to be Harvey Bullock. I don’t know if Cat was being honest in her drawing of the killer, but to me it looked a lot like Mayor Aubrey James or Butch Gilzean. If it did turn out to be Butch, he was probably under orders from Fish Mooney as part of her plan to weaken Falcone. And that would certainly add fuel to the future fire between Bruce and the Joker, should she turn out to be the famous nemesis.

Well, that’s it for now! We’re all caught up. I hope you’ve enjoyed this Countdown to Gotham series. I will return as your regular Gotham Girl next Monday to recap the midseason premiere. Don’t forget to watch it tomorrow night on Fox!

This is the fourth installment of a special five part series on Gotham. Whether you’re new to the show or simply want to refresh your memory, we’ll recap all ten episodes that have aired so far in time for the midseason premiere of Gotham on Monday, January 5th. Last week, we recapped episodes 5-7. In this installment, we’ll explore the final three episodes of the show. We would also like to remind readers that Gotham contains some content suited only for older viewers, and viewer discretion is advised. 

In the Gotham midseason finale and the two episodes leading up to it, we are introduced to some very important things — the Lovecraft subplot, the man who will eventually be known as Two-Face, and the moment that Bruce Wayne first met Catwoman.

Without further ado, let’s begin. Spoilers ahead!

Episode 8. The Mask:

Things seem to have hit rock bottom in Jim Gordon’s life. His fiancee, Barbara, has been suffering terrible anxiety since being held hostage by Victor Zsasz, and almost accidentally shoots Jim when he comes home one night. At work, people are still shunning him out of anger. Harvey continues to try to convince him to go along to get along, but Jim continues to fight the city’s corrupt system, sometimes to a radical degree (as we saw last time, when he attempted to arrest the mayor and Falcone). He even jails one of their best sources for being involved in the black market.

The detectives find a man who was beaten to death and has a severed thumb in his mouth. In their search for the man with the severed finger, they are led to Sionis Investments. There they meet Richard Sionis, who seems to have quite a fondness for violence. His office is filled with battle gear, and he seems entranced by the fact Jim fought in a war.

Outside his office, all his employees seem to have suffered a lot of injuries lately. They follow a trail of blood, which leads them to the man with the severed finger.

They bring the man in to question him. He tells them that the employees at Sionis Investments had to fight other applicants to get their jobs. But before he can sign a statement, his lawyer shows up and says all statements made by his client will be considered to be made under duress. Eddie does some research and discovers four people have died of office-related injuries in the last three years.

Jim goes missing after deciding to look for possible places the fights are being held. Harvey tries to get the other cops to help look for him. They’re reluctant at first, but join in after Essen volunteers.

Meanwhile, Jim has found the place where the fights occur. It’s a dark office containing people locked in cages. Someone tasers Jim, and when he wakes up, he finds he’s the target of the next fight. Sionis tells the fighters that whoever kills Jim gets the job. Jim announces he’s a cop and reminds them that they haven’t committed any crimes yet and can still walk away. This seems to have an effect on them. That is, until Sionis throws in a million dollar signing bonus.

Jim manages to take all of them out. Sionis enters the office wearing a black mask, and decides to kill Jim himself. Jim gets the upper hand, but chooses not to kill Sionis. Essen finds and enters the office just in time to warn Jim about Sionis attacking him from behind, and Jim knocks him out.

Throughout the episode, both Barbara and Harvey hint to Jim they think the real reason behind his mission to clean up Gotham is because he secretly likes the fight. Jim says he doesn’t like to fight, but he isn’t afraid to either, and that he will never stop trying to save Gotham.

Essen remarks that there have been many strange crimes taking place lately, and they seem to have started right after the Wayne murder occurred.

Meanwhile, Bruce is having trouble with a bully at school — the bully, by the way, being Tommy Elliot, a future Hush.

Alfred is disappointed that Bruce didn’t beat up the bully, so he takes Bruce to Tommy’s house and has him beat Tommy up there. Alfred then tells Tommy to remember he let Bruce do it. He also gives Bruce Thomas Wayne’s watch. Later, Bruce is feeling guilty that he enjoyed beating up the bully. He asks Alfred to teach him how to fight.

At the GCPD, Eddie tries to sneak in and perform an autopsy himself.

(Source: buckystevens.tumblr.com)

He becomes a bit ruffled when he’s caught and kicked out of the room.

At a church confessional, Fish and Liza meet in secret. Fish gives Liza a sleeping potion for Falcone. While Falcone sleeps, Liza is to get his keyring, open his desk, and copy down the last two pages from his ledger. Fish becomes concerned when Liza asks if the potion will hurt Falcone, and she wonders if Liza is starting to develop feelings for him. Later, after she has done what Fish asked and brought the papers, Liza says she wants out. Fish says no. Liza reminds Fish of all the power she already has. Why would she want more? Fish tells her a story about when she was a little girl, one of Falcone’s men killed her prostitute mother because he didn’t like the service. Ever since then, she vowed to never let any man be over her. The story seems to have the desired effect on Liza. To top it off, Fish finally allows Liza to call her “mama”. After Liza is out of earshot, a woman — who’s hinted to be Fish’s mother — asks why Fish told that story. She replies that a lie with a heart of truth is a powerful thing.

After taking a brooch from a wealthy woman, Oswald offers it to Fish as a peace offering. Instead of accepting it, Fish stabs his hand. Oswald leaves with it, and gives the brooch to his mother instead. We’re shown further glimpses into how Getrud shaped Oswald’s personality, when we learn she once got rid of an enemy by denouncing her father to the secret police. We also see her catch a rat by finding out its "secret desire".

