Knight Moves: Gotham Episode 410, "Things That Go Boom"

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Gotham Things That Go Boom

Gotham's nightmare is over. Professor Pyg has been brought into custody, and is safely tucked away in Arkham Asylum. But who is the serial killer who threatened Gotham's cops?

The answer lies behind titanium plates surgically implanted in Pyg's jaw and cheeks. X-rays show he's had extensive surgery to alter his appearance (and make it really painful to punch him in the mouth). Gordon tasks Lucius Fox with deconstructing the images to get to a pre-surgery composite sketch, while he goes to Arkham to interrogate Pyg further. And when Gordon finally manages to get under Pyg's skin, the mask slips just enough for Gordon to see inside.

Meanwhile, tensions between Sofia Falcone and Oswald Cobblepot heat up, as Oswald goes with whiplash speed from "She's my enemy / She's not my enemy / She's my enemy" in less than 30 minutes. Sofia finally realizes that she has underestimated Oswald (if it's not another layer of the ruse she's putting down) and goes to Jim to have him arrest Oswald and take down his organization. Jim has another idea, however. He goes to Penguin and offers a deal: No more crime licenses, cops arrest bad guys, and he puts Sofia on a train home. Penguin takes the deal, but the deal goes south when Sofia pulls an ace from her sleeve: the orphan mute, Martin, who has become Oswald's new weak spot. That's one thing Gotham has been charmingly consistent about, that the Penguin actually can have feelings and emotions, and tragically they continue to be the points that drive him further into having a cold heart. We almost think that happens tonight when Oswald rescues Martin from the Sirens -- and then seems to eliminate that particular weak spot entirely!

In the slums of Gotham known as The Narrows, Dr. Lee Thompkins tries to keep the territory together through peaceful means, although she still has Solomon Grundy and Ed Nygma at her sides to back her up. But peace may not be the answer when a gang leader from a neighboring territory decides to muscle in. Lee has to be clever to accomplish her goal without bloodshed, but that doesn't mean it's not ruthless or painless.

And what about Ed Nygma? Lee's been helping everyone in The Narrows, but Ed still remains in his less-than-sharp mental state he's been in since he came out of the ice where Penguin put him. Well, it turns out there is no physical cure for Ed -- because there's nothing physically wrong with him. The problem has all been psychological -- a mental block. Lee has held off telling him because she doesn't want him to go back to being The Riddler, but to remain his better half, Ed Nygma. Any bets on how long that will last?

No appearance from Bruce "Prick" Wayne this week, but the previews for next week's episode show that he's coming back, and snottier than ever. So much so that it looks like he and Alfred are going to come to blows.

 

Grade: 
5.0 / 5.0