Gotham Recap With Spoilers: 'The Primal Riddle'

05/08/2017 09:00 pm EDT

Penguin and Ivy are trudging to a hut in the middle of the arctic, pulling a box behind them. As they etner the enclosure, they callout to whoever is home. No one responds.

As they let theur guard sown, Mr. Freeze enters into the room. He pickes Penguin up and threatens him for how he acted during the election. Penguin says he only said waht the voters wanted to hear. Penguin tells Freeze he can help reverse his condition, if he assists in taking out Nygma.

Freeze needs his suit, which is supposed to be locked away. Ivy opens the box to reveal hit suit, and Penguin asks once again for Freeze to join them.

Jim wakes up in front of a fire sitting across from Katherine. She asks Jim if he holds the Court responsible for his father's death, but he says he only blames Frank. That's why he's dead.

Katherine reveals that the court, as well as the city of Gotham, will need men like Jim. He needs to be ready when she calls, so he can prove himself.

Lee shows Harvey a photo of Frank's dead body. When Jim walks in, she reveals that Frank's body had been discovered in the river, and Jim doesn't seem shaken. Lee knows he's hiding something, and she questions him. Harvey stands up for Jim, but Lee doesn't believe it.

When Lee walks out, Harvey questions Jim, and he admits that he knows the truth. Jim reveals he's going to play along with the Court, and keep up appearances. Havey says "That shouldn't be too hard. Look who re-surfaced."

He holds up a paper, and the front page says, "The Riddler Strikes Again."

Barbara shows up at Nygma's house, and he chastises her for calling him Ed, and not The Riddler. She asks him about the group that runs Gotham, but no one knows anything about them. She brings up the shipping incident at the harbor, that Jim told her to investigate.

Riddler said that Hugo Strange hinted at a powerful group, but he didn't know who they were. He revealed that he would find the answer, but he has to do it in his own way.

Riddler is going to do something big at the theater, and the scene changes to the Gotham theater. An actor is on stage alone, and another actor is dead backstage. Riddler comes on stage in his place, and addresses the audience. He says that he will kidnap one of Gotham's elite, and he will torture them to figure out what secret they have been keeping from him.

After signing off as The Riddler, he turns to the actor onstage. He criticizes the actor's performance, saying it was "wooden and unrealistic." Then, he takes the sword that was in his hand, and stabs the actor in the stomach. "End scene" Nygma bows.

COMMERCIAL BREAK.

Alfred is playing chess with Dopple-Bruce, and Alfred puts the boy in checkmate. When DB says "Good game" Alfred accuses him of letting him win. Alfred says Bruce hasn't been himself, and he makes him reveal what's been going on. DB lies, saying that Selina didn't want to see him ever again, and that's why he's been so off. Alfred says not to worry, because time has a way of working things out. As Alfred gets up to check on dinner, DB tells him, "Thank you, you're a good friend."

After Alfred leaves, DB's nose begins to bleed. He wipes it off, picks up a phone, and tells the person at the other end, "It's happening again."

Jim and Harvey are investigating the crime scene at the theater. They open a box from Riddler, and there is a scroll inside - it's a riddle. The riddle makes it sound like he's after the mayor, and they depart to find him.

Barbara and Tabitha are in the bar, and Barb is convincing her that Nygma is a necessary evil. He shows up, and reveals why he's important. Tabitha reveals she will kill him. Riddler says his plan is to kidnap Mayor James, and he says that he had to reveal what he's going to do before he does it, so that he can live up to his name and embarrass the police.

Riddler tells Barbara she needs to put a bomb at a biker bar down the road, he will tell her when. Before leaving, he says he's going to get the police to bring Mayor James to him.

Harvey and Jim are asking James to come with them to a safe place, but he won't leave. He says that every politician is crooked, and it could mean anyone. He makes a face while he's eating the danish that was left on his desk. As he winces, he asks for his pills. The open pill box reveals that each of the pills has a green question mark printed on them. Harvey and Jim know it's Nygma.

Ivy and Penguin are trying to convince Firefly to join them, but she doesn't want to. She says Strange messed her up. A man calls Firefly a freak, and Ivy says she should embrace it. Once realizing who Ivy really is, Firefly agrees to join the group. She then throws molten lova in the face of her boss who was rude to her, saying "I Quit."

DB is with Katherine, saying the nose bleeds have gotten worse. They agree that he is dying, and the process that brought him into the world is flawed. Katherine says that Bruce will be back long before DB dies. He thanks Katherine for giving him a purpose. DB says that he knows a lot of people will die when Bruce returns, and he asks if it's true. Katherine thinks he has gotten close to Alfred. She says Gotham has to fall, and it will because of his sacrifice.

At the hospital, Mayor James is rolled in to the emergency room. Riddler comes over the loudspeaker, asking for Jim to come find him. He rushes to the communication room, but it's not Nygma. There's only a recording.

Jim calls Harvey, telling him that Nygma is after the secret of The Court. People are being rushed in, because there was some kind of explosion. A fight breaks out, Harvey leaves the mayor to help. Nygma shows up and tips his hat to Mayor James, taking him away.

Jim returns only to see the Mayor gone, and Harvey in the middle of a fight.

Jim is entering Barbara's club, and he asks Tabitha where Barbara is. He reveals that Riddler told him about Dock 9C, and Tabitha says Riddler has a big mouth. Butch is standing, and he's surprised that the "Riddle thing" is even real. Jim reveals he's surprised they are defending Nygma, because he hurt them. He says, if they help him, he'll forgive Barbara. They say they don't know, because they can't betray Barbara.

