#gotham s5e04

[malevolentmrdual]

[honestmrdual]

Lucius answers Ed’s riddles.

[sunlitroom]

Gotham – s5e04 – Ruin

As I watched it, and some random observations here and there.

Previously on Gotham:

Tabitha was a dumbass. Jeremiah shot Selina.  Ivy gave her a magic seed. Selina visited the Church of Jeremiah.  Ed has memory loss. Jim has several sugary talks with orphans. Oswald went to Haven to get his people back. Barbara showed up to shoot him, but Jim wouldn’t let her.  Then everything went BOOM.

As always, long post will be long.  There are likely to be rambling digressions. Gobblepot might appear (although I welcome all shippers and non-shippers alike :)).  There will be naked favouritism and naked not-favouritism.  Broader comments at the end on plotlines and parallels and general direction.

In case we are not fully aware of the pathos of the scene, and in keeping with Gotham’s recent habit of absolutely beating messages home – we open with a teddy on fire.

There’s chaos and flames all around.  We see people panicking.  Oswald wakes slowly, blinking  He stands and stares aghast at the flames.  We see Barbara behind him.  She aims agun at Oswald's back – but looks round at the carnage and wavers.  A baby cries, and she lowers her gun and runs off.

Jim calls round for help – organising people.   It’s notable that even though he needs to be commanding here – his tone is also downright harsh.  This is underlined when he spots a dazed and shocked cop, and shakes him – telling him to snap to and focus, before slapping him for good measure.

Looking round, Jim spots Oswald.  Grabbing him, he accuses him of causing this by bringing the gangs here but – to be honest – while it’s blustery and loud, it doesn’t feel genuine. As soon as Oswald starts to protest, Jim lets go almost immediately, losing focus on him as Harvey approaches and asks what they can use to put the fire out.  Jim tells him the drinking water is their only option.

The fire is out, and it’s morning now.  Jim stares up at the burnt buildings. Harvey approaches and Jim tells him he wants to send search parties in for survivors. Harvey nods – but also hands him his badge, which was found in the building, shaking his head as he does so to let him know that the boy wasn’t found alive with it.

Jim tells the nameless voice at the other end of the radio that the death toll stands at 311.  There are 49 injured, and 2 dozen unaccounted for. The voice asks who was responsible. Jim says that there was a gang incursion, but admits he doesn’t know and can’t rule anyone out.  The voice promises help and tells him he has every right to be angry and upset, but Jim switches off – disillusioned.

We can hear now that there’s a rabble outside – and Jim goes to investigate.

Jim descends stairs and tells them to let the angry crowd they’re restraining through. They yelling random angry questions and accusations – when will he find the culprits?  How do they know they’re safe?

Oh Lord.  Jim is gearing up to another speech.  They can’t destroy the hope we’ve built up unless they let them.  Justice will be done, and we will stop this from happening again.

The crowd is not really mollified

Jim retreats to Harvey and Lucius, and they all acknowledge that someone has to pay for this.  Jim tells Lucius to find something. Lucius tells him it won’t be easy – but Jim tells him to do whatever he has to.

Lucius leaves.  Harvey comments that the building blew up when Barbara arrived – and Jim adds that she disappeared immediately after.  Harvey’s not sure about his own observation, though, saying it

Doesn't make sense - even for her

Jim says nothing makes sense anymore, and leaves.  Deep stuff there, Jim.

At Jeremiah’s church, Bruce is still rattling the gate - yelling for Selina.  We see a stained glass window of Jeremiah in the background, as some guards approach him, and attack

(An aside.  Nope.  Can you imagine how furious Jeremiah would be to find out that some random guard had murdered Bruce Wayne? I find it hard to believe that they wouldn’t all know Bruce’s face better than their own – as well as the penalty for harming him)

Fortunately for Bruce, Alfred appears, and despatches the guards.  Bruce tells him he was worried he didn’t get the signal – nudge nudge – and then asks what happens.  Bruce clumsily tries to cover up – but Alfred realises that it was Selina, and Bruce admits that she’s out for revenge and is in a dangerous situation.  Alfred says this is a recurring theme with madam (hey, fuck you, Alfred).  He comments that one day Bruce will realise that he can't save her from herself – but until that day comes, it’s time they should head off and find her now – don’t you think?

