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Gotham Season 2, Episode 22 Season Finale Recap And Review: “Wrath Of The Villains: Transference”

By Steve Lam

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“Transference”—the Season Two Finale of Gotham has Jim, Bruce, and Lucius finding a way to escape Arkham Asylum. And Hugo Strange tries to learn if the three are aware of a secret society controlling Gotham City.

The Season Two Finale of Gotham seemed like a self-parody of sorts. With ridiculousness at every level, the series finished its sophomore season with one of the weakest episodes to-date.

Spoilerific Recap: Strike Force is about to bust down Arkham’s gates. However, Not-Jim (Clayface who’s masquerading as Jim) makes a surprising exit and tricks them. “There’s nothing here to see boys!”

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Ed continues to question Bruce and Lucius. He wants to know who runs Indian Hill. The wrong answer will mean death to the two of them.

Strange injects Jim with a truth serum and plays on his sympathies to get him to comply.

Not-Jim is now at the GCPD—but acting as weird as they come. Come on, Gotham. Is this a comedy? If you want your villains to be threatening, play them that way.

Ed asks Bruce and Lucius if they know who actually runs Wayne Enterprises.

Downstairs, in Strange’s hidden lab, the staff start the process of transferring the inmates. Fish taunts Peabody in an attempt to get close to her.

At the Van Dahl residence, Penguin plays decorator as he finds the best location for his stepmother’s decapitated decaying head.

Strange reaches deep inside Jim’s mind, gaining his confidence. His ultimate question aligns with what Ed has been asking Bruce and Lucius: who runs Wayne Enterprises? As Strange’s watch alarm goes off, he notes to Jim that he only has a few hours before the bomb detonates.

Ed pushes for an answer to his question. Lucius finally tells him it’s the board of directors. The answer is supposedly wrong, so he gasses both Bruce and Lucius.

Bruce hallucinates the night of his parents’ murders. When both him and Lucius regain consciousness, they find themselves in the same room as Jim.

Ed, gleeful that he carried out Strange’s orders, notes his desire to join the doctor’s team. However, Strange doesn’t share the same sentiments. He promptly locks Ed in a cell.

Strange reports back to the Court of Owls and reassures them that Jim, Bruce, and Lucius know nothing about their existence. The leader then commands Strange to eradicate all the inmates.

Not-Jim is finally approached by a concerned Alfred, wondering where Jim and Bruce are. Not-Jim acts nonchalant and tries to brush off Alfred.

Selina makes her way into the room holding Jim, Bruce, and Lucius. Bruce apologizes for getting her involved, but she claims that she’s the one manipulating him. She promptly leaves to escape.

Peabody enters Fish’s cell to give her an injection for the trip. However, Fish touches Peabody, putting Peabody under her influence.

Strange is alerted by an alarm. Making his way into the lab, he sees Fish with her small army, including Peabody, approach him. Strange is, at first, fascinated and tries to stop Fish from escaping. But when she approaches him and tries to touch him, he runs. Strange knocks Peabody out and speeds up the bomb’s timer. He eventually initiates the facility’s lockdown procedures.

Harvey grows suspicious about Not-Jim’s erratic behavior. An unexpected visit from Barbara ends with her punching his face and distorting it, revealing Not-Jim as an imposter.

Strange rendezvous with Selina, Firefly, and Mr. Freeze. When he commands Mr. Freeze to kill Selina, Selina feigns helplessness, making Firefly defend her. Both Mr. Freeze and Firefly battle each other with their weapons.

Selina reveals to Jim, Bruce, and Lucius that she purposely played Mr. Freeze and Firefly against each other as a distraction to aid in her escape. The group exits and watch Strange try to make a run for it. However, Strange is both burned and frozen when he’s caught in the crossfire.

Harvey rounds up an army of officers to raid Indian Hill and Arkham. Barbara contacts Penguin, which prompts him to enact his plan.

Jim wakes up Strange, who reveals that a bomb is set to detonate. Lucius is concerned that the detonation will set off the radioactive material stored in the lab. Selina tells them that Ed has a way of getting in to the secret facility.

Jim frees Ed and immediately has him deactivate the security protocols. This action also allows Fish to board a bus filled with inmates and drive off.

Jim and Lucius find the bomb and open it. When Jim is about to pull a wire, Peabody comes to consciousness and pleads for water. Jim quickly fills a container with water and pours it on the bomb, disarming it. He later finds out that Peabody was only thirsty—the disarming of the bomb with water was only a coincidence.

Fish continues to make her escape on the bus and leads the GCPD on a wild chase.

Jim exits Arkham and is happily greeted by Harvey. Learning that the bus actually carries deadly mutants, Harvey commands the team to concentrate on stopping it.

At a bridge, Fish plays chicken with one of the squad cars. As they’re about to hit, Butch appears and fires a powerful gatling machine gun, causing the bus to crash. Penguin, still on his mission to exact revenge on Strange, calls out to the doctor. He’s soon surprised by Fish’s presence. She touches him and he seems to fall unconscious from her powers. Butch and his men quickly retreat.

Jim bids a temporary farewell to Bruce and Harvey. He’ll be leaving to mend things with Leslie. Now with knowledge of the involvement of a secret society, Bruce wants to continue his investigation. Alfred, fully aware that there’s no way of changing his mind, reluctantly agrees to help.

A homeless woman approaches the crashed bus. Out of sympathy, she helps the trapped passengers by opening the back door. She’s soon greeted by a bevy of Strange’s inmates. One of them is a clone of Bruce Wayne.

Next: Catch up on Gotham with a Recap of 'A Legion of Horribles'

Best Moment: Mr. Freeze and Firefly going at it with their weapons, and Hugo Strange thinking it was a good idea to run right into the crossfire. A total bonehead move that shifted the character from smart and threatening, to comedic and slapstick. Yes, this is the “Best Moment” section. If this was the highlight of the episode, it should tell you how bad the rest of it was.

Final Thoughts: The whole episode seemed like the show was phoning it in. It was like the writers took the worst parts of the worst episodes and combined them to create “Transference.” Example: when Jim used water to disarm the bomb and later found out that Peabody was actually asking for water for her thirst. That semi-plot twist was as bad and cringe-worthy as Superman and Batman finding out that both their mothers have the same name—making them besties.

At least Gotham didn’t introduce and resolve the Court of Owls storyline in one episode—which was something I feared. But still, the show really needs to spruce up the writing. The dialogue, bizarre plot devices, and one-dimensional narrative are not doing this series any favors.

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