Gotham Recap And Review - S02E06

The sixth episode of Season 2 of Fox’s Gotham, “By Fire”, sees Jim and Unit Alpha continuing their investigation into the arson activities that originated in “Scarification.” As the episode went on, the characters and situations became more outrageous — even by Gotham‘s standards.

Spoilerific Recap: We open with Butch telling Theo that Penguin has gone mad and he has the bloody stump to prove it. An unnamed man in the background has a noose around his neck and is struggling to free himself. Theo consults with Tabitha and Barbara to see if he should believe Butch’s story. Tabitha thinks it would be amusing to have Butch join the team. However, Barbara recollects a time when Butch dealt with her in an unfriendly manner. After Butch grovels for a job some more, Theo relents and allows him to join. The man with the noose is soon revealed to be a congressman who Theo is trying to get “support” from. After the congressman agrees to endorse him, Theo has Tabitha cut the congressman down.

Jim pursues a man, Nino, down an alleyway. Catching him, Jim unleashed a barrage of police brutality on the suspect. Jim questions Nino about the arsonist who killed Garrett. Nino tells Jim that he’s never heard of any female arsonists. Frustrated, Jim lays in a final punch.

Selina wakes up to find Bridgit in her home. Without money and wanted for murder, Bridgit has nowhere else to go. Selina suggests a plan that would net both of them some cash.

At an unknown location, shackled women are paraded and auctioned off on stage. Selina and Bridgit, now in her Firefly gear, watch from above. The plan is for Selina to create a distraction while Bridgit collects the loot. Selina quickly sneaks in and swiftly takes a gun from one of the bodyguards. She fires it and announces that it’s a robbery. Firefly makes her entrance and unleashes her flamethrower, barely burning one of the men. Now, with everyone cooperating, the two collect the cash and make their escape.

At GCPD, Jim is surprised that Barnes has written him up for police brutality. Though Barnes understands Jim’s anger at the death of a colleague, Barnes doesn’t believe in breaking the law to achieve their goals. Though Jim has been coming on empty with regards to suspects, Barnes has a lead and shows him a surveillance recording of the robbery at the auction. Jim immediately identifies Selina.

At Wayne Manor, Bruce boxes with Alfred. Taking advantage of an opening, Alfred grabs Bruce in a chokehold, but Bruce is able to free himself by biting Alfred’s arm. Though a dirty move, Alfred is impressed by Bruce’s resourcefulness. As they continue their lesson, Alfred distracts Bruce with a question about having dinner with Silver St. Cloud. Seeing that Bruce is now off his guard, Alfred lands a hit right to Bruce’s face.

Near the Records Annex, Nygma overhears Kristen telling Leslie that she thinks Nygma is too nice and lacks an element of assertiveness. Kristen also has suspicions that Nygma is hiding something. Nygma quickly enters and invites Kristen over for dinner.

Harvey interrogates Ivy Pepper about Selina. Seeing how Ivy is uncooperative, Harvey offers Ivy a choice: either he calls the children’s home, or turn a blind eye so she can make an opportunistic escape. Harvey quickly meets up with Jim and gives him information about Selina’s latest location.

With the money from the robbery, Bridgit is prepared to leave Gotham. As Bridgit says her goodbye to Selina, the Pike brothers pull up in a van and kidnap her. Selina attempts to go after them, but fails.

Running back to her home, Selina arms herself with her hidden stash of weapons. Jim quickly arrives and kicks down her front door. Selina is already armed and points a shotgun at him. In a standoff, Selina tells Jim that Bridgit shouldn’t be blamed because her brothers made her into a criminal. Jim puts his gun away and tells Selina that he can help. Believing Jim, Selina tells him Bridgit’s name and the Pike brothers’ involvement.

The Pike brothers have Bridgit tied up. Taking her money, they taunt and threaten her with lit firecrackers. They finally tell her that if she ever tries to leave again, they’ll kill her and Selina.

Returning to Penguin’s headquarters, Butch is seen with a mallet prosthetic. He tells Penguin that Theo has accepted him into his organization. Penguin is not satisfied due to the slow nature in finding Gertrud. His frustrations finally boil to the surface when he yells at Butch and threatens to cut off his other hand.

Back at the Pike’s, Bridgit puts on her Firefly gear and approaches the brothers. They brush her off thinking that she’s not a threat. Bridgit unleashes her flamethrower on them, burning them to death.

Jim and Harvey enter to find the charred remains of the brothers. Harvey approaches one of them and soon finds that he’s not dead. Startled, Harvey kicks him to death. Seeing the handcuff that was used to restrain Bridgit, Jim now believes Selina story that Bridgit was abused.