Sirens - and a bunch of tacky velvet furniture.  Babs – the red velvet goes with literally nothing else.  Please. Give it up.

Jim enters (not for the last time this episode!)

One of Barbara’s pulls a gun on him, but Barbara says to let him through – he’s either here for information or thinks she had something to do with that atrocity.

Jim says she was desperate for revenge against Oswald – who had been in the building.  Barbara says she could have killed Oswald right there but didn’t.  Jim asks why she didn’t.  The writers don’t have a real answer for this yet – so Barbara angrily retorts that the person who did this has to pay – that’s all that matters.

Jim says she’s worried Sirens might be next.

(An aside - Eh?  What would the motive for that be?  Haven can be seen as a sort of bastion of law and stability – it makes sense that more lawless factions might want to send a message. Would they really bother blowing up a brothel?)

Barbara says she’s already put of feelers – there was a shady guy lurking outside Haven

Jim is rather pissily dismissive.  Jim – you have nothing else.  Behave

Barbara also mentions something about a building to the north-east of the park

Jim asks how much the information has cost him.  Barbara tells him to do his job and get the bastard.

As he turns to leave, she calls after him

Do you really think I could have murdered all those people?

Jim says he doesn't know

Barbara says she guesses she deserved that

Jim stares at her.

Harvey contacts him to let him know that they have a problem.  Jim leaves.  

GCPD, where Oswald standing in a carefully arranged pose with his coordinated henchmen.

O hai eyepatch guy!

Jim approaches, and we get Oswald’s foreign jangly music.  

Oswald - what are you doing here?

Jim – it’s woefully apparent that you’re outmanned, outgunned and out of options…. so I’m here to help

Oswald hands Jim his gun with a smile.  Jim remarks that this is generous – and Oswald tells him he’s only getting started.  His henchmen bring in boxes of weapons. Harvey looks at him askance

Well aren’t you St Nick on Christmas morning?

Oswald tells them not to be shy, and take what they can carry.  

Jim says he guesses that there are strings.  Oswald says there are none – the only string will be the one cinching round the neck of the bomber.  And really, Jim – that should possibly have been your first clue that Oswald might not be on board with a custodial sentence.

Oswald continues.  He lost people too - people Jim lured with promises of safety, who were then incinerated

However – he’s willing to put that in abeyance, and for them to put aside their considerable differences, and get the people some justice

What do you say, partner?

He holds out his hand. Jim takes it.  Oswald smiles – and Jim looks serious.  

(An aside.  

So – sort of a lot here. It echoes the scene with Barbara, a little.  Both Barbara and Oswald are horrified by what happened to Haven. They offer Jim help sincerely.  In both instances, Jim suspects them of self-interest

Oswald is pissed off about what happened to his people, and he’s pissed off that they went to Jim in the first place.  I have no idea whether I’m supposed to think he digested his lesson from last week. That lesson – in itself, was dependent on the notion that the manipulative Oswald had no clue he was hated. Now, I’m to believe he’s sort of forgotten that big lesson (underlined by Penn’s death)?

For what it’s worth – I believe he was genuinely horrified by what he saw, and he sincerely want to offer help.  He’s still stinging, though, from what happened last week – and that will inform his actions)

In the library, Ed lurches awake. There’s a suitcase next to him.  He prods it cautiously before opening it and finding it empty.

He talks into a recorder – a method to keep track of what’s happening to him amidst all the memory loss. Have you tried drawing a clock, Ed?  Here’s the one to beat.  The bar is not high

He remarks that he’s been on a trip or is going on one, before noticing a smudged message he’s written on his palm.  He figures out that it says ‘inmate at 1215 knows’.  He assumes that inmate refers to a prison inmate, smiles, and heads out purposefully.

We see old posters from Oswald's mayoral campaign pasted to a wall in a street down which Jim, Harvey, Oswald and several cops and men of Oswald’s are striding.

Harvey is talking to Jim, trying to convince him that Haven wasn’t his fault.  Jim snarls that he hadn’t given the people the hope he had promised, and now they were dead.

