Gotham - S1E11 - Rogues’ Gallery
Previously on Gotham, ‘LoveCraft’
Well our favorite show is back, folks! And how we missed it. Lets get back to it, shall we? This episode we find the shake-up really did take at the end of the mid-season finale, with Gordon being assigned to Arkham Asylum, Bullock is all alone and bored, thinking maybe Gordon was not so bad after all. Barbara is doped up and sleeping with Montoya, Fish is still scheming, and Oswald is attempting to be a bigger gangster than he really is… still. At Arkham there is an “almost” murder of a resident, almost as the victim is technically still breathing, and Gordon has been tasked to bring the perpetrator in. This leads to Gordon meeting a new possible love interest, Dr. Leslie Thompkins, (Morena Baccarin) who helps him in his investigation and reuniting with Bullock.
Recap:
Commissioner Gordon Plays Rent-a-Cop:
- So Gordon is a rent-a-cop at Arkham, guarding some residents who are practicing a play. I have no idea what the name of the play was but I did love the mop hair pieces. One of the other residents, “Frogman” Jones, did not feel as I did, and decides to take his offense into the production and beat one of the would-be thespians. So at the infirmary, Sen. Clay Davis… oops I mean Director or Dr. Lang (Isiah Whitlock) attempts to put Gordon in his place and tells him he needs to get security under control or he will fall further than he already has. Then we are introduced to Dr. Leslie Thompkins, who immediately likes what she sees in Gordon, and I think Gordon likes what he sees as well. Sorry, Barbara. (But what does she care? She is busy popping pills and laying down with Det. Montoya.)
- Later, Gordon finds “Frogman” non-responsive in his cell after the fight. He is still alive and breathing on his own, but Dr. Thompkins’ diagnosis is that he is brain dead. Lang doesn’t care; he just wants the problem taken care of without any outside, GCPD interference. “Frogman” has two scars on his temples, which indicate he was subjected to a crude electro-shock therapy, but was given a voltage far beyond therapeutic doses.
- Gordon is given a week to solve the crime. As he interviews residents he determines that most of the residents are too mentally unstable to help. We do meet two by name, so you know what that means…that one (or both) are somehow involved: Jack Gruber (Christopher Heyerdahl), a sociopath rapist and murderer; and Aaron Helzinger (Kevin McCormick), a man who, despite killing his family with an axe, is incapable of lying, according to Nurse Dorothy (Allyce Beasley), who herself is a mystery.
- Later, another resident is discovered wandering the halls with the same electro-shock scars as “Frogman,” and Gordon goes beyond his authority and calls in Bullock. Unlike “Frogman,” the other resident is semi-functioning but seems to only be able to recite lines from Shakespeare. Bullock is excited to see Gordon and despite Dr. Lang’s protests, Bullock declares this a GCPD case. He then escorts Dr. Lang back to the station so Gordon can get some real “po-lice” work done.
- Gordon goes through staff files and finds a map of Arkham. He sees there is a basement and asks Nurse Dorothy to take him downstairs where more files are stored. She is hesitant at first, but agrees. On their way down, Dr. Thompkins shows up and wants to join them. So now we have a dilemma: Who is the bad guy here? Gordon tells Dr. Thompkins to go home, but she insists on staying. After a little tense silence Nurse Dorothy shows her true colors and throws Dr. Thompkins aside and makes a run for it. Bullock calls with the one piece of useful information he gleaned from Lang: Nurse Dorothy is an inmate! See Clay Davis was right, it was not the staff! As she runs, Nurse Dorothy unlocks all the cells and the inmates are now literally running the asylum. Leslie is trapped at the front gate, but Jim shows up as heroes do and punches a couple inmates in the face. The pair are just barely able to escape. In a strange change of events, Nurse Dorothy wasn’t so lucky; she was trampled by the stampede of inmates. So what does that mean now? Is that how Gotham is going to end its great return to the airways with the villain being killed Walter White style?
- Not so fast! Helzinger, the “can’t lie” guy snaps the neck of a few guards at Arkham, leaving a clear path for our true villain to show his devious face. It is Gruber! And that is unfortunate for our favorite Senator… I mean Dr./Director Lang because he bumps into them as they are attempting to make their escape. By the time Gordon and Bullock arrive, it is too late. As Lang dies he is able to let Gordon know who the real inmate was who was conducting the experiments, Gruber. And so there was no mistaking he was the mastermind behind it all, Gruber left a taunting note for Gordon.
Fish is Thicker Than Blood :
- We find Mooney having a very interesting hypothetical conversation with Jimmy Saviano (John Enos III), Falcone’s #2, who would take over should Falcone suddenly pass on to the afterlife. Saviano is next in line and is not afraid to tell Mooney she isn’t up to the task. Butch and Saviano go way back, so Butch goes to talk to him privately on Mooney’s behalf. There is an interesting moment with Mooney asking if Butch was going to betray her. Butch, of course, vehemently says no and asks why would she think anything like that as he turns and walks away with that complicated look on his face.
- During the meeting, Saviano offers Butch a top position in Falcone’s enterprise when he takes over as the head gangster. Butch promises to think about it. So he now has a very difficult decision to make… stay loyal to his favorite gal or his childhood brother who calls him brother. He ends up apologizing to Saviano about keeping some premium steak they stole back in the day. Butch mysteriously asks Saviano, “who does that to a brother?” As brothers do, Saviano forgives him and Butch in turn shoots Saviano in the head.
The Cat and the Plant:
- Selina finds Ivy under some stairs sick as a dog (or a plant I guess). She does not want to go to see a doctor so Selina finds another place in which they can stay. Gordon’s house!
- Barbara calls the house to talk to Gordon but finds Ivy answering the phone playing “a friend of Jim’s”. That does not go over well and Barbara is pissed! And she was just dumped by Montoya too! I see lots of barbiturates in her future.
Wrapping Up:
- Penguin spends the entire episode in a jail cell after he attempts to extort money from some fishermen at the docks. You know…raising taxes due to inflation. Unfortunately, Don Maroni does not like hubris and people not asking permission to raise taxes on little old fishermen. So Oswald is put in jail by Maroni’s cops until he feels he has learned his lesson. Which in this case is until the end of the show.
- I very much liked this episode believe it or not. Not sure if it was because it had been away during the break or it really was a nice way to come back. Either way, I like where the story is now and it looks like there will be a continuation with Gruber next week and we will get to see more electrical hijinks.
