Fox’s Gotham season three episode two found Lee (Morena Baccarin) back in town just as it appeared Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) was moving on with the help of Valerie Vale (Jamie Chung). Episode three titled ‘Mad City: Look Into My Eyes’ addresses the Jim/Lee relationship but more importantly it also brings in two new interesting characters, Jervis Tetch/Mad Hatter and Alice. Airing on October 3, 2016, season three episode three also found Penguin entering the political arena and reuniting with one of the show’s best characters, Edward Nygma.
The Recap:
Hypnotist Jervis Tetch (Benedict Samuel from The Walking Dead) entertains the clients at Barbara’s nightclub, and Barbara’s pleased with the packed crowd as Jervis makes his way into the audience to pick out someone for a special trick. He spots a pricey necklace and hypnotizes the owner’s husband into doing a risky trick involving a chair. Before waking him up, Jervis whispers a command that will allow the hypnotist to enter his home when he wants to.
Barbara asks him if he can make people do anything he wants them to, and he says only what people already wish to do.
Meanwhile over at Wayne Manor, Bruce (David Mazouz) and Alfred (Sean Pertwee) watch Bruce’s doppelgänger eat. The poor kid’s hungry and says his name is 5148, but they call him Five. He doesn’t remember anything prior to Indian Hill. He woke up in the lab a year ago and after Fish broke them out, he was determined to meet Bruce after he saw him on the roof with Selina. Bruce welcomes him to stay at Wayne Manor, but Alfred’s not so sure. (Does Alfred have the Batman equivalent of spidey-sense?)
Leaving Five to finish his dinner, Alfred and Bruce argue over “that thing,” as Alfred dubs him. Alfred thinks Hugo Strange made another Bruce and it probably has to do with the secret society. Bruce wants to know the who, what, and why about this doppelgänger. Alfred suggests contacting Lucius while back in the kitchen Five burns his arm but doesn’t seem to feel it.
Jim Gordon offers Valerie Vale breakfast but she’d rather get ready at her place. He offers to use some of the bounty he earns to fix up his apartment, but apparently Valerie just views her night at Jim’s as a one-nighter.
Captain Barnes (Michael Chiklis) welcomes Lee Thompkins back to the GCPD, saying he’s happy to have her back. He tells her Jim doesn’t work at the GCPD anymore, just as Jim shows up at the station. Harvey (Donal Logue) stops him before he makes it to the Captain’s office, suggesting they go for coffee. Harvey and Jim are walking toward the exit when Lee spots Jim, calling out his name. Lee stammers out a question and Jim seems tongue-tied also, telling her she looks well. When he asks if she’s visiting, she answers, “No. We’re… I’m moving here, permanently, with my fiancé.” The fiancé will be working at Gotham General as a trauma surgeon. Jim tells her she’ll only see him occasionally when he shows up to collect bounties. Jim’s pissed as he pushes past Harvey to get his money.
Jervis calls the man he hypnotized earlier and instructs him to unlock the front door. He opens it and Jervis is there holding out his watch. The wife wakes and comes downstairs to find Jervis in the darkened hallway. He warns her to run and says, “There’s no escape from the magic man.” She runs right into her husband who kills her without flinching. The husband’s instructed to bury his wife in the garden and then kill himself. While waiting for the deeds to be done, Jervis holds a picture of his sister, Alice (Naian Gonzalez Norvind), who is missing.
Speaking of Alice, she’s being hounded by her landlord because she’s behind on rent, and he offers to “work something out” with her since she’s broke and jobless. She tries to fight him off, he slaps her, she’s bleeding, and then he kisses her. Immediately he reacts to her blood and she tells him he brought it on himself.
Aubrey James (Richard Kind) is holding a press conference declaring he’ll resume the office of Mayor. Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) puts a stop to James’ speech and says the press conference is a sham. Penguin blames James for being locked away and says James has brought shame to the office of Mayor. Penguin wants the people to have a say in who will protect them. He then makes a case in front of the crowd that he should be the one who leads him. Penguin takes the stage and announces his candidacy and he wants an emergency election to be held immediately.
Alfred and Bruce are boxing when Five enters the room. Bruce asks if Five wants to try sparring and Alfred fits him with gloves. At first, Five just stands there. Then, he throws one punch that connects and almost knocks Alfred down. He apologizes. Alfred’s fine but he keeps missing as Five lands every punch without any effort. No one taught him to box and Alfred and Five start sparring again. This time Alfred hits him in the face but Five is unaware he’s bleeding. He doesn’t feel any pain! As Alfred helps Five with an ice pack he and Bruce notice a nasty scar on the back of Five’s neck. Bruce, kindly, asks what they did to him in Indian Hill.
Jervis shows up at Jim’s place and wants his help finding Alice. He says he’s her guardian but she has a condition that caused him to turn to Hugo Strange for help. She has a poison in her blood and she’s been locked up there for years. Jervis thinks she was part of the breakout and she’s probably alone and afraid. Jim asks if Jervis can top the $5,000 he’d get from the GCPD and Jervis offers $10,000. He hands over a photo of Alice and a business card with how to reach him.
