Gotham Recap And Review - S01E15

Well played writers … well played. Tonight’s episode of Gotham, titled The Scarecrow, is the best episode since Spirit of the Goat. The story proved to be engaging due to great scenes that provided just the right amount of mystery.

Spoilerific Recap

A man enters to his dark apartment. He’s soon attacked by two ghoulish-looking teens in hoodies.

Fish Mooney awakens at an unknown location with dirt flooring and concrete pillars. It looks like a prison of some sort. Two burly men approach her. They look at her with tempted eyes. After finding out from a man in a suit what they want, she approaches them. She tells the first one she’ll kill him instantly. The second, she’ll prolong his death. The two eventually back off.

James Gordon and Leslie Thompkins just concluded their third date. Leslie breaks the news to Gordon that she’ll be starting as GCPD’s newest medical examiner. He has mixed feelings about it, but is supportive.

The next day, Gordon and Harvey Bullock are on scene of the previous night’s murder — the man at the start of the episode is the victim. Bullock identifies the man as an English teacher, and his adrenal glands were removed.

At a dilapidated house, Gerald Crane creates a solution from a vivisected adrenal gland. He puts it in a syringe and injects himself with it. The concoction quickly takes effect and he sees a vision: an angry woman on fire asking for his help.

At Wayne Manor, Bruce Wayne packs his things for a trip. Alfred Pennyworth offers to go along with him. Bruce rejects the offer and tells him not to worry. Aflred commends Bruce for keeping up with the tradition he had with his father.

At Fish Mooney’s old club, Oswald Cobblepot reports to Carmine Falcone all that has transpired. Falcone is only interested in the condition of the club and tells Oswald to redecorate — he thinks it reminds him too much of Mooney. Oswald pleads to Falcone for protection against Maroni. Falcone tells Oswald that he will make it public that Oswald works for him and that Oswald will now own the club. Falcone will handle Maroni on his own terms.

At GCPD, Gordon introduces Leslie to Bullock. Sarah Essen also welcomes Leslie and quickly gets her started. Bullock gives Gordon some wisdom about office romances. Going back to their murder case, Bullock flips through more yearbooks and identifies Gerald’s picture.

The man in the suit introduces himself as “Kelley” to Mooney. She inquires where they are. He tells her some people call this place a prison … some call it Hell. A guard tosses a plate of food through the bars. Mooney goes for it, but is pulled back by Kelley. He tells her that the boss has first choice. They watch as an imposing black man named Mace goes for the food.

Alone in the wilderness, Bruce collects a rock, but something grabs his attention. He goes back and pockets another rock from the same pile.

Gordon and Bullock speak to Judith Barthel, the principal of Gerald’s school. She tells them that he sporadically quit, but was a good teacher and father. Gerald had a somber mood, which was due to his wife’s death from a car accident. Bullock inquires about Gerald’s interest in fears and phobias. Barthel comes to attention and quickly shows Gordon and Bullock a paper Gerald worked on. She tells them that Gerald was trying to cure himself of fear.

Nygma reads through Gerald’s paper and tells Gordon and Bullock that Gerald was trying to inoculate himself against fear. He did this by using a concentrated form of the substances that produced fear. The amount of substances Gerald needs depends on his fear. Gordon reads through more of Gerald’s paper and discovers he was developing enough of the solution to inoculate himself and an unknown subject.

At his home, Gerald continues to inoculate himself and see visions of his wife. Jonathan approaches his father, concerned about his well-being. Gerald wants to “cure” Jonathan, but his son seems fearful.

Falcone and Sal Maroni meet to talk about Oswald’s situation. Maroni is adamant in killing Oswald.

Oswald prepares the club for its reopening. He receives newly printed invitations and wants to deliver one of them personally.

In prison, Mooney speaks with Mace and uses seduction to try and strike a deal with him: protect her from the population and she’ll show him her “skills.”

