This week's introductory crime takes place in a very old, battered, office filled with antique office desks and equipment. There's one solitary broker-looking man sneaking around. Is this a hostage situation? Then, why does the guy put a mask on? And why is he suddenly attacked by a fellow broker-dressed guy in an identical mask? The two literally brawl it out among the desks, bashing each other with whatever they can find, including a pried-off piece of countertop edge that doubles as a sword.
The sword-wielder gets a very unwelcome surprise when his victim strikes back by literally biting off his finger. It's a temporary win, as the sword wielder manages to channel the pain and anger into hacking into his victim's neck. Eventually, he collapses and loses consciousness, and the sword-wielder looks up into a camera feeding video to an unknown spectator. When the sword-wielding, successful warrior raises his fist in a power salute, that means it's not as simple as a grudge, or being held captive.
The victim is found the next morning down by the docks. Dumped hours after his death. Jim and Bullock are the lucky guys who stand over the body while Nygma does his crime scene investigation. Other officers mill around the scene, yet Jim insists on doing his own grunt work. Bullock tries to get him to let the uniformed officers canvas; Jim stalks off to do it himself, seeming not to trust the others. Nygma has no riddle for today, just a surprise for Jim and Bullock; a single finger, gently nudged from the victim's mouth. Bullock's theory that is was a money-motivated kidnapping gone wrong vanishes.
Duel, maybe?
It's definitely not motivated by greed; the victim's mother, in between sobbing to Jim, tells him that the young man worked at a coffeeshop. He was only supposed to be interviewing for a job at a financial firm. While Jim wonders what kind of interview process he's dealing with, Bullock watches the interview from Essen's office. He complains to her that the fingerprints off the extra finger got nowhere. He also broods over Jim's mental state, which isn't helped by having been abandoned by every cop except Bullock. Jim is surrounded by people who turned out to be total cowards. And the cowards know it. Jim had the guts to stand up to Falcone. And he won.
Bullock wants Gordon to snap out of it. Essen tells Bullock to watch out for his partner. But, hasn't Bullock already proved he'll do that?
It's time for a return to school for a certain orphaned billionaire. Alfred is all for Bruce going back, but Bruce reminds Alfred that he'd prefer to be homeschooled. The look on his face is part terror at the thought of dealing with other kids, part disappointment that Alfred has betrayed him. When Alfred tries to tell Bruce that the adult knows best, Bruce reminds Alfred that he's Alfred's boss. We've seen Bruce at home as an adult. But, like Jesus, the Batman stories have usually been cagey and conflicting about where Bruce was between twelve and the emergence of Batman. And the idea of a young Bruce, tortured enough to want to grow up into the most feared vigilante ever, afraid of the other kids at school is intriguing. But it's those very kids that Alfred wants Bruce to learn how to get along with. While Bruce unwillingly leaves his butler, driver, and bodyguard behind, the older boys are already deciding to bully Bruce. Is seeing Bruce try and fail at getting along with others part of what convinces Alfred that Bruce will never be normal?
Oswald develops a taste for other people's jewelry. Specifically, a brooch belonging to a rich lady exiting her brownstone. Oswald is waiting for her, and at first he tries to apply his humble politeness act. She's put off by a stranger trying to make chit chat, so Oswald uses the hard sell. He leans in and asks again, making it clear that he'll politely rip the brooch off and some skin with it if she still says no. We next see him offering the brooch to Fish Mooney. It's wrapped in a box with a bow, and he presents it like a student offering a teacher a shiny red apple.
Fish, wearing a collar made out of twigs, makes a show of oohing and aahing over the box, before she and Oswald get down to the business of agreeing that Gotham's crime will continue to be divvied up between Maroni and Falcone as it was before. Fish makes a point of mentioning that the unions belong to Maroni, and both organizations will retain their interests in Arkham. Will we be hearing any more about what each plans on building there soon? And what about the Indian Hill Burial Grounds offered to Falcone last week? That's not being discussed. Instead, Fish points out Timothy, the current holder of Fish's umbrellas. The brooch very conveniently has a stick pin, and when Fish opens the box and sees it, she immediately takes the pin out, presumably so she can pin on the brooch.
Her plan, instead, is to surprise stab Oswald in the hand with it. He's livid at Fish's move, but holds his men in place. He's got this. But Fish doesn't just stab Oswald. She removes the pin, and lovingly takes a taste of Oswald's blood off it. She and Oswald trade accusations of betrayal at each other, with Fish making it clear that she considers Oswald business that must be finished. Oswald agrees with her that Falcone is the only reason he's still alive, but we all know he's doing much more than praying for Falcone's good health. He's insuring it behind the scenes. Which is why he only walks away, after each convey their respects to their bosses, and congratulates Fish on the peace.
