WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers about the third episode of the fifth and final season of Gotham entitled “Penguin, Our Hero”. Do not read if you have not seen the episode or read at your own risk.
Big changes are afoot as the fight for the city’s soul continued in Thursday night’s Gotham. We saw one character begin their transformation and two others form an unlikely team that will no doubt have an impact as the season rolls on.
The episode begins with Oswalt aka Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) realizing his gang is abandoning him and going to Jim Gordon’s (Ben McKenzie) sanctuary of safety, which has been dubbed “The Haven”. The Street Demons attack Penguin but he comes up with a plan. More on that in a moment but we’ve got to discuss the main plot of the episode first.
Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova) is having nightmares about getting shot by Jeremiah Valeska (Cameron Monaghan), she escapes the hospital and can be seen on the roof in full Catwoman gear and she jumps off like the anti-hero she is destined to become.
She heads to The Haven to look for Jeremiah and instead finds Bruce (David Mazouz). He is determined to help her his way, by not going after Jeremiah, but quickly changes his mind after he and Selina share a kiss. They interrogate some nutso guy about “The Dark Zone” and the new cult following Jeremiah has.
The lovebird crime-fighting duo heads to The Dark Zone and is confronted by The Mutants. A big fight ensues. Fans get to see Selina’s transformation really take place as she uses her sassy attitude and new fighting skills. She claws her attacker and begins to lose control – and she likes it. Bruce eventually stops her with a new grappling hook gadget but as she walks away, he realizes his friend is changing.
During their walk, Selina questions Bruce’s loyalty. I mean, wouldn’t you feel weird if you saw someone you had feelings for nearly clawing someone’s ears off? I would! Bruce tells her he is loyal to her and always will be. Inside the church (or whatever this hell hole is), Selina says she wants to be part of Jeremiah’s cult but a hooded figure says she will be tested first.
Bruce is sneaking his way around the building and finds dead bodies in the darkness. The hooded girl is revealed to be Harley Quinn, providing the final proof that Jeremiah is The Joker – but the show just can’t use his name for legal reasons. Anyway, Harley wants the group to prove themselves by participating in a suicide ritual with guns.
After hearing the gunshots, Bruce races back to the ritual site and sees Harley confronting Selina. The two get into a fist fight and Selina nearly kills Harley but Bruce stops her in the last second, leaving the insane sidekick to escape. At this point, Selina is furious and tells Bruce she is doing it her way from now on and handcuffs Bruce to the metal grate, leaving him behind.
We don’t see Bruce again this episode. So, he escaped, right? How? He has no phone to call anyone and no one else knows he’s there?
Back at The Haven, Penguin and the Street Demons invade. Gordon and the GCPD get into a shootout until they realize they have no ammo left. Gordon surrenders and Penguin takes him to be locked up. Bullock (Donal Logue) visits Barbara (Erin Richards) to request help for Jim, and she agrees once she learns Penguin is involved.
The Street Demons betray Penguin and lock him up with Gordon, so the two form an unlikely team to escape. They get out and kill the Street Demons’ leader as the civilians chant Penguin’s name, once again loving him. Penguin and Gordon make amends outside but Barbara arrives and she wants Oswalt dead. Just as she is about to kill him, a bomb goes off, destroying The Haven and everyone inside.
I did not expect that! Who planted the bomb? We’ll have to wait until next week to see.
Did that catch you off guard too? What did you think of the episode? Let us know in the comments below!
The fifth and final season of Gotham airs Thursdays at 8/7c on Fox.