Gotham – Time Bomb

By starrymag | November 26, 2016

By: MaryBeth McMahon

 

 

The episode opens up in an exquisite dining room where Lee Thompson (Morena Baccarin), Mario Falcone (James Carpinello) and Carmine Falcone (John Doman) are having tea. Holding Mario’s hand, Lee excitedly exclaims that their wedding is just two days away. The topic quickly changes to Captain Barnes (Michael Chiklis). Lee expresses sympathy towards Barnes, saying that although he is a good man it was frightening that no one could detect the changes brought on by the blood poisoning. Looking back, Lee realized that the subtle signs were all there, including heightened strength and unstable emotions. Mario casually chimes in, saying those symptoms are things that Captain Barnes could have easily kept hidden. Falcone bats an agreeable yet curious eye in the direction of his son.

 

As Falcone, Lee, and Mario exit the building, the valet runs down the front drive to retrieve their car. In the same moment that Lee and Mario exchange “I love you,” the valet turns the key in the ignition. The car bursts into flames, throwing nearby Lee and Mario off of their feet. Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) approaches the busy scene and is immediately met by Falcone. Although Falcone can’t pinpoint which of his many enemies might be responsible for the attack, he knows that someone is intentionally targeting he and his family. Falcone gives Jim one day to get to the bottom of it before he takes matters into his own hands.

 

At Oswald Cobblepot’s (Robin Lord Taylor), a meeting with members of the Five Families of Gotham is underway, addressing the need for safety and stability in the recent downfall of Captain Barnes. Barbara Kean (Erin Richards) walks right in, interrupts the meeting and pulls a gun directly on Oswald. She demands that he tell her where Tabitha Galavan (Jessica Lucas) and Butch Gilzean (Drew Powell) are, aware that he is the most likely person to have taken them. Oswald let’s Barbara leave his home unscathed, but not before threatening to have her killed if she dares to point a gun at him again.

 

Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) answers a telephone call and instantly knows that Oswald is on the other end of the line. Oswald warns Ed that Barbara is looking for Butch and Tabitha and encourages him to work through his grief plan a bit faster. However, Ed does not appreciate the pressure and immediately hangs up on Oswald. When Ed turns around, Tabitha and Butch come into sight; they are both gagged and tied up to chairs. Ed accuses a confused Butch of killing his beloved Isabella (Chelsea Spack); when Butch states his lack of involvement in the event, an un-convinced Ed sends an electric shock through Butch.

 

Meanwhile, a visibly stressed Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) has once again taken the role of acting captain at the GCPD. He is discussing the details of the car explosion with Jim and Lucius Fox (Chris Chalk). After processing the details of the police report, Harvey instantly knows that the suspect is most likely an “ex-military nut job” named Fuse. Jim and Harvey arrive at the apartment of Fuse only to discover the door broken in and their lead suspect, recently murdered. Jim finds a folder of notes, news articles and surveillance camera photographs, each of which clarified that the target is not actually Carmine Falcone. A quick scene changes to the exterior of the hospital signifies that Mario is, in fact, the target. Two masked assailants pursue an unsuspecting Mario on a black motorcycle, one of which is wielding a sword. Jim pulls up to the scene just in time to squeeze a few rounds out of his gun, warding off the attackers.

 

In Wayne Manor, Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova) is feeling caged in after Alfred Pennyworth (Sean Pertwee) refuses to let her and Ivy (Maggie Geha) leave, at least until they identify why men are following them to take the key they found. Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) is fervently studying books with the intent of finding out what the mysterious key goes to. Down the hall, Alfred delivers a tray of food to Ivy who is also eager to leave the walls of Wayne Manor. She convinces Alfred to smell the perfume sprayed upon her neck; Alfred is instantly under her spell. Ivy uses this opportunity to make Alfred tell her how to turn off the security system so she can make a clean break for the city.

 

Back at the precinct, Jim asks Mario if he knows anyone who might want him dead and encourages him to stay at the precinct until they arrest those responsible. Mario takes Jim’s caution as a jealous attack on he and Lee’s relationship. Mario is doubtful that Jim will find the people responsible or even try for that matter. Amidst the verbal attack, Jim keeps a leveled head and tells Mario that he needs to trust him. On his way out, Jim requests that Harvey keep an eye on Mario while he speaks to Falcone about the matter.

 

Barbara fearlessly enters Oswald’s a second time. In Oswald’s absence, Barbara sets her eyes on Russian maid, Olga (Deborah Unger), with the intent of bribing her for information. The moment Barbara hands over an opulent ring, Olga reveals her distaste towards Ed. She is confused by Oswald’s recently-developed feelings towards him because she feels that “he could do better.” Barbara pushes harder for information, particularly about the disappearance of Butch and Tabitha. Olga has no knowledge of their absence; however, she provided Barbara with a suspicious bill that Ed recently paid for “stocks and bondage.”

 

Ed continues to search for answers, electrocuting Butch each time he evades his questions. Since Butch isn’t confessing to the murder, Ed then sets his sights on Tabitha who is an “integral part” of Butch’s penance. Butch begins throwing insults towards Ed, but is met by additional electric shocks. Although valiant, his efforts were unable to keep Ed’s attention off of Tabitha.

 

Selina comes into Bruce’s study and says that she soaked the key in vinegar and baking soda. Bruce, though, is fearful that the key would be ruined because of its age. Amidst the rising tension, Bruce finally lets the cat out of the bag and asks Selina why she didn’t tell Ivy they are a couple. Selina clearly is uncomfortable to identify their relationship in that way and would much rather prefer to just “be us” with Bruce. They remove the key from the solution and immediately see the face of an owl etched into the key head. As they show key to Alfred, the phone rings. It seems Ivy was captured and the men who took her want the necklace from which the key came from.

