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“Gotham” recap (1.21): Brothels and Bad Decisions

Hey Gothamites, it’s the penultimate episode of the season and things are starting to go a little bit bonkers. Still no sign of Renee Montoya or Fish Mooney, but we get plenty of Barbara going off the rails in a major way.

When we last saw Barbara, she was looking nonplussed in the Ogre’s torture room. Apparently she’s into 50 Shades of YOINKS, because she spent the night having all the sex with him. The next morning, she’s ready to skedaddle when the Ogre tells her to stay because he made quiche. Barbara tries to leave, which is nuts because quiche is fucking delicious. She thinks that the Ogre is just playing games with her, but he assures her she’s the love of his life. When Barbara tries to leave, he covers her in a hood and drags her into his play room. Ah, young love.

Back at the GCPD, Gordon has been up all night looking for Barbara and the Ogre. Lee stops by with some breakfast and tells him to rest, but he can’t because of the whole murder/kidnap thing. Gordon feels guilty that his face off with Loeb loosed the Ogre, and he has to make things right. Lee wonders if he feels guilty for falling out of love with Barbara, but is interrupted by Bullock hauling in a lowlife pimp.

Nigma rolls into work with Officer Doherty’s remains in two large suitcases because he is obviously a novice criminal. He sets about disposing of Doherty’s body parts. Here’s a pro tip: DON’T BRING THE DEAD BODY INTO A POLICE STATION.

Gordon and Bullock question the pimp, who refuses to talk. When he asks Gordon to assign a dollar amount to Barbara, he sends Bullock out for donuts and beats the perp for info. The pimp reveals that he saw the Ogre at a Fox Glove event, a traveling brothel for the Gotham elite. Gordon goes off to see Penguin to wrangle an invite.

Over at Wayne Manor, Bruce gets a package from Selina, with the key copy to Bunderslaw’s office. He hides it from Alfred, who is off to identify Reggie’s body at the morgue. Bruce feels guilty for killing Alfred’s frenemy, and for lying to him.

Butch visits Lydia’s restaurant, where he stashes two guns for Connor’s gang to use to wipe out Maroni and his crew. Gordon shows up at Oswald’s club to get an invite, but Penguin has had a little too much power and demands to know what he’s getting out of the deal. Gordon grabs him and basically shakes the invite out of him, but Penguin threatens that he now owes a real big favor.

Bruce tours Wayne Enterprises and pulls the fire alarm so he can sneak into Bunderslaw’s office.

Gordon returns to the precinct with an invite to the Fox Glove, which he gives to Bullock, seeing as he’ll probably fit in more. Probably a good call, as I can’t imagine anyone looking more out of place than Gordon’s sour puss.

Barbara wakes up to find herself bound and gagged in the Ogre’s playroom. She spits in his face and calls him a psycho, but he assures her that he wants them to work it out. When she mentions Gordon’s name, he slaps her, saying it’s the only thing that will make him angry. He gives her some water (laced with drugs?) and shows her his collection of Polaroids of the women he’s killed. Barbara passes out as he promises to set her free.

Bruce makes his way into Bunderslaw’s office and opens the safe, only to find it empty. He is caught redhanded by Bunderslaw, who has been expecting him. Bunderslaw offers him a cookie, and sets about giving Bruce “the talk,” and no, it’s not the facts of life. He tells him that the Waynes before him knew about the company’s illegal activities, and were complicit in them. Bruce is shocked to hear that his father would be okay with this, but before he can protest, Lucius Fox shows up to show him out. While they wait for the elevator, Lucius tells Bruce that he’s being watched, and that his father was a good man with a lot of secrets. Meh, at least he gets a cookie.

Nigma sets about dissolving Doherty’s body with sulfuric acid, when Miss Kringle shows up. She sees the body parts in the sink, and is horrified that Nigma works so much with death. He assures her it helps to have a sense of humor, and shoves her out the door so he can get back to destroying her boyfriend’s body.

Penguin hammers out the final details of the Maroni hit with Connor, and reveals that the hit will take place tonight at Lydia’s bar, where Maroni’s crew will be gathered to celebrate the release of hitman Tommy Bones.

