'Gotham' Winter Finale Recap: How Did Gordon End Up in Arkham Asylum?
Warning: This recap contains storyline and character spoilers for this week's episode of Gotham.
Though there was no cliffhanger at the end of Gotham's winter finale, "Lovecraft," there was definitely a sense of finality. Gordon (Ben McKenzie) gets busted down to a lowly security guard, but his assignment is the most interesting place in the DC universe: Arkham Asylum.
Related: Missed Last Week's 'Gotham'? Catch Up With Our Recap
The core storyline of the episode is that someone has put out a contract on Selina Kyle. Harvey Dent's (Nicholas D'Agosto) plan to flush out the person behind the murder of the Waynes backfires when he drops too much information, exposing both Selina and Gordon.
Copperhead (Lesley-Ann Brandt) and her team assault Wayne Manor and are held off by Alfred (Sean Pertwee) while Selina and Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) escape. Alfred and Bullock go looking for the pair, and the butler gets to meet Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) for the first time. She agrees to help, but now Alfred is indebted to the crime lord, which can't be good.
Fish also has problems. Falcone (John Doman) knows she's plotting against him and circles her even as she circles him. Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) has Fish's weapon, Liza (Makenzie Leigh), trapped in her lies and can expose her and Fish at any time. It's a Mexican standoff, and as soon as somebody pulls the trigger, a lot of blood will be shed.
Bruce and Selina head to the city, where the rich kid gets introduced to street life. They meet Ivy (Clare Foley) at the Flea — which Selina calls "the mall for street kids" — before getting sold out by a fence. Alfred, Bullock, and Copperhead's team converge on the duo; Bruce buys Selina time to escape, and he is returned safely home. Selina visits him one more time at Wayne Manor (to return items she stole before her conscience got the better of her), but the time they shared there appears to be over.
Gordon, meanwhile, goes after Lovecraft (Al Sapienza), whom he and Dent believe are behind the hit squad, but it turns out that he is being hunted as well. Copperhead chokes Gordon, then kills Lovecraft with Gordon's gun.
It's obviously a frame-up, but it gives the mayor (Richard Kind) a chance to sweep the troublesome cop under the rug. Gordon gets sent to be a security guard at Arkham Asylum, where we'll get to meet a bunch of new and fun personalities (preferably, no more than two or three per person).
Copperhead gets a sex change
If you're the sort of person who griped about Starbuck being cast as a woman in the Battlestar Galactica reboot, you probably hated this week's Gotham. The main villain — though she's never named on screen — is the snakelike Copperhead, played by Brandt (Spartacus).
In the comics, Copperhead was an assassin who appeared, alternately, as a guy in a snake costume and as a demon-powered snake-man hybrid. Unsurprisingly, Gotham did away with both: The Copperhead character named Larissa Diaz (the original comic version didn't even have a name — when he died, he was buried as "John Doe") wears a skintight outfit with a vaguely military look.
Related: We Rank the 'Gotham' Villains
She does, however, have a habit of wrapping around her victims and choking them — half boa constrictor, half MMA fighter. And since she's never mentioned by name, there's a slithering sound that comes up in the soundtrack to help with the reptilian association.
The show has done a good job of making its recurring villains compelling, and Copperhead's return will be welcome. One of the reasons for Catwoman's enduring appeal is that she's a woman who can hold her own in a physical altercation with Batman. Since she's still a little girl, Gotham has a need for a woman who can kick some ass.
The only problem is that, since she's also a black-clad assassin leading a hit squad that takes out Gordon, the show already has one of those in Victor Zsasz (Anthony Carrigan). If you add in Richard Gladwell, you could be forgiven for thinking that Gotham was trying to fill out a punch card to get a free hit man with a quirk.
Poison Ivy's back
More fun is the reintroduction of Ivy Pepper, aka the future Poison Ivy. Foley comes on like a spacy Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter, then freaks out in a twitchy but understated way — "I am cool. Why are you telling me that? Why are you telling me what to do?" — that fits right in with Robin Lord Taylor's Oswald Cobblepot performance.
The show also sets up the premise that she still harbors a huge grudge over her father's death and her mother's suicide. That means either Gordon or Bullock (Donal Logue) will be in for some pint-sized vengeance down the road.
Gotham superlatives:
* Best Bullock line tonight: "Am I the only one in this damn town who waits for backup?!"
* Most awkward moment: Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) hugging Gordon before being shipped off to Arkham.
* Best advice: When Bruce asks Selina why she's afraid of Ivy, she replies, "Because she's scary! Don't look back."
What did you think of tonight's episode? Is Copperhead scary or cheesy? Are you looking forward to seeing the inside of Arkham? Is Cobblepot already headed for a downfall? Let us know below.
Gotham returns Monday, Jan. 5 on Fox.
