“Today you get to kill Jim Gordon,” says Theo Galavan (James Frain) to Barbara (Erin Richards) as he plans to get young Bruce Wayne to sell control of Wayne Enterprises to him and needs to make sure that Detective Gordon is out of the way in season two episode eight of FOX’s gritty comic-book inspired crime series Gotham.
Gordon (Ben McKenzie) goes to his boss Capt. Barnes (Michael Chiklis) with his new intelligence about Galavan being behind the breakout at Arkham and forcing the Penguin to kill the other candidates for mayor so he would be voted in as the mayor of Gotham City. Barnes reminds Jim he has no evidence and tells him to go get it. He believes his right-hand man but wants hard evidence before moving against the new mayor of Gotham. Bullock (Donal Logue) suggests a darker way he could get Theo to talk just as Barbara walks into the precinct saying, “Hello, Jim. Long time no see.”
In the interrogation room, Jim and Barbara face-off with Bullock, Barnes, and Lee (Morena Baccarin), who hates seeing Jim anywhere near Barbara and can’t help feeling threatened by her presence, watching through the two-way mirror. Gordon tries to manipulate Barbara’s feelings for him – she believes they still belong together and deep down only she really understands Jim – and kisses her, which really bothers Lee. Barbara tells Jim she has to show him something and then she’ll tell him everything he wants to know. Jim goes out of the room to tell Barnes they should play along since Barbara is their only lead. The minute Jim steps out, Barbara stands up, walks over to the mirror, and smiles devilishly at Lee, almost as though she knows she’s right there which causes Bullock to ask, “What is she playing at?”
Gordon, Bullock, Lee, and Barnes all debate over what to do with Barbara and her offer, and Jim wants to play along and see what she gives them. Lee doesn’t want Jim dealing with someone she says belongs in a hospital for being mentally ill, and Harvey disagrees with Lee saying Barbara knows exactly what she’s doing and this is obviously some sort of trap. Barnes finally sides with Gordon and gives them the go-ahead to go on a short road trip with Barbara in cuffs in the back of their car as long as they have an escort. Lee tries to talk to Jim, telling him this is a horrible idea and that Barbara still has a hold on him, but Jim won’t be stopped.
Meanwhile, Ed Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) brings Miss Kringle’s corpse out to a secluded area in the woods for one last picnic and to put her in the ground. Just as Nygma is finishing saying his final goodbye to Miss Kringle, a lone hunter comes along and asks Ed what he’s doing. As the hunter begins to notice the newly dug grave, Ed uses his shovel to quickly strike and kill the man. Sighing, Ed says, “It seems it’s going to get a bit crowded in there,” referring to now having to put the hunter in with Miss Kringle.
Theo meets with Bruce (David Mazouz) and makes him an offer he believes Bruce won’t be able to refuse. Theo tells Bruce that if he sells his 51% of Wayne Enterprises to him he will clean up the corruption in his late father’s business as well as give him the identity of the man who murdered his parents. Theo ends the meeting by giving Bruce 48 hours to decide.
During the car trip Jim keeps trying to convince Barbara there’s still good in her and she shouldn’t throw her life away for Galavan. As Gordon and Bullock, with Barbara in the back seat, get in a tight and dangerous area Capt. Barnes gets uneasy about continuing and orders them back to base to which Harvey, seeing Jim wants to follow through with this, tells Barnes on the radio that he’s cutting out and can’t hear him. Just then their car is hit by an oncoming truck and Barbara escapes out the back. She stands over Jim who is only semi-consciousness as one of her helpers injects him with a knock-out drug.
Jim wakes up tied to a chair in a church with Father Callahan tied to a chair on the altar and a handful of poor innocent citizens tied up and sitting in the pews. Barbara walks down the aisle singing the classic wedding song and reminds Jim this is where they had planned on getting married. Things get worse for Jim when Barbara has her helpers bring out Lee who’s also tied to a chair. Barbara tells Jim he needs to stop fighting his dark side and that they truly belong together. It really seems that in some weird, twisted way Barbara still loves Jim and really believes they belong together.
Back at the precinct, Bullock keeps listening to the recording made in the police car while he and Jim were driving with Barbara when he realizes she mentioned the church where they almost got married. Bullock goes to Barnes, who threw him out earlier for insubordination (he didn’t fall for the whole “can’t hear you, Captain” act), and tells him Barbara took Jim to the church where they were supposed to get married. “She wants a do-over wedding,” says Harvey. Barnes sends Bullock after Jim with backup.