A cleaned-up Bullock walks into the Fox Glove, which looks like a knock-off of that sex party in Eyes Wide Shut. Bullock walks through a smorgasbord of kink, including an adult baby, people in latex, and a gimp in the corner. It’s like Kink.com threw up in this place. The emcee welcomes everyone to the party and brings out the main attraction, a couple called Ingrid and Gary. We don’t see the couple, but after hearing animal noises and a chainsaw (?) Bullock has had enough and pulls his badge to shut this shit down.

Barbara wakes up on the Ogre’s couch, and starts crying on his shoulder. They cuddle and the Ogre tells her that to save herself, she has to give him someone to kill. Barbara can’t have him kill anyone, but with a knife to her throat, she whispers some names in his ear. Now here’s a legit question: Is Barbara A) drugged B) under Stockholm syndrome or C) out of fucks to give? Or is it D) all of the above?

Gordon shows up at the Fox Glove, where the emcee/madam refuses to talk. They interview a girl named Sally, who recognizes the Ogre as a John who took her home and beat her. When they ask why she didn’t go to the police, she laughs in their faces because obviously the patriarchy and zero respect for sex workers is why. She gives them enough info to pinpoint his address, and tells them to kill him.

Maroni is throwing the welcome back party for Tommy Bones, when Connor’s gang shows up. They bring Maroni’s favorite liquor as an offering for Falcone, before grabbing the guns and firing. Both guns jam, and the gang is quickly gunned down by Maroni and his men. Maroni tells them he’s coming for Falcone. When Butch tells Penguin that the hit failed, Penguin doesn’t care, as it was his plan all along. He orchestrated a gang war between Falcone and Maroni, hoping that the two titans will wipe each other out, leaving Penguin to run Gotham. Pretty clever.

Nigma holds Doherty’s skull and has a Hamlet moment with it, before sticking it in a burlap sack and wailing on it with a hammer. Just another Tuesday at the office.

Bullock and Gordon break into the Ogre’s apartment, but find it empty. They walk into the torture room, when the phone rings. It’s the Ogre, telling them he’s leaving town with Barbara in tow. Gordon and Bullock piece together the different sounds they heard on the line to figure out that they are going to Barbara’s parent’s home upstate.

The Ogre and Barbara hold her parents hostage, but Barbara doesn’t seem upset or frightened. She just looks kind of dazed. Bullock and Gordon show up later to discover her parents murdered. Barbara walks to Jim, still looking confused and covered in her parents’ blood. Before Gordon can wonder what the actual fuck is happening, the Ogre attacks him and they start fighting. The Ogre holds Barbara at knife point and tells Jim to back off, and Barbara begs him to leave them alone. Harvey shows up just in time and Gordon puts a bullet in the Ogre’s head, just as the Ogre slices her throat. He grabs Barbara and assures her she’s gonna be okay (the slice is shallow), but Barbara barely registers that the Ogre is dead.

Later, Bruce realizes that he can no longer lie to Alfred, and tells him the truth about Selina murdering Reggie and his plan to break into Bunderslaw’s office. Alfred seems shocked, and assures Bruce that his father was a good man. Bruce says that even good men have secrets.

The cops at the precinct congratulate Gordon for killing the Ogre, and Lee is glad to see him safe. He apologizes for acting like a penis earlier, and she assures him that she loves his drive and sense of justice. He tells her he would still protect her first and kisses her.

Miss Kringle is at her desk when Nigma visits her. She has read Doherty’s farewell letter (written by Nigma) and laments her propensity for picking creeps. Nigma tells her that with guys she has to read between the lines, and as she leaves he lines up the letter to spell his name. Way to incriminate yourself, dummy.

Connor’s head is delivered in a box to Falcone, just as Maroni and his crew start gunning down Falcone’s people. Essen tells the precinct that it’s a full on gang war, and she needs everyone on the streets.

So, what the fuck happened to Barbara? Will Renee or Fish show up in the finale? Tell me your thoughts @Chelseaprocrast

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