Theo enters as Butch rifles through his things, looking for the location of Gertrud. After praising Butch’s loyalty, Theo reveals that he knows about Butch using his position to look for Gertrud. Butch admits that he’s been brainwashed by Penguin. Theo calls in Tabitha and leaves her alone with Butch to deprogram him.

At GCPD, Jim reveals to Barnes his sympathy for Bridgit. Barnes, disappointed that Jim has gone soft, vows to find Bridgit and bring her down.

On a rooftop, Selina finds Bridgit making adjustments to her flamethrower. Bridgit now has the desire to go after everyone who has wronged her. Selina makes an attempt at talking her out of it, afraid that she’ll be killed in the process. As a final goodbye, Selina quickly hugs her.

Bruce sits at a dinner table with Silver and Theo. Tabitha finally joins them, but unknown to her, she has a spot of blood on her face. She wipes it away after Theo stealthily points it out.

At dinner, Nygma professes his love to Kristen and shows his more assertive side. Kristen is impressed. Nygma admits that he wants to tell her something, but is worried that it would scare her. She tells him not to hold back. The two then share a kiss.

Jim receives a phone call from Selina, telling him where Bridgit is headed.

At the auction location , Bridgit, in her Firefly gear, releases the women from their prisons. Jim, Barnes, Harvey, and Unit Alpha arrive. Bridgit exits the building. Jim tries to calm her down and tells her that he knows how she was mistreated by her brothers. One of the officers fires his gun, hitting Bridgit’s flamethrower and causing fuel to leak out. She unleashes her flamethrower and sets a squad car on fire. The inferno causes an explosion which fires back onto her. The flames ignite the leaking fuel and set her ablaze.

After dinner, Theo and Bruce have a private meeting where the topic is about the missing Bunderslaw. Theo tells Bruce that he’s been following the internal workings of Wayne Enterprises and knows that Thomas was a great man. He wants to help Bruce tackle the problems at the company.

Butch, badly bruised and beaten, arrives at Penguin’s headquarters. He tells Penguin that Gertrud is being held at a warehouse, but they have to hurry.

Selina holds Leslie at gunpoint. After a brief conversation, Jim arrives home and gives Selina the bad news that Bridgit succumbed to her injuries. Jim wants to know who hired the Pike brothers for the original arson activities. Selina, in tears, tells him that it wouldn’t matter because he would never go after his “little friend.” Jim quickly deduces that Penguin was behind this.

In bed, Kristen tells Nygma that she’s still afraid of Dougherty. He threatened to kill her if he ever caught her with another man. Nygma reassures Kristen that Dougherty will never be a problem. He finally confesses that he killed Dougherty. At first, Kristen thinks he’s joking. However, when Nygma reveals certain details and shows her Dougherty’s badge, Kristen realizes that he’s telling the truth. Growing scared and uncomfortable, Kristen tries to leave and calls him a murderer. As she calls out for help, Nygma stifles her screams and tries to explain how he would never hurt her. When she finally stops struggling, Nygma realizes that he had unknowingly choked her to death.

In a series of shots: Penguin arms himself and his associates for the mission to free Gertrude; Selina cries on a rooftop over the loss of her friend; Nygma cries and cradles Kristen’s lifeless body, finally screaming in desperation.

In an underground facility, a badly burned Bridgit is wheeled by two orderlies. Passing various rooms, she sees various inhumane experiments being performed. It’s revealed that she’s at Indian Hill — a type of research facility operated and owned by Wayne Enterprises.

Best Moment: When Bridgit set the Pike brothers on fire. Yep, they really had it coming.

Final Thoughts: Okay, where do I begin. This episode really takes the cake in ridiculous scenes. Jim brutally beating a suspect for the death of a colleague that he’s only known for a few weeks. Harvey, a veteran detective, kicking an injured man to death because he got a little scared. And Jim acting perfectly fine when he walks in Selina holding Leslie at gunpoint.

Seriously, I think the way Harvey reacted at a man who is half dead was something that made me laugh out loud. The writing for that scene was just ridiculous. Was it supposed to be comedic? Hasn’t Harvey seen his fair share of gruesome crime scenes? I know Harvey is a sloppy cop, but this was just plain moronic.

I was also a bit surprised that Jim just let Selina walk out of his apartment with a loaded weapon. Look, I understand that this the crazy world of Gotham City, but really?

And one more thought: I had no idea that Bridgit Pike was supposed to be near the same age at Selina Kyle, which was revealed during her standoff with Unit Alpha. After telling Jim that she wasn’t going to jail, Jim tells her that she’s a “juvenile” and they can work something out. At that moment, I thought “wow, she’s one of the oldest looking teenagers I’ve ever seen.”

Next: Catch up on Gotham with a review of 'Scarification'

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