‘Gotham’ Recap With Spoilers: “Penguin, Our Hero”

Penguin opens the doors his office in Town Hall and walks down the stairs while his subjects sing a song dedicated to him. As they sing, Mr. Penn updates Oswald on their inventory and one of the singers passes out. He informs Penguin that the factories are shorthanded because people have been defecting to Jim Gordon’s Haven. He continues by saying that people love Gordon, and they’ve been having a hard time finding someone to kill him. Two Street Demons with guns bust in and shoot the entire chorus. They saw the “Penguin was here” graffiti and believed it. Once the men are subdued, Penguin orders Mr. Penn to tighten the borders around Town Hall.

Selina is tossing and turning in her hospital bed, having nightmares about Jeremiah shooting her. She breaks out of the hospital through a nearby window and looks out over the city, wearing a black suit and claws.

Harvey informs Jim that hordes of people have been moving in to Haven, and that sooner or later it will draw the attention of gangs and villains. Jim refuses to turn anyone away, despite being low on food, ammo, and medicine. Bruce reveals a water purification system that he had developed. A fight breaks out and Jim lays down the law. Anyone is welcome, but no fighting allowed inside. They need to show the government that they deserve the help. Bruce tells Jim that the kid they saved from the slavers has been having nightmares and broke his arm. Jim reassures the kid and promises to come check in on him later.

Selina shows up at Haven and Bruce is caught off-guard. She explains that she’s never felt better and she’s going to look for Jeremiah so she can kill him. Bruce casts doubt on the idea but Selina insists. When Bruce suggests that they bring Jeremiah back to stand trial, Selina simply laughs and kisses him. One of the refugees tells them that Jeremiah is probably in the “Dark Zone,” gathering followers in a place ruled by those who have lost their minds. He says that, in the dark zone, Jeremiah is the least of their worries. “Everyone there is insane.”

Penguin wakes up to find Mr. Penn and his entire staff have defected to Haven for protection. They even took his dog with them. Penguin goes to the Street Demon he had chained up. He instructs him to rally together a couple of the gangs so they can attack Haven. At the GCPD, Harvey tells Jim that Penguin and the gangs broke through the barricade at Haven.

Bruce and Selina are walking through the Dark Zone, a nice looking neighborhood that is completely empty. The duo are attacked by a street gang led by a monster of a man. Selina says they need to take out the big guy in order to stand a chance and make a point. She fights him on her own, while Bruce takes on the rest of the gang.

At Haven, Jim instructs everyone to get inside as Penguin and the gangs roll into the courtyard. Penguin calls for his dog but the pup won’t move. Penguin asks Jim to return his people (who are there voluntarily) or the gangs will open fire. He believes that Jim is running low on ammo and that he might have an upper hand.

The fight in the Dark Zone continues and Selina takes down the massive leader. She claws through his face until he tells her where Jeremiah is. When she gets what she wants, Selina continues slashing his face, nearly killing him. Bruce stops her by catching her hand with a grappling gun.

The standoff at Haven continues. Penguin sends a couple of men in to reveal that Jim and the GCPD are actually out of ammo. Jim is forced to surrender to Penguin at the risk of losing innocent lives.

Selina and Bruce get closer to Jeremiah’s location and she insists that she did what was necessary with the leader back in the fight. They find where Jeremiah is hiding and it’s clear he’s become some sort of cult leader. They follow a group of people into a church and a masked Ecco welcomes them to “the Church of Jeremiah.” She says that, in order to meet Jeremiah, there needs to be a show of faith. Those that raise their are directed to a room in the back. Selina pops out from the shadows and says she is also ready to meet Jeremiah and follows the others into the back. Underneath the mask, Ecco is wearing white makeup and red lipstick, resembling Harley Quinn.

Penguin locks Gordon in a cell and tells him that his people will probably go back to being slaves. Out in the station, the gangs have Mr. Penn tied up and a gang leader says that he is payback for the man that was sacrificed in the standoff. The gang leader kills Mr. Penn, whose last words to Penguin are “Everyone hated you.” The gang then turns around and locks Penguin up in the same cell as Jim.

Harvey is at the Sirens club trying to find Barbara and ask for help on behalf of Jim. Once she learns that Penguin is at Haven, Barbara agrees and heads out.

The young boy that Jim rescued leads a couple of gang members into the room where Jim and Penguin are being held. He slides a can opener underneath the cage door so it can be used to open the cell.

Bruce is walking around the church and finds several members dead in a hallway, all with bullets in their heads. Ecco leads Selina and the others down into an empty pool. She uncovers a gun for each them. Every gun comes with one bullet. The “show of faith” comes with a game of roulette. Everyone stands in a circle and points the gun at the head of the person in front of them. She counts to three and as she says the last number, the camera cuts to Bruce, who heard the shots from afar.

Selina stopped the gun behind her from going off and killing her, which leads to Ecco calling her out for being unfaithful. She instructs everyone else to proceed so she can “have a word” with Selina. Bruce makes his way past two of the guards to try and find Selina. Ecco tells Selina she already played the game, showing off a scar on the back of her neck. She says that the bullet is still stuck behind her head, rattling around. She then puts the gun to her head, pulling the trigger to hear a click, laughing as she does it. She says she’s been reborn by staring death in the face. Ecco then reveals that she knows exactly who Selina is because there is nothing about Bruce Wayne’s life that they don’t know about. The two get into a fight that ends with Selina holding a gun to Ecco’s head. Bruce shows up and tells her to back off. Ecco stabs Selina in the leg and escapes through a nearby door that closes behind her. Before Bruce can stop her, Selina handcuffs him to the door and leaves the room, looking for Jeremiah.

Gordon and Penguin reveal themselves to the gang with the help of armed officers. Penguin kills the bad guys and the people begin chanting his name. The people then debate about what should happen to Penguin. Jim tells them that they won the day, and that hope survives in Gotham. An officer tells Jim that they have Penguin outside. He approaches Penguin and says that because of his actions he’s free to go, this time. Barbara approaches with a gun raised. Jim gets in the way saying that he won’t let anyone die in Haven. A massive explosion knocks everyone back. It came from inside Haven where all of the refugees were living.

The end.