#oh proof? you want proof? BARBARA FUCKING GORDON

[trekkele]

Oh! I know the ask was neutral :)

It just ALSO made me think about Parentified Dick. AND THAT IS A CRIME THAT WILL NOT STAND

G-d yeah. “Dick Grayson has eldest daughter syndrome! Dick Grayson is parentified - “ YOU (generalized you) DID THAT TO HIM. He was fine till you (generalized you) got to him and now look at him! He has a whole different and new kind of anxiety that the narrative never gave him!

[753398445a]

Liveblogging Harley Quinn Season 2 Episode 6 – All the Best Inmates Have Daddy Issues

Well, that’s a fun title. The obvious guess would be that Harley’s father makes a return, but we know from S1E05 that King Shark also has had issues with his father and the portrayal of Ivy’s relationship with hers in... Harley Quinn Highway? wasn’t so hot either. I’ve also seen what appeared to be screencaps of Harleen Quinzel and the version of Ivy from the season one finale (sidenote: has our fandom come up with a name for that aesthetic, like [something]!Ivy or whatever?) interacting, I assume those are from this episode since it was leaked in, like, Russia. Maybe dream sequences? If we’re dealing with psychological issues then Dr. Psycho’s mind-entering thing might be coming into play again. Then again, last episode seemed to be leading into a conflict with Bane and/or Two-Face, maybe we’ll be exploring one of their backstories? If so, I’m not sure how what I saw fits in, but for all I know it could just be some really accurate fanart or something. I have another dozen possibilities I’d like to mention but that seems tedious both to write and to read, so I’m just going to stop here. Oh, except I want to predict whether Sy will be in this episode: I’m gonna say no.

Starting off with some kick-ass music! Assuming they were alive, and that our genders/sexualities were compatible, I’d say marry Freeze, fuck Kite-Man (hell yeah!), kill Joker. Fries seems like a really great person to be in a relationship with, and while Kite-Man (hell yeah!) works well with Ivy I feel like he’s the type of person I would not want to be around for an extended length of time. Joker’s pretty obviously ‘kill’ because I don’t want to catch HPV from him (and also the obvious reasons). I wonder what Harley would’ve picked...

Did they recast the voice actor? Because Alan Tudyk has a lot of range but I don’t think that’s him. Then again, this guy doesn’t actually look much like The Joker to me either, so maybe the reason his voice is different is because Harley/Ivy are barking up the wrong tree.

Wait, is Harley not famous? Between her time near the then-most newsworthy villain in the city, then showing up on talk shows and the news, then her mother’s mention of how the neighborhood treated her poorly because everybody knew of what Harley had become, the raised street (with loop-de-loops) crediting her, the LoD’s press release when she joined, Joker’s wanted posters with her face on it, and Barbara recognizing her the minute her makeup came partially off I feel like the show has been portraying her as a household name.

Oh shit, flashback time! That pretty much confirms that what I saw is coming up, though I’m confused why [something]!Ivy is going to be here. Is that maybe also how she used to look? Also, Harley’s proof is totally going to be whatever pre-therapy Ivy was like, right?

Ngl, I thought that Harvey was Bruce until he started speaking. Also, I suppose he could be her proof, but that wouldn’t be as narratively satisfying as showing both us and Ivy her growth (no pun intended). And as long as we’re talking about Arkham chewing up psychologists, it would be cool if Crane made a cameo.

Wow, Harleen actually seemed grossed out by getting blood on her - didn’t episode five imply she was already killing people by this point?

He did appear, and so did a few other members of the rogues gallery. Shoutout to Riddler’s luxurious hair - I wonder if its naturally like that or if he’s somehow getting hair-care products while incarcerated. (also “Fuck off, Narc” is a great line for one of those soulmate AUs where the people have a birthmark in the shape of the first words that their soulmate says to them)

Harley just took a clipboard with a metal clip on it through what was clearly a metal detector. I don’t have a lot of personal experience with them, but I’m pretty sure that should have set it off. While I’m guessing that this is a mistake I suppose it could be a demonstration of how unreliable the security here is.

Is the coconut-lover getting another appearance weird to anybody else? At this point I feel like the writers may be ramping up to something with her character.

I could definitely make some jokes about the “I hate spunk” line, but I feel like that’s a bit too obvious. (that’s a lie, I tried but none of them were funny)

Jason Todd actually existed in this continuity? Based off how obviously lost Bruce was when trying to parent Damien I figured he hadn’t had a Robin before him.

It occurs to me that Gordon and Two-face actually interacted in the first episode of the season, I wonder if their prior relationship was alluded to in that scene.

Okay, the line “You wanna know how I got these emotional scars” might be the cleverest bit of writing this show has produced.

Also, so far I’ve been assuming this was an accurate retelling of what happened but I just remembered how warped Harley’s worldview is and am wondering how trustworthy any of this is. Then again, she wouldn’t know what Harvey said to that sniper. So maybe the beginning was just to set up the flashback, and not actually an indication that this is filtered through Harley’s perspective? (As of the end of the episode I’m still not sure)

[thegreenfairy13]

A Gotham Ghost Story - Part 4

When Oswald shoots Jim on the pier, his ghost is doomed to haunt the mobster. You can read the full story here. 

Thank you @mexican-texican for fixing my mistakes and I blame you for making me want to write again <3!

The police comes, of course, in the shape of one Harvey Bullock. When Jim spots the familiar, scruffy beard and the greasy hat, a wave of relief rushes through whatever is left of the former commissioner. Harvey is... family. He’s been closer to Jim than his own brother, had been at his side when he started drinking, when he tried killing himself in any way imaginable, when the city had been in anarchy’s firm grip, when he had failed time and time again. It had always been Harvey’s job to save him, to drag him back from the literal abyss. 

Jim wants to scream in joy and even does. The sound punches through the core of his being, seems to both shatter him and be simultaneously unheard to the world. It’s a weird feeling - being so loud and so silent all the same.

Yes, Harvey will be able to help. He’ll find a way to reunite Jim with his body, to mend this mess. He’ll call one of Gotham’s insane scientists, drop his body into some holy water, find someone to...do whatever can only be done in a city of utter madness.

Plus, Harvey being here means they must have found his body and maybe Jim only needs to come close to his corpse, maybe Cobblepot will be taken to the morgue and then, - then... then everything will be fine. Yeah, Harvey will fix this and then they’ll be chasing the Penguin for attempted murder again and it will be just like the good old days.

Unless, of course, it won’t.

It takes Jim far longer than he’d like to admit it, given he’s a cop and everything, but the way Harvey paces about the mobster’s living room, the way he’s not acting as if he’d own the place, should have set off his inner alarm. He’s not submissive, not exactly, but he isn’t acting as if he’s about to haul the former umbrella boy’s ass back to Blackgate either. He’s somewhat tense .

“Penguin,” he greets gruffly, not sitting down without an invitation like he used to.

“Detective,” the gangster purrs back with a crooked smile. He’s showing off too many teeth, accentuating his pointed nose when scrunching up his face awkwardly, and for a second, he truly looks like a Penguin - but not like a cute, clumsy bird, no, more so a creature from hell, a demon’s caricature of a living being and Jim remembers why he never truly submitted to the other man. He forgets, sometimes, what Oswald is capable of. Hidden under all that formal wear, polished smiles and perfect manners, lies a monster.

“I’m surprised to see you came personally to welcome me back in the arms of our beautiful city,” Oswald starts. The mobster limps to a nearby sofa and makes a show of sitting down as gracefully as possible with his injured leg. Extending his hand, he invites Harvey to do the same.

“This isn’t a courtesy visit,” the cop replies but takes the offered seat with a huff. “If it had been up to me, I could have gone another decade without meeting you.”

“And here I thought you already wanted to rekindle our old friendship,” the Penguin retorts smoothly.

“I don’t recall us being friends,” Harvey snaps back, more harshly than is probably wise. Jim cringes inwardly. Given the mobster’s unstable temper, taunting him isn’t probably the best course of action. He himself is the best example of that.

Leaning back and taking a deep breath the cop comes straight to the point, “What do you know about Jim Gordon’s disappearance?”

The silence that follows the lawman’s question is deafening. Harvey patiently waits for his answer, seemingly enraptured by the state of his cropped fingernails while the Penguin makes an impressive show of opening and closing his eyes in mock surprise, acting every bit like an appalled lady from an 18th-century novel. It’s laughable, really, and a wave of anger rushes through Jim at the sight. Storming over, he wants to shake the insolent gangster but of course, his hands only manage to reach through the ether when they try holding onto solid material.

The only reaction Jim elicits is a little shiver from the mobster that easily makes his cheap act seem more believable.

“Oh, haven’t you heard already?” Harvey teases skeptically. “The moment you leave Blackgate, our good Commissioner vanishes from the face of the Earth. And at first I thought, hey, might be a coincidence, but then I thought hey...Every time something bad happened to Jim Gordon it’s somehow related to you or your machinations, so why not ask our favorite, freshly-released jail-bird?”

The mobster smashes his hand onto the table so swiftly and with such vigor, it startles all three of them. “I’ve been home for only a couple of hours,  after having been locked up for false accusations no less. My first way lead me to my mother’s grave to pay her the respect she deserves, to take care of her derelict grave and to return to the house that Jim Gordon had fruitlessly attempted to steal from me and you come into my home and accuse me...of what, actually? Do you have any proof? Evidence? Or are you playing the same old tricks that robbed me of my freedom…”

Harvey halts the gangster’s rant with a motion of his hand and Jim shakes his head in silent admiration. If he hadn’t been shot dead only a couple of hours ago, he would almost be inclined to believe Oswald’s theatrics.

“You’ve always been an exceptional liar,” the Commissioner acknowledges with a little snarl.

“Thank you,” the Penguin mutters unthinkingly and Harvey raises his eyebrows while Jim freezes. Did he just….?

“Thank you?” Harvey parrots.

Confused, Oswald looks at him but quickly regains his composure. “Well, I suppose I should be flattered you believe me to be capable of kidnapping the Commissioner of Gotham City only mere minutes after my release from Blackgate. I must be a true comic book-supervillain in your eyes,” he scoffs derisively.

Taken aback, Harvey considers the Penguin’s words for a moment. “How would you know he was kidnapped?”

“I don’t,” the mobster retorts bitterly. “For all I’ve heard he could have turned his back and ran from Gotham.”

“And leave his only daughter behind?” Harvey asks incredulously. Narrowing his eyes, he inquires him further. “And what exactly did you hear?”

