‘Gotham’ Recap With Spoilers – “That’s Entertainment”

Gotham’s interim mayor speaks to a few of the city’s richest and most powerful citizens. The meeting is interrupted by a power outage and a few loud noises. The Legion of Horribles arrives to kidnap the mayor and his friends. They take him to the back of a truck where he sees Jerome and is handcuffed to the ceiling. The Mayor tries to bargain with the other villains but they don’t extend him a hand. Once all of the people are in the van, Jerome and Scarecrow use the laughing gas to torture one of the Mayor’s cohorts. She laughs herself insane.

At Wayne Manor, Alfred celebrates Bruce’s birthday by giving him a gift. He hands Bruce a remote that unlocks a brand new Mustang. The car is bullet proof and Bruce loves it.

Jim and Harvey walk into Gotham Central trying to solve the mystery surrounding Jerome’s whereabouts. Jim receives a call from Penguin who wants to meet.

Penguin tells Jim all about Jerome’s laughing gas and that he’s planning to use it on the people of the city.

“Nothing good will come of this,” Oswald says. “He’s an anarchist, he doesn’t care about money or power….He just needs to be stopped.”

Harvey tells Gordon that Jerome has been spotted downtown. The villain takes the stage at a local music festival. In front of the crowd, Jerome and his cronies bring out the Mayor and his people. There are still two empty chairs on the stage for his “guests of honor.” He rigs dynamite to the necks of the important people. He says that if he doesn’t get what he want, he’s going to kill everyone.

Jerome then turns to a TV broadcast and calls out for Jim Gordon.

Commercial Break

A gang leader arrives at the Siren Club and tries to threaten Tabitha. Barbara arrives with the League of Shadows in tow. They slaughter the gang members. One of the members of the League asks Barbara if she’s “ready” to see what’s next, and if she will continue al Ghul’s legacy.

Freeze and Scarecrow break into one of the Wayne Enterprises labs, wheeling in materials and holding the scientists hostage. Scarecrow gives one of the women a recipe and tells her to make more of the laughing gas.

Jim arrives at the music festival and confronts Jerome, calling him a terrorist. Jerome orders that no one else move. He reveals that the chairs on the stage are for Jeremiah and Bruce Wayne. Upon hearing Bruce’s name, Jim says no, offering himself instead. Jerome refuses. Since Jim isn’t listening, Jerome kills one of the people on stage. 

“Bring me my brother. Bring me Wayne. Bring them now.”

Commercial Break

Alfred sings “Happy Birthday” to Bruce as he brings him a cake. Selina enters the room to celebrate with Bruce and Alfred leaves them alone. As they eat Alfred’s cake, Selina says she knows that Bruce’s “bad boy” routine was all an act. 

Jim and Lucius arrive and show Bruce the video from Jerome. Gordon reveals that he and Lucius have a plan to deliver Bruce while also keeping him alive. The plan is to get a version of an EMP close enough to Jerome so that the signal on his remote will be rendered useless. Bruce agrees to help and the group heads for town.

Barbara is taken underground so that she can open R’as al Ghul’s hidden door, unlocking the secrets of the Demon’s Head. The women of the League o Shadows watch as a room full of ancient relics is revealed. Barbara sees an old painting on the wall from centuries ago, realizing that she’s the woman in the painting.

“I’m home,” she says.

Gotham’s SWAT team is in place, watching down on Jerome. Gordon, Bruce, and Lucius go to Jeremiah’s hideout to try and convince him to help them in their plan. Bruce introduces himself to Jeremiah and asks about his work. He wants Jeremiah to help them rid the city of Jerome so that they can work to make the city better once he’s gone. After a pep talk from Bruce, Jeremiah agrees to help.

Harvey calls Jim to tell him about Scarecrow and Freeze’s break-in at Wayne labs. They go to check things out and everything is a wreck the villains have already left with the gas.

Jeremiah and Bruce arrive at the music festival and Jerome invites them to take their seats on the stage. When Jim calls the order for the SWAT team to fire, Jerome’s men show up behind the team and kills them all. Jerome got the upper-hand, and once again tells Bruce and Jeremiah to take their seats.

Commercial Break

Scarecrow, Penguin, and Tetch arrive at a hangar in Gotham and hypnotize a blimp pilot into working with them. Penguin figures out that Jerome is planning on dropping the laughing gas on the big crowd at the concert. Scarecrow learns of Penguin’s betrayal and knocks him out.

Barbara is reading through ah Ghul’s texts, claiming that she’s learning how to control the past and raise demons, putting curses on her enemies. Tabitha tries to tell Barbara that all of this is crazy, but Babs believes she has found her true calling. She orders the League to get rid of Tabitha.

Bruce and Jeremiah are tied to their chairs on the stage. Jerome talks into the microphone about their past, and how he was forced to follow her alcoholic mother in the circus while Jerome lived a comfortable life. He then tells Jeremiah “I know something that Mom and Dad never known. You’re as crazy as me. it’s in your blood…You’re a killer, it’s in your nature. Stop trying to fight it.”

Jerome then cuts Jeremiah loose, hands him a knife and tells him to take his best shot. 

While the brothers fight, Jim figures out what Jerome is planning and tries to get the crowd to leave. Jim approaches the stage as Harvey shoots some of the prisoners. The EMP is working, and Bruce gets up to fight Firefly. Jim shoots Jerome in the shoulder and gets onto the stage to finish the fight. When he gets closer however, people start screaming, and the blimp comes into view.

Commercial Break

Penguin wakes up inside the blimp, tied to the structure of the aircraft. He tries to get help from the pilot but he’s been brainwashed by Scarecrow. The pilot pulls a gun on Penguin to keep him away from the front of the ship/

The people in the crowd scream and scatter as Jerome runs through an alley and gets on the radio, telling whoever is on the other end that he’s getting into position.

Jim is chasing Jerome up to the roof of a building when he gets a call from Penguin. He tells Penguin that he needs to steer the blimp towards the river. Penguin doesn’t necessarily want to help, but Jim says, “How can you run an empire in a city full of lunatics?”

Jim and Jerome face off on the roof. Jerome yells bombs away when Jim shoots him in the chest. The villain falls from the ledge while he says, “Funny.”

Commercial Break

Jerome is on the roof of a car, dead, with a smile on his face. Bruce, Jeremiah, Harvey, and Jim all approach. Jeremiah wipes a tear and speaks with Bruce briefly before leaving.

Penguin calls Jim, still trying to pilot the blimp away from the city. Jim thanks Penguin for his help and says he’s going to go get the backup pilot. “The City of Gotham thanks you.”

The women of the League toss Tabitha out of the club, beating her up outside. A mysterious man watches in a car down the road. After the women leave, and Tabitha rolls on the ground, the man approaches and offers her a hand. Some other men are with him. He says they serve R’as al Ghul, and that death is only an illusion. They inject a needle of green liquid into Tabitha’s neck and take her away.

Jeremiah returns to his underground hideout and pours a drink. He sees a wrapped present sitting on the table in his office. The note says it’s from Wayne Enterprises. When he opens the box, he is sprayed with the laughing gas. A message from Jerome plays and tells him “My days are numbered. But you can continue on for me, be my ultimate revenge.”

The gas was made specifically for Jeremiah. He struggles, laughs, and his face turns white. The Joker is born.

The End.