‘Gotham’ Recap With Spoilers – “That Old Corpse”

The episode begins at the graveyard. Jerome’s followers gather around his headstone for one last visit. A woman arrives on a motorcycle, dressed as a jester with a porcelain mask. The plays a message from Jerome over the loudspeaker. He notes that he has a plan, a party to throw. His voice orders the followers to dig his body up out of the ground. All of them race like mad to dig their leader out of his grave.

Jim and Harvey stand outside of the interrogation room, where Lee sits, waiting to answer for her crime. Harvey suggests Jim let her sneak out, but he refuses and enters the room to question her. Lee says that this is the end of their story, but Jim insists that he wants to help her. He doesn’t believe that this is who she truly is, that it’s just her way of helping people. Lee says she’s fighting back against what’s wrong with the city. Jim leaves the room when Harvey and Lucius arrive with a package.

Inside the package is a videotape from Jerome; his last will and testament. Jerome has one last request for Jim: Throw him a wake at the G.C.P.D. He says that he’s “already sent the invitations” for the guests. Suddenly, the road outside is full of noise, and the building is bombarded with cheering clowns. One car arrives with Jerome’s casket on the roof.

Nygma and the people of The Narrows talk about a plan to rescue Lee. He and a select group go after his lover, and he sends one person to keep tabs on Gordon.

Jim calls Alfred, who tells him that Bruce is meeting with Jeremiah back at the underground maze. Alfred gets off the phone to go after Bruce, just as the clowns are using Jerome’s casket to break down the door of Gotham Central. Jim tells Harvey to “open up the armory.”

Commercial Break

The officers of the GCPD get themselves ready for a battle against the clowns. Jim believes that Jerome’s real plan is taking place elsewhere. They decide to start the fight and sneak out the back, allowing the clowns to take over the building, and they’ll be locked inside.

Jeremiah shows Bruce his finished version of “the generator project.” It’s a clean, sustainable energy source that doesn’t pull from anywhere else. Bruce says that this project could power all of Gotham. Jeremiah then pulls out a diary that belonged to Jerome. It details all of the dead man’s twisted fantasies. The diary shows how Jerome planned to take over Gotham City, and Jeremiah seems oddly attached to it. Bruce gets a call from Alfred, who tells him about Jerome’s cronies at Gotham Central. Bruce lies to Jeremiah regarding the call and Jeremiah gets defensive about it. When Bruce tells him the truth, Jeremiah begins to panic, because he feels that Jerome isn’t actually dead and that he’s coming to kill him.

A group of people arrive at Wayne Manor and seemingly ambush Alfred.

Jeremiah tells Bruce about the “insanity gas” that Jerome had him sprayed with. “I can’t stop seeing him, clawing out of his grave and coming for me. I know it’s not real but it feels real.”

Bruce convinces Jeremiah to go with him to Jerome’s grave so that he can “free himself from the trap.” 

Back at Gotham Central, Jim prepares for the clowns to take over. As he leads Lee out, she tries to tell him he should go to The Narrows  but their conversation is cut short. The clowns begin their takeover. Jim orders everyone to fall back, as he planned. Lee falls and hits her head during the commotion. 

Three of the clowns corner Jim in the locker room. Harvey appears behind them and tasers two of the villains. Jim tells the leader that they’re going to “talk outside.”

Commercial Break

A trail of blood leads to a phone ringing off the hook. No body is seen, but it belongs to Alfred. Bruce was trying to call from the cemetery with Jeremiah, who now thinks that something is wrong. They get to the grave site to find it empty. Jeremiah panics and runs away. 

Penguin and Butch are eating dinner and the latter is angry because none of Penguin’s promises have come true yet. They’re laying low in Falcone’s old mansion. Butch is getting impatient, and threatens to kill Penguin if he doesn’t move things along. Penguin sees the news about Gotham Central on the TV and decides that “someone is showing their cards.” This is an opportunity.