“Ohhh,” Oswald shrugs innocently, “just what I read in the papers. How our holier-than-thou cop’s marriage failed when his wife decided to rule parts of the underworld or how he teamed up with the aforementioned daughter’s mother and notorious criminal to raise said child. Maybe you should take a good look at Gordon’s private life before coming after an innocent man - again.”

At that, Harvey bursts out laughing. “Oh, I will,” he promises, wiping his eyes. “But I still thought I’d start with the criminal who never got tired of pointing out to anyone who might listen how much he hates Jim Gordon. Isn’t that right, Oswald?” he urges. “The guards at Blackgate couldn’t stand your tune any longer. Said you were like a little teenage-girl rejected by her first boyfriend. The only thing missing was you scribbling Jim’s name all over your prison-walls - but you probably did that too, didn’t you?” he teases.

Pressing his mouth into a thin line, the Penguin leans forward. Trembling hands fisted into the fabric of his own trousers, he replies, “You will understand, Detective, that I felt a slight wave of animosity towards you and your partner after the way you betrayed me in the aftermath of…”

“Betrayed you?” Harvey interrupts, angrily rising to his feet. “For a man as smart as you claim to be you are a short-sighted idiot.” Before Oswald can answer, the cop stops him with a motion of his hand. “You truly never figured it out, did you?” he demands to know curiously, and for once, the confusion on Oswald’s face is genuine.

Knowing what is about to happen, Jim rushes towards Harvey. “No,” he mumbles, unwilling to accept what he can’t prevent now that he’s just a shadow in a room. “No,” he groans in frustration when the other man starts talking of what he had done all those years ago. Is it really necessary, he thinks to himself? Is it really necessary for Oswald to know about each and every time Jim failed to do what’s right? Must he know about yet another one of his mistakes? How is it possible Oswald always sees him at his lowest, stripped from his morals and caught in a web of impossible choices even after his death? Is that his punishment in the afterlife? Oswald, of all people, gaining the moral high grounds above him and taunting him with his knowledge?

“You know you brought your time in Blackgate upon yourself, didn’t you?” Harvey challenges, clearly enjoying the Penguin’s tension. He mocks him like a game show host, marveling at his contestant’s distress.

“No, I don’t,” Oswald admits through gritted teeth, clearly upset with the charade. Jim reaches for Harvey, even places a hand over the other man’s mouth but the motion goes unnoticed.

“Did you never wonder, Oswald , how you only got ten years? You murdered so many people: in front of my eyes, Jim’s eyes, in front of countless witnesses and all you got was ten measly, fucking years?”

Oswald tries to reply but is again cut off. “If Jim wanted you gone forever, all he had to do was haul fifty plus people into the witness-stand.”

The Penguin, only moments before about to explode into a fit of rage, stands frozen in place. “Lies,” he whispers then, seemingly unconvinced.

“Lies?” Harvey parrots, nearly jumping from the ground in his anger. “It was you who betrayed the government when Gotham returned back to normal. It was you who thought he could fill his pockets and walk away unscathed. You should be thankful you only got charged for tax evasion,” the cop bursts out.

“Does the name Amanda Waller ring any bells? Did you or did you not try to fuck with her? Did you never wonder why Barbara, Ivy, Zsasz, and others walked free and didn’t get hunted down while you ended up in Blackgate for tax evasion of all things?!” he roars. “Unlike you, they were smart, they knew when to back down and not mess with people, but you and your greed! They wanted your head and I wasn’t against handing it over but Jim - oh Jim,” he emphasizes by pushing his finger forcibly into Oswald’s chest. “He wanted to give you a chance, he made a deal: pulled you from the streets for a considerable amount of time without having to kill you and reuniting Mrs. Waller with Uncle Sam’s money. And the hilarious thing is, you never even knew!” he exclaims in a frenzy. “They all knew, Ed knew, every idiot in Arkham or Blackgate knew but you were too caught up in your revenge-fantasies and you really didn’t think twice .”

Exhausted, Harvey falls back against the cushions, a slightly embarrassed Jim hovering next to him. Biting his lip, Jim doesn’t know what to say. What Harvey explained is just part of the truth, what he thankfully left out is how he failed to protect Gotham from yet another detrimental influence, one that this time came from the government itself. He opens his mouth, wants to explain that yes, all of that is true but just one side of the coin, that maybe he could have done more, that his actions were never about Oswald, that he could have...He isn’t really sure what he could have done but as nobody hears him anyway, he falls silent again.

The cop shivers slightly when Jim lays a consoling hand on his arm as they both wait for the Penguin to speak again. Swallowing heavily, Oswald looks down, barely concealing the tears glistening in his eyes.

“I do remember talking to government officials when Gotham was reunited with the mainland,” he admits at last. “Mrs. Waller…” he scrunches up his face as he tries staying calm. “She made a proposal. Wanted various people to work for her. Not exactly the kind of work you’d expect respectable people to do. I thought she was yet another corrupt politician trying to benefit from the chaos.”

“She’s still very much in charge,” Harvey grumbles angrily.

“I miscalculated,” Oswald admits with a sheepish smile.

“And you projected all your anger onto Jim and once you walked out of Blackgate you either kidnapped him or killed him,” Harvey concludes.

Gasping for air, Oswald screams out his denial. “Jim Gordon and I might have had our difficulties but you certainly don’t believe I could have kidnapped him and still be unaware of what you’ve just told me?” he exclaims angrily. “And as for killing him...You know better than anyone else in this city what we have been through. Do you really think I’d be capable of hurting him in this fashion?”

“Very much so,” Harvey replies drily.

“So if you want to arrest me,” the gangster snaps back indignantly, “present me the evidence. Is there any proof for your accusations?”

Laughing silently, the cop merely shakes his head. “Oswald, you still don’t get it. I’m not here as a cop. I’m here as Jim’s friend. The very same man who stood between you and Barbara Kean’s gun. And she strongly believes you have at least information on her child’s father’s whereabouts. The same goes for his still-wife Lee Gordon. You see, if these two ladies assume you hurt Jim Gordon, I won’t stand in their way, I’ll lean back and enjoy the show. They’ll tear down the city to get to you, at least you should know that. You know what they are capable of, so if you know where Jim is, you should talk now. Blackgate might be the last safe place for you in that case. Otherwise…” Harvey leaves the threat hanging as he readies himself to leave.

Looking up, the Penguin stares pleadingly at the cop. “You must believe me,” he begs. The look on the criminal’s face is so innocent it catches Jim off guard. Hunched over on his couch, shivering from the cold in the room, he looks like a small child. He pleads with Harvey to believe him and his expression is so open, so trusting while the man himself is so frail and broken even Jim starts to doubt what happened to him on that pier.

Getting up clumsily, Oswald limps over, extends his hands to the cop. “You are right, I was very mad at Jim but I could have never killed him. I had so many chances in the past but…” he trails off.

“He was still my friend,” he admits brokenly when his voice takes on a higher tune, almost making him sound like a woman and Jim loses his mind. He can’t look away even though he wants to protest with all his might.

He blinks once, searches for Harvey, wondering if the other cop falls for the trick but he’s already gone.

“But you weren’t a friend to him,” a male voice replies instead, one that belongs to a man Jim has never seen before.

Turning back to Oswald in confusion, Jim finds a petite blonde woman with her face hidden in her hands standing in the place the mobster used to be.

“I took always such care of him,” she sobs desperately as the man starts menacingly walking towards her. Now that he’s stepping closer to the fire, Jim can make out a mop of thick, gray hair, a pointed nose, and thin lips, contorted in disgust.

“A filthy whore, that is what you are,” the elderly man spits as he backs up the young blonde against the fireplace. From that angle, Jim has even a better view. He notes the man wearing a perfectly tailored suit, similar to Oswald’s taste but with much less extravagant details. He shakes the woman roughly as he pushes her towards the fire.

“But I love him!” she protests, terrified.

Horrified, Jim witnesses how the man smacks her across the face. “You love his money,” he hollers. Leaping forward, Jim tries to intervene, tries pushing the man off of the woman as he continues dragging her towards the fire. Angrily, he punches the man right in the face and the woman lets out an agonizing scream.  

Surprised, he lets go, giving her the opportunity to storm out of the room, a baffled Jim in her tow. While following her down the hall the cop briefly wonders if the man felt his punch or if the woman’s cry had been the cause of her escape. If Jim would have turned around though, he would have found the man rubbing his cheek.

[bigskydreaming]

Young Justice Season Three spoilers

YJ Producers: We have a Muslim superhero this season, look how great she is and how progressive we are!

Actual YJ episodes: Okay so Muslim superhero might be a bit of a stretch since well, if you wanna get technical, she’s actually a sentient piece of alien technology whose soul went into the body of a dead Muslim girl when her original alien tech got smushed. But even though she continually insists that she is not Gabrielle Daou, the Muslim girl whose body this was originally, and that’s the entire reason she chose a new name for herself, she is a completely different person aka a non Muslim, not even human person - she still wears a hijab! Totally counts!

YJ Producers: We always wanted to portray LGBTQ+ superheroes, we’ve actually had one the whole time and you just didn’t know it because mean old Cartoon Network wouldn’t let us show it, now that we’re on our own we can and will be showing LGBTQ+ characters this season!

Actual YJ episodes thirteen episodes into the season: Error 404 Content Not Found

YJ Producers: We’re finally gonna include Cyborg! Victor Stone is in the house, we love and appreciate that character so much, we really wanted to wait until we could do his story justice!

Actual YJ episodes: So see, after getting gruesomely almost-deaded after a huge blowout fight in which we showed Vic has a lot of rage cuz Black Teenage Boys Are Just Like That, that was all aimed at his dad for not showing any interest in his life and for never showing his son he cared until now cuz Black Dads Are Just Like That, well okay, yeah that sucks, but what happened NEXT is really cool - so his dad saved his life, right? Even if it was by using alien tech that every single person he came in contact with kept telling him wasn’t like normal tech, it was sentient and thus yes COULD be bad, which was further demonstrated through the fact that said life-saving tech kept like...hijacking Vic’s own body and turning him into a rage-monster that we could totally show being a Stereotype of Black Teenage Boy Aggression as he remorselessly hunted a terrified Violet but it wasn’t his fault, he was totally powerless to control his own actions cuz of the Evil Alien Tech in his body and like wait, whats bad about that, I forget the question??? Oh right! But stop WORRYING, its all good, see, as long as he stayed around Violet and never went too far from her ever, the woman of color had magic rage-pacifying skills that existed solely to calm down the Stereotypical Angry Black Teen when he couldn’t control himself because Reasons. LOL WHY ARE YOU UPSET, WHAT’S WRONG WITH THAT, THIS IS A GOOD VICTOR STORY, ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED???

