‘Gotham’: What did Nygma’s Note for Penguin Say?

Nygma may seem like he’s lost his touch, but the brilliant Riddler is still hiding somewhere in his mind. In tonight’s new episode of Gotham, both the audience and Oswald Cobblepot learned that the reign of The Riddler is far from over.

WARNING: Spoilers ahead for the latest episode of Gotham! Continue reading at your own risk…

After nearly killing one another on multiple occasions, and one freezing the other into a block of ice, Ed Nygma and Oswald Cobblepot finally reunited on Gotham tonight. The former paid the latter a visit in Arkham Asylum, seemingly to gloat about how much better his life is. However, as Nygma left, Oswald discovered that there was much more to this meeting than he thought.

Nygma left a note for Oswald in the form of a Riddle. Here’s what it said:

“I’m held captive all day, my brilliance locked away. This prison must be broken, the key? My name which must be spoken.”

Oswald is convinced that this note is a hint that The Riddler is still alive in Nygma’s brain and that he will be coming back to Arkham to rescue his former partner. The Penguin is right on one count, but probably not the other.

As we learned last week, both Ed Nygma and The Riddler are operating the same man’s mind. Nygma learned that Riddler took over their body at some point and ordered a hit on Lee Thompkins. When he looked in the mirror, a neatly-dressed Riddler laughed back at him, confirming that he was alive and well.

So it was Riddler who left the note for Oswald, not Nygma. This is good news for the man behind bars, except that it probably doesn’t mean what he thinks it does. As you examine the riddle, it’s easy to see that it isn’t about Penguin being freed. It’s about the Riddler being trapped inside of Nygma. See, Riddler was leaving a clue for Penguin to help bring him back.

These two men need each others help in order to escape their current prison. In order for that to work however, one of them will need to realize that the other is more than just a pawn in their own selfish scheme.

New episodes of Gotham air on Thursday nights at 8pm ET on FOX.