Don't worry, I've got your death all planned
He also takes the brooch with him, and his mother ends up loving the re-gifted thing. She doesn't like, at all, the mark on Oswald's hand showing he's been stabbed, but Oswald laughs it off, and tells his mother that tattling on his attacker would achieve nothing. Mrs. Kapelput has her own tale of a bully to tell. When another girl got to bully her because she was the teacher's private dancer, Mrs. Kapelput went to her home country's secret police and basically got the girl disappeared. Oswald, while his mother gets distracted with a rat she's just caught, looks inspired. Why not get his own torturer in trouble with larger powers that be?
Gotham's criminals don't bother with hospitals. They go right to Dr. Sawbone, who makes a living putting Gotham's criminals back together.. Sure, he doesn't take insurance. But there's also no paperwork. Knowing they've got someone with a missing finger who needed medical help, Bullock and Jim show up at his "operating room". Bullock reminds Dr. Sawbone of his arrangement as a informant in exchange for the police's blind eye. Jim finds black ink similar to what Nygma found on their victim's body at the scene. Dr. Sawbone comes clean, and gives them a business card that fell out of his recent patient's pocket- for Sionis Investments. Jim thanks the doctor by arresting him.
The precinct doesn't take kindly to Jim's insistence that a gang doctor be locked up. He's been a useful informant, and Detective Alvarez wants him freed. When he and Jim are about to erupt over it, it's Bullock who pulls Jim aside and tries to soft talk him into freeing Dr. Sawbone. He reminds Jim that they're on tenderhooks with Falcone as it is, and they don't want to give the guy another reason to kill them. He reminds Jim that his fellow cops want Dr. Sawbone free and able to give them info. Bullock reminds Jim that he needs his fellow cops, and maybe Jim should be nicer. Despite trying to tell Jim what to do, it's Bullock who shouts down Alvarez after Jim walks off without freeing anyone.
Jim goes home from the precinct, to an apartment that's dark and looks empty. He's weirded out, and apparently, Barbara is too. Jim turns a corner to find her pointing a gun at him. After he gets it out of her hands, and scolding her for handling a gun after she's been drinking, she confesses that she's been imagining Victor Zsasz, an enforcer for Falcone, stalking her, and she's freaking out. Jim tries consoling her, but it's clear she's not buying it.
There's going to be another bloody office fight, and soon. Three more young men, dressed as brokers, await their fates in cages while a man in a black, ornate and slightly hideous mask tells them their freedom depends on them.
Or, you could just tell me I look pretty in this mask
Jim starts the next morning with another discussion with Barbara, this time over whether to leave his personal gun at home. Barbara promises that she won't drink and handle the thing, and he leaves it for her. Instead, Jim tries to tell Barbara that he wishes that he didn't have a fight with the mob that put her in danger. Barbara asks if not fighting is really what Jim wants, but takes the question back before he leaves. Maybe they should have had a discussion about going for shooting practice, instead.
Having survived his first day back, Bruce's second day looks promising as one of the girls makes a point of greeting Bruce between classes. His good day is short-lived, when the older boys from the steps the day before decide it's time to start harassing Bruce. They start by surrounding him, and the leader, Tommy, wants to know all the details from Bruce's parents' murder. Bruce is horrified by Tommy's morbid taste, and can't believe anyone would actually want him to relive it. Bruce grabs his bag before anyone else can, and practically flees.
Nygma is trying to have a good day, too. He's managed to secure some alone time with the victim from the day before, from which he extracts a push pin. He tries out a new riddle on himself, wondering if a dead man, an emu, and a cruise ship have anything in common, and exclaiming over the weird finds on the body when the real ME barges in and tells him to get out. Nygma does, but not before denouncing the ME as a sloppy ignoramous.
A lucky church in Gotham gets a visitor for the confessional. It's Liza, and she's dressed angelically, as if she has no sins. When she asks for forgiveness from a mother, instead of a father, we see that she's really here to meet Fish Mooney. Mooney reminds Liza that Falcone has spies everywhere, meaning they've got to find a way to talk without being seen together. Mooney wants a full update, but Liza has no real news. She's still cooking and singing for him, and they go on long walks. Liza and Mooney can't puzzle out what exactly she is to Falcone, but Liza tells her that Falcone does care for her. Even if it's in a totally non-understandable way. Liza doesn't answer when Mooney asks about her feeling for Falcone.
Mooney's got better things to do than discuss than relationships. It's time for Liza to pay off. Her first assignment is to knock Falcone out with a sleeping drug, slip past Falcone's men, and go snooping in one of Falcone's private desk drawers. Mooney wants the contents. When Liza complains that Mooney should just kill Falcone, she turns it down. She doesn't want chaos. Chaos makes the future hard to control. She wants to create a power vacuum to make the transition to her running Gotham easy.