Jim starts talking about how they will conduct the search, but massively underestimated the speed with which Oswald would be drawn to a megaphone. Oswald begins proclaiming that the vile miscreant who was responsible for Haven’s destruction has nowhere to run.  His men and the GCPD are two forces – he gives Jim a wink at this – united in one purpose.

They’re almost immediately sprayed with bullets.  They take shelter behind one of the cars. Jim comments that the shooter’s position means they’re sitting ducks. Harvey remarks that they’re sitting ducks and one penguin – and Oswald pulls a face at him before yelling to the shooter that they have more weapons and more ammo.

A voice responds that it’s pretty cosy up here – thanks guys.

Realisation dawns on both Jim and Oswald’s faces.  As Oswald incredulously remarks that he knows that voice, Jim calls out Zsasz

We then finally see Victor at the window.  He offers a jaunty

Hey guys – what’s up?

Before blowing a little kiss

 A GCPD, Ed manages to sneak in by stealing a blanket from someone sitting near the door and draping it over his head.

He makes his way to the record room and starts rifling through files.  He finds the one he was looking for, but as he pulls it from the drawer, it’s taken from his hand.  He turns to see who’s taken it – and find himself smoothly pressed against the filing cabinet by Lucius, who has pressed his hand against his chest.

(An aside - Ha!  Has Ao3 crashed yet with the influx of people frantically hitting the 'New Work' button?)

Ed’s face breaks into a grin when he sees that it’s Lucius who’s found him, and looks generally entertained by the circumstance.  He asks Lucius if he ever learned that it was  

Impolite to sneak up on people

Lucius smiles back at him

So is breaking and entering.  I heard you were dead, Ed.  What are you looking for?

(An aside – there a quiet ‘no’ from Ed when asked about being dead.  He’s obviously not dead now – but he was for a while.  Ed seemingly has no recollection of what happened to him)

At the opportunity to pose a riddle, Ed gets very intense

I’m given - not taken – I’m with you from your first breath and follow you until death.

Lucius thinks for a moment before answering

Name

(An aside – Ed and Lucius are standing pretty close while that riddle is posed and answered.  There’s an odd bond between them – and Lucius’ ability to answer Ed’s riddles seems to affirm it.)

Lucius wanders off with the folder, before turning to face him and asking what it’s worth

(An aside – I posted a set of images of this elsewhere.  It is pretty much a perfect recreation of Ed’s attempt to flirt with Kristen by telling her that houseflies buzz in the key of F.  Their positioning, Ed’s gestures – all identical)

Ed poses a little, and asks what the going rate is on dust bunnies

Lucius smiles, and tells him the file is valuable to him,

Ed smiles back.  

(An aside - I’m saying ‘smiles’ a lot – but, honestly, there’s a lot of smiling.  They pretty much go back and forth between being weirdly pleased to see each other, and vaguely flirty teasing.)

Money is worthless, and I have no snacks on me…..what would you like?

(this is precisely the moment where I’m guessing a lot of the fanfic will diverge pretty hard from canon…..)

Lucius replies

Your expertise

Ed smiles and draws himself up taller - visibly pleased.

Lucius says that Ed must have noticed what happened to Haven.  They want to know how it was done so they can avoid it happening again.  

Ed grins and walks towards Lucius, hands clasped behind his back

So.  The 2nd smartest man in Gotham needs my help

Lucius replies that explosives are not his expertise

Ed smiles wider

I didn’t realise you had one

(Did a shipper write this and send it in and then they just decided to go with it?)

Lucius grins at this – and Ed promptly tries to grab the file from him, but Lucius effortlessly keeps hold of it – staying completely calm.  Ed gives in, and Lucius shakes his head at his antics

Just - why?

He then asks whether they have a deal or not – to which Ed offers a sulky fine. He leaves, and Lucius follows.

(An aside - See, Gotham - this is how it's done.   You've never forced this interaction, or lavished an excessive amount of screen-time on it, because you've never had to: the characters share common ground as well as key differences, and it feels natural and plausible enough that viewers accurately guessed at aspects of this story before airing.  There's logical reasons that these characters would work together and - most importantly - a natural chemistry.  I'm not having it crammed down my throat while being told how wonderful it is.)