Oswald meets Timothy, the man who replaced him in Fish’s employment. He has Timothy brought to him, tortured, and killed. But not before learning that Fish has someone close to Falcone working as her mole.

Episode 9. Harvey Dent:

We start the episode by meeting a very important character: Harvey Dent (not to be confused with Harvey Bullock. Since we have two Harveys on the show now, I will refer to the newest Harvey as just “Dent“).

(Source: cnnrswalsh.tumblr.com)

The future Two-Face, with his two-headed coin, is encouraging a young delinquent to reform his ways when he is introduced to Jim Gordon. Montoya and Allen are hoping Dent can help Jim solve the Wayne case.

Dent’s main suspect is Dick Lovecraft, a corrupt billionaire who had dealings with Falcone, Maroni, and a long feud with Thomas Wayne. Dent comes up with a plan to pressure Lovecraft into revealing information, by letting false rumors slip that they have a witness who can testify to Lovecraft’s involvement. Jim agrees to the plan, as long as everything is kept anonymous.

Dent brings Lovecraft in, claiming to have a witness to him murdering the Waynes. During the conversation, Dent suddenly snaps into a fit of rage and then immediately snaps back to his calm demeanor.

(Source: jamiefraserz.tumblr.com) 

Afterward, Dent says Lovecraft acted scared and therefore must be guilty, but Jim is doubtful.

Jim takes Cat, who was recently brought in for theft, to his apartment. There he finds a note from Barbara saying she couldn’t handle Jim’s life after all, and is leaving for awhile to try to get herself back together. Jim gets the charges on Cat dropped, and asks her to draw a picture of the Wayne killer.

(Source: jamiefraserz.tumblr.com) 

Is it just me, or does that picture look a bit like either Butch or Mayor James?

Jim plans on having Cat stay at Wayne Manor for her safety. He also hopes that if she forms an emotional bond with Bruce, she’ll be more likely to stick around to testify. Bruce seems a bit disturbed to find out someone witnessed everything. And Alfred is not at all keen on the idea of having a street thief stay in the mansion. But Bruce ends up insisting she stay there, since she’s the best chance they have of solving the case.

Once at Wayne Manor, Cat has some reservations about Bruce. She finds his formality amusing, and his wealth and privilege does not exactly endear him to her.

(Source: marysuepoots.tumblr.com)

Cat finds him all the more strange when she hears about his training. And when she finds Bruce practicing holding his breath in the hopes that it will help him become stronger, she tells him, “Out there on the streets, it’s not enough to be strong. You got to be mean. You got to be ruthless. Well you ain’t. You’re a nice kid.”

(Source: felicity-smoakqueen.tumblr.com) 

Bruce does his best to treat her warmly, but she remains cold. Cat also ends up getting angry with him when he asks her about her parents. Alfred, who thinks Cat is  a “cheeky little minx”, calls Jim and says things aren’t working out with Cat staying there. Jim tells him to hold on a bit longer.

Bruce and Cat talk for awhile after he catches her trying to sneak out of the mansion. He tells her that if she wants to leave, they can call her a cab. He also apologizes for upsetting her, but she pretends she was never upset. We find out the reason Bruce is disturbed at her witnessing everything is because he’s ashamed he didn’t do something to save his parents. Cat tells him there’s nothing he could have done. She then starts telling him fake stories about her mom being a millionaire and a secret agent. Bruce knows she’s lying, but decides to play along. Cat asks if he’s ever kissed a girl before, but Alfred interrupts them before anything can come of that.

Bruce and Cat begin to grow closer. She realizes he may be privileged and naïve, but he is also sharp-minded and foolishly brave. She continues to flirt with Bruce.

(Source: itberice.tumblr.com)

And Alfred, seeing how her presence is beginning to bring out the fun in Bruce, calls Jim back and says they will continue to allow Cat to stay there, as they find her a breath of fresh air.

(Source: buckystevens.tumblr.com)

Meanwhile, a genius bomb maker named Ian Hargrove is broken out of Blackgate Penitentiary by a group of gunmen. Now, with his help, they are using explosives to steal explosives. The GCPD brings Hargrove’s brother, John, in for questioning. John tells them that Hargrove isn’t a bad man; he has mental problems, and what crimes he commits he does so because he thinks it’s for a good cause. A nameplate from one of the explosions leads them to Hargrove himself, who says he’s being forced to work for the gunmen — a group of Russians plotting against Falcone — or they’ll hurt his family. The Russians come and, after a shootout with Jim and Harvey, escape with Hargrove once more. Essen puts Hargrove’s family members in protective custody, but unfortunately Hargrove is not aware of this.

Eddie runs some tests on Hargrove’s explosives and finds it is specifically designed to penetrate iron. And the only place that uses iron vaults is the Gotham Armory, owned by Falcone. Jim and Harvey head there to find the gunmen and Hargrove breaking in. They tell Hargrove his family is protected, and have him back away from the gunmen’s van before it suddenly explodes. All but Hargrove, Jim, and Harvey are killed in the explosion. Later, they discover Hargrove is being moved from Blackgate to Arkham.

We find out that the head gunman, Kasyanov, once worked for Nicolai. He’d been trying to get revenge on Falcone after Fish told him Falcone was responsible for Nicolai‘s death. The bomb that blew up the van was Butch’s, which was triggered on Fish’s orders when the cops came.