Oswald arrives at GCPD to give Gordon his invitation, but only finds an empty desk. Nygma and Oswald both spot each other. They finally have a confrontation at the front desk. Nygma starts off his introduction with a riddle, and Oswald does his best tough guy act. The conversation ends when Nygma insults Oswald by giving him a “did you know” fact about penguins.

Oswald finally finds Gordon and gives him the invitation. He also asks Gordon if he can “help” him with any other matters. Gordon rejects him and tells Oswald to never come back to GCPD again. Oswald, insulted, gives Gordon a warning about needing him. As Oswald leaves, he forces the invitation into Gordon’s hands. Gordon tosses it into the trash.

Back at the Crane house, Gerald inoculates Jonathan, who has an immediate reaction of fear.

Bruce arrives at a location with two piles of neatly stacked rocks. A small pile has “BW” etched on a stone, and another larger one has “TW” — a tribute to quality time between father and son. Angered, Bruce destroys the makeshift memorial. Bruce finally walks away, but trips and falls down a hillside. Trying to get up, he finds his ankle sprained.

At GCPD Leslie plants an opportune kiss on Gordon, who tells her that it might be inappropriate. She playfully brushes off his concern. Bullock interrupts them and teases Gordon.

Falcone and Maroni continue to meet. Maroni is adamant in having his revenge on Oswald, but Falcone makes a very intriguing deal. He first proposes to carry out a hit on an incorruptible judge. Maroni agrees to that, but also wants a monetary settlement. Falcone thinks he can do better. He leads Maroni down a hallway where they peer through a one-way mirror and see the judge gagged and crying. As a dominatrix beats him, the body of a dead teen boy lays on the floor. Falcone offers to share this to-be blackmailed judge with Maroni, who happily accepts.

Gordon and Bullock are at a dead end with the murder case. Bullock proposes using Oswald again, but Gordon angrily objects. Going on a hunch, they look into Gerald’s wife. The two go through microfiche and discover that Gerald’s wife died in a house fire, contrary to stories of her dying in a car accident. Gerald was downstairs with Jonathan when the fire broke out upstairs. His paralyzing fear prevented him from saving his wife.

Gerald’s visions of his wife finally disappear, signaling success from his inoculations. Jonathan tries to escape when it’s his turn again for the inoculation. Gerald goes after him and explains that he needs to finish the process. Jonathan finally surrenders to his father.

At Wayne Manor, Alfred anxiously waits for Bruce to return. Still in the wilderness and disabled from his fall, Bruce creates a makeshift splint out of tree branches. He struggles to crawl up the hillside.

Mooney meets with Mace again. He introduces himself, but Mooney has already given him a nickname — “Doc.” He invites her to sit with him and grabs her onto his lap. Mooney takes out a blade and stabs him in his carotid artery. Mace falls to the ground and bleeds out. Mooney stands and declares herself the new leader.

Gordon and Bullock arrive at Gerald’s. Gathering his equipment, Gerald escapes with Jonathan. Running out through the back, Gerald aims to finish Jonathan’s treatment by injecting him with a high dosage of the solution. It immediately takes effect and renders Jonathan in uncontrollable fear. With their guns drawn, Gordon and Bullock approach Gerald. Now, completely without fear, Gerald shoots at them. He’s quickly killed when Gordon and Bullock return fire. Gordon finds Jonathan convulsing from his experience.

Bruce finally makes it to the top and finds Alfred, in front of a campfire, waiting for him. Cold and with a sprained ankle, Bruce wants to go home. But Alfred makes a passing comment about reliving the experience of seeing the sunrise with his father. Bruce decides to stay.

The club’s sign is now a neon umbrella. Maroni pays an unexpected visit to Oswald. He tells Oswald that, for now, he won’t carry out his revenge. However, once Falcone is out of the picture, he will come after him.

As the sun starts to rise, Alfred wakes up Bruce. The two watch the scene.