Back with Jim, Oswald, Victor and co.  

Victor shouts that he - 

Did not make that building go boom, Jim

Oswald says Victor gave up honour a long time ago – why should they believe a snake like him?  

Victor replies that he would never take credit for someone else’s work.

Oswald yells angrily that he would betray anyone for the right price.

Victor replies that if this is about Sofia Falcone, then Oswald should move past that – it’s not healthy

Oswald is fulminating when Jim asks him to concentrate and tell him if they’ve got enough ammo to cover him for two minutes.  Oswald calculates and replies

For you, Jim.   Let's say two and a half

Jim looks up at the building, then over his should at Oswald

Give me everything you've got

(Ooo-er, missus.  Gotham’s really blessing me with the double entendres this season.  First of we had Ed telling Tank ‘I’m gonna guess you gave it to me’ and now it bestows upon me Jim growling at Oswald ‘give me all you’ve got.’  I mean, come on.)

then abruptly cease fire

Oswald nods. You can count on me.

Jim gets ready. Oswald looks at his watch, and yells

Go

There’s a hail of gunfire. Jim runs into the building.  Victor leans casually against the wall, drinking a milkshake, waiting for them to finish shooting.

Outside, Harvey and Oswald join in the shooting, before Oswald yells ceasefire

Victor turns and aims, and Jim tackles him.

As they leave the building, Victor handcuffed, the cops and Oswald’s men applaud.

Victor waves like the applause is for him, and praises some of the men

You were great.  No hard feelings

Oswald approaches Jim and offers a well done, commenting that they make a hell of a team.  And I know that we’re supposed to be applauding Jim’s heroism, and rolling our eyes at Oswald – but this stunt wouldn’t have worked without his guns and ammo.

Oswald asks Jim to allow him to deal with Victor.  Jim says this is more than his vendetta, and they need to see if it’s part of something larger.  Oswald agrees – and says he excels in the loosening of tongues.  Jim’s not having it, though

No - he's mine

He leaves, and Victor waves from the back of the car.  Oswald fumes.

(An aside – as always, I am biased in favour of Oswald.  I do, however, honestly think he sincerely wanted to help Jim find the culprit. He’s trying, as best he can, to be nice – talking about their teamwork.  He’s genuinely pleased.

He gets sidetracked by finding Victor, and loses it a little.  And although they play it off here as humour – Oswald needing to move on – Oswald has just cause to be incandescently angry at Victor.  He colluded in having him sent to Arkham – the source of a tremendous amount of trauma for Oswald.  He also saw how close Oswald was to Martin – yet still used him to have him sent down. That’s going to press a number of Oswald’s buttons – and we know that Oswald will react emotionally.

If Jim hadn’t been in such an assy place – he might have realised that including Oswald, allowing him to sit in on Victor’s interview, was likely the better move. He’ll still feel that the partnership is genuine, and he’s more likely to respond rationally if he feels respected, and when he is allowed to participate in the process. However – exclude Oswald, slight him – and all you will end up with is an angry and irrational Oswald who feels the need to reassert himself.  What happens later could have been avoided at this point by a cleverer man.  At the moment, that man is not Jim)

Church of Jeremiah.  Selina follows acolytes into some kind of workroom, where we hear someone sobbing and wailing.  We can hear the foreman saying Jeremiah is pushing the men too hard

We see him now as he adds that there’s no way to make their schedule.

(Er – wasn’t he dead before? That’s definitely the annoying stoner who was using the children as slave labour.  He’s even more definitely someone we saw Jim shoot in the head.  Does Jeremiah have the means to reanimate people? He was pretty friendly with Ra’s for a while)

Meantime – Jeremiah is tired of him, and cuts his throat

Well, not with that attitude you're not - let's reach inside and dig a little deeper. It’s the only way you’re making it out.

He licks the blood from his knife while Selina’s glare burns a hole in his back.

Ecco approaches Jeremiah reverently.  He’s talking to himself – two sides of him arguing.

It’s a nice gift, he’ll like it

No he won't

Ecco stares rapt

Jeremiah turns and spots her.  Ah.  There’s the woman he’s sexually attracted to.

