Gotham Recap And Review - S01E17

Tonight’s Gotham episode, Red Hood, picks up the momentum in terms of the overall story arc for this season. Some light is shed on Alfred’s backstory, and Mooney really ups the ante in terms of how far she’ll go. It’s rare that I say this for Gotham, but this was definitely a good episode.

Spoilerific Recap

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A gang of bank robbers get out of a van and put on their masks. One of them, Gus Floyd, puts on a red hood. After some bickering as to why he has to be unique, they enter the bank and immediately make their demands. Gus takes the lead and jumps on the counter. A security guard tries to be a hero and opens fire on Gus and completely misses him. The guard is quickly knocked out. The gang wrap things up and make their successful exit.

Outside, squad cars approach with their sirens blaring. Gus quickly comes up with a plan and throws their newly stolen money to the crowd. With a makeshift distraction, the gang escape.

James Gordon and Harvey Bullock are on scene. They inspect the surveillance footage of the robbery in the bank manager’s office. Gordon notices that one of the robbers kept checking his watch which means that they knew GCPD’s response time. When Gordon asks if the alarm was triggered recently, a bank teller tells him that a smoke bomb was set off a week ago. Gordon quickly requests that he get the footage from that incident.

At Wayne Manor, a mysterious man knocks on the door. Alfred Pennyworth answers it and immediately recognizes the man as an old acquaintance — Reggie. Welcomed by Alfred, Reggie explains that he was picked up by GCPD. One of the officers urged Reggie to look up people he had served with. That’s how he found Alfred. Reggie explains that after his wife, Vanessa, died, he became an alcoholic and lost his house. Bruce Wayne interrupts them and Reggie introduces himself. Though Alfred is embarrassed that he took the liberty of allowing someone into Wayne Manor, Bruce insists that Reggie stay with them for a few days.

Fish Mooney has been brought up from the prison to a place that looks like an institution. As she’s led through a long hallway by white-coated orderlies, Mooney sees various people being experimented on. Her questions about the identity of the people are ignored. Mooney is finally led into a room of a well-dressed man who demands that she sit.

At GCPD, Gordon examines the footage and finds Gus unmasked. Using Bullock’s glasses as a magnifying glass, Gordon zooms in on Gus’s work shirt and finds out where he works — Kleg’s Auto.

At Kleg’s Auto, Gus gleefully reads the newspaper and boasts to his gang about their new notoriety. The gang is still angry that they lost a share of their money during the escape. Gus tells the gang that the red hood has kept them lucky and that whoever wears the red hood should lead. Gus is quickly shot and killed by Destro, who picks up the red hood and puts it on.

Mooney asks the well-dressed man if he owns the facility. The well-dressed man tells her that he manages it, making him the Manager. The doctor is the one who owns it. Disappointed, Mooney gets up to go back to the prison. The Manager tells Mooney that the doctor is in Gotham City on business and that he was given the task of attending to her demands. Mooney learns that the name of the doctor is Dulmacher. She repeats her terms to the Manager: she controls the prison until Dulmacher personally negotiates with her. The Manager tries to soften her up by allowing her to freshen up.

At the club, a nervous bartender notifies Oswald Cobblepot that they’re out of alchohol. Butch Gilzean chimes in and tells Oswald that Maroni controls the alcohol supply. Since Oswald is on Maroni’s bad side these days, Oswald won’t be getting any.

Gordon and Bullock enter Kleg’s Auto where they discover the body of Gus in a refrigerator. Meanwhile, the gang enters a bank and fires a warning shot. Destro, wearing the red hood, makes his demands. As the gang does their countdown, one of the customers asks if they’ll be sharing their spoils. Before leaving, Gus decides to toss a bundle of cash, causing chaos from customers trying to grab it.

Gordon and Bullock watch footage from the latest robbery. Bullock notes that the gang is now becoming more popular than the police. The two are interrupted when an eyewitness, Chaing, is brought to them. Chaing, who runs a restaurant across the street from the bank, saw Destro’s face. Gordon and Bullock decide to use a line-up to see if they can also find who shot Gus.

