Gotham Recap with Spoilers: Mad Grey Dawn

The episode starts at the Museum of Art, where Edward Nigma stands by an installation – a giant grenade that says “This is a real bomb” under it. He clicks a remote, and the wick burns down – to a little sparkling and some gas. Is this the first legit Riddler heist? He steals a painting, and leaves a spray-painted green question mark in its place. It is!

Gordon and Bullock are dispatched by Captain Barnes to go investigate the heist – but Gordon has to talk to Barnes first, who tells him Theo Galavan’s murder is being reopened by internal affairs. Nygma still thinks that Gordon is going after him for Kringle’s murder, even though they’re not on the same page.

Penguin shows up at “boss” Butch’s place, where he’s sitting with his new ally Tabitha Galavan – they’re… not happy to see him. He has his new personality with his “sanity” certificate. Tabitha taunts him about his mother, imitating her, and he just giggles. Butch says to let him go because he’s “a pathetic loser, he doesn’t pose a threat to anyone.” Tabby says he’s not leaving without “some kind of punishment,” though.

At the museum, Gordon fills in Bullock that the IA investigation is being reopened against him. Bullock’s going to look into it with IA for him. The painting stolen is called “Mad Grey Dawn,” and is a minor work, the curator says. A priceless Marche and Larue were both defaced with the same green ?, directly over the signatures – the two names are “Market Street,” and the painting he stole was a train explosion, on “Bloody Monday.” Gordon figures out that today’s Monday, and Union Railway Station is on Market Street. Uh-oh.

While Nigma stands inside the station, apparently having already placed the bomb somewhere, Gordon and Bullock arrive and evacuate. A green ? on a locker, and Nygma activates it. Gordon hears the ticking, but by the time he opens it, there are only 20 seconds left. He throws it inside a clock pillar with a fortified stone base, and it goes off, shattering it but doing relatively little damage. Nygma walks out.

Woah, Ivy, haven’t seen her in awhile. Selina and Bruce come into her little hydroponics lab where she’s growing mushrooms “over a dozen kinds.” Butch’s nephew runs the gang, and Selina wants to steal from them. Bruce is in. Ivy slipped some dreamy mushrooms into their lunch.

At the train station, Gordon and Barnes catch up on the art thief/mad bomber. Nygma talks to Gordon about the case, and Jim tells him he wants him on forensics on it – no indication he knows or suspects anything.

Back at the gang hideout, they all look totally passed out. Just as Selina reaches for a can full of money, the guy wakes up – but Bruce convinces him he’s dreaming. They grab the money and start running, but Sonny (Gilzean’s nephew) and two other gang members get back, and stop them.

Penguin shows up at Nygma’s place, and reveals his punishment – he’s been tarred and feathered. Ed isn’t happy about the all-new Oswald. “The new you is kinda freaking me out.” Oh, and Nygma’s the anonymous snitch.

Bullock tells Gordon it’s bad news – IA knows the exact details of the Theo murder, and Jim is now the primary suspect in a re-opened case.

Little Gilzean threatens Selina, and Bruce stands up for her. Sonny knocks him down, and Bruce remembers Alfreds advice on beating a big man “all you have to do is outlast him.” Sonny and Bruce fight a bit, and Sonny beats himdown pretty bad, but he starts to fight back and manages to knock him down. The kids grab the money and run.

Oswald visits his mother’s grave. While he’s there talking to his mother, an older man comes up – IT’S PAUL REUBENS! Elijah Van Dahl introduces himself, and Oswald Cobblepot introduces himself back. Elijah is shocked to know Gertrude had a son. “How old are you? She never told me! That I had a son!” Oswald’s shocked, too.

Jim and Lee have a dinner that… doesn’t look like it’s much fun. He tells her that IA is reopening the investigation, and she’s pissed. “We should’ve left when we had the chance, somewhere better, somewhere fit to raise our child.”

Ed visits Officer Pickney and wacks him a couple of times with a crow bar. Ouch.

Elijah brings Oswald to his home, a big mansion. He gets cleaned up, and Elijah tells him about his time with Gertrude. Elijah’s parents weren’t having their relationship, as Gertrude was just a cook. He threatened to run away with her, and they sent her away. He never looked for her – as ordered by his parents. He assures Oswald he’s “no longer alone.”

Bullock gets word from forensics that the bomb was activated remotely – from a payphone at 17 Dewey Ave (which we know is a lie, it was from Nygma’s cellphone) – that leads Gordon to the apartment of Officer Pickney, who’s dead on the ground. Barnes comes in, and sees Gordon over the body, and immediately assumes he killed him, apparently. Barnes holds his gun on Gordon and tells him Pickney called him down to his apartment to talk about Gordon. He makes Jim cuff himself and takes him in. Bullock should be able to fix this pretty easily, right?

Selina stitches up Bruce. “I think Sonny’s right, you do like pain.” Bruce talks about the clarity of the fight. “It was like nothing else existed. The emptiness and confusion… it just vanished. For the first time in a long time I knew I was going to be okay.”

GCPD interrogation. Barnes presents evidence against Jim for Pickney’s death – and it is stacked. Ed has made sure all the evidence points to Jim – the crowbar he used at the station was the murder weapon, Ed took the forensics report out of the file Bullock had, etc. Barnes officially arrests Jim and sends him to county lockup. Ed looks on happily.

Four weeks suddenly pass by, and Jim was found unanimously guilty for the murder of Pickney, sentenced to 40 years at Blackgate Penitentiary. Bruce (healed) and Selina see him on TV being taken away, and Bruce says “this isn’t right.”

The radio broadcast of the verdict is airing in Arkham, and Barbara wakes from her coma.

Lee visits Jim in prison before his transfer, and he’s pretty much given up. “You need to move on.” She doesn’t want to, emotionally telling him that she and their baby need him. He tells her to go and raise their child elsewhere and forget he exists. “I’m so so sorry” he says, as he’s taken away while she sobs.

Oswald’s been with his new family for a month now, and Elijah toasts the way his wife and two children have taken him in. Step-mother and step-sister make a show of it, but then make a face after.

Gordon gets into Blackgate in a prison transfer. Bullock promises Jim that he’ll find who set him up. “This ain’t over.”

Maybe not, but the episode is. Wowza, that was a doozy.