Back at the GCPD, Eddie is trying (and failing) to make friends with his coworkers.

(Source: airmanphilips.tumblr.com)

And Jim is trying hard to get hold of Barbara. What he doesn’t know is that she’s secretly sleeping with Montoya again.

With the tip he got from Timothy, Oswald is on a search to find out who Fish employed to get close to Falcone. He figures out it’s Liza when he discovers she wears the same perfume as Fish. Oswald breaks into Liza’s apartment and threatens to plant suspicion against her in Falcone if she doesn’t do as he says. He decides to use Liza as his own personal spy, saying she must spy on Fish for him if she wants to live.

Episode 10. Lovecraft:

At Wayne Manor, Cat is now helping Bruce in his training. But she also advises him to just get over his parents’ death, rather than continue to investigate it. When she asks again if he wants to kiss her, Bruce refuses her, saying he suspects she has an ulterior motive. He says that, while she may be a good person, she isn’t a nice person. Cat gets angry and stops helping him.

A woman manages to get inside Wayne manor by pretending to need help. It turns out she’s come to kill Cat. Alfred fights her while the kids escape. The intruder escapes as well.

(Source: foxyfoxy.tumblr.com)

When the GCPD arrives, Harvey finds a picture of Cat that was dropped by the intruder. He asks what’s going on, and Jim fills him in on the Lovecraft plan Dent came up with. It was meant to be kept anonymous, but word must have spread somehow that Cat was the witness. While Harvey and Alfred decide to track down the kids, Jim goes after Lovecraft to try to get him to call off the hit on Cat.

Jim becomes very angry when he discovers Dent leaked his name to gain credibility, and that’s how Cat was found. Dent helps Jim figure out where Lovecraft might be staying, since he isn’t at home. Eventually, Jim finds Lovecraft hiding from the same people who went after Cat.

Lovecraft says he’s not a big wheel like people think he is; he’s a nobody; and there are a lot of things Jim is in the dark about. He says he has some information for Jim. But at that moment, Copperhead, the woman who tried to kill Cat, arrives and knocks Jim out. When he wakes, he finds Lovecraft dead, shot with Jim’s gun.

With a tip they got from one of the GCPD’s street kid contacts, Harvey and Alfred go looking for Cat’s new fence. They decide to try asking Fish where they might find him. At first, Butch won’t let them talk to Fish, but Alfred holds Butch down and puts a knife to his throat. Fish talks to them, but is reluctant to help. Alfred tells her, “I can see you’re not a woman who would let petty self-interest outweigh honor and compassion.” She seems taken aback by this compliment. Fish agrees to help, but says to remember her kindness later. They learn the fence’s name is Clyde.

 Meanwhile, Bruce and Cat are roaming Gotham, trying to shake the trail of the killers after them. Cat scares Bruce by telling him the woman is actually after him instead of her, because of all the detective work he’s been doing. She seems to enjoy spending time with Bruce, but Bruce is more concerned about whether or not Alfred is okay.

(Source: buckystevens.tumblr.com)

After giving him money to call Alfred to see if he’s okay, Cat admits that she was lying about Bruce being the killer’s target. She wanted him to be scared, so that he would stay with her and they could hang out longer. Bruce gets angry at her. She tells him he was right about her not being a nice person. Cat also reveals that she was never planning on testifying in the case of his parents’ murder. Then, she ditches him, and he tries to follow.

He chases her up a building, but she jumps across it to another building. Cat smiles at him smugly, because she knows he can’t jump as long a way as she can, and so thinks she’s gotten away. But to her surprise, Bruce makes an attempt. He makes it across, but barely; Cat pulls him forward when he almost falls.

(Source: buckystevens.tumblr.com)

Cat says Bruce can follow her as long as he goes by her rules. He agrees. She takes him to The Flea, where all the street kids hang out, and gives him some grungy looking clothes to help him fit in. There, they run into Ivy, who seems to be in an even worse state than when we last saw her. Her mother committed suicide, and Ivy was adopted by a family she ended up not staying with because she didn’t like their rules. We learn she is still very bitter over her father’s death. She doesn’t blame Bruce for this, however, and even gives a lame attempt at flirting with him (I… think?).

(Source: gothamsgif.tumblr.com)

Cat warns Bruce about her, telling him she’s “scary”, and takes him to see her fence Clyde. Cat tries to sell Clyde a collection of Bruce’s possessions —including his father’s watch — without his permission, but Clyde won’t give her a reasonable price. She attempts to leave, but Clyde stops her, saying he’s going to keep them there for someone who wants them. Of course, that someone is Copperhead. She arrives on the scene, but so does Alfred, Harvey, and Jim. A shootout ensues as they look for the children. Cat escapes, but so does Copperhead. Bruce is happily reunited with Alfred.

Falcone finds out about the armory robbery. But instead of suspecting Liza of spying on him for Fish, he suspects Oswald of betraying him to Maroni. Oswald is brought in, who denies any involvement. Instead, he says the suspicion should be placed on Fish. Falcone doesn’t trust this statement, as he knows Oswald holds a grudge against Fish. Oswald tells Falcone he must have a mole, and that he’ll find the mole for him. In private, Oswald tells one of his men, Gabe, that it’s too early to reveal Liza as the mole.

Falcone gathers his people together, where he suddenly shoots his armory guard in front of everyone. He then informs everyone that tariffs will be increased until the reserves are built up again. Fish decides to use this to her advantage. In private, she tells Butch to reach out to two of Falcone’s other men, Saviano and Turski. Since they’re angry about the new tariff, maybe they can be persuaded to turn on Falcone as well.