At Wayne Manor, Reggie runs into Bruce performing his daily training routine. Reggie offers to show Bruce some moves. The exercise quickly escalates to Reggie goading Bruce into using his rage. Alfred catches them and puts an immediate stop to it, noting that they already have a plan in place that involves hard work and discipline. Bruce, angered at Alfred’s mingling, runs off. Alfred tells Reggie that they shouldn’t bring up their past demons.

Oswald waits in a car with his gang, preparing to rob a minimally manned liquor truck. Squad cars quickly show up and the police confiscate the merchandise. A frustrated Oswald is suddenly surprised by the appearance of Gilzean, who tells Oswald that the cops are actually with him — they’re now able to attain the liquor without creating a scene.

Selina Kyle and Ivy Pepper continue to make Barbara Kean’s apartment their temporary home. Barbara brings out a selection of dresses and tells Ivy and Selina that they can take whatever they want. Barbara then tells Selina that her beauty and looks can be a weapon, but Selina rejects this advice, noting that it hasn’t helped Barbara in her own life.

At GCPD, Chaing immediately picks Destro out of a line-up. Without enough evidence to get a conviction, Gordon and Bullock opt to let Destro go, hoping that he’ll lead them to the rest of the gang.

Mooney returns to the Manager’s office and continues her negotiations. However, he makes demands of his own and gives her two options: they will kill Mooney and all the prisoners; or take Mooney’s eyes to sell on the black market. Mooney suggests a third option of which she shows in action. She frees herself, takes a spoon, savagely scoops out her eyeball, and smashes it.

At Wayne Manor, Bruce brings up an expensive bottle of wine for Alfred and Reggie. Alfred is reluctant at first, but Bruce thinks it’s a waste to let it gather dust. Noting that it was Thomas’s favorite vintage, Alfred gives in. They soon spend most of the night telling Bruce about their harmless adventures. The conversation turns dark when Bruce wants to know what branch of the military Reggie served in. Reggie strikes Bruce’s interest when he talks about a fellow soldier they lost in the SAS. Alfred quickly ends the conversation and sends Bruce to bed. Not knowing that Bruce is still eavesdropping on them, Reggie tells Alfred to come to terms with his violent military past. Alfred ignores Reggie, only telling him that he’s ready for him to leave tomorrow.

Gordon and Bullock stake out Destro’s apartment. As Destro enters, he’s surprised to find a member of his gang waiting for him. The unnamed man, who’s nervous and timid, wants Destro’s red hood so he can redeem himself in the eyes of his girlfriend. When Destro denies him again, the man shoots him. Gordon and Bullock run in after seeing gunshot flashes from outside. Destro is severely wounded, but still alive. Gordon makes the discovery that Destro is a baker and the banks he robbed were banks that denied him a loan. The next bank on the list is International Savings Bank of Gotham

As the stolen liquor is wheeled into the club, Gilzean and Oswald make a toast to new beginnings. Oswald asks Gilzean if he misses Mooney and theorizes that it’s their enemies that define them. When Oswald makes a toast to Mooney, Gilzean only tells him that she got what she deserved.

While surveying Wayne Manor, Alfred finds Reggie stealing objects from the study. Alfred confronts Reggie and finds out that he’s in some sort of trouble. When Alfred asks Reggie to leave, Reggie stabs Alfred in the chest. Moments later, Bruce finds a dying Alfred on the floor. As Bruce calls for help and tries to stem the bleeding, Alfred become unconscious.

The remaining three robbers arrive at International Savings Bank of Gotham. The one who shot Destro puts on the red hood. Before they’re able to enter, Gordon, Bullock, and the GCPD arrive. A firefight ensues where two of the robbers are shot. The shooting stops when the Red Hood runs out of bullets. When he pulls out his backup revolver, he’s gunned down by Gordon, Bullock, and the GCPD. Gordon approaches the dead robber and pulls the hood off. As Bullock walks away, Gordon receives a call about Alfred.