YJ Producers: We love and value our characters of color and would never hurt them, we’ve actually taken steps to make sure of that!

Actual YJ Episodes: Violet and Vic are both practically unkillable, see? As proof, watch us violently murder Violet in every single episode in new and creatively gruesome ways, with bonus Vic near-death experiences that allow us to show him just utterly wrecked in ways we’ve never shown a single white character, even in this season when we’re all about showing off how much creative freedom we have now without CENSORSHIP! 

YJ Producers: This season is also going to focus on the stress and mental health issues that go along with life as a superhero, and who better to demonstrate this by suffering from superhero-related PTSD than Jefferson Pierce? The guy whose divorce already showed the stress and relationship issues that go along with life as a superhero (since all our white heroes in relationships are still going strong)!

Actual YJ Episodes: Oh, nothing say about this one huh, PUNK? That’s right, we actually did exactly what we said we’d do, see? Just look at how much time we spend talking about how traumatized Jefferson is and how miserable he is after killing a kid, and that’s nothing we’ve ever done (or would ever do - SHH THEY DONT NEED TO KNOW THAT) to a white hero! PLUS, like, he’s definitely getting better though, thanks to the support of the much younger character he’s surrounded by, instead of y’know, turning to his established friends and colleagues his own age for support! AND AND AND don’t forget about his growing relationship with the white doctor lady who is definitely NOT super creepy and NOT likely to betray him and break his heart and/or force him to make painful decisions when choosing between her and the kids he’s vowed to protect at some climactic point later in the season that all of that is super clearly not building towards!

YJ Producers: And don’t forget about Jaime Reyes and Virgil Hawkins and Mal Duncan and Raquel and Karen! They’re all still here too!

Actual YJ Episodes: We’ve definitely forgotten that Jaime Reyes and Virgil Hawkins and Mal Duncan and Raquel and Karen are all still here too.

YJ Producers: Major life events have happened to these heroes offscreen in the time we’ve been away from them, stuff that’s really shaped who they are and who they’ve become by now. All this stuff really matters, its how we’re different from other shows, we don’t pretend these characters stop existing the second they’re off your screens! Looks, Barbara Gordon is in a wheelchair! She’s Oracle now!

Actual YJ Episodes: Why would we bother to explain when or how this happened with even a single line of dialogue when The Killing Joke exists and is available on our streaming service? You sound dumb.

YJ Producers: Kaldur is our proof of how important our characters are to our over-all universe, look how far he’s come! He’s not Aqualad anymore, he’s AquaMAN, he’s one of the co-chairs of the Justice League, right up there with Wonder Woman who he definitely doesn’t need to turn to for approval or oversight of his actual decisions!

Actual YJ Episodes: We’re pretty sure we covered all this in the two minutes of screen time Kaldur’s had all season!

YJ Producers: Look, bottom line, this season, being away from Cartoon Network really allowed us to stretch our wings and flex creatively, we’re doing a lot of stuff with this story that just wouldn’t have been possible before, when we were on a network like CN and had overseers restricting our every move! This season gets a lot darker, a lot more mature, a lot more everything cuz freedom of speech baby! That’s what its all about!

Actual YJ Episodes: In support of our thesis, watch us up the graphically violent content of every single episode and kill lots of people instead of just cartoonishly knocking them out and carting them away to jail! That’s it, that’s everything we wanted to do that CN wouldn’t let us, that now we have total freedom to prove in a myriad of ways! What do you mean, what about *looks at smudged writing on hand* LGB - look we can’t be expected to read what that says when we have graphic violence to depict, fuck yeah!

YJ Producers: Besides, in happier news, its not all doom and gloom this season! Connor and M’Gann got engaged! Now that we’ve completely moved past all the stuff M’Gann did in S2 and don’t consider it worth mentioning, Superboy and Miss Martian are back together, and SB is totally gonna marry the woman who betrayed him in the one highly specific way that goes back to the very source of every trust issue he has and reason he has so many walls pushing people away!

Actual YJ Episodes: Yeah this is definitely happening. Suck my dick, Connor fans and fans who relate to and identify with SB and his story and think its maybe just not the healthiest to wave a wand and go “Happily ever after!” With, y’know, the guy whose greatest canon fear and paranoia is the sanctity of his mind being violated and being unable to trust that his own thoughts are really his and not just being spoon fed to him in a pod at Project Cadmus or by his telepathic girlfriend when she doesn’t like his opinion or his criticism of her actions and just doesn’t want to fight about it anymore. Look, she said she was sorry, get over it. What more do you want? For Connor to move on and have a healthy romantic relationship with someone who he doesn’t ever have to wonder if his trust in her and second chance is real and valid and not just her making him say and do what she wanted, like the way she definitely has before? For him and M’Gann to rebuild their trust over time, gradually, as friends, with the understanding they can be close again but romantic intimacy between them specifically probably isn’t in the best interests of the guy who will always have to wonder now if his thoughts are really his, no matter whether or not that’s true? Yeah, no, that sounds like a lot of work tbh, and really, we just like Miss Martian and Superboy together, they’re just cute, you know? Sides, we killed Wally and we don’t actually wanna talk about why Barbara’s paralyzed now and like, focus on her as a character, so what other longterm pairings do we really have? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THESE ARE ALL OUR OWN CHOICES AND IF WE WANT BETTER FOUNDATIONS FOR OUR CHARACTER DYNAMICS WE SHOULD MAKE BETTER CHOICES? UGH GET OFF MY BALLS, MAN.

YJ Producers: We’ve got Terra this season, and we’re doing some really cool, brand new things there.

Actual YJ Episodes: Slade’s Apprentice arc from Teen Titans the show and The Judas Contract in the comics, but really aren’t they the same thing? If you think about it, is it even possible to do that in a new way? Look, its not like we could do anything MORE original than that, like what, did you want us to have Tara genuinely be the good and loving sister she was when she reunited with her brother and expressed how traumatized she was by the things she did when she was supposedly being mind-controlled, actually invested in saving other trafficked meta-kids from being used and hurt the way she had been? Like, the way it seemed she was being written before we revealed it was a fake-out and she was actually working for Slade exactly like those other times we swore we were gonna be more original than that? Ugh why are you so unrealistic, dude, you have such weird expectations.

Me: Like dear YJ, you’ve still got me watching, because like a) I’m weak and I need this, b) nostalgia, c) Dick, Artemis, Connor, Jefferson and the chance of Jason and also Violet, Brion and Vic are all still enjoyable as characters even though your treatment of them and your narrative choices are all extremely suspect and also craptastic and also I really wanna punch you for a lot of this.

But goddamn, this was NOT your best work, and after years of waiting only to get this? Like.....so not crash, dudes. Not even a little bit.

[inappropriatefangirlneeds]