He asks if there are these all the recruits.  Ecco thought he would want quality over quantity – not everyone can pass her test of faith. Jeremiah agrees that she has set a high bar for devotion.  He grabs her neck and pulls her close, then turns her head to the side to see her scar.  He then begins to dance with her.

She tells him Bruce Wayne and his sidekick Curls (or is he the sidekick) are here.  She really wants to kill him, and can walk really well for a paraplegic.  He twirls and dips her.  If she sees her, she’ll give him a shout.  He grimaces. She adds and kill her – which makes him smile.

Ecco is left all hot and bothered by their dance.  Jeremiah watches as she leaves with the recruits – followed by a disguised Selina.

Ed and Lucius investigate the ruins of Haven.  For a moment, Ed seems a little shaken by the scale of the destruction.  

Ed takes the lead.  

The superstructure is largely intact – so not c4 or semtext.  With this kind of deflagration – you’re looking at gunpowder or nitroglycerine.

They pass ideas back and forth a little.  Ed says it’s a classic locked room mystery.  Lucius is stumped.  Ed says there was no bomb – the building itself was the bomb – just detonate the heating oil.

Lucius holds up a piece of glass

That doesn't explain this

They look up at the window. Whatever ignited the oil – they speak now in unison

Smashed through the window

 At GCPD, Victor’s head is pressed against the table. He remarks it’s a nice table.

This recap is interminable – so I’ll summarise a little.  Jim asks why he shot at the cops if innocent. Victor says they were shooting at him, and they’re cops – plus, those were warning shots.  

Victor essentially says it wasn’t him – he’s not added any scars to mark those deaths.  Jim leaves to take a phonecall.  Victor says Alvarez can strip search him, since he’s handsome.

Lucius tells Jim that Haven was destroyed by an RPG like the helicopter was – and they’re now looking for the rooftop the shot was taken from.  Jim says his suspect was on the ground. Lucius tells him he needs a new suspect.

Oswald arrives at GCPD, wanting an update on what has been happening.  Jim tells Oswald he has to leave.  Oswald asks if victor is still claiming innocence, and Jim says the evidence backs him up.  

Oswald says he didn’t expect Jim to go soft.  Well – actually, he did.  That’s why he didn’t come alone.

His henchmen arrive, and Oswald sends one off to bring him Victor.

Jim says that torture isn’t justice.  Oswald says that as misguided as he is, his old friend Jim is correct.  Despite inflamed passions, he won’t rush to judgement.  He’ll let the people decide.

As Victor is led away, he aims a parting shot at Jim

Good to know who's really in charge, Jim

Oswald smirks

On a rooftop with Ed and Lucius.

Lucius confidently remarks that this is it.  Ed is impressed, noting all the calculations Lucius must have immediately carried out regarding trajectory.

Yep – and there’s the RPG case right over there

Lucius puts on gloves to handle it, hoping it will provide clues as to who did this. He’ll get it back to the lab.

A subdued and troubled Ed says it’s doubtful someone who could pull off this intricate plot would leave evidence.  Lucius agrees – but says it’s all he’s got.

Ed shrugs.  Well. maybe I’m wrong.  He unhappily adds a quiet, I hope so

He turns to Lucius and tells him, sincerely

I truly hope you find whoever did this - and you make them pay

Lucius looks at him for a moment, and then hands him the file he wanted.

As promised.  I appreciate your help Ed – I couldn't have done it without you

Ed blinks, surprised. Lucius continues.

And if you tell anyone I said that - I will deny it

He gives a cute little flex of his shoulders, grins at Ed, and leaves.

A smile breaks out on Ed’s face – which widens as he looks down.

(An aside – My my, isn’t Ed left all swept and flustered?  Lucius is very charming, and Ed is decidedly charmed.)

His smile disappears when he opens the file and finds that the inmate is deceased.  He yells in frustration, and throws the papers away. As he looks out despondently – he spots a woman in a wheelchair in the apartment opposite.

His first response is to yell for Lucius to come back – but he’s left.  He jumps and waves to catch her attention – but the deaf old bat doesn’t hear, and he leaves to go question her.

