Gotham Recap: "The Mask"

Written by Shae

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

Reeling from the betrayal of his fellow cops, Gordon will hardly talk to anyone but Bullock. This doesn't seem too unreasonable...they did leave him to die. Still, this has some pretty strong tension between the detective and everyone. That ill will gets somewhat stronger over the course of the case. A man is found dead near the docks. It seems he'd been beaten, but the large gash on his throat is what killed him. Who could have done such a thing? A thumb in the victims mouth might help find who killed him. Gordon and Bullock get to work on tracking down any leads.

Meanwhile, Bruce is being forced to go back to school, thanks to Alfred. It's obvious he doesn't quite fit in when he starts getting bullied by a larger kid. When the kid starts picking on Bruce's' dead mother, he loses it. And then promptly loses. In Alfred's wisdom, he takes Bruce to the kids house after school, hands him his fathers watch, and watches as Bruce gives the kid a rather savage beating. After, Bruce asks if Alfred will train him to fight...the butler agrees. Is this where our Batman learned to kick butt? Apparently it is the start of it. Still, hearing Alfred say "mate" weirds me out. Seriously! Alfred is supposed to be all prim and proper! And while this Alfred is, he's also a bit more human. Which isn't bad, it's just strange!

Back to the detectives! They've found where the thumbless man worked and are hitting up the business. The, so obsessed with warrior culture, boss confirms nothing and denies it all. Gordon isn't in any mood for this. Telling the guy off most likely made him a target, but you can't really blame the detective! He's just doing his job. Just a bit more forceful about it. Gordon even blows Barbara off in his anger. Though he does make peace with the Chief. She seems to be beyond regretful for leaving him, unlike the others. A number of abandoned buildings pop up as possible places the murder happened in. Gordon splits the list with Bullock and they start to look. Gordon happens upon the original crime scene on his first try, only he's not alone. The strike to the back of his head is indication of that.

Not having heard from his partner, Bullock starts to panic. He tries to get the GCPD to help, but nobody seems interested. I really applaud Bullock here, the speech he gives is still just fantastic. After chewing everyone out, they all decide to finally help find Gordon. Whom is in a Fight Clubesque situation. Apparently, he's the new target, potential hires for whatever job are tasked with killing the detective. Whomever kills him first not only gets a job with the crazy boss, but they get a 1 million dollar sign on bonus. Seems a bit ridiculous to me...but the 4 candidates waste no time in attacking Gordon. They just don't know who they're messing with. Not easy to kill, he manages to incapacitate all the attackers, but before he can even catch a breath, the big masked boss is there, ready to kill him. Still, Gordon fights as best he can. Only after nearly killing the guy does he realize how far he's lost his patience with everything. The chief shows up to save him, or really just bring him home. Making peace with all that's happened, and the entire GCPD, Gordon seems to be doing better. Sadly, Barbara has had enough and left a note as she leaves...

That's all right, she keeps irritating me and hurting poor Jim! Speaking of hurting! The Penguin shouldn't be discounted. It seems he's found out Fish's plans and knows about the girl in Falcone's life. What will he do with this information? Guess we'll have to wait and see.

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