Gotham s4ep18 “That’s Entertainment”  Personal Review

 “Expect no mercy, just a hail of bullets.”   Warning spoilers below

* Yeah ALFRED PENNYWORTH give the kid a bullet prof car, might as well just shoot right at him * “What are we waiting for? Those people need our help.” “Good man” Jim Gordon getting right to BRUCE WAYNE to put him into an explosive collar is pretty much undermining his words last week about Bruce endangering himself and his accusations against Alfred of supporting this. But it´s the bigger picture, right. It´s always the bigger picture with all of them. Just that all of them keep thinking they got the best judgement of what the bigger picture and greater cause is. * “But even if it does maybe, by facing Jerome I can show the people of Gotham that standing up to terror is the only way to take its power away.” “Well said.” Bruce Wayne talking to JEREMIAH, addressing his accomplishments with such eloquence and politeness was remarkable to watch. And it makes me want to see some sequels about his education so far. That´s not just something you just can do, that´s a practiced skill he´s capable of invoking whenever needed and it´s wonderful. It´s a fine line between reasoning and manipulation!  I really loved that they have had him keep appreciating Jeremiah´s research after the whole mess. It´s just a glimpse on what the fandom does every now and then point out: Batman with his bulletproof car might be able to do some good with questionable methods but Bruce Wayne would be capable of bringing remarkable change for the sake of Gotham and it´s citizens. It´s a shame that this responsibility keeps being neglected. How much hospital equipment does a bullet proof car buy? * “It was an act.” “I think you're more sure about that than me.” I´m glad they at least keep a bit of ambiguity there, only if it´s just a tiny moment. You don´t just completely change by a plant induced nightmare, that just can´t eradicate all you´ve gone through. * “What, you have a laugh? No bloody way.”  Idk why but this was hilarious * “For once I agree with Alfred.”  Oh Selina ..  * “Boom. Headless people.” * “Quite the dilemma, Jim. You gonna let me fall and die? Or are you gonna pull me up and arrest me? What's it gonna be? Lawman or murderer? Ah. Good ol' Gordon. Always playing by the rules.” JIM GORDON and this old question again. I almost expected him to not care about Jerome falling. Also how much does Jerome know about Jim doing stuff like going to retired mob bosses and beg them to return? Can someone tell him? Would that make him laugh? *  Also Jim Gordon messing with a detonators signal (again) ..  good that Jerome doesn´t have Nygma on his team * OSWALD COBBLEPOT looks so pretty, I´m done * With Oswald´s expressions throughout this whole enterprise I am not in the slightest surprised that Jerome has had doubts about him :D You can do better than that Oswald, we´ve seen it. * Jim  & Oswald was too precious. “I mean, I was willing to play along with him for a while. Perhaps he had a way to make us all rich? A return to the good old days, you know? But nothing good will come of this.” “Or maybe you just don't like the competition. Jerome casts quite the shadow.” “Oh, please! He's a maniac, an anarchist. He is not interested in money or power. And I am an honest criminal, Jim.” * “What's worse than that? How can you run an empire in a city full of lunatics?” As much as Jim Gordon keeps pointing out that Oswald caring about the state of the city is only for the sake of his own goals and aspirations I however do see my (head)canon confirmed that Oswald cares for the city. Maybe not more than about himself but still. He was horrified by what Theo Galavan had planned and he certainly didn´t need to care about these people. And I do think that he would have been capable of putting on a better poker face, lean back longer and step upon some ashes to claim what´s left. It´s not like the city has seemingly quite well survived a couple of gas attacks. Why not this one too?  Also Oswald was ready to subject it to a mob war. This clearly was more than a power struggle and jealousy towards Jerome, Oswald was not willing to step over a certain line of (“unnecessary”) cruelty. * “I´m home” Okay this killed me, as much as this plotline is icky, BARBARA KEAN having felt out of place and just wrong all her life now feeling that she has a purpose and worth killed me. This though is remarkably ugly and I don´t like it: “Why don't you do it?” “Because I am the one true heir of an immortal god's ancient dynasty. And I don't dirty my fingers with the likes of you anymore.” And the hell, why is she just always the love interest? * What I also really love about this is: “The Barbara I know would've already sold all of this junk to the highest bidder.” “Junk? This is my destiny.” “And being with me and Selina at the club? That isn't? You begged me to partner with you.” “Can't you see who that is up there? That is me and Ra's, 400 years ago.” “Oh, please, I mean, she doesn't even look like you.” “It looks exactly like me. It is me. I have finally found my true purpose. I'm not gonna let your jealousy distract me.” “Ra's influenced history.” “He was a cult leader, and he still has them brainwashed.” “And what about me, am I brainwashed? There are things written here that could change the way we view the past forever. Perhaps, I am the one to bring that change to light.” I guess it´s because it´s just playing right into a couple of headcannons. And it brings back some reference to her being an art gallery owner. And now I´m even safeish to headcanon that this was not just for prestige and money but that she truly was invested and interested in art(history). This finally gives her some personality and passion. Her doing that research about the glowing hand already sparked my interested, because I know Bruce & Co did it do but you don´t just get deep into historic research like that, you gotta have some background to dig around properly. And that “change the way we view the past” line omg! You don´t just say something like that without caring about history. I´m delighted. It´s not just ohh I got all the ancient magic at my hand to do stuff and things with it there is also this element of knowledge and curiosity about the past! And I´ll die with that headcanon. Just imagine young Barbara Kean having an interest in history, buried deep in dusty books but her parents discouraging her. Like who cares about that. That´s not a career and it´s not gonna buy an expensive apartment or bring prestige to the family name.   With going for the art gallery option Barbara found a way to keep associating with the wealthy elite, like her parents want her to but also thought she could keep a bit close to things she was interested in. But along the way this started to sometimes shift into resentment because it´s not quite what she actually wants to do. She even appreciates modern art the more she learns about it but it´s just not quite right and this could be the reason why Tabs picked up some dismissive attitude or remarks about things Barbara actually values. Her parents just estranged her from her interest so far that even after they were gone she´s just about having control .. eg about the underworld (and a couple of other fleeting  stuff and things because this show is a cluttered mess) instead of being able to reconnect to what she was interested in, also they were quite successful with hammering into her that this is just not an option to be anything else than stupid interest or hobby. Also: The Cult & Brainwash thing & TABITHA GALVAN Can we talk about that bit, about how the contrasted Barbara´s personal past and now almost painful moment of feeling she found some worth with on the other hand TABITHA GALAVAN´s past of actually having been in a cult. Can we appreciate that they addressed this. Also this just renews another headcanon of mine: That a big failure of the Dumas Order´s was neglecting Tabitha. They obviously trained her but after that statement it´s also obvious that they failed to indoctrinate her like they did with Theo Galavan. Once failed and once going over a couple of lines with Silver, Tabitha was very quickly ready to abandon the grand plan and holy mission. I guess the Order only saw the male heir as being of any importance and that´s what they taught him (and indirectly also taught Tabitha) it was Theo´s mission, Theo´s legacy and in the end also Theo´s accomplishment. Tabitha was surely kept close and in line but they failed to incorporate and include her.  Personal Headcanons aside .. what is this plot even ??! And what the fuck is that horrible odd picture?! Especially the faces look so off. * “That's why I'll outlive you. That's why I'm loved 'cause I don't give a damn about the rules. “It's a long way down. You sure you'll outlive me?” “Oh, I'm sure 'cause I'm more than a man. I'm an idea, a philosophy. And I will live on in the shadows within Gotham's discontent. You'll be seeing me soon. Au revoir.” * “Finally set you free” Even if JEROME VALESKA´s “they are both the same” talk has a point (and given the remarks about their childhood they are both shady, the Ecco devoted her life thing is still creepy af there is one)  even with that JEREMIAH VALESKA  has made a choice to protect himself and use his mind to create, buildings and structures but also an electrical engine that creates a grand amount of power to supply the city (and I´m just gonna assume he would not try to milk every last penny out of it) that´s all far from destruction and chaos and that is a choice and I want to believe that choices do matter. That there is some gas action happening that eradicates all that is just cheap.  And it does undermine Jerome´s words about being an idea and philosophy that will live on with Gotham´s discontent. I don´t want to see this as Jeremiah being set free, I want to see this as Jeremiah being robbed of his choices and agency. And while I can get behind the general idea that refuting rules, deprecating law and embracing destructive chaos stemming out of neglect and discontent could be an interesting concept this also gets cheapened if its new poster boy is someone who is forced into this role. Arguably Jerome´s upbringing (I´m just gonna assume a general horribleness and abuse is very much what happened no matter the details) as opposed to Jeremiah´s way out of this has if not forced paved a way into the discontent, and what his was it grandfather (Edit: father in 2x3) said about him being a curse on the city was the role he found he could embrace rather than being hurt over it. So maybe Jerome could be also seen as a case of self fulfilling prophecy that others pushed upon him but there still was a choice so I would not equal that to being changed through a toxin. If they wanted to really sell the philosophy idea they would have planted some seeds in the DeadJeromeOnCar scene, which imho was really well done solemnly and actually kind of sad, but they could have put someone in there disrupting that notion with some destructive “not gonna go to respect the dead body or any rules in any way” notion .. 

* What´s up with the voices and language? MR. FREEZE got a new distinct tone and intonation that I just can´t point my finger on, or is it only me?  And has JONATHAN/SCARECROW ever shown signs of YodaGrammar? “More laughing gas we need to make.” Did I forget about it, did the boy talk like that? * “Gotham's Moral Authority Society”  Gotham's Moral Authority Society …….. Why do I feel more threatened by this than by any of the murderous criminals .. ?!

[batwayneman]

Accomplice

Chapter 5

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

The weeks after Zsasz's breakout were some of the most hectic of Jim's career.

The mobs had erupted into action as if a race official had pulled the starting piston; nearly everyday Jim walked into work to the news of a new attack. The blood hadn't stopped running down the sidewalk since the breakout.

Public displays of power by the mob had always been a part of Jim's life; growing up and working in Gotham. The constant struggle of the back and forth balancing act between the mobs was punctuated with shootings and robberies, stabbings and chaos. It was a rhythm that had defined Jim's entire life, and since the breakout, it was a screaming tempo that no one could hope to keep up with.

Not even Batman.

Apparently the sudden spike in crime was too much for a nine foot tall winged demon to handle on his own. Now some crime scenes were left untouched, the way they used to be before the Batman had ever shown up in Gotham. He was still active; just the other day he had brought down one of Falcone's drug dealers that had been plaguing the blocks around the South Side for months.

The dealer had been taken to the hospital with a broken jaw.

But there was no time to even celebrate the capture of the criminals that Batman did manage to bring in when there were three more that got away for every one that was arrested; two more mob attacks for every one thwarted.

Jim couldn't imagine how bad a situation they would be in if they didn't have Batman helping prevent casualties.

Since the breakout, he estimated that the mobs had killed fifty seven people. He was trying to keep track of all their names in the files in his desk, but it was difficult, sometimes, to differentiate between random crimes and organized ones, especially when the mobs were waging all out war.

How could you distinguish between low-level mob members and just frustrated civilians picking a side, or using the chaos to exact revenge on an old grudge?

Normally he could check with Bullock and Sarah to share information on who was or wasn't part of the mobs, that he had barely spoken to either of them since the attacks began.

The last time he had really spoken to Bullock, beyond short greetings in the hallways, he had pulled Jim aside into a deserted hallway. He had made him swear up and down that he would "keep his head down, and his moustache out of the mob's business, for fuck's sake." As if it was possible to do anything in the city without the mob knowing about it.

As if he didn't know how likely it was that Zsasz would want revenge on the people who had locked him up.

As if he didn't think about how easy it was to break through a door every time he locked his apartment for the night, with just him and Barbara inside.

Jim wasn't scared for himself, not like he was terrified for her. He was kept awake at night thinking of Zsasz breaking into their apartment, or grabbing her when she was waiting for the bus, or when she was at school. And if the uncertainty and chaos of the mobs continued into the next few months it would spill into her summer vacation, where most of her supervision during the days were her gymnastic coaches, or overworked, underpaid teenager counsellors.

He was already having a hard enough time hiding his stress from her now, after only a few weeks of having Zsasz on the loose. He wasn't sure he'd be able to continue the illusion of peace for the months when she was at home more.

While walking towards Bullock's office, Jim double checked that he had put his pipe back in his pocket, and that his phone hadn't fallen out during his smoke break.

This was the first time that he, Sarah, and Bullock were all able to meet up; three in the afternoon, on a drizzly Tuesday, three weeks after that terrible phone call.

He opened the creaky door, and Sarah, who had beat him to the office, gave him a one handed wave. Bullock was lounging, resting his feet on his desk.

They must have been able to smell his smoke, but for once neither said anything.

"You alright Gordon?" Bullock said by way of greeting.

I'm still alive," Jim replied wryly. "You?"

Bullock smirked slightly, but nodded.

"Have you heard anything?" Jim asked, moving further into the office and shutting the door behind him.

"No, no one has mentioned any deaths that match Zsasz's pattern. Though that might not mean much. No one's in a talking mood. They've all locked themselves down like they're goddamn Fort Knox."

Jim snorted.

"What I don't understand -" Sarah interjected -"is why Falcone risked breaking Zsasz out if he's not going to have him kill anyone."

Jim furrowed his eyebrows. "Everyone already knows he has Zsasz. No need to risk his hitman being taken out in all the fighting right now," he paused, "or risk Batman getting to him and putting him back in prison."

Sarah rolled her eyes at the mention of Batman, but didn't dwell on it. "But then all Falcone has done by breaking Zsasz out is draw a lot of heat on himself! Everyone is attacking him so why-"

"Everyone is attacking everyone," Bullock interrupted shortly, moving his feet off his desk and sitting up. "Maroni is against Falcone. Falcone is against Maroni. Fish is trying to fuck them both over, and what's left of the Bertinellis are pretending that they still matter at all. Hell, some of Maroni's gang is even fighting amongst themselves. Killed that poor goddamn kid at the pier the other day."