Jim has the police surrounding the building. Harvey is trying to get information from the clown leader. He finally breaks and says “it’s too late anyway, they’re already and dead! Jeremiah and Bruce Wayne!” Jim leaves and says he’s going to Jeremiah’s bunker. 

Riddler and his people show up to the station and ask the prisoners outside how they escaped the building. The Penguin and Butch show up to snatch one of the prisoners for whatever plan they’ve cooked up.

Lee wakes up inside the station and sees complete chaos unfolding around her. The clowns and punks are trashing the entire place. She tries to sneak away.

Bruce enters a mausoleum looking for his new friend. He tries his hardest to convince Jeremiah that Jerome is really dead. Bruce says that Jeremiah is his friend, and Jeremiah wants to believe him, but he can’t. Jeremiah thinks that Bruce is actually Jeremiah wearing Bruce’s face. He holds Bruce at gunpoint and leads him back to Jerome’s grave.

Commercial Break

Riddler shows up inside the station wearing a clown costume and begins looking for Lee. He enters her old office and she knocks him out, not realizing who he is at first.

Jim walks through Jeremiah’s maze looking for the two young men, but comes across the generator in the office. A “standby” message comes onto the TV.

Jeremiah leads Bruce to Jerome’s grave and they find the real Jerome’s body leaned up against his headstone. 

Down in Jeremiah’s office, the TV plays a message for Jim. Jerome says in the video that he wanted to bring Jim there, and the jester woman appears with a gun to Jim’s head.

Jeremiah is still convinced that Bruce is Jerome. He starts trying to cut off Bruce’s face to prove that he’s right.

After Jerome’s video tells Jim to “pay attention so the twist at the end makes sense,” Jim fights off the woman. He pulls off the mask to see Ecco, Jeremiah’s right hand. On the video, Jerome peels off his facial scars to reveal that he’s actually Jeremiah.

Meanwhile, Jeremiah and Bruce continue to fight. Jeremiah starts laughing and a group of Jerome’s followers arrive. They chant Jerome’s name, and Jeremiah shoots one of them in the head. He says that Jerome is dead, then wipes the blood off of his face. Skin-colored makeup comes off along with the blood, revealing pale, milk-colored skin underneath. 

“Jerome is dead. Long live me.”

Commercial Break

Jeremiah tells Bruce that Jerome’s insanity gas “failed.” He calls Jerome a dud, and that he’s more than his brother could’ve ever been. “Jerome wanted to turn Gotham into a mad house. But, in order to build something, you must first tear down what is already there.”

On the video, Jeremiah tells Jim that he was behind everything happening at Gotham Central, and he says that the generator in the room is also a dangerous weapon if it were to ever explode. The Ecco gets up and leaves the room, locking Jim inside behind her.

At the cemetery, Jeremiah says that he’s grateful for Bruce’s “help.” He’s referring to the construction of the generator. He says that they work even better as bombs. Inside the office, the generator gets ready to blow. The entire town of Gotham sees the explosion in the distance and Harvey knows it came from the direction of Jeremiah’s bunker. So does Bruce.

“Jim Gordon is dead,” says Jeremiah. 

Jeremiah says he doesn’t want to kill Bruce. He calls him his “very best friend” before pushing him into the open grave with Jerome’s body. 

Commercial Break

Penguin and Butch interrogate Jerome’s lead follower, asking him to betray Jeremiah. It’s not working, so Butch talks about how powerful he gets when he’s angry. They continue to toy with him.

Lee wakes up Nygma back at the lab in the station. He hands her a gas mask as they prepare for “the cavalry” to arrive. Tear gas starts pouring into the station and if affects all of the clowns. Harvey enters, with the entire G.C.P.D. at his back, and they take over the station. Nygma and Lee escape, and she kisses him for rescuing her. Lucius arrives and says that the explosion occurred at Jeremiah’s bunker.

Jeremiah arrives at Wayne Industries with Ecco at his side. He’s wearing a purple and green suit and shoots the two guards. The duo enter a room filled with the generator bombs.

“It’s time to give Gotham it’s new face.”

The End.