When Mayor James hears that Lovecraft has been killed, he decides to use that to take down Jim. Dent, thinking he’ll go down with Jim, tells the mayor this is highly unfair. But when the mayor says he’ll only take Jim down, Dent protests, but not as much — something the mayor is quick to point out. It seems Dent can be a bit two-faced in his friendships (heh. See what they did there). “Dent knows how to walk the line,” Mayor James says to Jim. “He knows where the edge is. You, Mr. Gordon, do not know where the edge is.” With Dent by his side, the mayor makes a public statement that Jim’s tactics drove Lovecraft to suicide.

As punishment, Jim is being sent to work as a security guard at Arkham Asylum. The one most upset about this announcement seems to be Eddie, who says he’s going to write a letter protesting this, and suddenly embraces Jim before running away distraught.

(Source: paulswalker.tumblr.com)

…And Jim and Harvey promptly begin making fun of him. *siiiigghh*

Jim says goodbye to Harvey, and they part on good terms.

Late one night, Cat visits Bruce. She gives him his possessions back (except for one). Before she leaves, she kisses him.

(Source: foxyfoxy.tumblr.com)

Alfred comes to Bruce’s side and remarks, “The old house seems very quiet without her.”

Final Thoughts:

So many interesting things were introduced in these episodes. Harvey Dent, the Hush cameo, Copperhead, the sudden death of Lovecraft, Jim being assigned work at Arkham Asylum. But I think what stands out the most to me is Bruce finally meeting Cat. The baby bat and baby cat are just a joy to watch. And I love how their relationship already echoes the one they’ll have as adults. What especially amazes me is how the child actors on this show are every bit as good as the adult actors. That’s a rare talent to find in people so young.

It was also nice finally seeing Bruce return affection for Alfred.

Another thing that interested me is, when Oswald first talks to Liza after breaking into her apartment, he says, “You know who I am.” And she nods. I’m curious about how much these two know about each other. We’ve never seen them together in a scene before, yet they are familiar with each other. How much does Liza know about him and Falcone? Will Oswald eventually plant suspicion in Falcone against her? Or will Liza turn it around and instead plant suspicion in Falcone against him? I’m interested in finding out where their new connection will lead.

And we’ve recapped all ten episodes that have aired so far! Join us tomorrow, when we’ll take a look at the series so far and speculate on what might be coming up next on the show.

This is the third installment of a special five part series on Gotham. Whether you’re new to the show or simply want to refresh your memory, we’ll recap all ten episodes that have aired so far in time for the midseason premiere of Gotham on Monday, January 5th. Last week, we recapped episodes 2-4. In this installment, we’ll explore the next three episodes in the series. We would also like to remind readers that Gotham contains some content suited only for older viewers, and viewer discretion is advised. Trigger warning for emotional and sexual abuse. 

So far on Gotham, we’ve seen the stirrings of an upcoming war, as Falcone, the number one crime boss, weakens and others line up to take his place. We’ve seen Oswald Cobblepot scheme his way from the absolute bottom to becoming the new manager at a restaurant owned by Falcone’s number one enemy, Maroni. And we’ve seen Fish Mooney’s plan just begin to move, as she chose a young woman to be her mysterious new weapon against her boss.

Now the pieces are set. Episodes 5-7 of Gotham are widely known among fans as the turning point of the show. This is where we’ll dive head first into the motivations of the characters and watch the battle begin.

So, without further ado, let’s get started! (Spoilers ahead)

Episode 5. Viper:

Don Falcone seems surprisingly happy with the Arkham compromise. One of his men, Nicolai, urges him to hit back at Maroni so that the competition doesn’t think Maroni has won. But Falcone doesn’t think that’s necessary. Nicolai and Fish Mooney stage huge arguments in front of Falcone, which we later learn is a front. The two of them are plotting together against their boss.

Fish also continues with the other side of her plot against Falcone — turning Liza into a weapon. Whatever you think of Fish, you have to admit she’s good at emotional manipulation. She talks to Liza like a mother does to a young child, and calls her “baby girl”. But she is also very strict, doesn’t hesitate to slap the girl across the face when she displeases her, and doesn’t allow Liza to call her “Mama” yet. She has to earn that right. It’s obvious Fish doesn’t actually care for her and is only using her as a tool, and yet I can see how someone would easily fall for Fish’s ploy and go to any length to try to earn her love.

Fish teaches Liza the way she wants her to look, act, and talk. She also teaches her a song which turns out to be one that Falcone’s mother sang to him when he was young. Apparently, Fish is turning Liza into a duplicate of Falcone’s mother, only younger and sexier. The plan seems to work, as Falcone is immediately intrigued by her when he meets her out walking.

Over at his restaurant, Maroni is making plans of his own. He wants to rob Falcone’s casino to send a message of power. Oswald speaks up, saying he knows someone who could show them a secret way into the casino. In his usual friendly manner, Maroni invites Oswald over to the table. He encourages him to embrace the title “Penguin” instead of fight it, but Oswald still doesn’t seem too keen on the idea.