 

Alfred, Bruce and Selina arrive at an abandoned building, following the captor’s directions to climb down the nearby manhole that leads to their meeting spot. Upon finding Ivy at the end of a long tunnel, they are quickly met by a group of men. Before agreeing to hand the key over, Bruce requests to speak with their leader Kathryn (Leslie Hendrix). He quickly discovers that these men do not, in fact, work for Kathryn and her Court of Owls; rather, they fight against them.

 

Jim confronts Falcone at his home, pushing for information about the explosion. Due to the military-grade explosives used in the car, Jim is convinced the attack is not mob-driven. He urges Falcone to consider whether or not Mario has gotten himself into trouble, placing a target on his back in the process. Falcone is insulted by the thought of his son being anything but “decent” and takes this questioning as Jim being jealous of Mario and Lee’s relationship. Jim is convinced that Mario is hiding something. Harvey calls Jim and the worst-case scenario has happened: Mario left the precinct to take care of things on his own.

 

Barbara travels to the location where Ed ordered the “stocks and bondage.” She swiftly encourages the worker to trap himself into one of the contraptions and begins questioning him. He easily gives up the combination to the safe, which contains information on each of his clients. She opens it and found what she was looking for: the location where Ed is keeping Tabitha and Butch.

 

Butch groggily wakes up from his electric shock only to find out that Tabitha has been given a deadly ultimatum. Within 55 seconds she must do one of the following: click a button that will immediately electrocute Butch to death or have her own hand cut off by a mini guillotine. If Tabitha sacrifices her own hand to save Butch’s life, they will both be set free.

 

Bruce continues to confront the mysterious group of men who call themselves the Whisper Gang, a mob of Ukrainian criminals who have a bone to pick with the Court of Owls. They tell Bruce that the key opens up a safe in one of the many buildings belonging to the Court of Owls. Bruce reveals the key to them upon learning about a possible weapon inside the safe that could destroy the Court. Bruce wants to avenge the death of his parents and sees the Court as a common enemy between he and the Whisper Gang. Later on; however, Bruce’s new allies are killed as the Whisper Gang faces off against a masked enemy most likely sent by the Court.

 

Jim tracks down Mario, who is picking up the wedding rings. Before they can leave the building and find a safe place, Jim spots the black motorcycle. An attack quickly ensues and since Jim is preoccupied with taking down one of the assailants he fails to notice Mario stab the other attacker in the eye. In a fit of rage, Mario takes the upper hand and begins choking the man. He orders the man to say why they are going after him. He releases his grip right when the man says, “You know why.” Jim glances over and sees Mario standing above the lifeless body of the attacker.

 

In a last chance effort to save Tabitha, Butch proclaims his lack of involvement in Isabella’s death. Butch tells Tabitha that he loves her and accepts that she does not love him in return. As Tabitha determines what to do next, Butch takes advantage of his final moments of life to antagonize Ed. Among many things, Butch says that he killed Isabella with a bullet to the head. Ed instantly has a look of confusion on his face. While Ed is processing the probability that Butch did not actually kill Isabella, Tabitha turns to Butch and tells him that he is sweet. The timer goes off, the buzzer falls from her grip and the blade slices her hand off. She made her decision. Butch’s life was spared, her hand was taken and now they are free to go. Barbara comes in with her gun drawn on Ed, who quickly leaves the scene upon realizing that Butch was not the killer.

 

The remaining attacker from the jewelry store is being held at the precinct. In the Captain’s office, Harvey encourages Jim to tell Lee how he feels so he does not add to a lifetime of regret. Harvey sees Falcone on the security camera located in the interrogation room as Falcone snuck in and is torturing the man. Using a knife, Falcone extracted a tooth from the man’s mouth; an owl engraving is visible on the tooth. Falcone quickly conceals it when Harvey and Jim burst into the room. Falcone tells them that he knows who this man works for and is now taking it into his own hands.

 

At the hospital, Barbara begins to put the pieces together regarding who actually killed Isabella. She’s figures that if someone cut her brake lines then they had to know where she was going and at what time she would be there. Then it hits Barbara. She realizes that the person behind the murder must be Oswald; his love for Ed and lack of desire to share him were the driving forces behind his actions. Barbara takes this newfound knowledge as a means not to go to war with Oswald, but as a way to start a war. Barbara, Butch and Tabitha can sit back and watch others do the work for them.

 

Falcone has a meeting with Kathryn in her limousine where he questions why she targeted his son. Thanks to that tooth, Falcone knew she was behind the car bombing, which was designed to look like a mob attack. He is unconcerned with Kathryn’s power and threatens her, should she ever attempt his son’s life again. Focused on keeping the city from chaos, Kathryn calmly insists that Mario is safe from the Court as long as Falcone helps them when the time comes.

 

Jim opens his apartment door to an unexpected guest: Lee. On the way to her rehearsal dinner, she decided to make a pit stop to Jim’s apartment. Aware that he is holding back, Lee urges him to tell her what he needs. Jim wastes no time in stepping up to the challenge. He says that although he missed his chance to be with her “more than anything” he still wants her to be happy even if it’s not with him. Lee and Jim share a brief kiss goodbye. When Lee gets back into her cab, Mario emerges from the dark. Anger sweeps across his face and voices begin circling in his mind saying that Lee loves Jim. Mario grabs a nearby mugger by the throat, lifts him high and yells, “She loves me!” Mario’s eyes grow red and numerous veins shoot across his face. It appears that Captain Barnes is not the only person in Gotham to come into contact with Alice Tetch’s (Naian González Norvind) blood.