Gotham Recap And Review - S02E10 - "The Son Of Gotham"

The tenth episode of Season 2 of Fox’s Gotham, “The Son of Gotham”, has the writers trying to surprise the audience with some plot twists. However, their attempts mainly fall-flat due to the execution. With some clichéd and overused plot devices, this episode’s outcome could be seen from a mile away.

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Spoilerific Recap: A series of introductory shots — A woman is about to be mugged when the mugger himself is grabbed by unseen assailants. Jim attends Parks’s funeral as her pallbearer.

Jim comes home and Leslie tries to comfort him. Though Aubrey James’s testimony will occur tomorrow, Jim has his suspicions as to why Theo is acting so cocky.

At an altar in an unknown location, the mugger has his throat slit by Father Creel and the Order.

Before school starts, Bruce speaks to Selina about their plan. She’s apprehensive of it working because she thinks Bruce is unable to lie convincingly to Silver.

At GCPD, Jim is trying to make a connection of the various murders to Theo. Barnes puts Jim on the case of the now murdered mugger. Barnes doesn’t want Jim to be anywhere near Theo’s case. Meanwhile, Harvey has looked into the meaning of the symbol and discovered that it’s part of the Order of St. Dumas. He tells Jim that Theo had originally wanted to purchase a former abbey, now a massage parlor.

At the massage parlor, the Order enters.

Bruce speaks to Silver about Theo’s original intent in telling him who murdered his parents. Silver thinks it isn’t fair that Bruce is taking advantage of her uncle. As Selina watches them from a tree, Bruce charms Silver and eventually wins her over. She promises to talk to Theo for Bruce. In the distance, two suspicious men watch Bruce from their van.

Jim and Harvey pull up to the massage parlor just as workers and customers rush out from the attack. Jim enters to find a dead client. A monk from the Order attacks Jim. Jim overpowers him and stabs him, but the knife has no effect. Jim chases the monk out and watches as he commits suicide in front a speeding truck.

Jim reports to an angered Barnes, who is still adamant in having Jim hand the investigation over to Alvarez. Because Barnes’s original assignment of looking into the mugger’s death is now connected to the Order, Barnes allows Jim to look further into it.

Bruce gets a call from Silver as school is being let out. Bruce eludes a waiting Alfred and goes to a location where a van pulls up. As the doors open, he finds a tied up Silver. The kidnappers threaten Silver’s life and force Bruce to get in.

Leslie performs an autopsy on the monk who committed suicide, discovering that most of his wounds were originally self-inflicted. Jim wonders about how the mugger and his attacker could’ve vanished from a dead-end alley. He deduces the the sewers were used as an escape route.

Jim and Harvey arrive at the sewers and climb down. Venturing further in, the two are followed by a monk.

Leslie interrupts Edward, who’s in the middle of a phone call. After handing him a file, she inquires the whereabouts of Kristen. Edward lies and tells her that Kristen ran off with Dougherty. Edward’s phone then rings again. As a misdirection, Edward pretends to cry. Leslie tries to comfort him and eventually leaves. The phone call is revealed to be Penguin asking about a frivolous problem.

Bruce and Silver are now tied up in an abandoned building. One of the kidnappers enters and immediately roughs up Bruce. The kidnapper wants to know what Theo has revealed about the person who murdered the Waynes. He threatens to cut their fingers off if they don’t talk. Silver finally admits that Theo never told her anything. Seeing no progress, the man drags Bruce away.

As Jim and Harvey explore more of the sewers, they hear a scream. Running towards it, they find a sacrificed man. A monk attacks them, but Harvey is able to knock him out. Harvey wants to use old-school tactics to question the monk, but Jim knows that the monk is not scared of pain or dying.

The kidnapper enters again. This time, he’s seen wiping his hands with a blood-soaked rag. He again demands to know what Theo has told Silver. Suddenly, Silver’s scared demeanor changes. She starts to threaten the kidnapper and demands that she be released. The kidnapper calls her bluff and proceeds to start cutting her fingers off. Knowing that the kidnapper is now serious, Silver blurts out the name “Malone” and tells him that Theo mentioned the name in the past. An unharmed Bruce then enters with Selina. The whole kidnapping plot was a ruse to trick Silver.

Back in the sewers, Jim has blindfolded the monk. He gives the monk water and pretends to be part of the Order. The monk wants Jim’s blessing. Jim figures out what it means and obliges. Jim cuts his hand and drips blood onto the monk’s forehead. The monk then tells Jim that the Son of Gotham will be cleansed. At that moment, other officers arrive. The monk realizes that he’s been duped.

Looking for Bruce, Alfred ventures into Theo’s abandoned penthouse. There, he finds Tabitha doing her own investigation. The two trade some words which lead to Tabitha attacking Alfred. Alfred is able to temporarily hold her off, but she slices Alfred’s side. He makes a run for it. Alfred shoots and misses Tabitha when she hops on top of the elevator. Outside, Alfred jumps onto a passing garbage truck. As a last attempt, Tabitha throws a knife, stabbing Alfred in the back.

In court, Jim enters as Aubrey James is about to testify about his kidnapping at the hands of Theo. Surprisingly, James now claims that it was Penguin who kidnapped and tortured him. The judge dismisses the case and allows Theo to go free. Theo pretends to act like a gentleman and forgives the city and Jim, but an angered Jim punches him. As two officers take Jim away, they use a stun gun on him.

At Wayne Manor, Bruce thanks Selina for helping him. Before leaving, Selina is curious as to what Bruce whispered to Silver when he was trying to charm her. Bruce tells Selina that he told her that he trusted her and felt a special connection — words that were meant for Selina.

Edward calls Penguin and tells him to get rid of Kristen’s glasses. Hanging up the phone, Penguin is visited by Gabe, who tells him that Theo has been let go.

At the docks, Theo tells a tied up Jim about his plans to take over Gotham. As a final taunt, Theo tells his men to release Jim. Jim lunges at Theo, but discovers that Theo is a skilled fighter. He overpowers Jim and tells his men to finish the job.

At Wayne Manor, Theo enters and greets Bruce.

Back at the docks, Jim is continuously beaten by the cops. The cops are quickly shot and killed when Gabe and Penguin arrive. An angry Penguin then grabs a barely conscious Jim and demands to know where Theo is.

At Wayne Manor, Theo says some final words to Bruce and takes out a knife.

Next: Catch up on Gotham with a Recap of 'A Bitter Pill to Swallow'

Best Moment: The fight between Alfred and Tabitha.

Final Thoughts: Do people find it strange that this is the first time we see a cop’s funeral? And it’s also for a minor character. Of all the cops that have died in Season 1 and, so far, Season 2, you would think that Jim and Harvey would’ve attended a lot more. What about the dead cops from Unit Alpha? They were much closer to Jim than Parks ever was. It’s inconsistencies like these that take the viewer out of the moment.

The kidnapping plot for this episode was a good try, but no cigar. We all know that Bruce would never be in danger. He’s the future Batman. He’s going to survive with all his appendages, so there’s no use in making it seem that any harm would ever come to the billionaire. The end scene with Selina was a nice touch. However, the writers could’ve used a bit more finesse in their execution.

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Gotham Recap And Review – S02E10 – “Rise Of The Villains: The Son Of Gotham”

By Steve Lam | Nov 24, 2015