Jim grimaced. The nineteen year old had been dead for hours before the police had found him. He'd been beaten to death.

He forced the thought aside, turning slightly to look at Sarah. "Besides, just because we haven't seen Zsasz's work on the streets doesn't mean that he's not with Falcone. He could be working behind the scenes. He was smart enough to avoid me and Renee for months when he was active, he's not a complete moron."

"I guess," Sarah said, lips twisting into a frown, "But it just seems strange that he took this huge risk in breaking Zsasz out of prison - painting a huge target on his back - and hasn't done anything with him." She shrugged. "I just thought that he would want to gloat a bit more."

Bullock snorted loudly. "He doesn't need to gloat. All the police, the other gangs, the Batman too probably, all know that he's got a serial killer with him."

"But we don't know that Zsasz is with him! We have no proof at all that he's with Falcone. Hell, we don't even know if he's even in Gotham at all!" She said loudly, turning her angry eyes on Bullock.

"Alright, alright," Jim interrupted their bickering before it turned into an actual argument, "Even if Zsasz isn't here, we have to act like he is. We can't assume that Zsasz isn't around just because no one has seen him." Since the news had first come in, Jim had resigned himself to living as if Zsasz was in Gotham; he had to. If he was wrong, it wouldn't just be his life he was risking.

Sarah took a deep breath, the tension in her shoulders slowly drained and she leaned back. "Sure. Yes, you're right." She ran her hand through her hair. "I hate this." She muttered.

Bullock huffed a laugh. No one had to ask what 'this' was.

It was quiet in the office.

Jim cleared his throat to interrupt the silence. He should feel relief that Zsasz hadn't killed anyone that they knew of, but he had lived in Gotham for far too long to take good news without expecting bad news right around the corner. He could practically hear the horror movie music getting louder and louder, though there was no monster in sight.

"Well, if there's no news, I should get back to my reports." He finally said, pushing his paranoia aside. The piles on his desk were getting downright ridiculous, and dwelling on Zsasz helped no one.

"Me too," Sarah sighed. "I was up all night and barely made a dent."

Jim turned and held the door open for her.

"See you Bullock," he said, looking back at him and nodding.

"Watch yourself Gordon!" He warned absentmindedly, putting his feet back up on the desk and leaning back.

Jim yawned as he walked through the front doors of his GCPD building, pausing to shake some water off his hat.

He had been out late the night before, having taken a robbery case just before he was supposed to leave for the night. The call reported that the thief had taken a few thousand dollars worth of electronics at gunpoint, and ran.

Luckily Jim had been by himself when the call came in, so he had gone alone without worrying about a partner. As he was driving to the store, he had seen someone in a bulky, too-warm sweatshirt for the hot night. When Jim had pulled over next to him, the man had panicked and tried to run, but had turned into a dead end alley.

Jim had spent a lot of time in Gotham, he knew just about every alley in the city, and where they lead.

Some were more famous than others.

Jim's wet shoes squeaked on the clean floor. The building seemed a little emptier than usual, he noted, as he walked the familiar halls towards the largest break-room, where he had stashed his food in the fridge for later. He had considered dropping off his damp hat and coat in his office, but it was too far for his stomach to wait.

When he turned down the hallway, Sarah was sitting on a bench outside the double doors. He noticed her before she saw him, and even from down the hallway he could see how anxious she was, how she was bouncing her leg up and down and biting her lip. His eyebrows pulled together slightly in confusion as he walked up to her. When she heard his footsteps, she jumped up.

"What's wrong?" He asked before she could say anything.

Her eyes were huge on her pale face. "He was here Jim."

"Who was? What are you talking about?" He asked slowly, trying to calm her down.

"Batman! He dropped off these, these goddamn files and left!"

"What?"

"Oh just come see," she exclaimed shortly, whirling around to open the door.

It seemed like every officer in the building had crammed themselves into the room; Jim couldn’t even see the table through the crowd. Lots of people turned their heads when the doors opened, but when they saw it was Jim they went back to speaking in hushed undertones to the people around them. The air was hot and thick with so many people in the room, all their anxiety in the small space.

As he walked further into the room, Sarah right at his back, some of the crowd parted so he could see the table in the centre. There were enough pages of paper on it to cover it completely.

He picked up the closest page to him, and noted with quiet, reluctant amusement that the formatting was the same as the pages that Batman had left when he had stopped the arsonists.

At the top of the page was several pictures, dated from around two months ago. They showed a woman - a prostitute, based on how she was dressed - leaning against a car, and the man inside clearly showing cash. The other picture was the woman entering the vehicle with him.

The prostitute's face had been blurred out, but looking closer, Jim could see, with a dull pang of shock, that the driver of the car was Tolbert; the officer who wiped cases for Falcone. He was even wearing his police uniform in the pictures.

He quickly scanned through the rest of the report. It described the timeline of Tolbert picking up the prostitute in almost unnecessary detail.

The pictures were damning enough.

As he finished scanning the page, Jim's mouth twisted in a wry smile. Though Batman clearly knew the identity of the prostitute, her name in the report had been blacked out every time; it was classified.

Jim picked up another page, putting the prostitute one down.

This one was from last month, a week before Zsasz had been broken out. It showed Tolbert being guilty of possession and sale of drugs, complete with chemical analysis of the drug (62% cocaine purity). Batman had taken pictures of Tolbert with bags of the small white crystals, and him accepting money from the other dealer. This time the other person's face hadn't been blurred, and Jim recognized him as the drug dealer that the Batman had brought in a few weeks ago; the one with the broken jaw.

It mentioned that the drug's were sold for Falcone by name, and made a point of saying that Tolbert was likely a middle man to move money between the crime boss himself and the individual dealers.

Jim could feel that his eyes were wide, and his pulse was pumping furiously under his skin as he put the drug report down and looked around the rest of the table.

He had known that Tolbert was a dirty cop, known it like he knew his own name, but that was different than seeing it all presented to him in an easy to follow format.

Sarah, still standing behind him, nudged him in the elbow. He turned and looked at her, and she nodded her chin to the centre of the table. He followed her solemn gaze to a big report; this one several pages long; kept together with large, heavy duty black staples.

The first page had a different formatting than all the other reports that Batman had left for them. It was, Jim recognized with another pang of dread in his gut, lifted directly from the GCPD's own records on guns. This particular record showed all the details of Tolbert's service gun, from the date it was activated as an official police gun the service number on the side.

He flipped the page.

The pictures on this page, like all others in the various reports, was taken from a high vantage point. The roof, maybe. The focal image in this photo was not Tolbert, but two clearly dead bodies lying in the shadow of a building. Batman must have gotten to the scene too late to save the victims, but he caught an image of the still smoking gun.

The next image was the view of the gun zoomed in.

Tolbert's gun's serial numbers were clearly visible.

In Batman's examination of the two dead bodies, he had found a piece of paper with the name of the street corner where they had died, as well as Tolbert's name. It was also pictured as part of the report, seemingly an innocuous afterthought for the chaos it would cause in the city.

In the following pages, Batman had pointed out that the men were both members of Falcone's and Maroni's individual arms trade, though from opposite sides. Batman had estimated, and Jim would agree, that the men were trying to negotiate a cease-fire in that area, as the mob violence would be hurting both businesses. Tolbert was supposed to supervise, to make sure it didn't get violent.

And he had shot both of them, including the fellow member of Falcone's mob.

Jim took a slow breath in, and exhaled equally slowly, fighting against the rush of adrenaline. He wasn't surprised that Tolbert was a murderer - that was practically expected of the bad cops of Gotham - but that he had betrayed Falcone of all people.

People had been tortured and killed for much smaller transgressions against Gotham's oldest gang.

Jim looked back on the first page of the report.

It was dated three days ago.

He tossed the large report back onto the table, rubbing at his moustache and shaking his head slightly. There was so much information, almost too many changing facts to keep of all at once.

But before he could even begin to process his emotions - horror at the death of the two men, fear of how much Batman knew, at how apparently easy it was for him to get police records, petty satisfaction at seeing Tolbert exposed for the dirty cop that Jim had known he was for years - the door opened. Jim's head joined everyone else's in turning anxiously to see who it was.

The captain of the station, the tall, wide man that he was, was the first person that everyone saw. Right behind him was Tolbert himself. He was as rat-faced as always, with a pointed nose and small eyes that always looked beady, even when he wasn't walking around like he was better than everyone else. The room buzzed loudly at their entry; a hive of bees all speaking at once, before going silent.

"What the hell is this?" Asked the captain, who was very taken aback to find half the GCPD waiting for him. Tolbert's eyes narrowed slightly in confusion, but otherwise his smug demeanour didn't change. Despite himself, Jim felt a thrill of anticipation at the idea of watching Tolbert realize just how fucked he was.

The whole room shifted again, moving to let the two men reach the table, like they just had with Jim.

It stayed silent in the room as the newcomers started reading through the reports, as they slowly reached the same conclusion that everyone else in the room had already figured out. Jim watched as the captain's face grew more and more pale, and Tolbert's face and ears flushed a raging red.

"So how was the sex?" An unfamiliar voice called from the other side of the room. The tension broke, slightly, as some people started chuckling.

"What?" Tolbert demanded furiously, looking up from the page he was reading to find who was speaking. He must not have found the prostitution report yet, Jim noted.

"With the prostitute. Was she any good? Asking for a friend." More laughter rang around the room.

For the first time, Jim noticed Bullock, standing quietly across the room. He barely recognized him; he was looking so pale and withdrawn. Jim nudged Sarah, and nodded his head towards Bullock. Her eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

"Did you really kill those people?" Another voice asked, more quietly this time, making Jim turn away from Bullock. Once again the break room fell silent, but this time it was as dry and as sharp as ice.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Tolbert snarled.

"It's all in the big report there," Jim said causally, gesturing to the stapled report. He hadn't meant to respond, but the words were out of his mouth before he had thought them through.

Tolbert whirled around to stare at him, his tiny eyes bulging more as he recognized Jim. Behind him, the captain picked up the report with trembling hands.

"You've got no proof," he spat, taking a step towards Jim threateningly.

Jim met his eyes without flinching. "Well, actually the Batman put the proof in all of those. So."