(Source: ha-harleyquinn.tumblr.com)

However, when he learns Oswald used to work for Fish, Maroni’s friendly façade drops, and he beats him. He orders that Jim be brought to the restaurant. When he arrives, Maroni asks Jim to tell him a story — and it better be the same story Oswald told. If not, Maroni will kill both of them, since he won’t know which one is lying. Jim tells the story of how he faked Oswald’s death in order to make it look like he was cooperating with Falcone and the GCPD, and how everyone still thinks Oswald is dead. Maroni is satisfied and lets Jim go. He decides to use Oswald to find out Fish’s secrets, and also robs the casino with his help.

Meanwhile, Bruce is pursuing a hobby that Alfred definitely does not approve of. He’s continuing to try to solve the mystery of his parents’ murder, and is now investigating the Arkham papers for a possible connection.

(Source: timdick.tumblr.com)

How did Falcone and Maroni get such big shares in the deal in the first place? Surely his parents didn’t make deals with mob bosses. Is someone inside Wayne Enterprises involved in activity that goes against his parents’ wishes for the company? When Alfred tells him that Wayne Enterprises is holding a charity ball, Bruce says he would like to attend it so he can ask a few questions. Though he’s impressed at how fast the boy is learning, Alfred doesn’t think this investigation is healthy, and threatens to burn all the papers. Bruce orders him not to burn them, and Alfred obeys. I find it interesting that, although Alfred is Bruce’s legal guardian, he still accepts the young boy’s orders, as a butler would do for his employer.

Jim and Harvey face a very unusual case when they hear that a homeless man walked into a store, drank their milk, and left with the ATM machine after ripping it out with his bare hands.

When they find the guy, he threatens them by lifting up a car, before his entire body seems to fold up into a fabric-like heap on the ground, dead.

Soon, more people begin exhibiting the same symptoms. The effects come from an inhaled drug called Viper, which is being handed out at random on the streets by a man with a mangled ear. Captain Essen wonders what motivation the man would have in handing out such a drug for free, as those who take it die long before they can become addicted and seek more. Eddie analyzes traces of the drug they found on the homeless man’s guitar case. He finds that the drug causes the body to burn calcium from the bones as fuel. To replace the calcium, the person is driven to drink as much milk as they can. But they can’t drink fast enough and the bones crumble. Such a drug could only be made at WellZyn’s state of the art lab, which is a company connected to Wayne Enterprises.

(Source: mihtrandir.tumblr.com)

Taylor Reece of WellZyn volunteers to come to the station to avoid suspicion, and threatens legal action if any connection is insinuated between her company and the drug-related deaths. She recognizes the description of the man with the mangled ear as an ex-employee, Stan Potolsky. She says he made shampoo until he became unstable and tried to cut off his ear. She sends over some belongings he left at work. Among these belongings is a picture of Potolsky with his philosophy professor. They decide to pay him a visit.

The professor knows a good deal about Potolsky and says he did not make shampoo as Reece claimed. Instead, he made chemical weapons that could create super soldiers. The first chemical he made, Viper, killed whoever inhaled it. His second attempt, Venom, was more successful. Potolsky had philosophical problems with his job, but wasn’t allowed to quit until Thomas and Martha Wayne shut down the operation. Unfortunately, it started up again after the Wayne’s death, and he decided to resort to drastic measures.

Jim and Harvey discover that Potolsky’s professor is in on the plan. He tells them that Potolsky is about to issue a statement that won’t be ignored. He then inhales a hidden vial of Viper and attacks the two detectives. After they defeat the professor, Jim realizes that Potolsky plans to use the Wayne charity ball to show WellZyn and Wayne Enterprises for what they really are. He heads to the ball immediately.

At the ball, Bruce is disappointed to find he won’t get to ask questions to any Wayne Enterprise board members, as they have sent middle management to appear for them. And the woman from middle management seems more interested in bragging about how much money the company is making than answering any of Bruce’s questions.

Suddenly, their conversation is interrupted by Potolsky hijacking the screens. “It seems bad things only truly happen when they happen to important people. Like you,” he says, pumping Viper into the room’s ventilation.

(Source: beallofthem.tumblr.com)

Alfred protects Bruce from the fumes, and everyone begins evacuating the building. Jim finds Potolsky outside. He tells him to turn off the Viper, but he refuses. Jim threatens to shoot, but Potolsky doesn’t care and says his work is done. Jim shoots the canister of viper which sprays Potolsky. Potolsky tells him to look in warehouse 39, and jumps off the building.

Later, Jim and Harvey check out warehouse 39. They find it empty. Outside, the woman from middle management is watching them.

Back at Wayne Manor, Alfred apparently has decided he no longer disapproves of Bruce’s hobby, and sits down to help him look through the files.

(Source: neverlandspirate.tumblr.com)

Episode 6. Spirit of the Goat:

At the beginning of Gotham’s sixth episode, we go back ten years in the past to find a… very different Harvey Bullock than the one we know now. He’s eager, rebellious, idealistic. In fact, he seems strangely like Jim Gordon, intent on going against Gotham’s Golden Rule of “No Heroes”.

He and his partner, Detective Dix, are on a case chasing down a serial killer who believes himself to be possessed by an angry goat spirit. The killer, who they have identified as Randall Milkie, targets the firstborn children of wealthy families. Milkie, who worked air conditioning, had keys to all his victims’ houses. He would take them in the night, sacrifice them in a candlelit ceremony, and sew pennies into the heads of the bodies. Now, Harvey and Dix believe they have finally tracked him down. Harvey goes against his partner’s warning, and heads in without back-up. Dix follows. Harvey ends up killing Randall Milkie, but not before his partner is seriously injured. Before his death, Randall Milkie says his body may die, but the Spirit of the Goat will return.