Riddler and Barbara have Mayor James tied to a chair, and they mentally torture him. He said "they" will know if he talks. After being threatened, he reveals that the people are called "The Court". Nygma says that help is enough, because he has tangible evidence. He's going to expose the Court.

Tabitha bring a bag, containing a bomb from Barbara. He says he's going to lure the court out, and Tabitha tells Barbara that Jim came by the club. She then adds, "We should've never gotten Nygma involved."

Selina is hanging out with her cats, and she feeds one of them. DB shows up, saying he wanted to see her. She says he's acting weird, and he answers that he just didn't sleep well. She's going to leave if he doesn't. Before she does, DB reveals that he's not really Bruce.

At the station, Lee reveals that the autopsy on Frank says that someone replaced the bullet that killed him. He tells her she's looking too much into it, but she knows he's full of it. Lee tells Jim that she's going to figure out what's going on, and she's going to expose him for what's really happening.

Jim and Harvey head into Harvey's office. Harvey says that he and Lucius couldn't figure out the new Riddle, and Jim reads it over. When Harvey yells about the news, Jim says he's a genius. Riddler is live on TV with the mayor, calling for The Court to expose themselves. Katherine asks Jim to find Riddler and bring him to her. He says he's a cop killer, and needs to be put in jail. When discussing it with Harvey, Jim says he's stuck. If Riddler exposes the court, or he doesn't listen to her, he wins and helps over throw Gotham. If he delivers Nygma, the Court doesn't get exposed, and the bomb hits the city. Riddler is his once chance at stopping the bomb. Riddler says the GCPD is no match for him. James says they're both dead men, as the Court won't bargain with him.

Jim calls Nygma and says he knows who runs Gotham. All Riddler needs to do is come down to the GCPD, and he will tell him. Riddler says he'll pass, but Jim says that's his only way. Riddler says he will, only if Jim empties out the GCPD and they meet alone.

Jim assures Harvey that Riddler will show up, as the entire department empties itself. After everyone leaves, Mayor James runs in frantic. He tells Jim that Ed just dropped him off, and that he needs to get the bomb squad to come in. Jim tells James to shut up, and starts calling out for Nygma. Riddler shows himself, and reveals that James' antics were only a test. Jim says that he should just blow James up, and that he's not bluffing. Riddler presses the button, calling Jim's bluff. James doesn't blow up, and Riddler is dumbfounded.

Jim says that there is a frequency jamming the signal from the receiver to the bomb. He says Tabitha called him, and told him how to disarm the bomb. Riddler didn't see it coming, but he says it doesn't change anything. He points his gun at Mayor James, and says he still wants to know. Jim tells Nygma that he can find out if he takes a ride with him, and spares Mayor James. The riddle will go unsolved unless he gets in the car. Nygma agrees, and James runs off.

At Selina's apartment, DB has told her about his encounters and work with the Court. He tells her the city has been judged, and that the people that took him are going to be doing something bad to the city. He says Bruce is gone, and he won't be hurt, but that she needs to leave the city. She's going to tell Alfred, and he stops her. He says she can't tell anyone, but he wants her to be safe. She says, "That's the difference between you and Bruce Wayne. He would try to save everyone. You will never be him. You're nothing, you're not even a real person. You don't matter."

He says she's wrong, and he won't let her tell Alfred. DB pushes Selina out of a window, and she lays on the ground on the street below.

Jim and Riddler sit in his car by the river. They talk about the night they all had dinner together, and that it feels like a lifetime ago. Jim says he considered Nygma a friend back then. Ed tells Jim a riddle about betrayal, saying that's who ell friendships end. "What good are friends anyway?"

Katherine and a member of the court get out of a car, and Nygma goes out to meet them. He doubts if they're real, and she says that's part of the mystery. She asks about the question that Hugo Strange made him ask Bruce and Lucius at Indian Hill. Katherine says she has the answer to that question. If he gets in her car, all of his questions will be answered. Riddler hands the gun over to Katherine, and he gets into the car. She walks over to Jim and tells him she's proud of him. They will find use for Riddler, and she tells Jim they will be in touch.

Back at the club, Barbara storms in and knocks out a waiter. She confronts Tabitha, and Tabitha reveals that she helped Jim take down Nygma. She was upset because Barbara broke her promise that Tabitha would get to kill Nygma after he gave up the underworld. "Sealed it with a kiss, remember?" Barbar gets mad, because she can't be in control with the Court existing. Barbara storms off, and Butch says "people can't help themselves" when they have power.

Penguin, Freeze, Ivy, and Firefly get back to Penguin's place. As Freeze and Firefly begin to fight, Ivy calms them down. Penguin looks at his portrait where Nygma painted the question mark over it. The news on TV says that Nygma was apprehended by the GCPD, but that he later escaped. He tells his crew,

"Rest up everyone, tomorrow is going to be a busy day."

Selina lays on the ground, the rain starts to fall, and cats start to surround her. They come from everywhere, and start to lick her wounds.

The doors of a large room open, revealing the entire Court of Owls. Katherine leads Jim inside. They walk to the head of the table.

"I'd like to introduce our newest member, James Gordon."

Jim picks up a mask, puts it on, and Katherine says, "Welcome to the Court of Owls."

THE END.

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