Sarah inhaled sharply behind him. Tolbert took another step towards Jim; they were now eye to eye. His furious red face made his thin blond hair look even lighter.

The room held its breath. Jim's heart was pounding with adrenaline, but he didn't let it show on his face.

"Enough! That's enough." The captain said, grabbing Tolbert's shoulder and hauling him back a step. "We're going to the commissioner."

Tolbert didn't move, and neither did Jim. If Tolbert wanted a fight, let him be the one to start it, in front of everyone. He may be good at shooting unsuspecting people at close range, but Jim knew he could take him in an actual fight, if he needed to.

He clenched his fist.

The captain, who had been moving towards the door with the damning report grasped in his hand, suddenly noticed that Tolbert wasn't following.

"Now!" He said sharply.

Tolbert's jaw twitched angrily, but he slowly broke Jim's gaze and stormed out of the room, and the tension followed him.

"Don't the rest of you have jobs to do? What are we paying you for?" Yelled the captain as he followed Tolbert out of the room. The door slammed shut behind him.

It was the most authoritative that Jim had ever heard the captain sound in the seven years he had known him.

The crowd started to disperse sleepily, like it had just realized that the show was over. Some started to leave, most continued to talk among their friends. Bullock, however, had made a beeline for the door. Sarah and Jim, without having to say anything, moved to follow him.

He rolled his eyes and made an ugly face when he noticed that they were following him, but otherwise didn't fight as they caught up to him and continued as a group to Sarah's office, which was closest.

Bullock entered first, walking to the corner only to turn and cross his arms over his chest defensibly.

Jim closed the door behind himself and Sarah. "What's wrong?"

Bullock stared at him incredulously. "What's wrong with me? What the hell is wrong with you? Damn near starting a fight in the middle of the break room."  

"Tolbert wanted a fight, all I did was point out which report proved him to be a traitor," Jim said shortly, shaking his head slightly.

"Oh my god," Sarah muttered, rubbing at her forehead with her hand.

Jim turned to look at her, eyebrows furrowed. "What? I didn't start anything."

"No, technically you didn't do anything," she admitted exasperated, "But you weren't subtle when you publicly stood up to a traitor and name-dropped Batman, you moron. That isn't exactly keeping a low profile!"

Bullock snorted loudly. Jim glared at him, but he just shrugged.

"But," Sarah continued, "Jim getting testy is the least of our problems. How the fuck did Batman get into the break room that's in the middle of the building, in the middle of the night when so many people are here?" She looked back and forth between them.

Jim sighed, pushing the last of his anger aside. He thought back to the room, trying to picture it.

He rubbed his moustache with one hand. "Isn't there that air vent in the corner?" he finally said.

"I think so," she replied frowning. "But wouldn't someone have heard him?"

"No, that's not it," Bullock interjected. "He obviously teleported away by turning into pure shadow, or whatever the rumour of the week is," he said bitterly, lacking any of his normal humour.

Sarah rolled her eyes, but Jim's mouth twitched downwards in a frown.

"What's bothering you Bullock?" Jim said slowly, staring at him over his glasses. "This wasn't really anything new, Batman has had written proof of guilt when he's taken down criminals before."

Bullock tilted his head slightly, again looking at Jim incredulously. "You fucking idiot. This is completely different. I know you had a history with Tolbert, but he was a cop. Batman went after a police officer."

"Tolbert was more gangster than cop." Jim said stubbornly, narrowing his eyes.

"I'm not happy about him going after police now, but I'm much more concerned that he's hacking official police records to get some of his information," Sarah said.

Jim inclined his head in agreement, before going back to looking at Bullock. "Tolbert's a criminal. He's as corrupt as they come, he's a bad cop, and if the mob didn't run this city he would have been gone years ago," he finished bitterly.

"Sure he was a shit head, but he was good at covering his own tracks! And Batman pulled apart all his lies like a parent scolding their five year old." Bullock shook his head back and forth in short, jerky movements. "I'm a bad cop too Jim! Who's to say that he isn't going to expose me next for having ties to the mob?" he finished shortly, staring at Jim.

"But you're not a fucking murderer Harvey!" Jim stopped just short of yelling.

"Is that going to matter?" Bullock asked, taking a step towards Jim. "What rule book is he following? What if he decides I'm the next bad egg that needs to go? What’s your plan then?”

Sarah bit her lips, looking back and forth between them. They stared at each other.

Jim looked away first. He wanted to reassure Bullock, because the idea of anyone going after him when there were so many worse cops.

But he couldn't. Because he truthfully didn't know what Batman would do next, who would be the next person that he chose to target.

Jim didn't know that Bullock wouldn't be next.

"Dinner's ready!"

"Ok, I'm coming," Barbara replied from her room as Jim finished putting the spaghetti in the two bowls. He had meant to make something more elaborate, but after the... eventful day at work, all he had been up for making was the simple pasta.

She met him at the table a minute later, throwing herself into the seat.

"Hard homework?" He asked, looking over his glasses at her.

"No, there's just a lot of it," she replied, already starting to dig in. Jim smiled slightly, before following her example.

"Didn't you have a math test today? How'd that go?"

She rolled her eyes. "It was easy, I finished early," she paused to take another bite, chewing and swallowing quickly. "I don't think that Mr. Sosa really cares anymore, some of the questions were the same as they were in the homework."

Jim chuckled. "Really?"

"He didn't even change the numbers!" She said with a sly grin.

"Oh, so it was really easy," Jim said, waggling his eyebrows and matching her grin.

She giggled, taking another bite of spaghetti.

A knock at the door made them both turn and look. Jim slowly put down his utensils and walked to the door.

He exhaled slowly before checking the peephole. Relief flooded his body; it was the just the newspaper delivery. He could see the delivery man across the hall.

He darted out the door and picked up The Gazette off the ground. Waving in thanks at the delivery man, he returned to the apartment, and locked the door behind him.

The front page, once again, was all about the Batman, or the Gotham Bat, or the Dark Knight, or whatever term Vale had coined this week. She had been relentless in her coverage; writing a new article almost every day, despite there rarely being any new information.

The Gazette was reaching record numbers of sales, so she must have been doing something right.

"Is it about Batman?" Barbara asked from the table.

Jim turned to look at her, astonished. "How do you know about Batman?"

"We talk about it during lunch at school," she said casually, taking a bite of food.

He slowly raised his eyebrows at her, and she sighed exasperatedly, but smiled. "Keisha was telling everyone that her older sister saw him when someone tried to take her purse. And then Benny said that Batman saved his dad during the fight in Newtown from a few weeks ago,” she trailed off, watching to see how he’d react.

Taking deep, controlled breaths, Jim put the newspaper on the table and sat down.

The fight at Newtown had been a nasty skirmish between Fish and Falcone's people.  It had been a shootout in a car repair shop. Six civilians had been killed. Batman had been at the scene - all the surviving gunmen had been found disarmed and tied up - but had obviously been there too late to stop the fight before people had got hurt.

It was comforting, somehow, that Batman had apparently rescued some of the people in the building.

It was less comforting that he was hearing new information about Batman from his twelve year old daughter.

“I suppose you uh, talked about that during lunch too, huh?” He finally said.

She looked sheepish, or at least pretended to look sheepish. “Yeah. Everyone kept asking Benny all sorts of questions for a while.” She paused. “I think he really liked the attention,” she said, taking another bite.

Jim’s mouth quirked up in a half smile, before settling back into a frown. When had she grown up so much? She seemed too young to be discussing things like vigilantes and mob attacks at the lunch table.

He remembered discussions of the mob when he was in school. Everyone knew whose family was in what mob, and who was responsible for the shooting, who was selling the drugs and for who. Jim knew lots of classmates who would disappear from school, only to turn up a few weeks later, either arrested or dead.

Barbara was still far to young to be having these discussions at school.

Or maybe Jim was just getting old.

Either way, it made him sad.

“What else are people saying?” He asked, hoping to sound casual.

“About Batman? A lot. Like Jia Huang doesn't like him. She said that her dad said that Batman is a criminal menace who should be taken down-“ That wasn't surprising, the Huangs had been with the Falcones for years - “and she keeps saying that her dad is going to go to the mayor to complain.

Jim huffed. “Oh yeah?”

“Yup. A few people even agree with her,” she nodded seriously.

“Sounds like there are lots of mixed feelings then.”

Barbara nodded because her mouth was full.

The kitchen quieted as Jim considered his daughter.

“What do you think? About the Batman?” He asked, still looking at her.

Her mouth twisted slightly downwards, thinking the question through carefully.

“I think that he’s a hero. He’s helping people, and that is what heroes do. Like you,” she said like it was an easy statement, like it was just another fact that she had memorized.

Jim swallowed his food, and swallowed his initial flash of anger at being compared to a lawless vigilante.

“How do you figure that? He's breaking the law.” He asked, desperately keeping his voice even.

"Well," she paused again, still thinking her of her answer carefully, "what if a house was burning, and there were people inside who were trapped, and the firefighters weren't there yet? If someone broke into the house to rescue the people inside, they’d be a hero, right? Even though they're still technically breaking in. It’s like that.”

Jim exhaled slowly and deliberately through his nose, forcing back the mess of words and emotions desperate to escape. He should be revulsed, furious, or scared even, that Barbara thought that Jim's job was the same as a vigilante's.

But his initial spark of anger at the comparison was already cooling, leaving him with the familiar bone-deep exhaustion. He even couldn't manage indignation, and that in itself was frustrating.

When had the line between his job and Batman gotten so thin? When had he gotten so comfortable with Batman working in his city that he couldn't find it in him to argue with his daughter that he's different that the Bat?

Because he couldn't argue that he was helping people, more than Jim or anyone else could help alone. And though there were plenty of people fearful of the Batman, more and more were coming forward with stories of how he had saved them.

Jim had spent his life defending the law, and Batman was blatantly disregarding it, but it was feeling more and more like they were on the same side, even though Batman had made a point of going after a police officer.

But how could he align himself to dangerous vigilante, even in spirit, when he had spent his whole life fighting against criminals, and fighting against other police officers who worked with them?

[sunlitroom]

Gotham 3.21 - Destiny Calling

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

Previously on Gotham.

In short – the theme for s3 barring these episodes.  Betrayal! More betrayal! Betrayal for lunch, breakfast and dinner!  People are dead, alive, dead, then alive again.

As always, long post will be long - monstrously long- and in two parts.  There are likely to be rambling digressions. Gobblepot may 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.