 At city hall, Victor sits down on an ornate chair, looking unimpressed.  Harvey remarks that he’s got no love for Zsasz – but are they really going to let this happen.

Jim says if they try to stop it, they’ll turn their anger against them.  Harvey says they need to do something. Jim asks what.  Harvey mentions another speech.   Fuck, no, Harvey.  Mercy.

Jim ponders that this is maybe what the people need.

Oswald is playing at being judge.  And also the prosecution.  Oswald’s having a high old time.  

Order in court!

Victor protests that his rights are being violated, and Oswald orders him gagged.  He asks his witness where he saw the defendant.  He replies coming out of the building.  

Oswald plays up the melodrama – talking about the beloved souls lost.  He asks if there were any other witnesses – and virtually all assembled raise their hands.

Oswald says Captain Gordon would have the court believe that all you fine citizens are mistaken, and Victor Zsasz is not responsible.

He turns to Jim and asks if he wants to say anything.

Jim looks round, and says that it wasn’t a bomb.  There’s disgruntled yelling.  Oswald shushes them.  Jim tells them it was a RPG fired from a rooftop which caused the explosion. If Victor was on the ground, then he can’t be guilty

There’s more disgruntled muttering.

I know you all want justice.  So do I .  You’re angry - scared – help may not be coming.  We may be on own.  If true - what we do now is more important than ever.  But this?  This is not justice.  Not who we are

Oswald approaches, and leans to speak into Jim’s ear.

I'll consider that your closing argument

Oswald puts it to the crowd

What say you, jury?

They all yell guilty

Victor is taken to a guillotine – because Oswald is just that dramatic. He beats his gavel

By the power vested in me by…. well, me – you are sentenced to die.

He asks if Victor has any last words.  I’m almost positive Victor steals Sydney Carton’s last words at the guillotine.

It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done…..

Jim and Harvey step in and disrupt things enough to stop the beheading.

Oswald is livid

What the hell are you doing?

Jim says he’s keeping them all from making a terrible mistake.

Oswald is now beyond furious, and screams that Jim Gordon cares more about protecting a murderer more than protecting you

(An aside. @zara2148 mentioned elsewhere that this seemed especially charged with personal resentment – and I would probably agree.  Oswald’s anger at Victor is rooted in the whole Sofia Falcone business.  Although he’s moved on from that where Jim is concerned – the sense of anger and betrayal hasn’t abated.)

He leans in close to Jim

They don't believe in you anymore.  They're mine now

Jim shoves him away – and Oswald flies backwards.  He’s helped up by solicitous henchmen – one of whom is eyepatch guy.

(An aside. Amidst the silliness of the court stuff, there’s deeper content.  Oswald and Jim aren’t so different.  They both want to establish order.  They both want the love of the people.  They both think they know better than anyone else how justice ought to be administered.  Jim’s been on an ego trip just as much as Oswald.

Jim has, for a long time, Not Responded Well to being reminded by anyone of his kinship with several of the rogues.  He blusters and yells and throws his weight around whenever this happens.  What we saw here was just that in a more dramatic public setting.  Oswald’s words hit home – and Jim couldn’t bear it.)

Jim and Harvey drive to some deserted area with Victor in the car.  Harvey says Victor is not safe at GCPD – lots of cops want to see him on the slab.  Jim says they’re not taking him there.  It’s either a matter of letting him go or letting him die for something he didn’t know.

They release him.  Victor turns to Jim

Thank-you, Jim

He adds that the city never be what he wants it to be – it’ll always belong to the bad guys like me

Jim walks away, and tells Harvey to give him his gun

Harvey is unimpressed

What?

Victor is equally surprised

Yeah what?

Jim repeats himself. Victor asks if he has a death wish, because he will kill him. Harvey too.  Jim replies maybe.  Or maybe he’s just tired of listening to Victor.  He tells him to do it.

Victor tilts his head

You know what - you seem tired.  Let’s do this another day.

Jim responds to being outdone in the maturity stakes by Victor by sort of lamely repeating what they said earlier and then telling him to go away.

People like you are always trying to own the city.  They never will.  Get the hell out of my face

An angry Harvey turns to Jim

A shootout, are you serious?

