Gotham Recap with Spoilers: This Ball of Mud and Meanness

It’s a nightmare for The Penguin that starts the episode, as he’s tied to his chair in his lair, and his momma dearest tells him he’s so special. He sees another one of himself walking up behind her with a bat, and he screams as it comes down. He’s in the virtual reality/rem stimulator helmet and being dosed with Crane’s formula, Professor Hugo Strange reveals.

The next test gave Penguin ice scream, but a large inmate didn’t get any, and starts attacking him. Penguin is docile in the face of danger, so Strange says the treatments are working perfectly.

In an alley in Gotham, Bruce and Selina meet up – and she reluctantly gives him the gun he requested. She warns him, “Guns are only for one thing.”

At GCPD, Lee and Jim have a chat – but not about their personal issues, about Kristin Kringle. She never got her last paychecks, and left no forwarding address – THAT’S BECAUSE SHE’S DEAD – but she’s now suspicious. Things are very tense between the couple.

Bruce gets home to Alfred, who wants to make sure he’s ready for what they’re embarking upon, finding Matches Malone. Malone ratted out a pal called “Cupcake,” and that’s who they’ll start with.

A crazy fight club is going on, with people shouting “Solomon Grundy” while stabbing each other. Hmm. Cupcake is a hard negotiator – he’ll give them Matches for fifty grand, but Cupcake wants a fight with Alfred first. It’s about respect. Time for Alfred to kick some ass. Alfred holds his own – until Cupcake lifts him up and slams him down on the ground. After getting pummeled, Alfred turns the tables, and says, “If you’re going to beat a big man, all you have to do is outlast him.” He chokes Cupcake out and makes him submit – and promptly passes out after their business is concluded.

Alfred winds up in the hospital, and Bruce is going to continue on without him.

Back at Arkham, Strange and Penguin are doing some word association, and he says he feels remorse. “I want to be normal. I want to be good,” he says. It is a creepy scene, and Hugo promises to give him more therapy to “help” him.

Gordon goes to ask Ed about Kringle, and he says he hadn’t heard from her at all. Ed’s answers don’t look like they’re adding up much for Jim, and Ed isn’t having it.

Jim and Harvey go talk to Alfred, who tells them the truth about all that’s gone down, and asks them to find – and stop – Bruce.

Bruce heads to the “Celestial Garden” club, where a band is playing while videos of the Maniax play in the background – these people are glorifying their actions and Jerome (hence that painted on Joker-esque makeup on Lori Petty). She brings him through the club, where he sees all manner of… stuff going down. When they get to her dressing room, she’s actually pretty normal, though. He tells her he’s looking for Matches Malone, and he wants to kill him. Their conversation doesn’t end in her telling him where Matches is at first, until Bruce is ready to leave and says, “Thank you, Jerry, it’s been interesting talking to you.” She gives him Matches’ address, and says, “Matches is going to be happy to see you. You, my boy are the childish hand of fate.”

As he’s leaving, Jim comes into the club and stops him. Jerry leads her audience to grab Gordon and take him away from Bruce, who runs out.

Bruce goes to Matches, and shows him a bundle of cash, telling him he wants to hire him to kill someone. He asks him about his proficiency, his ability to kill, and if he has killed a lot of people. “Burn one guy to death, they call you matches for the rest of your days.”

Gordon takes Jerry into lockup, asking her about where Bruce is. “He’s going to grow up to be a real strong man some day, if he lives that long.” She tries to rile him up, as he has a reputation for being angry, and finally tells him where Bruce is, and that he can get there “just in time for clean-up.” Jim runs out of the GCPD.

Bruce pulls the gun on Matches and tells him he killed his parents. Matches says he won’t jump Bruce, “I could if I wanted to, but I’m too tired.” Bruce details the time and place of his parents’ death, and Matches just says, “rings a bell, I was busy that year.” He doesn’t remember most of his kills, he mentions a fat, mustached man that he killed that haunts his dreams a bit. When Bruce mentions his mother’s pearl necklace, he says, “Oh yeah, the beads went everywhere, I remember that now.” Matches taunts Bruce a bit, while Bruce demands to know who hired him. “If I did what you said I did and someone hired me to do it, you’ll never know their name.” Bruce cocks back the hammer, and Matches cheers him “It’s been a long time coming. A man gets tired, doing wrong and going unpunished.” He tells Bruce how to properly fire the gun, but Bruce stops just before pulling the trigger. “Look at me, I’m a monster, you need to kill me.” Bruce says, “I wish you were a monster. But you’re just a man.”

As Bruce leaves, Jim comes up the hallway – and Matches shoots himself in the room, ending his own life.

Arkham: Penguin is put in the “therapy” room, and the big guy is in the chair. There’s a knife, a glass of water, and some pliers on a tray. Penguin picks up the knife as Hugo and his pals observe. Penguin makes him promise to be nice if he cuts him free with the knife. He does, indeed, as Hugo claps.

Hugo gives Oswald Cobblepot a certificate of sanity, “You’re as sane and normal as any other citizen,” he says. He’s releasing Oswald… and this can’t possibly end well. Miss Peabody questions it, but Hugo says it’s an experiment. “I have other reasons, deeper plans for Cobblepot that you can’t know about now.” She specifically says they’re “building semi-human creatures in the basement,” giving some nice confirmation to what we’ve been teased at Indian Hill. Cobblepot is, indeed, released.

At the GCPD, they all-but-close the Waynes’ case for the time being, though Jim wants to know who paid Matches. Ed address Jim about Kringle, and Jim seems to have forgotten – which just makes Ed think it’s a crazy conspiracy. Oh boy.

Alfred goes to the cave and sees a letter from Bruce, who says he decided to leave home and live on the streets with Selina for awhile. “You can’t kill murder,” he wrote. “One day, I’m going to help the people of Gotham. In the meantime, I need to learn to live in the world other people have to live in. I’ll be in touch soon, and I’ll come home eventually. Please, Alfred, trust me. Sincerely, your good friend, Bruce.”

Nigma sits in his apartment, plotting against Jim Gordon, who he thinks has it out for him. He draws a green question mark over a newspaper photo of the detective, and that’s where things end.