Bullock and Jim are immediately suspicious when they arrive at Sionis Investments to find the women dressed for husband-hunting and the men dressed just like the victim. And walking around with bruises and cuts. Like there's a Fight Club every night. Sionis himself openly displays his collection of hideous masks and various fighting weapons. Bullock moseys around the office examining the display while Sionis and Jim bicker over whether Sionis is a violent business man or a greedy psychopath.
Sionis, to make himself seem even more like a robber baron scumbag, thinks that business is war. He either knows Jim is a veteran, or guesses based on sizing him up. And Sionis is obsessed with Jim being a warrior and a challenge. For a wannabe like Sionis, going up against a real soldier must be irresistible. Jim manages to leave before showing Sionis he's a coward, and Bullock gives Sionis the information that they're both hardasses. But they're not done with Sionis Investments. As they leave, Jim takes one last look out at the floor full of bloodied men. And then notices the puddle of blood on the floor, leading to a nearby bathroom where some unfortunate is struggling to contain a bloody nose.
Jim immediately pulls his gun on someone doing nothing criminal, but it turns out to be lucky; their suspect, cradling a hand missing a finger, emerges from a stall and tries to charge at Jim. Jim knocks him out as Bullock charges into the restroom. Seeing both on the floor, he tells Jim to wait for him next time.
Bruce has his own fights today; when Tommy finds him alone on a stair case in what is supposed to be a busy school, Tommy doesn't take long to once again torture Bruce about his parents' murder. Bruce tries to talk down to Tommy, insisting that his douchebaggery has no purpose. Oh, but it does, Bruce. It's literally to get a reaction of hurt and shame from you. Bruce decides to hit Tommy, which ends in Bruce running out of school the minute he can, and hoping that Alfred won't notice that his clothes are a mess and his face has been hit. When Alfred makes him confess, Bruce makes him promise not to tell the school.
Oswald is dealing with his own fight, while having a mid-day snack on apples. Timothy is dragged in, and tries to be brave. But Oswald only has patience for his own theatrics. Everyone else can just be beaten to a pulp while he relaxes.
Bullock and Jim work on the broker, who can't decide whether to go to jail or get fired. Jim is disgusted that he even has to think about it. Jim and Bullock run Essen through the operation: Sionis gives jobs to those who win fights. Everyone signs confidentiality agreements, making them accomplices. No one's supposed to die, but Nygma points out that several have, left in similar outfits with similar injuries over the last few years. Essen wants a confession signed immediately. But, she's beaten by a defense lawyer who nixes the whole thing before the confession can be signed, and they've lost their in.
Bullock seems less disappointed; Sionis isn't the first scumbag to walk free. Jim is disappointed, and Essen points out that Gotham has seen it's craziest criminals lately. Jim tells her that the city was waiting for a spark to let its crazies loose. So, Essen asks Jim if he's so obsessed with the Waynes' murder because he thinks it was that spark. After confirming that she knows all about his private investigating, Jim does admit that he worries that everything the Waynes represented disappeared when they were shot to death. Essen takes the chance to confide in Jim that she should have stayed. When Victor Zsasz threatened one of her officers, she should have stayed. Jim tries to comfort her, but it makes a difference. Does one good cop inspire another one to be brave?
Good ol' Cat. After successfully stealing a silver heirloom from Wayne mansion, she's decided to go shopping. Her exit strategy could use some work, as it's broad daylight, and she's trying to get her stolen merchandise out through the sidewalk opening in front of the store. The cops catch her right away, and she's got a good-natured line for them.
Jim and Bullock, have spent some time finding Sionis' buildings. If his employees won't talk, maybe his properties will. Bullock tells Jim to call him if he gets into trouble. He reminds Jim that he's been there for Jim before. Jim blows him off shortly before getting a nervous call from Barbara so he can blow her off too. He's in such a great mood, that when he discovers the very building that Sionis is using, it's not hard to realize it's a trap. Especially when he discovers Sionis' later job candidates, still locked in their cages. Before he can free them, Sionis shows us what we all knew: this was a trap. He stuns Jim from behind, knocking him out. If this is your first time at Fight Club, you will fight.
So, is this a club?
Alfred decides it's time for Bruce to confront Tommy on his own terms. He's decided to let Bruce use his father's watch as knuckle protection so Bruce can march to Tommy's door, lure him out, and start decking him, with the watch making brutal contact with Tommy's face. It's a little juvenile, and Alfred has to call Bruce off before he loses it. Alfred explains to Tommy the point of the exercise: to remind Tommy that Bruce may be smaller, and odd. But he's capable of doing a lot more than drawing a little blood. As they walk away from Tommy's with nobody catching them for assaulting Tommy, Alfred agrees to get pizza for Bruce.