Gordon visits Leslie and she invites him to the circus (yep, the Graysons). Gordon requests that she doesn’t kiss him during work. She agrees to be discrete, but it seems that she won’t comply that easily.

Kelley gathers everyone in the prison and Mooney explains that she’ll be bringing order. Armed men quickly enter and throw a woman in. As Mooney approaches her, she discovers that the woman’s eyes have been gouged out.

Gordon visits Jonathan at the hospital. The doctor tells Gordon that the inoculation contained an unidentified component. When Gordon asks if Jonathan will recover, the doctor reveals that a brain scan shows lingering effects. Jonathan is now in a constant state of terror. This state may be permanent. From Jonathan’s point-of-view we see his biggest fear: a scarecrow emerging from the foot of his bed and attacking him.

Good Moments

Bullock pulling his best Dazed and Confused Matthew MacConaughey-style of thinking by saying, “Tell you one thing. Girls didn’t look like this when I was back in high school.” Totally inappropriate and totally up Bullock’s alley.
Nygma commenting that Leslie smells nice, and Bullock telling Gordon that he already has “competition.”
The campfire scene with Alfred and Bruce.
The symbolism of the drink spilling out of Oswald’s hands and onto the floor.
The scarecrow effects that were used.

Bat Signals (References and Giveaways)

Leslie Thompkins mentions the circus. That’s basically a blatant hint at next week’s episode, The Blind Fortune Teller, where we’ll meet the parents of Dick Grayson, a.k.a the future Robin.

Riddle Me This … (Predicting the Past)

Fish Mooney is certainly showing a knack in leadership and raising an army. Could her new prison gang be something from the comics? Could her new lackey, Kelley, be known by another more infamous name?
If Jonathan Crane has debilitating fears permanently set into his brain, could his future villainy be rooted in the search for a cure? Will he spend his teen years at Arkham Asylum?

Final Thoughts

Strong episode. After weeks of so-so writing, The Scarecrow beat all of my expectations. Even though it was the main title of the episode, it was a wise move to minimize the story of the Cranes. It was already predictable because you knew Gordon and Bullock were going to stop Gerald. What I found to be intriguing were the plot lines involving Fish Mooney, Oswald’s situation, and Bruce Wayne’s little expedition.

We left off last week not knowing who Mooney was facing off with. It turns out that the guy she lunged at was basically a nobody. Waking up in some type of prison with a motley crew residents, Mooney asserted her power hard and fast. This was a good scene because it gives us a flashback without a flashback. What does that mean? Well, it gives us an idea of how Mooney climbed to a seat next to Falcone. We watch as she recreates the process of her ascension to power. Plus, it was great that the episode pulled no punches (e.g. the method by which Mace was killed, the prisoner with the gouged out eyes).

Falcone, after being begged to by Oswald, tries to settle Maroni’s drive for revenge. The scene in Falcone’s home actually got me interested. When he led Maroni down the hall, I actually sat up in my seat wanting to see what the reveal was going to be. Also, the one scene that was ingeniously and humorously played out tonight was Maroni’s confrontation with Oswald. The way the drink was forcefully poured onto the floor — mimicking Oswald urinating his pants — as Maroni explained what will happen when Falcone is gone.

Though Bruce and Alfred had short scenes, they held great meaning. There was no Bruce-investigation or allusion to anything with bats. It was Bruce trying to recapture a time with his father. The ending scene was beautifully played. Because the sunrise was something Bruce only shared with Thomas, Alfred sitting next to Bruce symbolized how he’s now Bruce’s surrogate father — supporting him every step of the way.

We need more episodes like these. There was no reliance on references, which allowed the story to develop on its own. Though I’m still picky about how they’ve given the Scarecrow a different backstory, the episode, as a whole, is still a strong one. To the writers: please let this type of storytelling be a trend for the future of Gotham.

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Gotham Recap And Review – S01E15 – The Scarecrow

By Steve Lam | Feb 10, 2015