Fast forward to present day. The Spirit of the Goat seems to have indeed returned, as once again, firstborn children of wealthy families are being taken from their homes and sacrificed. All over the city, worried parents are fleeing with their children until the serial killer is caught. Alfred attempts to convince Bruce to leave the city temporarily as well, but to no avail. He has work to do. And besides, he says, “There’s no one to take me from.” Once you see Alfred’s reaction to that, you won’t soon forget it.

(Source: beallofthem.tumblr.com)

Bruce is something of a son to Alfred. Apparently, Alfred is still just a butler in Bruce’s eyes.

Meanwhile, Jim and Harvey are talking to Robert Hastings, the father of the latest victim, to get information. They see him clenching and unclenching his fist. The family therapist steps in, stating that Mr. Hastings is in no emotional state to deal with this kind of tragedy.

Everyone on the new Goat Spirit case marvels at just how similar it is to the one ten years ago. All the details are the same, down to the penny sewed into the victims’ heads — a detail that was never revealed to the public. The only ones who knew about the pennies was the old Goat himself Randall Milkie (now deceased), the old medical examiner (also deceased), Harvey, and his old partner Dix. They decide to pay the old detective a visit.

Dix is bitter at Harvey for the disabilities he suffers, since he probably would not have been injured if Harvey had just waited for back-up. Harvey seems to blame himself as well, as Jim discovers Harvey is supporting Dix financially (As well as buying him porn, but what can you expect from Harvey Bullock charity?). Dix warns Jim about Harvey, saying he thinks he’s a white knight. Concerning the case, he says he didn’t tell anyone about the sewn pennies. Whoever the new goat is must have been someone who was involved with the old goat ten years ago.

Jim and Harvey get a maintenance employee list to see who had keys to the victims’ houses. They narrow the list of suspects down to Raymond Earl, who they find in the same building in which the last “Goat” was caught. A fight ensues in which Jim saves Harvey, and they bring the guy in alive.

Harvey is struggling to disbelieve in the Goat Spirit, as he discovers Earl, like Milkie, has no history of violence. He says it’s like something “found them”, rather than committing the crimes of their own accord. Harvey discovers that both men also had a history of mental illness. He notices Earl clenching his fist repeatedly, similar to what Mr. Hastings was doing after his daughter died. Repeatedly clenching one’s fist is a tactic Dr. Marks, the Hastings’ hypnotherapist, teaches her patients. When they are about to react violently due to trauma they’ve suffered, or have the urge to do something inappropriate, they can clench their fist instead and avoid the negative reaction or behavior.

Harvey puts the pieces together and heads over to talk to Dr. Marks, who he learns treated all three men. She admits to hypnotizing both Milkie and Earl into becoming the Goat, as an act of therapy for Gotham. But she also points out that you can’t hypnotize anyone to do something they don’t already want to do. “And deep down, we all want to eat the rich.” She sets Mr. Hastings on him (who she has also hypnotized to kill), and tries to escape during the fight. Harvey knocks out Mr. Hastings, and shoots Dr. Marks in the ankle before she can get away.

Meanwhile, Eddie has developed a crush on his coworker, Kristin Kringle. Unfortunately, he’s not exactly good with women…

(Source: peetahales.tumblr.com)

He finally goes too far when he decides to be, er, nice, and reorganize all of her files. Needless to say, she gets extremely angry with him, and thinks he must be trying to drive her to quit. Eddie, realizing his behavior has been inappropriate, apologizes and leaves. Poor Eddie. (And poor Kristen…)

In one quick scene, we watch Cat sneak in and steal something from the Wayne manor.

Oswald finally visits home to let his mom know he is still alive. He assures her that he has not been taken in by any “painted ladies”, and she cries joyfully when she learns there is no other woman in his life. She asks him if he’s been involved in any illegal activity, and Oswald says he has not. He tells her people have been very cruel to him, and that he’s going to become somebody that people will know deserves respect. His mother assumes it must be “the bullies again”, and reminds him not to trust anybody except her. Oswald tells her there’s a cop he thinks he can trust, but she’s still suspicious.

Montoya and Allen feel they have all they need to convict Jim when they find a homeless man who claims to have witnessed him kill Oswald. Meanwhile, Barbara has newfound confidence in Jim after he agrees to open up to her more. She looks for Montoya and offers to give her information to clear her fiancé’s name. Montoya refuses and tells her that, after Jim is arrested, Barbara should leave Gotham. She then says never to come to her again.

At their apartment, Barbara asks Jim to run away with her. She informs him that the MCU has a warrant for his arrest, and she doesn’t want him to go to jail. He refuses and insists on facing whatever consequences the MCU has in store for him. Montoya and Allen arrest him and Harvey. But a surprise awaits all of them at the police station. Standing there for all to see is the “murder victim” himself, Oswald Cobblepot.

(Source: raininginthenight.tumblr.com)

Episode 7. Penguin's Umbrella:

Jim’s secret — that he faked Oswald’s death — is revealed to all, and a very angry Harvey Bullock confronts him. Harvey has every intention of killing Jim right there and then so he can take the dead body to Falcone and plead for mercy. Jim disarms him, however. And whatever wrath Falcone has for Jim’s deception will most likely fall on Harvey as well.

When Fish Mooney hears Oswald is still alive, she’s livid and demands Jim be brought to her at once. Jim comes home to find Barbara being threatened by Fish’s men. When they refuse to leave, Jim shoots one and knocks the other out, and takes Barbara to the train station. It’s not safe for her to be in Gotham, and he insists she leaves. He promises to join her later, but if he doesn’t, tells her not to come back to the city.