  Screaming and mayhem outside while the bank still tries to run as normal.  An old woman repeatedly asks for her savings while an uninterested seller tells her there’a problem with the account.  The old woman reveals herself to be infected, and starts wrecking the place.   We’ve all wanted to do that in the bank, really.  And the post office.  Especially the post office.

An armed officer runs out of GCPD while a virus'd prisoner beats a cop and general mayhem reigns.  We go to the locker room and see – hilariously - that someone has written ‘Gordon has the rage’ across the lockers.  What the actual fuck?  Who took the time to do that?

The virus voices are telling Jim he’s a killer as he stares in the mirror, hissing it over and over.

(A big disgruntled aside: So – Jim’s big dark truth is that he’s a killer at heart?  Really? Weirdly – I watched an episode of Star Trek at the weekend, in which Kirk had the following wisdom to offer (because Kirk can solve all problems :)).

All right. It's instinctive. But the instinct can be fought. We're human beings with the blood of a million savage years on our hands, but we can stop it. We can admit that we're killers, but we're not going to kill today. That's all it takes. Knowing that we won't kill today.

And it’s never more true than here.  Barnes told Jim that.  There’s no big fundamental difference between Butch and Harvey, Oswald and Jim, Barnes and Falcone, Bruce and Jerome, Bruce 1 and Bruce 2.  It comes down to what they choose to do.  Their ability and inclination to make good choices is – of course – dictated by their circumstances: but they still ultimately have a choice.  There’s not some innate quality that makes a killer – nothing ‘special’ about the ability to kill.

Further – we’ve had ample proof that Jim has no particular love of killing.  He refuses to kill Oswald way back in the pilot, and again in the middle of the Galavan mess – even when Oswald has a gun pointed at him, and killing him would have made Jim’s life easier.  He could have shot Barbara in the church tower, or let her fall, but tried to save her instead.  He didn’t want to kill Ogden Barker. He expressed regret over killing Galavan.  We might see him lose his temper a lot, and get physically violent – but that doesn’t equate to some burning need to kill.

So – this just doesn’t really ring true.  

And as a final observation, this is basically a betrayal of the man we started out with.  We come in with Jim, who is appalled at the state of Gotham because of his innate decency. He’s ‘the last good man in Gotham’. He has to compromise his principles over time because there is no other way to get things done, but it is with the end goal of doing the right thing.  If anything, the tension was how much Jim was willing to compromise his ideals to do the right thing, how much that hardened him, damaged him.

So, when, how, and why did this morph into: ‘Jim Gordon has a big bad darkness at the centre of his soul, and his dearest wish is to kill?’)

Jim is visibly fighting the virus.  Harvey enters the room and asks for Jim’s gun - not badge.  The officers know he’s infected, and Harvey is doing his best to keep this situation stable.  Jim says he can control the virus, but Harvey says it’s for his own protection.

We hear that Lee apparently disappeared in the chaos and is waiting for Jim to give in.  Harvey tells Jim to prove her wrong.  Jim asks where Bruce is.

 Bruce is in the interview room, where Alfred watches from behind glass.  Jim and Harvey enter.  There’s a brief conversation where they establish it’s not the clone, and Alfred says he must talk with Bruce – whose strength, he believes, will bring him back to his right mind.  Lucius then enters, calling Harvey.

(An aside – and where was clone Bruce this episode?  It was sorted of implied that he could play a role here, and it never came about)

 Harvey is delighted, Lucius has found that there’s an antidote

I could kiss your face

Lucius actually did detective work and found notes about the antidote in papers from court leaders house. Hugo was designing own special antidote. Jim asks where Strange is, only to be exasperated when Harvey explains.  Jim says Strange is a weasel who’ll be trying to get out of town (you’d never do that, Jim, would you?), and that they should check the downtown train station.

Lucius tells Harvey to wait in a warning tone.  Harvey tries to say he knows the risks, but Lucius points out that Strange's version is accelerated and Jim won't be able to fight long.

I like Lucius.  He’s smart, and measured, and compassionate, and actually puts in the work.  It’ll be interesting to see how the balance at GCPD works next season because, in many ways, he’s supplanted most of what Jim should be.

 The railway station where people are fleeing town.  Hugo still looks so stylish.  He’s stopped by too burly men and utters a truly beautiful,

Oh no

Fish appears

I think you mean: hello Fish - I miss you.

She smiles,

Don’t worry sweetheart, the fun has just begun

Hugo looks resigned as he’s taken away.

 A penthouse overlooking the city.  Ed has been reading Villainy for Dummies, and is loftily talking about Rome – I think it’s Nero fiddling while Rome burned, but I tuned out.  He praises the Court’s style

Barbara is more interested in the opportunity to consolidate power.  Ed has no interest in running Gotham.  He only wants to kill Oswald because, as we saw when he was desperately trying to make contact with the Court, Ed can’t leave a job undone.  Babs is impatient.  Ed will need muscle for that, and why should she help Ed, if Ed won’t help her.  She wants Ed to use that ‘big, beautiful brain’ of his to help her, and she’ll help him.

(An aside – uh, have Barbara and Ed been intimate?  I know that Barbara can sometimes sexualise her mannerisms – but there was a familiarity there (baby, honey, all the touching) that was…. different, and they’re very in-sync.  She’s not really using her sexuality in an attempt to seduce him to her cause either.  I’m not suggesting a romance – but it wouldn’t surprise me if that was how they’d killed some time in that penthouse, or at some other point.)

 Back with Fish and Hugo

I thought we were friends

Hugo stammers that he can't refuse the Court.  Fish tells him she isn't upset.  She knew that when Hugo was summoned it was to cook up horror.  She needs horror.  She knows the Court made the virus, and she knows there’s more.

Hugo pleads, but Fish is implacable.

You will give me the virus.  You will give me the army you promised me.  You will give me everything I say until the city is in the palm of my hand. Clear?

Hugo manages to be bitter, resigned and obsequious in two words

Yes, madame.

 Jim and Harvey arrive at the station too late.  Harvey's phone rings.  It’s for Jim – Lee checking in.

Jim answers.  He tells her to turn herself in.  Lee comments he's fighting – but the cage is finally open – he’s free.  She thought he loved her – they can be together now.  Jim doesn’t want it like this.  She  pours herself some of Jim’s whiskey and asks what the whispers say.  Was it about hurting?  Killing?  

See how well I know you

She says she’ll check in later, but she’s off to have fun.

Jim looks like he’s succumbing to virus when Harvey calls his name.  He gives Jim a gun.  They’re off to find Hugo

 Jim and Harvey  meet Fish’s crew in some tunnel somewhere – presumably leading out of the station

Fish tells Harvey he looks awful.  Harvey thanks her, and then says

I know in your own sick way you love this city.  Gotham is bleeding to death

Hugo laughs suddenly – he’s noticed that Jim has the virus

Fish approaches him, and asks what it feels like.  Jim says like it’s taking all his willpower not to kill her.  Fish and Hugo confirm that they have a cure for the virus, while Jim fumes.  Harvey says he’ll shoot her if she doesn’t step back

Jim growls that she’s had her chance.  Fish is no fool, though – she has backup.  Victor charges up.  Jim leaps up and breaks a water pipe.  Victor’s gun freezes the water, creating an ice wall – behind which Jim snarls.  Fish looks at him.

There he is - the real James Gordon. Nice to meet you, at last.

She laughs and walks away. Jim snarls like an angry chihuahua.

Burning city shot again. We’re at GCPD.

Alfred has brought Bruce tea, and asks if he’s hungry.  Alfred isn’t being trite here – we will try to make tea and sandwiches in times of crisis. He talks about going home, or going to Switzerland, where they had happy holidays

Bruce is blank, and tells him his attempts to elicit emotion are clumsy, and that he murdered his best friend and teacher.  Alfred says he was a liar, manipulator, and brainwasher. Bruce denies this – saying that he gave him revenge, and took away his pain – which is more than Alfred ever did.

Alfred looks like he’s in pain

Bruce says they’ve merely paved the way for one who is to come.  Alfred asks what he means, and Bruce ominously replies:

You'll see

 Oswald’s mansion, where Bridget and Victor squabbling over who gets to kill Hugo, while Hugo trying to ooze way out of it.  They power up, and he panics, calling for

Miss Mooney

Miss Mooney is busy - I'm here now

It’s Oswald, who has been sitting nearby, drinking.

I think your children are angry with you.   You made them what they are, then abandoned them.

He tells Hugo he’s working with Fish.  They’re partners, now – she forgave him.  She has evolved.  She has a vision.  She sees a city where people like Oswald, Victor and Bridget are in charge.  

He also tells Hugo that the virus is tearing that city apart, and they need an antidote.

Hugo says if he tells, he has nothing to trade for his safety – they can torture him all they want. Oswald blithely says OK.  Hugo looks worried.  Oswald comments that in Arkham, he was tortured daily.  Hugo blusters

That was therapy.

Oswald looks outraged for a split second, then smiles

The sensation was like my head being torn open, and hot lava poured into my brain.  Thinking of it afterwards made me physically ill.

(An aside – oh Oswald.)

He laughs

So – naturally - I had to have it

Oswald has the machine. Hugo caves instantly - which is testament to how bad the pain elicited by the machine actually is.  He’ll tell them everything.

Oswald smiles.

I know - but not just yet

He flips the switch. Hugo screams.

 Back in the tunnel – Jim punches his way through the ice.  Apparently, the virus makes your bones very hard too.  When they get to the street, a still virusy Jim tears Harvey’s car door off.  Harvey tells him to fight the virus, not his car, and says he’ll drive.

 GCPD – where a random cop tells Alvarez that Mayor James has called in the national guard.  Oh no - Alvarez is infected.  He breaks the man’s neck, and starts trashing the place.

 The interrogation room, where Alfred asks Bruce again who's coming. Bruce wants him to leave.  Alfred refuses, and asks him again,

Remember who you are

I know who I am. I have a destiny

Alfred tells Bruce what the sensei offered was not real – he needs to remember what's real.   Bruce snarls that vengeance for his parents’ murder was real.

Alfred says that’s not real. What's real was how Bruce's mum read to him when he got sick, or how Alfred and Bruce’s dad looked for him when he got lost sailing in storm, out of their minds with worry.  They might have died in that alley, and that man may have taken away the pain of that one night: but there is no life or love without pain. That man could not touch the love Bruce’s parents gave him, that he still has inside him – the same love Alfred has for him:

I love you. I would do anything for you, I would die for you

He tells Bruce he needs to find that love

Come back to me, master Bruce.