Butch (Drew Powell) isn’t sure Penguin knows what he’s getting himself into, but Penguin’s already got dozens of volunteers working on his campaign back at his house. Butch is more scared of politicians than the worst Gotham has to offer. (Smart man.) But Penguin wants to create a legacy his father would be proud of and his campaign posters are actually very professional – and normal – looking.
Five looks through Bruce’s pictures as Bruce tries to research Five’s scars. Bruce hides Five away as Selina (Camren Bicondova) crawls through the window, telling Bruce Ivy is missing. Bruce thinks she’ll turn up but Selina says Ivy fell a long way down into water. Bruce wonders why Selina cares and she says she was all Ivy ever had. Getting emotional, she tells Bruce no one else would even talk to Ivy. Bruce takes her hand as Five watches from behind a door. Selina says she’s not going to give up and asks him to go with her. If she had a car she could get around quicker. He says no and she gets upset, calling him a selfish son of a bitch. After she leaves, he whispers, “I’m sorry.” From his hiding place, Five copies Bruce’s voice, practicing getting it right. A little smile appears on the doppelgänger’s face.
Jim tracks down Selina, offering her money if she helps him find Alice. She counters his offer with a request of her own: help her find Ivy. Jim shows her Alice’s photo and Selina recognizes her as being with Fish Mooney for a couple of days before taking off and getting a job at a bar.
Jim investigates the bar which winds up is badly damaged from a fire. The owner shows up, wanting to know what Jim’s doing there. The owner says Alice started the fire. She told him she cut herself and after her blood was on the counter, the place went up in flames. The owner and two of his guys attack Jim when he tries to leave, but Jim ultimately gets the upper hand.
After taking a blow to the head, Jim heads to the hospital where the doctor stitches him up. The doctor turns out to be Lee’s fiancé, Mario, and he says Lee speaks highly of him. Jim’s taken by surprise at this turn of events, and the doctor confides he loves Lee and will take care of her. Before he leaves Jim tells the doc, “If you ever were to hurt her, I’d have to hunt you down and kill you.”
Penguin meets up with Mayor James at a restaurant where they exchange insults. James has everyone important backing him while Penguin only has himself. It appears Penguin’s losing his temper and about to attack James when the Mayor’s henchmen spring to action and hold him at gunpoint. The rest of the people in the restaurant also stand up, all with weapons and all backing Penguin. So much for a peaceful meeting!
Jim finds Alice’s apartment and discovers the landlord’s locked in a closet. He lets the guy out and the man immediately leaps on him. Alice saves the day, shooting the landlord and asking if Jim got any of the blood on him. She says the landlord was infected. Jim tells her her brother’s searching for her and she lights the body on fire, fleeing the room.
Back at Wayne Manor, Five is standing over Bruce’s bed holding scissors. Then he takes a seat in front of a mirror and cuts off his hair.
Morning comes and Bruce and Alfred realize Five is gone. Bruce says they have to go after him.
Penguin shows up at Arkham where the prisoners are out of control. He tells the man in charge that in exchange for the release of Ed Nygma, he’ll give the man a position in the government. The man hesitates and Penguin threatens to have the man locked up there forever.
At the club, Jervis Tetch hypnotizes Barbara (Erin Richards) and asks her to find him irresistible. She wakes on stage and says she loves him. When he acts like he doesn’t love her, she tries to kill him. He brings her out from under hypnosis just in time. The audience is scared yet impressed.
Jim meets with Jervis after the show and explains what went down with Alice. He wants to know what’s going on and Jervis says it’s complicated. Jervis wants to talk somewhere private and they head outside. Jim asks what it is that Alice has in her blood and Jervis says Alice is powerful. Jervis then synchronizes his watch with Jim’s heartbeat, making Jim disarm himself and walk to the edge of the roof. He tells Jim to rest, close his eyes, and that he knows Jim wants to die. When Jervis reaches 10, Jim will step off the ledge. The countdown begins and Alice stops him at five. She demands Jervis get Jim down off the ledge, and she calls her brother evil. He says he loves her and she shoots at him which wakes up Jim. He stumbles and barely grabs the ledge. Alice pulls him to safety and after a brief thank you, he handcuffs her.
The Arkham administrator gives Ed a certificate saying he’s sane. He’s also not responsible for anything he did while he was insane. Penguin pulls up at the gate to give his old friend a ride.
Lee and Mario are having an intimate dinner at a fine restaurant. He tells her he stitched up Jim and that Jim didn’t even know his name. He’s upset that Lee didn’t speak to Jim about him, and then their talk is interrupted by Carmine Falcone (John Doman) who it turns out is Lee’s fiancé’s dad. He joins them for dinner and tells Lee he raised his son to lead a good, honest life. He doesn’t even use the Falcone name. Carmine says his wife would have loved Lee, but that she would have said she was too beautiful. “All the great tragedies start with a face like yours,” says Carmine, telling her a beautiful face makes men do crazy things. She informs Carmine that Jim Gordon has moved on and Carmine seems to believe her.
Selina’s hanging out by a fire at night when Five arrives dressed as Bruce, driving Alfred’s car. He apologizes for the way he treated her and offers her a ride. She thinks he’s acting different but she decides that’s not a bad thing. She gets in the car as Five smiles.