Since Fish’s attempt to fetch Jim didn’t work, she decides to appeal to Falcone next. Continuing their staged fighting, Fish and Nicolai work off of each other to convince Falcone he should kill both Jim and Oswald. He agrees to send Victor Zsasz to fetch Jim alive, but insists that Fish ask Maroni nicely for Oswald. Falcone’s calmness, along with the fact that he seems to be using Liza as only a maid rather than a confidant, worries Fish. She wonders if there’s something he knows that no one else does.

Fish follows Falcone’s request and pays Maroni a visit, asking politely for Oswald. She doesn’t want Maroni to get suspicious and realize she is actually trying to protect the vast array of secrets Oswald knows about her, so she instead pretends the reason she wants him back is because he disrespected her. Maroni refuses to hand him over to her punishment, but has Oswald apologize. Fish angrily threatens them and leaves.

After asking politely doesn’t work, Falcone agrees to go for tougher measures to get Oswald back from Maroni. He kidnaps nuns to use as a human chain, and refuses to let any of Maroni’s trucks pass the bridge until he hands over Oswald. Maroni is still reluctant to hand Oswald over, however, as he sees him as his own personal Golden Goose.

(Source: Buzzfeed/Fox)

Oh, Oswald, you poor awkward child.

Maroni instead wants to push back against Falcone, and Oswald says he knows just how to do it. He leads a few of Maroni’s men to where Nicolai is, and they kill him.

One of Maroni’s men, Carbone, is suspicious of Oswald. He doesn’t trust him enough to believe he’s actually loyal to Maroni. And since Maroni isn’t present, Carbone plans to kill Oswald and frame it as an accident. It looks as if Oswald has finally got himself in over his head and is about to pay the price, but it turns out he still has a trick up his sleeve. Oswald tells Carbone that, when you know what a man loves, you know what can kill him. Carbone loves money. So much that he doesn’t pay his men well enough for them to be loyal to him. As proof of this, Carbone’s men hold him while Oswald stabs him repeatedly.

(Source: itberice.tumblr.com)

As soon as Oswald is sure he has fully conquered his enemy, his demeanor changes from angry to strangely motherly. He tells the dying man that “Love conquers all”, as he strokes his hair and kisses the top of his head. The other men exchange odd looks.

A meeting is held between Falcone and Maroni to try to stop the battle over Oswald. Falcone will let Maroni keep Oswald, if Maroni will give him something in return as a sign of good faith. Oswald suggests Maroni give Falcone a piece of land known as Indian Hill, and they all agree.

Next we meet an absolutely fantastic villain, Victor Zsasz, who relishes killing and keeps a tally of his victims by cutting a mark into his arm.

This is the man Falcone sent to fetch Jim. And since everyone is both afraid of Zsasz and angry at Jim for faking a murder, they hand Jim over to him easily when he arrives at the station. Jim puts up a fight, but things don’t go well for him. He’s rescued, surprisingly, by Montoya and Allen. Montoya apologizes for letting her feelings for Barbara cause her to misjudge him, and the two MCU detectives join forces with Jim. Jim takes them to Wayne manor, where he tells Bruce that if anything happens to him, Montoya and Allen will take over the case.

Harvey arrives at Jim’s apartment, proclaiming he’s ready to join him since he’s doomed anyway. Jim tells Harvey he wants to arrest Mayor James and Falcone immediately. They handcuff the mayor and use him to get into Falcone’s mansion. But when they go to arrest Falcone, the Don says he has a knife to Barbara’s throat and will kill her if Jim goes through with his plan. Harvey says Falcone must be bluffing. But Jim believes him and scraps the plan. He also lets the mayor go free. It turns out to be the right decision, as Victor Zsasz was holding Barbara hostage after she came to Falcone to plead for Jim’s life, rather than stay away from Gotham as her fiancé asked her to.

Falcone tells them he is not the enemy. “The enemy,” he says, “is anarchy.” Since Jim trusted him enough to know he wasn’t bluffing, Falcone decides to let them all live. “The catch is, someday soon you’ll see I’m right.”

It turns out Carbone was right about Oswald. He isn’t loyal to Maroni, but is actually spying on Maroni for Falcone.

(Source: mihtrandir.tumblr.com)

In fact, Falcone and Oswald have been working together since the events portrayed at the end of the show’s pilot episode. Oswald requested that Jim be the one to kill him (because he knew Jim would never go through with it) and in return, Oswald agreed to be Falcone’s snitch for life. That’s why Falcone let Maroni have him so easily. Oswald also told Falcone that Fish and Nicolai’s fighting was a front, and that the two of them were working together to usurp Falcone. That’s the real reason Oswald led Maroni’s men to kill Nicolai — not to push back against Falcone as he pretended, but to save him from Fish.

“It’s almost uncanny,” Falcone tells him. “Everything played out exactly as you said it would. We got rid of Nicolai painlessly, and Maroni thinks you’re a wizard. You really do have a gift.”

Finally, we learn the real reason Falcone spared Jim was because Oswald asked him to do so. In fact, Oswald plans to get Jim to come over to their side.

Final Thoughts:

I really think these three episodes contain some of the best moments in the series. Especially when it comes to character development and relationships. I’m still not a fan of Jim or Barbara, but all the others are really fantastic.

