‘Gotham’ Season 2 Episode 15 Recap and Review: Mad Grey Dawn

Gotham season 2 episode 15
Cory Michael Smith and Ben McKenzie in ‘Gotham’ (Photo by Nicole Rivelli ©2016 Fox Broadcasting Co)

“Is this a dream?” asks Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor). “It’s not a dream, my boy. You’re home,” replies Elijah Van Dahl (Paul Reubens) after just discovering Oswald is his son in season two, episode 15 of FOX’s gritty comic-book inspired crime thriller, Gotham.

The episode begins in a Gotham museum where Ed Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) ignites and sets off a museum piece marked “actual bomb”. Everyone expecting a big explosion runs out of the building, but it’s really a distraction so that Ed can deface a few master paintings with his new signature green question mark, steal one painting in particular, and make an escape unnoticed. Bullock and Gordon (Donal Logue and Ben McKenzie) are called in to investigate the crime even though they work homicide. Capt. Barnes (Michael Chiklis) reminds both of them if the bomb hadn’t been just for show, it would be a homicide.

Before they can leave Barnes tells Gordon in private that Internal Affairs has reopened the Galavan murder case and Jim is the lead suspect. It seems they received an anonymous tip from someone claiming to have witnessed Gordon shooting Theo Galavan after Penguin almost beat him to death. Gordon tries to wave it off saying IA must get over a hundred crank calls a day, but it’s obvious he’s shaken by the news. As he heads out to catch up to Bullock, Ed approaches him saying he’s ready for their chat about Miss Kringle. Gordon tells Ed he’s too busy now with a new case but will reschedule with him later and once again tries to reassure Ed he’ll find out what happened to her.

Meanwhile, Penguin pays a visit to Butch (Drew Powell) and Tabitha (Jessica Lucas) to apologize for all the horrible things he did to Butch. Butch is not pleased to see Oswald but is surprised by the sincerity of his apology. Tabitha wants Butch to kill Penguin and tries to get a rise out of Oswald by trying to do an impression of his deceased mother, but Oswald just smiles and remarks, “Yes, she did sound a little like that.” Realizing Penguin is no threat to anyone, Butch tells Tabitha to knock it off, saying, “I believe in an eye for an eye. We’ve all lost something, including him.” Butch then walks over to Penguin and says, “We’re square you and me,” but Tabitha still wants the bird man to suffer a little so she tells Butch he’s not leaving without some punishment.

At the museum, Gordon and Bullock discover the two paintings that the mystery thief destroyed were worth far more than the one he took. Jim realizes that the brainteaser thief is leaving clues and hidden messages for them to put together to find his next target. Gordon realizes, with the help of Harvey, that the target is the Gotham railroad station. Bullock and Gordon get to the railroad station and find one of the lockers with a painted green question mark. What they don’t see is Nygma in disguise watching from a secure spot. Just as Jim is about to open the locker with a conveniently placed crowbar, Nygma activates the small bomb he had placed in there for Jim to find.

Bullock clears the station while Jim throws the bomb into a closed location where it shouldn’t do much damage. During the investigation and collection of evidence at the station Ed, now on scene as himself, asks Officer Pinkney for his signature on a custody form and then talks to Gordon, giving him false praise as the man who saved the day. Jim, feeling uneasy because of the IA investigation and not being able to figure out what the mystery criminal’s true objective is, asks Ed – who he considers a friend – to run forensics on the case personally. This gives Nygma the run of the crime scene and he collects the crowbar Jim used to open the locker.

On the other side of town, Bruce (David Mazouz) is traveling with Selina (Camren Bicondova) as she goes to pay a visit to her friend, Ivy (Clare Foley). Selina and Ivy are working together to steal money from some of Butch Gilzean’s young thugs who are running a magic mushroom empire in their basement. Ivy uses some of the mushrooms to make them sleep so Selina can slip in like a cat and get a wad of cash. Bruce offers to help, saying as long as they are stealing from criminals he’s okay with it.

At first, Selina doesn’t want Bruce to get involved, but he’s adamant. Unfortunately, the little heist doesn’t go as planned and Bruce and Selina are caught by Butch’s nephew, Sonny. Selina warns Sonny if he tells Butch about it he’ll be in trouble for letting her get anywhere near the money to which he begins to manhandle her. Bruce stands up for Selina and draws Sonny’s attention by calling him a coward picking on a girl. Sonny punches Bruce a few times and he goes down. Bruce remembers his training from Alfred who told him in order to beat someone bigger you need to outlast him. So Bruce keeps getting up and keeps calling Sonny a simple-minded coward, and Sonny continues beating up Bruce while Selina, who’s being held back, yells for him to stop.

Finally, Selina breaks free and distracts Sonny long enough for Bruce to get in a few really good punches of his own and Sonny goes down, allowing Bruce and Selina to make an escape.

Penguin pays a visit to Ed who at first is delighted to see his old mentor and friend. Oswald has come a calling covered in feathers (Tabitha decided to tar and feather poor Penguin a bit) to warn Nygma of his dark evil side. Penguin tells Ed he’s a reformed citizen of Gotham and it’s not too late for him as well. Nygma, seeing this new side of Penguin is not pleased at all and tells him, “The new me is kind of coming into his stride,” and with that thanks Penguin for stopping by and practically slams the door in his face.