Jim sulkily says he could have taken him

Harvey is singularly unimpressed and angry at him

Never ask me to do anything like this again.  Pull yourself together

 At the Church of Jeremiah, Bruce and Alfred take out workers.

Up in the room we saw earlier, Jeremiah fans himself with his hat and inspires his workers.

You see – the river cuts through rock not because of its power, but because of its persistence.  So when you feel like giving up….

His workers have heard this before and chant

Dig a little deeper

He continues

When you can't go on any longer…

Dig….

He sees Ecco – but as she draws close, she removes her mask – and we see it’s Selina.  She knifes Jeremiah in the gut/torso area

Deep enough?

Jeremiah chokes, and tries to speak

Well Selina.  Well Selina, I must say

Selina snarls

Don't say anything

She knives him repeatedly, and we get a lot of focus on Jeremiah’s pained expression.  She raises her hand to aim for the heart, but Bruce grabs the knife from her.

It's done - it's over- let’s get out of here now

Selina looks down for a moment at the body - a little like someone has thrown cold water over her.

A fight ensues when Jeremiah’s followers see what has happened.  Alfred hurls a smoke bomb, and they escape.

 Ed climbs stairs in the fancy apartment building.  Why is this place so pristine?

He remarks he hates stairs before finding apartment 1215.  He knocks, and the old woman who answers tries to tell him to go away.  Ed assures her he won’t hurt her – but needs to know what happened.

She tells him what some part of him was starting to realise on the roof.  It was Ed who was there – holding a rocket.   He shakes his head – and says it’s impossible.

He looks over at the rooftop, aghast – and the woman takes the chance to hit him over the back of the head with a vase.  Ed starts to remember what he did, and when she hits him again – sees her witness it all.

He turns.  She apologises and tells him she won’t tell anybody.  Ed says he knows she won’t.   She protests that he said he wouldn’t hurt her.

Ed says he’s really very sorry – and pushes her through the open window

He falls with the force of it, and stares out looking shocked

Uh oh.  Well – we had Selina stabbing Jeremiah earlier, and now it’s time for the second ill-advised penetration of the episode.

Jim sullenly drinks alone in his office.  Barbara enters, pointing out that the spotlight is off, and asking if he forgot to pay the electric bill.  

Hilariously, Barbara's makeup has been getting progressively lighter and softer to make her more palatable for this storyline.  Compare her first episode hair and makeup with how she looks here.

They’ve removed a ton of makeup, lost some clothes, and given her one of Oswald’s softer haircuts. That could be s1 Barbara with her hair up.

Jim gravels a what do you want at her.  She says she wants the same as him – to protect her people.  Jim, a little snottily, tells her that her tip didn’t pan out. She offers another – a lead on a guy selling RPGs.  Jim’ still set on snotty mode, and asks if that’s all. Barbara tilts her head, and says that she heard some of his people went over to penguin.  She grins

Can't win ‘em all.  Poor Jim.  All alone again.

(An aside - All alone? Not really.  People throw friendship at Jim.  If he’s in his office drinking alone, it’s because he chose to.)

Jim growls at her to get out, but Barbara is enjoying taunting/teasing him.

No-one knows what it's like to be him.  To carry the weight

I told you to leave

I heard you

She leans in like she’s going to kiss him, but stops short, pats his face, and walks away.

Jim delays for a moment, before grabbing Barbara to kiss her.  This is inadvertently funny – because given the length of the delay, and the sound of how many steps Barbara took - Jim must have freakishly long arms to have reached her from there.

They kiss to overly doomy and melodramatic music.  Calm down, Gotham - they're not spawning the antichrist.

General Observations

Pull yourself together

Ruin is an apt name – because it wasn’t just Haven that went to pieces last week.

Oh Jim, Jim.  How far the mighty have fallen, and how quickly we’ve resorted to old ways.  Snarling, picking fights, drinking alone.  I should feel more sorry for Jim here – he felt responsible for those people, and now they’re gone.  But it’s all too inextricably tied to his ego to feel nothing but pity.  Does he feel grief for the people he’s lost?  Of course.  Has his self-perception suffered a serious dent at having ‘failed’ to save them? Yes.  Which one has motivated the pity party? Tougher question.

