After a week off, Gotham is back and a lot has happened ranging from Gordon getting his job back and moving on from Barbara and Fish’s downfall.

Going Home to the Parents

It seems that Gotham doesn’t quite know what to do with the character of Barbara Kean and I feel sorry for her portrayer Erin Richards as she hasn’t really established herself as an important character in the show as she is in the comics.

Tonight, Barbara’s big arc is her coming home to her very rich parents where the three engage in polite pleasantries. When Barbara asks if she can stay awhile, her mother reluctantly agrees as if she were an unwelcome house guest that they are forced to be nice to. Also, Barbara lies about her relationship with Gordon saying that everything is hunky dory.

Riddle me This

Nygma really doesn’t quite know how to flirt with his office crush, Miss Kringle. Nygma thinks that giving her a cupcake with a bullet in would do the trick but alas Miss Kringle doesn’t get the riddle he wants her to solve. When Nygma later tells her the answer that a beautiful woman is a dangerous thing, at first I thought Miss Kringle might be reciprocating and I think Nygma feels that too so tries more riddles. Unfortunately, Detective Flass (Dash Mihok) makes Nygma leave. As he leaves, Nygma hears Miss Kringle tell Flass that Nygma is weird.

The Gotham Mafia

Falcone has a flashback of a family funeral where we do indeed see that Liza is a spitting image of his mother. In the present day, Falcone is somewhat wistful but not wistful enough to spare the life of an underling.

When Falcone meets up with Liza, she tells Falcone how he makes her feel safe and she gives him a flower for his lapel. Falcone leaves to do some work but dinner plans are made.

While Liza is out and about, her bodyguard is killed and she is taken hostage. But all is well as it is Fish that has taken Liza as it is time for her to make her move against Falcone.

Disguising her voice, Fish calls Falcone to say that she has Liza and has some demands. To make it more convincing, Fish gets Liza to make some fake screams of being harmed.

Falcone calls the Penguin to come to him but the Penguin gets delayed due to the action with the main storyline (see The Hunt for Jack Gruber section).

Speaking of the Penguin, during his delay he lets slip that he has a meeting with Falcone when he told Maroni that he was going to see his sick mother. Maroni confronts the Penguin about this but he seemingly has managed to lie his way out of this.

When Fish calls again, it is has herself and tells Falcone that she was asked to broker a deal for Liza’s safety. Falcone is no fool as he knows that Fish is behind Liza kidnapping so he asks what does Fish want. Fish wants Falcone to leave Gotham and never come back and he can take Liza with him. Falcone agrees. The exchange will take place at Fish’s. Butch wants to celebrate Fish’s victory but Fish doesn’t instead wants to honour what Falcone has done.

Victor Zsasz can’t believe that Falcone wants to give up and tries to remind him of who he is and is ready to fight for him. Falcone tells Zsasz to stand down and he does want to leave and live in peace with Liza.

Penguin finally arrives to Falcone and tells him that Liza was planted by Fish. At first Falcone doesn’t believe the Penguin as he has no proof and starts to beat him. Penguin tell Falcone that he has never once told him a lie.

When Falcone arrives at Fish’s, he refuses to sign over control of his empire until he sees Liza. Once Liza appears, Falcone asks how long she has known Fish. Liza lies saying she only just met him but Falcone says a little bird told him that she has known Fish for longer. The truth finally comes out and Falcone is not happy at Fish for using his dead mother’s memory to play him. So Falcone chokes Liza to death and takes Butch and Fish prisoner.

The Hunt for Jack Gruber

Gruber and Aaron are on the loose after escaping Arkham. First stop is Irwin Electronics where Gruber retrieves his toys especially one that looks like a jet engine. Before leaving, Gruber gives Irwin a little electricity to the head.

At the precinct, Captain Essen is briefing the GCPD on Gruber and Aaron. Love the fact that they are using an overhead projector to show Gruber’s and Aaron’s pictures. Gordon comes in and says that Gruber is his case, the Captain tells him that it can’t. Bullock tries to protect Gordon from Commissioner Loeb (Peter Scolari), who blames Gordon for Gruber’s escape.

Gordon demands his job back from Loeb if he captures Gruber and Aaron. Loeb tells Gordon and Bullock that they have 24 hours to bring in Gruber and Aaron or both will be at Arkham as security guards.

Using fingerprints, Nygma has identified Gruber’s real name, Jack Putinski, someone who deliberately wanted to go into Arkham. Putinski apparently also has associates that betrayed him but refused to name. Nygma suggests that Gordon and Bullock wear rubber soled shoes considering Putinski is being labeled the Electrocutioner in the media. Only Gordon decides to wear the boots.

Later, the Arkham prison transfer bus is found in front of Irwin’s Electronics. When Bullock and Harvey go in, they find Irwin in a catatonic state writing lines on a wall saying something to the effect of not betraying friends.

Leslie Thompkins goes to visit Gordon at the precinct with a tip. Apparently, Putinski made a doll for the asylum’s resident sorceress to curse and the doll looks like Maroni.

Putinski and Aaron electrify the door, which shocks the Penguin as he tried to leave for his meeting with Falcone. Putinski also gives one of Maroni’s men a shock bomb that goes off. When Bullock and Gordon arrive in front of Maroni’s restaurant, the Don is not surprisingly unhelpful.

But Gordon brings Maroni into the precinct in hopes of luring Putinski and it works. Putinsky does a power surge on the precinct that not only shuts down the power but cause electric bolts to shoot out from the lights to take everyone down including Maroni. Just as Putinski is about to get his revenge on Maroni for his betrayal, Gordon, who wasn’t taken out thanks to the boots, points a gun at Putinski. But Putinski manages to get it out of Gordon’s hands using some electrical device strapped to his chest. Aaron comes on the scene and the two men fight. Gordon does manage to knock Aaron down.

Putinski then tells Gordon that he has him pegged as a guy that doesn’t like to lose. Gordon says he is right and splashes a cup of coffee onto Putinski’s chest disarming the device.

With Putinski and Aaron in custody, Loeb makes a big deal of their capture with the press and also giving Gordon back his shield a photo-op. Gordon leans into Loeb and threatens bad things to him if he tries to take his shield again. Gordon then turns back into the cameras and smiles.

Later in the men’s locker room, Leslie has come to pay Gordon a visit, who was just washing up. It seems that Gordon is living at the precinct while he looks for a new place. Leslie doesn’t know why he has visited Gordon but she did use the excuse of getting the Maroni doll back for her sorceress. But we know were this encounter will lead as we see way more chemistry between Gordon and Leslie than Gordon and Barbara. Just as Leslie makes to leave, Gordon walks up to her and passionately kisses her. They pull apart and passionately kiss again but is interrupted when a cop tells Gordon that there are reporst of a shooting a Fish Mooney’s place.

I have always been a firm believer in sticking to comic book lore, especially when it comes to the romantic entanglements of our heroes. That is the number one reason why I hate Lana Lang from Smallville. Why should I root for Clark and Lana to get together when I know that his heart will eventually belong to Lois? But it seems that this day and age of TV, it is different. Arrow seems to be foregoing the inevitable Oliver and Laurel/Dinah end game for Oliver and Felicity.

So along those lines, I am on board with Gordon moving on to Leslie as she shows more personality than Barbara as done in her two episodes alone.

Next week seems to see the further downfall of Fish Mooney.