Gordon arrives at the hospital and sees Bruce standing vigil over Alfred, who’s sedated and on a ventilator. Telling Gordon that he can’t lose Alfred, Bruce embraces Gordon.

At Wayne Enterprises, Reggie presents what Bruce has found out about the board — no real evidence, just theories. He tells them that if Alfred lives, he’ll be in the hospital for a few weeks, and that now is the time to make a move on Bruce. As most of the board leaves, Reggie is handed an envelope of cash. Reggie makes a final remark that Bruce is a “good kid.”

Near the scene of the shootout with the bank robbers, a teen finds the red hood and puts it on. He points his hand out and makes a gun gesture.

Good Moments

There’s no beating this moment: Fish Mooney digging her own eyeball out and smashing it. She’s really showing her takers what she’s made of.

Bat Signals (References and Giveaways)

The red hood, which is the title of the episode and the name of the object used during the robberies is a reference to the Joker — who, in some incarnations, started out as a patsy among bank robbers. The one who wears the red hood gets all the attention and, therefore, becomes an expendable target so that the real robbers can do their job.
The guy counting down the response time is a reference to the Clock King.
During Mooney’s meeting with the Manager, we get our first mention of Dulmacher, or better known as the Dollmaker.
Though awkward and forced, Barbara Kean plants the seeds of Selina Kyle using seduction as a weapon.
When Ivy Pepper is trying on Barbara Kean’s clothes, she picks one that has a leaf motif.

Riddle Me This … (Predicting the Past)

Now that Fish Mooney has lost an eye, we should all start frantically searching for “one-eyed villains” or “villains with no eyes.” Could she be Gotham‘s version of a minor villain in the comics?

Final Thoughts

The meat of Red Hood‘s story is shared between the events at Wayne Manor and Fish Mooney’s predicament. The story with the bank robbers is just filler material. I think the the producers purposely used this title for the sole purpose of luring people in. I’ll say that this is probably the first time I’m happy about a bait-and-switch. The Joker or any proto-version of him is still too early to be introduced. I’m glad they didn’t go there.

Let’s get this out of the way. Tomorrow, when you’re at your water cooler, this’ll be the most talked about scene: Fish Mooney scooping out her own eyeball. That woman really walks the walk. I now truly believe that she’s one of the most badass villains in Gotham City’s underworld. That scene sums it up right there. I was definitely hungry for more and hoped that they would revisit her. But alas, that was the final scene for her in this episode. It was sudden. It was raw. And it was awesome. I screamed, “No way!” and other profanities at the screen when I saw it. Gotham, you have redeemed yourself for now.

Moving into Bruce Wayne’s story, we have the emotional spine of the episode. Well, maybe not Bruce’s story, moreso Alfred’s. With a visit from an old friend, Alfred is confronted with his military past in the SAS. Yep, I guess they upped Alfred’s toughness to a whole new level here. Here, he’s not in the Royal Marines like in other incarnations, but in the British Special Forces. The ending is pretty heart-wrenching and introduces a new turning point in Bruce’s development as a hero.

How do you ruin a great episode? Well, you show Barbara Kean with her new BFFs, Selina Kyle and Ivy Pepper. For some reason, the writers felt like they needed to shoehorn in two minutes of cringeworthy “I am woman hear me roar” mantra from the one character who has shown nothing but weakness. It was awkward and it was embarrassing.

The actual Red Hood gang storyline only acted as something to keep Gordon and Bullock busy. Nothing really came of it, and it was basically GCPD business as usual: chase the bad guys down; have a shoot out; bad guys run out of bullets; bad guys are too stupid to surrender; kill the bad guys in a barrage of bullets.

If Red Hood has proved anything, it’s that Gotham needs to stick with the characters and not on the plot of a police procedural. Give us more escalation scenes like the one we saw with Mooney. Or flesh out characters more like what we saw with Alfred. That’ll be the key to success for Gotham. We’re not interesting in knowing what Bruce will become. We’re interested in how he and the other characters become what they are.

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Gotham Recap And Review – S01E17 – Red Hood

By Steve Lam | Feb 24, 2015