Penguin heads to his mother’s grave to pay his respects and meets a tall, older gentleman whose name is Elijah Van Dahl who has also come to pay his respects to Penguin’s mother. As the two men talk they discover rather quickly they are father and son. It seems Penguin’s mother lied to him when she told him his father had died when he was a baby. She also never told Dahl she was pregnant with his child. Elijah is overjoyed to discover he has a grown son and, welcoming Oswald to his family, takes him home to meet his new relatives.

Ed pays a surprise visit to Officer Pinkney at his home and tells him Detective Gordon is coming up behind him with a few questions. And as the poor officer is watching the game on TV, Ed pulls out the crowbar Gordon used at the museum and kills Pinkney with it by beating him to death.

During a rather uncomfortable dinner with Lee (Morena Baccarin), Gordon finally tells her that IA has reopened the Galavan case and that he’s the prime suspect. Lee gets upset and lets Jim know she knew he lied to her and she let him do it. Jim promises he’ll make it right. Jim is worried about IA and not having a clue about who the Question Mark Thief is when he gets a lead from Bullock who Jim had asked earlier at the museum to reach out to an old friend of his at IA to find out what they have on him. He decides to go check out on his own. (Seriously, when is he ever going to learn he’s ALWAYS better off working with his partner Bullock than going solo!) The tip leads to Pinkney’s apartment and Jim finds his dead body just as Capt. Barnes enters with his weapon drawn.

Back at the station Barnes shows Gordon how all the evidence is piling up and indicating Pinkney was the anonymous person who witnessed Jim kill Galavan. He even signed a sworn statement to the effect – remember when Ed had Pinkney sign the form? – and the murder weapon has Jim’s fingerprints on it. Barnes, fed up and disgusted with Jim, tells him to man up and admit what he did. Gordon keeps telling Barnes he’s being set up but his argument falls on deaf ears.

Back at Selina’s loft she’s tending to Bruce’s wounds and Bruce reveals a new fact. When Sonny was beating him up he realized he could take it…that he was unbreakable. Selina, with a worried look on her face, tells Bruce that no one is unbreakable.

Weeks later Gordon’s trial has concluded and he is found guilty and the judge sentences him to 40 years in Blackgate Prison. Selina and Bruce, watching the verdict unfold on TV, are shocked by the news and Selina asks Bruce if he’s okay. He replies, “It’s not right.” Lee visits Jim in jail, telling him that they will fight it and not to give up hope. But Jim tells Lee it’s time for her to make a new and fresh start for their baby in another city, somewhere where she can raise their child in a good and safe environment (definitely not Gotham).

Lee becomes distraught, not wanting to raise their baby without Jim, telling him she can’t imagine him not being there for the baby’s first words or first steps. Jim says he’s sorry and not to try to make any further contact with him because he’ll refuse to see her. As the guards take him away, Lee, with tears streaming down her face, begs Jim not to do this as he is taken back to his cell.

Gotham Penguin's Family Portrait
Paul Reubens, Robin Lord Taylor, Melinda Clarke, Kaley Ronayne and Justin Mark in ‘Gotham’ (Photo by Cara Howe © 2016 Fox Broadcasting Co)

At Dahl’s mansion, Penguin is being welcomed by the family members, all of whom seem to have forced smiles on their faces. And then Elijah makes a stunning revelation: Oswald is his only blood relative of the group. (Poor Penguin!)

As Jim is being transferred Bullock promises him he’ll find out who set him up and get him out. As he’s being taken away Jim looks back at Harvey and says, “You were a good partner, Harvey,” to which Harvey responds, “I still am.” At Arkham, Barbara (Erin Richards) wakes from her coma while the nurse is watching the newscast about Gordon’s trial. (Babs is Back!)

Gotham Season 2 Episode 15 Review:

Clever with sharp writing and some suspenseful action scenes, episode 15 titled “Mad Grey Dawn” sees Ed Nygma embracing and slowly evolving into the criminal mastermind he is destined to become. This is the first time that the brilliance of the mind of The Riddler and his clues leading to a major trap is explored.

The stand-out performance of the episode is once again given by Cory Michael Smith as Nygma who’s slowly being taken over by his evil, darker side and trademarks of the villain he is becoming are being created, from the classic green question mark to his green suit to the riddles and clues which seem to add up to one answer but are actually baiting those who follow to a deadly masterminded trap. Smith shines in every scene he’s in as he shows the audience his true dark side and still keeps up the charade of nerdy but likable Ed, a police forensics officer only too happy to be working with his old pal Gordon as he sets him up to serve 40 years to life. The slow transformation of Ed into the Riddler has been one of the real highlights of the show, with most of it due to the great writing and Cory Michael Smith’s excellent performance.

With Gordon locked up with inmates who he himself put away and Babs now out of the coma, it seems worse times are ahead for the crusading cop and the city he’s tried so hard to protect.

GRADE: B+