Gotham - S1E19 - Beasts of Prey
Previously on Gotham, ‘Everyone Has a Cobblepot’
Fish Wants Out:
Fish seems to be making herself at home running Dr. Dulmacher house of horrors. Don’t let the retirement home feel fool you though, they are dismembering people and putting them back together again - not quite the same in which they found them. Or maybe Fish is not so much making herself at home as she is testing the security to break out of the hospital and meeting the man whose job it is to catch those brave enough to attempt to run away. He calls himself “The Catcher” and he is not trying to buy what Fish is selling. While outside of the hospital she sees a boat docked in the harbor and a helicopter on the helipad. Those may come in handy. She then goes to her buddy, Kelly, who just last episode she sent to get forcibly cut, and tells him they are getting off the island or will die trying. We all know who would be doing the dying first.
Fish convenes a group of the brilliantly dangerous inmates and tells them about an escape plan because they are the only ones who can help her. Where have I heard that before?
Fish is being nosey and rummaging around Dr. Dulmacher’s office for keys to the boat and perhaps the helicopter. Dr. Dulmacher catches her in his office and feels she is being dishonest with why she is there. He threatens to shoot her in the stomach but before he can pull the trigger she tells him a sad, sad story about the human Raggedy Andy doll he stitched together last episode. She says she does not want to end up like him and would rather take her own life. He tells her if she does something like this again her nightmare will come true.
Fish gives a set of keys to her group of inmates and tells them to go to the boat and wait for her while she gets Kelly. She also says don’t leave her, which is obviously not her plan, to leave with them. She does go back for Kelly and is met by Dr. Dulmacher who is disappointed, but is ready to play with Fish’s many parts. She has other plans and is helped by Kelly and some of his friends. They do leave Dr. Dulmacher alive to play human jigsaw puzzle another day. The Catcher and his crew catches up with Fish’s group of inmates and you know… kills them.
Fish, Kelly, and his friends run to the helicopter which was her plan all along and fly off, but not before the Catcher puts a bullet in her stomach. Something to remember him by.
An Ogre… where is Donkey?:
A uniformed cop introduces himself to Gordon and wants him to look into a case that has been closed. The cop says he has been watching Gordon and how he has attempted to clean up Gotham. He wants the parents of the young woman killed to receive justice… Gordon style justice!
Gordon must really not like going to dinner with his new lady friend because he seems to always bring her new cases knowing that she is a danger whore. You had her at homicide! She points him in the direction of some “speakeasies” and with her most professional verbiage - and very bad dialogue - she professes the person who did the killing is a “monster”.
Bullock is none too happy to be helping Gordon with the case, but after some fancy persuasion he decides to go along for the ride. They go from bar to bar until they find someone who remembered seeing the victim, Grace Fairchild (Willa Fitzgerald), having a drink with Jason Lennon aka Peter Petrelli from Heroes (Milo Ventimiglia). Lennon takes Grace back to his place and thanks her for taking a chance on him. He says he only wants love, and whatever else he does with the torture stuff he has in that “50 Shades” closet. Yikes!
There were several flashback sequences in this episode. In this particular one, it is the morning after Grace and Lennon had adult relations. She is late for a meeting and he is having a really hard time letting her go to that meeting. A REALLY hard time.
Back at the precinct, Nygma shows Bullock and Gordon a picture of a painted broken heart found at the crime scenes, but has since been lost. Turns out this case is a part of a much bigger serial killer case that Bullock recognizes. Seems Lennon finds women and holds them against their will. He plays house with them until he gets tired of them and then he moves on to find his next great love.
Bullock gives Gordon the lowdown on the serial killer, “The Ogre.” Bullock tells him that cops who attempt to investigate the killings, have had family members harmed by The Ogre in retaliation. That is why he has never been caught.
Gordon finds out that he had been set up from the beginning by Commissioner Loeb to take the case. I guess Loeb did not appreciate being told what he has to do by one of his detectives (see last episode). Gordon is worried about Lee, but Bullock attempts to put his mind at ease saying there is nothing pointing to him investigating the case. And tells Gordon that he should drop it. Gordon being Gordon has a hard time with that. So, he threatens Loeb and promises to put The Ogre behind bars right before he comes after him.
Cat and the Bat Ride Again:
Gordon is taking care of Bruce while Alfred is recuperating. He tries to warn Bruce to stay away from the guy who stabbed Alfred. It is too dangerous. Little does Gordon know, that it is not Alfred who wants to go after Reggie: Bruce wants to play detective.
Alfred is up, but not so sturdy on his feet. He tells Bruce he is going into the city to find Reggie. Bruce is against it. But Alfred says he has no choice right before he begins to bleed out again. Bad stitch job by the doctors down at Gotham General.
Alfred is down again and Bruce takes this opportunity to show how ridiculous things can be with a billionaire with no internet or smartphone. He uses the Yellow Pages to find all the shooting galleries in the city because Alfred said that is where Reggie would go. The phone book? Really?
Bruce meets up with Selina in the not-so-nice part of town. He wants her help and she seems more than willing to give it. When he tells her about the shooting galleries, she shakes her head and tells him there are other places where people shoot things other than hot lead.
Selina leads Bruce to Reggie, who is high as a kite. They threaten to throw away his drugs unless he talks. He gives them two names of the people who hired him. Reggie tells them all the people wanted was to know what Bruce’s investigation had turned up but then Alfred had to catch him snooping. Reggie is going to let the people who hired him know what they have been up to. But Selina decided that did not work for her and she pushes him out a window. Oh, how cute… a couple who plays together can also kill together.
Wrapping Up:
Penguin is accosting bars attempting to be “silent partners” with the owners. “Mama” Bicchieri (Barbara Rosenblat) is not all that keen in letting her bar be silently run. But she does has a counter offer for him. Get her daughter away from a guitar player and she will hear him out. Penguin lets her know her daughter will be home for Sunday mass. Well, at least we now know where Rosa snuck off to after running Vee over with the van. Penguin finds the guitar player and attempts to persuade him to let the girl go. He initially refuses. So the guitar player had to lose something… one down and nine to go. Mama gets her daughter back and Penguin gets his silent partnership and the stage in which he plans on killing Don Maroni.
This episode was the first of the last four of the season. Milo Ventimiglia as a guest star was great. Overall, I think everyone has settled into their roles and know how to play their individual characters. As with most people who watch the show, I suspect we all realize this is not Mad Men… Hell, this isn’t even The Walking Dead, but it can be entertaining and I can appreciate the effort by the actors given the material they have to work with. So I will continue watching mostly to see Fish finally die, Bruce pout and run away kicking and screaming from Selina after pushing Reggie out the window, Gordon continue to do his own thing and climb the GCPD ladder right into Loeb’s chair and finally… to see Lee and Barbara go all final combat over their man! Ready… Begin!
