SPOILERS AHEAD!!
Penguin rescues his mother from Theo and Tabitha Galavan only to be killed by Tabitha. Theo attempts to kill Penguin but he uses a knife to escape. Theo reports the attack to the GCPD and issues a manhunt for Penguin. Afterward, he holds a press conference revealing his plan to capture Penguin and others like him. Edward is on the hunt for Kristen Kryngle’s body after he subconsciously hid it. Gordon and Bullock go after Butch who has started his own gang. However, Victor Zsasz arrives, demanding to speak with Butch. A gunfight ensues between Victor and his men, and Gordon and Bullock that ends quickly. Butch has escaped during the battle. After a terrible fight between Selina and Silver, Bruce visits Silver at Theo’s home. Later that night at new elected mayor Theo Galavan’s celebration party, an army of men dressed as Penguin storm the party and begin killing people. Gordon escorts Galavan out of the building where he encounters the real Penguin who tells him that Galavan killed his mother Gertrude. Jim already knew this information thanks to Butch. Penguin is then shot by Tabitha. Gordon and Bullock return fire, giving Penguin the chance to escape in the confusion. In the aftermath, Gordon, armed with the truth, declares to take down Galavan. Meanwhile, Edward Nygma seemingly comes to terms with his newfound insanity after finding Kristen Kryngle’s body in the medical examiner’s room.
Wow, a lot of crazy sh** has happened so far this season and its greatly effecting Oswald Cobblepot and Edward Nygma. Let’s start with Penguin. Galavan got his hooks into him when he kidnapped Gertrud, forcing Penguin to burn down buildings belonging to Bruce Wayne’s family business and kill off mayoral candidates so Theo Galavan can win unopposed. There was no doubt that Penguin was going to snap like a rubber band and boy, did he. The final push was holding his mother’s body after Tabitha had killed in cold blood shortly after releasing her to Penguin. Robin Lord Taylor does an amazing job of portraying this character and conveying his emotions that make you want to feel for him, a formula that continues to get better with this season. We also get a glimpse at the cunning mind that Penguin is known for when he organizes an army of stand-ins to keep the GCPD occupied while he hunts down Theo Galavan. Guess we can call that “March of the Penguins Gotham Style.” Since he killed Kristen Kryngle’s boyfriend in the first season, Edward Nygma has slowly begun to evolve into the familiar character we all know. He is already displaying the personality disorders he is known for including schizophrenia. His other personality, Evil Ed, has become strong enough following the accidental death of Kristen Kryngle to “take over” Edward subconsciously to hide Kristen’s body and make his other half follow riddles to find her. This is reminiscent of another villain with the same condition—Two-Face. Batman fans can recall the episode from “Batman: The Animated Series” in which Two-Face’s already fractured personality splits again resulting in the courtroom themed vigilante The Judge, a personality so strong that it nearly kills Two-Face himself. Cory Michael Smith conveys this bipolar disorder very well, giving fans a frightening new take on the Edward Nygma character.
Gordon once again places another city official in his cross of justice. After learning about the kidnap and death of Gertrud Kapelput from Butch and Penguin respectively and that Penguin was blackmailed into burning Wayne owned buildings, Jim sets his sights on the newly elected Theo Galavan, who will be a lot harder to take down than the previous mayor since Theo has made himself a hero liked by the people. But that is not all. Penguin mentioned that Theo is after someone close to him that he helped out. From Gordon’s perspective, that only leaves Bruce Wayne. Penguin also reveals that he has information about Theo Galavan. It won’t be long before Gordon will be making a deal with the devil yet again.