To go a bit weird for a moment, his situation reminds me a lot of this tarot card. Partly because of the imagery - but also the meaning

The Tower is about a sudden catastrophic event – something that shakes you to your core. It’s often revelatory – and what it usually reveals isn’t very flattering.  The tower is built on unstable foundations: illusions and delusions, false beliefs.  Jim’s sudden transformation into hero was very sudden.  Not so long ago – he tried to ally with Falcone primarily because – as Carmine pointed out – his pride was bruised.  He allowed Harvey, his closest friend, to believe he was a screw-up for too long – and took the captaincy he was so proud of.  If anything – the crisis has felt like a sticking plaster: he’s been forced to focus on the here and now.  And he’s done well – in many respects – but those old problems were still festering.  

Now the tower has come down, and revealed shaky foundations.  The same old coping mechanisms are there.  He’s taken Harvey for granted, squabbled with Oswald, snapped, snarled, blustered, tried to start a gunfight, and now he’s drinking alone in his office and latching on to the nearest warm body.

Harvey told him to pull himself together, but Jim’s nowhere near it.

Oswald fell to pieces with the arrival of Victor.  There were festering resentments there – but he was content to put them aside to find the bomber.  When Victor appeared, it opened a Pandora’s box of anger and pain.  How Oswald pulls himself together remains to be seen.

Barbara seemed to be pulling herself together when she was unable to shoot Oswald – realising not only, perhaps, that Tabitha had a fair part in her own death – but pulling herself together almost to a much earlier version of herself.  A version that was horrified by the carnage round her, and who couldn’t contemplate killing someone.

Selina seemed to almost sober up when she saw Jeremiah on the floor.  I can’t honestly begrudge her the revenge she took – but they took care to show us Jeremiah responding to each stab. I don’t know how Selina will move on from what happened.  She seemed to pull herself together in that split second afterwards – but by that point, the deed was done.

Ed most literally began to pull himself together – all the fractured elements of himself.  It started, in a sense, with Lucius – taking him back to the old Ed by having him investigate the bombing.  Later realisation dawned slowly, then forcibly, with the blows to his head.  Ed’s pulling himself together – but it’s a painful experience.

Sundries

Well – it was throwback Thursday all round.  Ed decided to play forensic investigator again, and reenact his flirtations in the records annexe for good measure.  Harvey and Oswald let a criminal go free.  Oswald made another dramatic entrance to GCPD, and Jim and Barbara hooked up.

There’s maybe something of a theme of dealing with the repercussions of your actions.  Jim agrees to take weapons from Oswald – but then has to deal with Oswald’s idea of justice.  Jeremiah faces the repercussions of shooting Selina. Selina will now need to deal with the repercussions of stabbing Jeremiah. Barbara and Jim’s tryst will have repercussions, the most tangible of which will make appearance in nine months.  Jim will have to live with the repercussions of turning Victor Zsasz loose.

So – I do think they’ve made both Jim and Oswald carry sort of needless conflict balls this week – presumably to put them on difficult ground before Bane arrives – which will then more easily drive a temporary wedge, which will then be resolved again.  I suppose you can hammer something workable out of this: Oswald is still smarting from the knowledge that his workers hated him, Oswald is smarting over being bested by Jim – but, then, you have to swallow two equally silly things: first, the notion that Oswald didn’t have a clue he was hated until Penn told him, and that the revelation that seemed to chasten him last week didn’t really take – which in turn undermines Penn’s death. In short, it sort of works if you only glance at it. 

I think it’s easiest to assume that they’re both lashing out, in their own ways, due to recent events.  Oswald – as Oswald does when stinging from recent hurt – grabs even harder at control. Jim blusters and alienates.

Thoughts?

[thankyougotham]

Victor Zsasz “You guys wanna do a strip search?”

[millicentcordelia]

Jim and Oswald

[cobblepotmemes]

It cured my depression

Zsasz’ whole fiteen minutes of screentime honestly added 10 years onto my life

[amandajoyce118]

Gotham S5E04 “Ruin” stills

[millicentcordelia]

“I told you to leave.” “I heard you.”