Bruce sees the world and his city through Jerome’s eyes
Face it, kid.
Gotham has no heroes.
The winter finale ofGothambrings Bruce and the show to a turning point.
Credit: Jeff Neumann/FOX
Hes guided in that pursuit by his own moral compass and one very proud butler.
Its basically Purge Night.
And the GCPD cant put out the fires or cuff the clown-faced thugs fast enough.
But how do you predict the movements of a man who prizes disorder above everything?
Jim turns to Lee, the only person on their side whos conversed with the awakened madman.
He didnt remember why he wanted to kill him, but he trusts that past-Jerome had a good reason.
Jim instructs Lee to call Wayne Manor and gets over there to prevent a blue-blood bloodletting.
Bruce and Alfred are sitting ducks, but smart ones.
Their lives are another matter.
Bruce appeals to Jeromes flair for the dramatic.
Why would he kill Bruce in Bruces own home, with no cameras or fanfare?
Wouldnt it propel the movement more if he made a spectacle out of it?
(Im Bruce Wayne.
I am the ruling elite.)
The ploy works even if Jerome sees straight through it and so does Alfreds cool-headed play.
(Strangely intimate.)
Thats the thing about riots: They are unorganized by their very nature.
Jerome is much more predictable than he thinks.
Its the Boardwalk Circus, a symbol of Jeromes big top childhood.
The fairground has become a carnival of nightmares, the games reconfigured with Gotham citizens as human targets.
All Bruce can do is bide his time and listen to his captors nihilistic stump speech.
But all around him, Bruce sees innocent people being tortured.
As far as he knows, Alfred sacrificed himself for him.
He probably has an idea that Jim Gordon is tracking him down as they speak.
Jeromes theory doesnt hold water.
Bruce knows heroes; he lives among them.
Bruce and Jeromes final showdown happens in that reliable circus set piece: the hall of mirrors.
Bruce uses misdirection and his training to get a jump on Jerome.
(Let it out.)
Jeromes own life is secondary to him.
Hed gladly give it to provoke Bruces turn to the dark side.
If Gothams paragon of youth, purity, and philanthropy falls, the rest of the city will follow.
Bruce drops the shard of mirror he was going to use on Jerome and walks out into the night.
Jerome is soon on his way back to Arkham, probably to start a new gang.
When we last left Oswald, he was off to save Ed, guns a-blazing.
His former chief of staff doesnt keep the ruse up for long, though.
Eds unchecked passion and jealousy would have killed her in the end.
This way, shes still gone, and he should feel no guilt.
Hes rigged up an acid shower for his old friend.
Oswalds cries of I can change!
cant break Eds icy visage.
A night watchman is Oswalds unexpected savior.
(I happen to be the mayor of Gotham.)
Now Ed is the one is danger.
Funny how alliances between godless backstabbers dont last very long.
Tabby and Butch collect Penguin and bring him to Sirens to make an offer.
If he calls Ed and helps Barbara and the rest smoke him out, theyll let Oswald live.
But Oswald remembers what Ed said to him about love: Its selfless and its sacrifice.
Oswalds love wasnt real because it was ravenous and greedy.
Hes almost giddy with it.
He doesnt want to give Ed up, not for anything.
I think Pinocchio just because a real boy.
Ed hears all of this because he and the rest are still in league, despite the show.
It took a blood feud between the two to get here, but Oswalds devotion to Ed is real.
This wasnt what he was expecting, and his all-business malevolence falters, just for a moment.
(Does that mean I passed?
I dont know… what it means.)
It cast the Penguin and the Riddler in a twisted, woeful love story.
It ends for now with the two of them alone on a pier.
Oswald begs for his life.
He tells Ed that this kill will change him.
Its not committed for power or in a loss of control.
Is revenge more important than that?
But it was Isabellas murder that changed Ed and made him capable of this.
Oswald has made the decision more difficult than it was supposed to be, but thats all.
(Also, hello, they spend nearly this entire episode within kiss-or-kill distance.)
Ed shoots Oswald in the stomach and pushes him into the water, not with glee but with resignation.
Could this be it for the Penguin?
The organization watches Jeromes rise and fall with interest and a little bit of fear.
And as the city cools down, Kathryn and a stoic confidante prepare their secret weapon.
The violence and gore have been amped up to resemble the Gotham City we know from the movies.
And these machinations of the towns underworld players are putting them on the brink of a war.
The crown is up for grabs.
And Bruce Wayne is ready to get off the sidelines.