I love the unlikely friendship that’s growing between Jim and Harvey, and how they were mirrored by Young Harvey and his old partner, Dix. It's interesting to note that, while Detective Dix was hurt due to Harvey's incompetence, Jim actually ended up saving Harvey from being injured. So they are not just a mirror image; they are an improved version.

I like that we’re starting to see bitterness planted in Eddie and how that might later lead him to turn evil.

And it was also very interesting to get a good look at just how powerful Falcone really is. But is he clever enough to suspect Liza? Can Fish really outsmart him?

It’s been quite a ride with Oswald so far. Despite being something of an underdog, he’s used his cleverness to rise surprisingly high surprisingly fast. We get quite a glimpse into his personal life, and it seems the showrunners are using his mother Gertrud as the key to how he became the person he is today.

To say the two of them are very close would be an understatement. (Though, she does seem a bit more fond of him than he is of her, considering how long he left her in the dark about whether he was still alive or not.) She loves to baby her special little boy, and he seems to enjoy every minute of it. I like how his being taught by his mom that he‘s “special“, along with the fact that he was bullied as a child, adds motivation to all his actions, instead of him being evil for its own sake. He views himself as a picked on underdog whose great potential no one else realizes, who will rise up and save Gotham, proving he’s not someone who can be pushed down. It appears his actions are right in his own mind, and yet he lies about his plans to his mother, who is the person he is most open with. Is he just trying to prevent her from getting angry with him? Does he think she would be wrong or right in being upset? Just how self aware is he?

One of the most interesting things about Oswald and Gertrud’s relationship is how many layers it has, and the different ways those layers can be interpreted. They seem very close and caring at first glance, but most viewers feel there is another, more sinister layer boiling just beneath the surface. Some people believe this darker side is simply that his mother is not quite as innocent and caring as she lets on. But most viewers seem to have gotten the impression it goes further than that — that the relationship between the two is incestuous.

Now, every fandom has its crazy theories, where fans will claim some incestuous relationship is canon rather than fanfiction. But the idea of incest between Oswald and Gertrud actually has a strange amount of backing from certain interviews I’ve seen with the actors. That’s not to say an incestuous relationship is absolutely canon; they haven’t stated outright it is (and it would definitely be a deviation from the comics, in which Oswald’s mother was overprotective but certainly not his lover). But one thing is for sure: many fans feel they have picked up subtle hints of incest when watching the two characters on screen, and the reason they feel that way is because the showrunners meant them to. Whether that’s because an incestuous relationship is canon, or because the writers just wanted to throw in a darker edge to make people wonder, we’ll have to wait and see.

They’ve certainly got two amazing actors to pull off such a relationship. Robin Lord Taylor and Carol Kane are fantastic. Every scene with them together is magic. In all their expressions, mannerisms, and actions, they seem to have found a thin line between loving mother/son behavior, and something possibly much darker. And they walk that line perfectly, never leaning more toward one side or the other.

But if an incestuous relationship is the direction the showrunners plan to go with the characters, we have to ask — is it something they will ever confirm on the show, or is it something they will always keep bubbling below the surface, making viewers wonder? And if it is confirmed, how far will they go with it? And then there’s what I’m most interested to know —  how did such a relationship come to be in the first place? Was it a consensual relationship they entered into because both of them are such twisted, corrupt people? Or did it start as sexual abuse on her side that Oswald came to accept, possibly due to being so isolated and her being the only important figure in his life?

My guess is the latter. And what especially convinces me is the infamous scene where Oswald stabs Carbone repeatedly while others forcibly hold him down, until Oswald is sure he’s conquered him; where we then see him suddenly adopt what seems to be his mother‘s mannerisms, and he comforts Carbone the way a mother would comfort her son right after punishing him or teaching him a lesson. We are then shown that the other men find this behavior to be very odd. The showrunners pointedly make that moment stand out, as if they're trying to say something more with it. I can think of several reasons why this scene as a whole could cause the past-sexual-abuse idea to make a horrifying amount of sense. But what I also find interesting is Oswald’s use of the phrase “Love conquers all”. Usually this term is used to mean that love can help you win against anything, but he uses it in the opposite sense — that love will defeat you; that love is something to use to put yourself over another person, to control them, to get all you want from them; that it is the ultimate tool to conquer. I doubt Oswald could get such a warped idea of what love is if his mother’s worst offence against him was merely being smothering or overprotective. And, of all people in his life, she would have been the one to teach him what love means, right or wrong.

I’ve also seen a fan theory that, in the bath scene, Oswald is clenching and unclenching his fist in the same way Dr. Marks teaches her patients to deal with trauma.

(Source: neverlandspirate.tumblr.com)

Something to think about. Although, he might just be playing with the water.

The most interesting thing about their relationship (whatever its true nature) is that neither of them seem to view it as a bad thing. I’m not sure either realizes the unhealthy nature of it, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they even imagine others to be jealous of their relationship. There’s something about the “sweet, innocent” way they treat the whole thing that causes it to be even more terrifying.

 I’m sure there will be some viewers that will object to the portrayal of their relationship, due to the disturbing nature of it. But while incest (and sexual abuse) is not “good” in any way, of course, I find this to be one of the most fascinating possible aspects of the show. I feel a lot like Eddie when he was watching people display the effects of Viper.

(Source: neverlandspirate.tumblr.com)

It’s definitely not the type of thing I expect to see on most primetime television shows. And no matter which way they go with it, I have to admire the writers’ and actors’ courage in delving into the darker parts of human nature.