Bruce got a big hug from Alfred when he came back from the Court of Owls – and it was very emotional considering that’s not the most traumatizing thing that has ever happened to him. I think that a lot of the other people that have kidnapped him have truly been a lot more intimidating than a lady with a mask. Bruce really just needs a break, AND now he truly has time to take a break. Bruce has spare time like a normal kid again. Oh wait, never mind, because fake Bruce just walked in and ruined their dance lesson plans (a normal kid doesn’t take dance lessons anyway, it’s fine).
Cut to a dingy apartment that matches Gordon’s new gruff voice, leather jackets, and scotch. Even Val seems sick of his shit, saying “million dollars could buy you a lot of scotch,” and she has only known the man for an episode. But she wants a story, and he needs him in order to get it. They need to find Fish, and Selina Kyle isn’t helping Val anymore, so Gordon is the only one that might have a connection that could point out where she is.
I thought that they were going to try to find Selina in order to find Fish, so I thought Gordon was going to go to Bruce, and connect their story lines now, but instead he goes to Barbara. Barbara plays some games with him as she likes to do, but he draws the line at kissing Barbara, even though asking all these villains for help is fine by him. Barbara still gives him the location of Fish though (Why would she do that? What did she have to gain by doing that? Gordon’s affection? As if). She also says some creepy stuff to him, “you were in an accident where you lost both your legs and I had to push you around in a baby carriage.” I have no idea whether that is foreshadowing for an accident Gordon will be in, or his baby, but it was memorable considering how out of place it was.
Val double crosses Gordon this time, and goes to the GCPD first so that she can get the story and leave Gordon with his minimal amount of cheap scotch. In exchange for the information, the GCPD allows Val to get the first crack at Mooney; she does truly just want a story, and it’s nice to see someone in Gotham that clearly shows their motivation for the things they do.
Bullock gives an inspirational speech right outside the hideout, which seems like it would be loud enough to maybe alert the villains inside that they are about to be busted. However, turns out that everyone must be deaf because the GCPD corners them. Honestly, they should have just shot her on the spot, that way this entire ordeal would be over with. Instead, there’s a lot of police versus monster fighting, in which Fish casually walks out.
Fish does want to see more of Bullock though, so she kidnaps him and has him lead her to Doctor Strange. Not before she kisses him though, and while their relationship is weird, I have always enjoyed watching it. When he first hears of Bullock’s disappearance, Barnes says to “look where there’s booze,” and I really thought that we were past this. First he’s a good captain, but now he is just an alcoholic again? Make up your mind, Barnes. However, it doesn’t take much more to convince him that Bullock is actually missing, and he leads the GCPD to him. Fish knows that she needs to get them off her back if she wants to escape, so tries to be as intimidating as possible, declaring that she is dying woman with nothing to lose. Yet, with Barnes’ coughing, Fish might actually be talking to a dying man as well.
Fish asks, more like demands, that Doctor Strange fix her. She actually uses the words “fix me daddy,” which honestly just made me slightly uncomfortable. But there is nothing that he can do for her. Apparently writing the integrals of random numbers on the walls of his cell isn’t very useful in this particular circumstance.
Gordon’s questionable morality is truly displayed here as he goes against the GCPD to save Bullock, and calls upon Penguin to kill Fish. I’m not sure why Fish trusted Gordon to get her out safely, but she’s a desperate dying woman so I guess I understand. Penguin is overjoyed at the news, but while he talks about his love for bloodshed, there was a distinct lack of it as he kept talking and talking to Fish instead.
Marv just got the hell out of there without a word. Same, Marv, same.
Penguin just wants to know why Fish didn’t kill him. He wants to know her plan for him. Fish declares she didn’t kill him because he was her umbrella boy, and now he is the King of Gotham. She essentially brought him into being. She is proud of her accomplishment, the same way that Strange is proud of himself for bringing Fish back into being. Fish and Strange have a weird connection now, and I’m curious where it will take their relationship. I doubt that any of the sentiment she had was real concerning Penguin, but it is enough to convince Penguin to let them go. She didn’t even need to use her mind control on him. Honestly, you would think that the King of Gotham would have learned to shoot and not ask questions by now.
He knows that he needs to come back a victor, so he lets everyone believe that he did kill Fish. People are cheering “Oswald Cobblepot,” which is probably the first time anyone has ever cheered for someone named Oswald. Gordon just looks at him and knows the truth though, which is impressive. Their bond is always fascinatingly strong throughout their team ups.
Gordon is not the only enlightened one, as Val comes in figuring it all out, and when she finally shuts up, Gordon kisses her. And honestly, it’s only the second episode guys. I was hoping they would drag out their inevitable romance a little longer, but maybe Gordon does need this now. Hopefully Val can actually help Gordon get his shit together again. Except, now Lee is coming back to town, and will probably start a completely unnecessary and painful love triangle. It should be an easy decision for Gordon to go back to Lee, as him and Val barely know each other at all. The only thing they have done to each other is backstab each other. They have never even gone on a date, unless you count hunting monsters as a date. But I doubt that his decision will be that simple.
Even though this episode ended with some great cliffhangers with fake Bruce and Lee, I am still the most curious about Ivy. Ivy needed to be older – what was the original plan for her character anyway? What was the point of even including her as a child when she has never really played a part in the story before. Maybe they just needed her to be older in order film her new figure in her new dress. She is old enough to get those sexy shots now, and old enough to kill a guy apparently. It is quite disappointing because he did seem like a nice guy. Apparently I am too used to the people of Gotham because the moment she said she had no one looking for her, I was convinced her was going to rape her or something. I forget that outside of Gotham, there are actually sane people who don’t kill people for things like disrespecting plants. I’m just curious what the new seductive Ivy with a passion for plants is going to contribute to the future storyline.
Written by Nicole Teeters, GOTHAM Beat Writer -- Click to read Nicole's posts
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