Bruce has tears in his eyes

(An aside – I have tears in my eyes.  Godammit show.)

There’s fracas outside. Alfred reluctantly leaves.  Bruce is still shaken - but sees Alfred has left his pen.

Alvarez is picking off cops at random.  Alfred tackles him, and nearly winds up shot himself – but Lucius comes to the rescue. Alfred thanks him.  Lucius is admirably unshaken.  However, when they head back to the interview room, Bruce is gone having used Alfred’s pen to pick the lock on his cuffs.

 At Sirens, Butch tries to convince Tabitha that Barbara has to go, and that sharing info with Fish would take out Ed and Barbara at once.  Tabitha isn’t convinced though.  She’s also distracted by Lee, who is ordering a drink.  Lee drinks a lot in this episode, are we sure booze wasn’t Lee's deepest desire?

Butch says he’s surprised to see Lee.  She calls him an errand boy, then a shoe-shine boy, then says she wants to see Barbara.  Butch has enough of the insults, and moves to throw her out, but then sees she has the virus, and is tossed across the room

Tabitha checks on an unconscious Butch.  Lee taunts her – asking her repeatedly to take a message to her boss, and calling her a sidekick – first Theo’s, now Barbara’s.  The next time Lee sees Barbara, she’s going to rip her head off. Tabitha looks worried at this. Lee leaves, and Butch begins to come round.

 Bruce is on the chaotic streets, heading for the demon’s head, or whatever.  Lucius and Alfred follow some way behind – Alfred promising to kill whoever did this to him.

 Fish and co in the slaughterhouse where the antidote is kept.  Oswald tells Hugo if this is a trap, Hugo is dead.  Hugo says it’s no trap – he tested this version on livestock and set aside a successful batch.  He takes test tubes of antidote from a safe.  It’s concentrated and once diluted - enough to cure every infected person in the city.

Fish tells Oswald that they will rule the city together.  Oswald agrees, but first he will kill Ed.  Fish promises that he will, and all those who tried to stand in their way.  Oswald looks rapt.  As they begin to leave, there’s a noise.  Fish calls out:

Who’s there - show yourself

It’s more Cirque de Soleil assassins.  I tire of this.  A huge fight breaks out.

 Harvey's doorless car.

Harvey is getting a call about an ice and fire fight in a slaughterhouse, which he mentions to Jim. Jim just snarls in response

Just drive the damn car

Are we sure the virus didn't amplify Jim's innate tendency to behave like a prick?

 Back to the slaughterhouse. Jim and Harvey enter the fight.  Jim starts taking down assassins, flinging them about, killing them for no good reason.  In the middle of his killing frenzy, he runs Fish through with one of the assassin’s sword.  She gasps, and drops the antidote.

You damn fool

Oswald screams

Fish!

He runs to her side.  Fish calls his name in return, and he holds her as she folds to the ground.  He’s desperate – telling her it will be OK and they will get help.  Jim watches wide-eyed behind them, the virus seemingly clearing as soon as he’d realised what he’d done.

Fish shakes her head.

No – I’ve done this enough to know when I'm finished

Oswald is still trying to comfort her, but she interrupts.

Listen to me.  Make this city yours, or you burn it to the ground.  

With that, her eyes become fixed and staring.  Oswald weeps. This is the third time now that Oswald has held a parent (in this case a parent figure) as they died.  The third actual time.

Jim still looks aghast at what he’s done, gaping down at the scene in front of him.  Hell – everyone’s aghast – the place is silent.

Oswald turns, enraged and grief-stricken, running at Jim.

Ppeople call me a monster, but you – Jim Gordon, you are the monster!

The attack puts the virus back in charge and Jim grabs Oswald by the throat, lifting him high in the air.

You're right.  I am a monster.

Harvey hits Jim on the back of head to force him to drop Oswald. He asks Strange if there’s more antidote.  He says there is – he only needs one thing….

 And it’s Jervis, sitting nervously alone in the back of an Arkham ambulance.  We hear sounds – and Butch opens the door.  Jervis is fidgeting, twisting his hands high on his chest as this is happening, and it makes him look oddly vulnerable and childlike.

 Tabitha is nearby, and Barbara and Ed lean against a car, talking. Ed’s sources have told him about the possible antidote and, he smirks, Fish’s death.  But Ed knows they’re missing an ingredient:

This bozo

Ed – you’re wearing a shiny green suit.  Let’s not fling insults.  Meanwhile, Jervis is wide-eyed and smiling

Are you my saviours?  Are you the one to set me free?

(An aside – Jesus, poor Jervis.  And that’s something I never thought I’d write – but he really is set up as incredibly vulnerable here.)

Barbara smirks,

Not exactly. Let’s make Gotham beg

Ed smiles, while Jervis looks like he’s just realised this is not a good place to be.

 Back on the streets again with Bruce, seeking out the Yuyan building.  He has an auditory flashback to his ‘sensei’s’ instructions – which is handy, since his endless wittering about pain and destiny had become white noise to me.  He finds the building, and enters.

It’s a room with a huge statue in the middle.  Bruce touches the statue, a secret door opens, and he walks down a stone spiral staircase.  At the bottom, there’s a stone passageway – which he starts to walk down.  Something seems to speed past behind him

 Lucius and Alfred outside on the street have stopped outside the building.  Alfred tells Lucius to let Harvey know where they are, and Alfred goes in, eyeing the ornate door/statue thing.

Meanwhile, down in the tunnels, more of the slaughterhouse assassins surround Bruce.

(An aside - someone's been playing too much Mortal Kombat)

Another assassin appears behind Bruce, and makes them stand aside.  Bruce enters a room with a large pool in the middle (I feel like I’m playing a text-based adventure)

There’s a voice

I wouldn't touch that, Bruce.

This is Ra’s al Ghul. He tells Bruce his sensei died but succeeded – he led Bruce to him.  He is a demon, a saint, a ghost.  He’s seen things that would shake the core of Bruce’s beliefs.  But in all his travels, he never found a true heir.  He asks Bruce if he’s ready.  Bruce says he is –but  Ra’s says he failed.  Bruce says Alfred distracted him.

Ra’s nods.

I know

He puts his hand on Bruce’s face - like Fish with Oswald, another proxy parental relationship.  As he does so, Alfred is dragged in.  Bruce stares at him

Don't be so surprised - can't get rid of me that easily.

He then banters a bit about the ninjas getting better of him before glancing at Ra’s delivering one of the best – if not the best – line of the episode.

You alright mate?   What you come as?

(An aside - The British instinct to mock even in the worst circumstances does my heart good.  Anything grandiose and melodramatic must immediately be made ridiculous.)

Ra’s laughs, but then hits Alfred.  Bruce is to embrace his future by killing Alfred.  He talks about destiny and joining him as he hands Bruce the sword. Alfred speaks.

He's wrong.  There's no other way to put it.  Your destiny is to be Bruce Wayne.  And one day you're going to remember that, and how much I love you.  I remember when mum and dad brought you home and gave you to me. A tiny defenceless little creature. Look after him, they said.  I held you, and you looked at me, and at that moment I decided I would do anything for you.  So if this is what you need to do, you crack on.

Bruce has tears in his eyes. Alfred repeats himself.

You do it.

Bruce raises the sword, scream, and stabs him.  He almost immediately starts to shake his head, the mist clearing, scattered hallucinations.  As his vision clears, he sees Alfred, and realises what he’s done.  There’s a whispered ‘Bruce’ from Alfred, and he pulls the sword from him.  Alfred falls to the floor.  Bruce weeps.  Ra’s laughs

You've broken through your conditioning.  Impressive

Bruce is enraged

You don't control me anymore!  I will never be your heir!

Ra’s says he will:

No – your strength fulfils the prophecy, you are my knight in the darkness

Bruce’s voice cracks

You made me kills Alfred!

Bashir’s voice gets all whispery

Use the waters Bruce.  Our time will come

Bruce scoops water from the pool, and pours it on the wound.  It seems to cauterize and Alfred splutters – alive.

Part two to follow.....

Thoughts?

[patchworktail]

excuse my ignorance, but what is there to dislike so much about Joss Whedon? Im asking as a fairly "new" dc comics fan who isnt that deep into the whole comic book world yet but im genuinely curious, not trying to defend him if he's truly a bad choice or soemthing...

OH he’s actually not done much in DC yet (or anything at all? I’m unsure), there’s just a lot of hate for him for stuff he’s done with his work on other movies (most notably Marvel movies such as Avengers 1+2, which is why no one wants him anywhere near DC superhero movies). While I’m no expert and I’m forgetting a lot, probably, he’s just basically your classic white self-proclaimed “feminist” man who thinks he’s amazing but makes horrible choices ESPECIALLY when dealing with female characters, and he’s also made other terrible choices and is kind of a douche. For me, what I clearly remember as when I started hating him was when I saw Age of Ultron, in which he shoved Black Widow with Hulk just bc he wanted her to have a love interest in that movie, made her call herself a monster because she couldn’t physically have kids (which is so incredibly insulting to both the character, women who can’t have children and women who choose not to), and if I’m recalling correctly he changed Quick Silver and Scarlet Witch’s entire story so that 1) they were no longer Jewish and 2) they WILLINGLY UNDERWENT EXPERIMENTATION BY A NAZI GROUP (Hydra) WHICH IS JUST???? LIKE???? NOT GOOD???????

I’m sure if you ask around/dig a little you can find plenty of other examples - he’s basically just a class example of a white dude masquerading as some amazing feminist hero while in reality he’s literally SO FUCKING BAD at writing female characters and he’s probably going to erase everything that makes Barbara Gordon, Barbara Gordon (her disability, her being a feminist, her intelligence) and also I don’t doubt he’ll probably try to shove her at a guy and make that a big part of the movie. I’m super upset about it, and I just really wish he’d keep his grubby hands off actual good characters I care about (and DC in general lol - stick to Marvel, please, you already ruined some of their movies). Also, to further show he’s a class A douche, there’s literal proof that he’s liked tweets like this one: https://twitter.com/DavidRutz/status/847495247957577728 (I genuinely just went and scrolled down and found it very fast in his likes. Really, Joss?)

Again, I’m not really an expert in this! I tend to stay away from him+his stuff but I’m sure if you ask around/research a bit you can find other examples of why no one likes him or wants this to happen!! (+ if I got anything wrong anyone can feel free to correct me or add on, haha)