Back in the woods, Ed is getting ready to cut up the hunter’s body so he’ll fit with Miss Kringle in the grave when he notices someone ate his sandwich. Seeing a trail of blood leading away from his picnic site, Ed follows the blood ready to add yet another corpse to his already overcrowded gravesite.
At Wayne Manor, Bruce asks Alfred (Sean Pertwee) when he thinks he’ll be ready to clean up the corruption in Wayne Enterprises, and Alfred answers that it will take many years. Bruce tells Alfred about Theo’s offer and Alfred tells young Bruce it’s not so much a business deal but more like extortion. Bruce asks Alfred if he has a moral obligation to help the new mayor clean up his father’s business now instead of years from now and that it’s his father’s legacy. Alfred tells Bruce that Thomas Wayne’s legacy is standing in front of him. Bruce tells Alfred he just wants it to be over and move on and begins to cry. Alfred hugs and consoles him, saying there is nothing wrong with that.
Back at the church, Barbara has turned her attention to Lee. She holds a knife to her throat, telling her she could never understand Jim’s dark side and asks if she even knows how he got his job back at the GCPD. Lee tells her she does, saying he killed a man for Penguin. That surprises Barbara because she didn’t think Jim would admit something like that to her. Jim keeps Barbara talking, which honestly isn’t that hard since she is enjoying her “do-over wedding” so much, and gets her to reveal that Galavan has Gotham’s real mayor tied up and stowed away at the docks. Barbara then puts her knife to Lee’s throat and says she’s going to carve her face up to prove her love for Jim. Lee gets Barbara to stop and stand back by asking her where she got that beautiful wedding dress. While Barbara is enjoying the compliment Jim, who’s been working to loosen the ropes around his wrists, breaks free and picks up the shotgun.
It’s then that Barnes, Bullock, and the GCPD burst into the church. Jim shoots and wounds a masked Tabitha as Barbara runs up and towards the top part of the church. Jim follows and confronts her again and she charges Jim. Instead of shooting her the two wrestle and almost go out the window, with Jim holding onto Barbara’s hand. She smiles at Jim and says, “Sorry, baby,” lets go of his hand and falls, with Jim screaming, “No!” Luckily, she is alive – only in Gotham would a person survive a fall like that – and is in critical condition. Gordon tells Barnes about Mayor James being held captive. They find him still tied up with a box on his head and he tells them it was Theo Galavan who kidnapped and tortured him.
Bruce is meeting with Theo with Alfred by his side and is just about to sign over Wayne Enterprises when he changes his mind and tells Theo that it’s his responsibility to clean up his father’s business. That’s when Gordon and the GCPD bust in. Jim punches Theo in the face and then arrests Galavan for kidnapping and torturing Mayor James but not before Theo is able to toss the file supposedly containing the identity of the person who murdered Bruce’s parents into the fire. Bruce screams no and is devastated.
Back in the woods, Ed is following the blood trail when he comes across a mobile home and gets knocked out by a dark figure. When he gets his glasses back on he sees that it’s Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor). Penguin’s losing a lot of blood from the gunshot wound inflicted by Tabitha in the last episode. The episode ends with Oswald looking down at Ed and saying, “Help me, please,” before passing out.
GOTHAM SEASON 2 EPISODE 8 REVIEW
Dark and action-packed, season two episode eight titled “Tonight’s the Night” moves the series closer to the madness that will finally consume Gotham and gives actress Erin Richards the spotlight to shine as the crazed, beautiful, Gordon-obsessed Barbara Kean. Richards, who was honestly pretty boring and uninteresting as Jim’s wavering fiancé in the first season, is incredibly dynamic and scene-stealing in season two as the insane Barbara who wants to upset and hurt Jim but still believes they belong together. It’s at times a bit over-the-top but definitely a performance that belongs in a show about Gotham’s early days.
The stand-out scene/performances once again go to Sean Pertwee and David Mazouz as Alfred and Bruce as Bruce confides in Alfred and seeks his help in deciding whether to sell his company to Galavan. It’s a powerful scene capturing perfectly the strain and stress that weighs on Bruce as he’s still attempting to cope with the loss of his parents. Pertwee and Mazouz have excellent chemistry together.
With two of the most iconic Batman villains finally meeting at the end of this episode, could it be the beginning of a new alliance between The Penguin and The Riddler?! Can’t wait for episode nine.
GRADE: B
