Gotham – Mad City: The Gentle Art of Making Enemies

By starrymag | February 4, 2017

By: MaryBeth McMahon

 

 

The Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) is bursting at the seams with the influx of criminals who are out and about on this “Night of The Awakening.” The criminals fight back against the police while Jim (Ben McKenzie) questions a Jerome fanatic who tells him that, “Jerome is everywhere.” The reality sinks in for Jim. He regains his focus when a Molotov cocktail is thrown through the station window, igniting a desk.

 

Meanwhile, Oswald (Robin Lord Taylor) and two of his men search for the “kidnapped” Ed (Cory Michael Smith) in a warehouse. After giving him a hysterically happy hug, Oswald is stunned when the detached Ed guns down his men. Oswald’s confusion and shock increases when Ed shows him Isabella’s (Chelsea Spack) mangled car, which sits nearby inside the warehouse. Ed explains that he has taken everything from Oswald and now all that remains is his life, which he will take from him tonight.

 

Jim learns that Jerome’s followers, who are also comprised of “ordinary citizens,” have taken over city landmarks including parks, a carnival and the zoo. Harvey (Donal Logue) delivers further bad news regarding the power, which will not be turned on until the next day – if they are lucky. He’s also stressed yet relieved that Mayor “Cobblepot is M.I.A.” Down the hall, Jim asks a very closed off and cold Lee (Morena Baccarin) for information about what Jerome (Cameron Monoghan) said when he woke up from his death. Jim rushes to Wayne Manor when Lee recalls him saying that his last living memory was his quest to kill Bruce (David Mazouz).

 

On the hood of Isabella’s car, Oswald is tied up. Ed delivers the hard truth and says that he threw the remains of Oswald’s father into a dumpster. Oswald forgives him and admits to killing Isabella. Ed says that he could have lived a life with the woman he loved. Oswald says, “No, Ed. You would have killed her, just like you did the other one.” Even though Oswald exclaims that he did it because of his love for Ed. Ed yells that Oswald would sacrifice anyone to put his own needs and life first. Ed finishes his trap, which consists of a barrel of acid falling down on Oswald. The barrel will spill over when the block of ice, connecting a broken chain, melts. Miraculously, a police officer enters the warehouse a short time later and frees Oswald from his trap just before the ice melts, triggering the acid to fall on the car.

 

Jerome and his fanatics invade Wayne Manor. Jerome smashes the glass owl that Bruce, Selina (Camren Bicondova) and Alfred (Sean Pertwee) worked so hard to steal. A new side of Bruce shows when he strongly challenges Jerome and mocks his plan to kill him there. He urges Jerome to kill him in front of an audience and Jerome gives in even though he knows Bruce is just “buying time.” Jerome takes Bruce from the house and leaves Alfred behind to be killed by his men. Alfred taunts all of Jerome’s fanatics just before receiving much-needed assistance from Jim.

 

Jerome takes Bruce to a carnival. Bruce looks a bit closer at his surroundings and sees that the carnival is full of criminals who are bringing to life horrific scenes including using innocent victims as pawns in the carnival games. In clown makeup, Bruce sits before a mirror and is forced to have a frown drawn on his face by Jerome, who got the red color from the wound of a man he just stabbed.

 

Tabitha (Jessica Lucas) and Butch (Drew Powell) catch the escaped Oswald. Bruce wants to shoot him, but Tabitha reminds him that Barbara (Erin Richards) wants him alive. Even though they can’t kill him, it doesn’t stop Tabitha from knocking Oswald around a bit and bringing up the details of his mother’s murder. They get ready to deliver Oswald to Barbara, but Butch makes the mistake of punching Oswald out cold. He humorously realizes his mistake when Tabitha tells him he now has to carry the unconscious villain.

 

Bruce tells Jerome that his “maniacs” won’t be able to “hold the city hostage forever.” The new-and-improved Bruce tells Jerome that “there are good people in Gotham” and is not convinced in Jerome’s plea that everyone has a dark side waiting to come out. Jerome turns his back to play one of the torturous carnival games, but is surprised when Bruce shoves him and prevents him from doing so.