Really? I have to stop?
Jim wakes up, still in the abandoned, old-fashioned office, but now he's surrounded by Sionis' prisoners. And watched on TV by Sionis' whole firm. Everyone's watching, making it clear that this is a company-wide conspiracy. Hey, if violence makes money, why not enjoy watching it? Sionis tells his captives that the one to kill Jim will get a job and a million dollars. And that's all it takes for all three to try. Jim, disgusted at how their greed overrides all other things, easily defeats all three. Which leaves him for Sionis.
Back at the precinct, Bullock has realized that Jim is in trouble, but no one will help him check the multiple locations Sionis could be holding him. Just like no one would help Jim before. Bullock can't believe that cops aren't standing by each other. He shouts down the whole precinct, denouncing them all for their cowardice. Sure, Jim's righteous act isn't an act and that pisses people off. But that same righteous bastard would happily search for their worthless asses. Essen emerges from her office, and offers Bullock to take a couple of locations to check herself. And Alvarez is shamed into helping, though only if Bullock will continue to lie to Alvarez's wife for him. Isn't solidarity wonderful?
Sionis has put his black mask on to fight Jim, and he brings swords for them both. He's a complete amateur, and while it takes a whole minute, Jim has him on a desk on his back. Jim steps up to stand over Sionis, sword over the guy's chest, but ultimately decides he'll spare Sionis. Essen shows up, uniforms behind her, to clean up the mess and warn Jim right before Sionis tries to attack from behind. Jim just knocks him out. The party's over for Sionis Investments.
Mooney's got her own private blues singer, who's song is about someone who blames herself for her own troubles. She's digging her own private show, and the singer, but Liza appearing in her club, despite her sunglasses, puts her in a hostile mood. Liza sits down as Mooney lovingly dismisses the singer, an elderly lady her man escorts off the stage. Liza immediately asks to be let out. Mooney's not having it. Liza reminds Mooney that she's already rich, already powerful, already has men afraid of her. It's not enough for Mooney.
Mooney tells Liza that she grew up poor, the daughter of a middle-of-nowhere prostitute. It was a shack that barely sheltered Mooney from her mother's work. And it didn't shelter her at all from her mother's murder by one of Falcone's men, dissatisfied with her service. Mooney will see Falcone pay for her mother's murder. And she'll take all the power. And she'll make sure there are no men who can ever hurt her or take anything from her again.
Liza then holds out a single piece of folded paper, asking what it has to do with Mooney's life aim. Mooney declares it the way to defeat Falcone permanently. Liza's worried she'll be collateral damage, but Mooney assures her, letting her call her Mama for the first time, that Mooney will protect her. Which Liza is foolish to believe. Because, when Mooney is waiting at her club's front desk later, the elderly lady comes out, meeting Mooney and reminding her that she was telling a whole lot of bull to Liza. Mooney doesn't lash out. She simply places her hand, lovingly, on the woman's arm and has one of her men escort her mother home.
Back at the precinct, Jim is handling the mask that should have been seized as evidence, perhaps wondering if a mask can make someone think they're a badass. Bullock arrives and tries scolding Jim for getting in trouble without his partner. He wants Jim to be tired of fighting already. Jim declares that he doesn't love fighting. But he's not backing down from the fight he's picked with all of Gotham's corrupt players anyway. Bullock sighs and sends Jim home. He's calling Barbara to tell her to expect him when Alvarez shows up with some news. Some juvenile thief wants to know if Jim Gordon has been in any sewers lately. Cat looks happy to see Jim, which is better than the welcome Jim will get when he eventually gets home. He'll get a note addressed to him, as we see Barbara leave.
Bruce has a difficult thing to admit to Alfred. He has to confess, that he enjoyed beating Tommy up. It was just so visceral, as if Bruce could do something about the evil in the world, instead of waiting for grownups to. Alfred pauses when Bruce asks him if he'll teach Bruce to fight. But, Alfred looks slightly pleased as he agrees to.
Oswald has had Timothy hung upside down, the better to scare him into admitting that Mooney has been doing some plotting involving Falcone. Oswald is pleased to learn that Mooney has placed someone close to Falcone, and he nonchalantly has Timothy killed. He wants his men to be careful hiding Timothy's body. There's a peace to keep.
While a good episode, the crime itself was obviously easy this week because the characters have their own demons to fight. Jim's personal life looks like it's collapsing while he's never been more alone at work. He's isolating himself at the time that only Captain Essen and Bullock have shown that he could trust others. Bruce is starting to think he can fight his way out of grief. And Mooney has placed her plan in the hands of someone who should be worried about her own skin. While it gives us plenty to see, the episode really serves to set up the fruition of everyone's problems later.
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