 

Moments later, the main event begins and Jerome, clad in a lion tamer’s outfit, presents a tied up Bruce to the audience. A large cannon is rolled in and pointed towards Bruce just a couple of feet away. Jerome pours a bucket of nails, knives and other sharp objects into the cannon. Jim, Alfred, Harvey and the GCPD storm the carnival and take down numerous criminals. Jerome escapes from the scene, but not before lighting the cannon’s fuse. Remarkably, Bruce frees himself from the cuffs just seconds before the cannon fires.

 

Oswald is surprisingly calm when he confronts Barbara and runs through the plan that she concocted. She leads him to believe that Ed is nowhere to be found and she needs his help to track him down. Barbara tells Oswald that he will live if he gives up Ed’s location. He says that Ed “should want him dead” and realizes he may not have actually loved him because he couldn’t sacrifice his happiness for Ed’s. He explains that he is ready to sacrifice his happiness now and refuses to give Ed up to Barbara. Ed walks into the room and Oswald learns that the entire group is in on it together. Ed’s plan to have Oswald die knowing he is “incapable of loving another person” surprisingly failed. Ed is unsure of what the entire ordeal means due to Oswald’s unpredictable actions.

 

Gun in hand, Jerome follows Bruce into a Maze of Mirrors. Bruce emerges and reveals that he went in there not to hide, but to lead Jerome in so he can pay for what he has done. Bruce jumps Jerome and engages in a fistfight with the villain. Bruce gets the upper hand when he tackles Jerome to the ground, which is either a result of either Bruce’s training or Jerome wanting to make him think he has the upper hand. Punch after punch, an amused Jerome eggs Bruce on to kill him. When Bruce picks up a shard of glass and is about to plunge it into him, he sees his own reflection in the mirrors and stops.

 

Alfred and Bruce reunite outside of the Maze of Mirrors. Their moment comes to an end when Jerome storms out of the building. Jim arrives to help just in time. After two punches, Jerome falls to the ground. Everyone is stunned when they see Jerome’s stapled-on face, which came undone from Bruce’s blows – laying on the ground next to him. Jerome continues to cackle as he lies on the ground in pain.

 

While Alfred tends to Bruce’s cut-up hands, they make an agreement. Bruce explains that he thought Alfred was going to be killed and that anger almost drove him to kill Jerome. He explains that “it wasn’t just anger,” but the “the idea of killing him felt” right and like “justice.” Bruce says that he discovered that fine line between justice and vengeance and is capable of not crossing it. They both agree that Bruce must continue to train and work under a series of rules so he doesn’t cross the line, the biggest being “I will not kill,” said by Bruce.

 

Kathryn (Leslie Hendrix), the fierce leader of The Court of Owls, speaks with a confidant about how close they came to losing Gotham tonight. She declares that they will soon have to act. At the other end of the conversation is Bruce’s clone, who agrees to help she and her confidant (James Remar) in “saving Gotham.”

 

There is a knock on Jim’s front door. He goes to answer it and is greeted by his Uncle Frank, who happens to be the same man (or confidant) who is working with Kathryn in The Court of Owls.

 

At the end of a dock, Oswald makes his final plead to a gun-wielding Ed who seems slightly conflicted in his anger. He reminds Oswald that he wants him to suffer the same way he has and face the punishment of a life-for-a-life as a result of killing Isabella. Oswald doesn’t make his situation any easier when he gives himself credit for turning this “loser” into the Edward Nygma that no one sees or understands so clearly as he does. In the calmest voice he has had all episode Ed says, “I loved her Oswald. And you killed her.” The tone in his voice implies that as much as he doesn’t want to kill his friend, he needs to because he betrayed him and took away the woman he loved in a selfish act. Ed carries out the justice he felt Isabella deserves and shoots Oswald. The final blow is served when Ed pushes Oswald over the edge and into the water below.