Oswald and Edward stare at each other, and then Oswald smiles and tries to grab Edward. Edward steps back and wonders how he survived, and Oswald tells him that by shooting him, Edward gave him the desire for revenge. Once he slaps Oswald on the head to make sure he's real, Edward says that he's now the Riddler. Oswald points out that he's not dead, and Edward says that's true... for now. He points out that they're both prisoners, but Oswald figures that he has Edward just where he wants him. Edward agrees but warns that it won't be for long.
At the manor, the alarms go off and Bruce-2 goes to his study. Selina attacks him and he fends her off and then asks how she survived. Selina refuses to answer his questions and renews her attack. He insists that he didn't have a choice because she was going to tell Alfred that he's a clone, and Selina calls him a cheap knockoff. Bruce-2 attacks her and Selina stabs him in the leg. Before she can finish Bruce-2 off, Alfred grabs her. She starts to explain that Bruce-2 isn't Bruce, and Bruce-2 knocks her out with a fire iron. Alfred orders him to put the iron down and sees that Bruce-2 is cut... and doesn't feel it. He asks Bruce-2 where Bruce is, and Bruce-2 says that Bruce is serving a greater purpose than himself. He says that he is as well and attacks Alfred. They head-butt each other until Alfred collapses, and Bruce-2 picks up the iron and knocks him out.
Bruce and the Temple Shaman drive to an estate on the outskirts of Gotham, and the Shaman welcomes Bruce home.
Lee is at home dozing, and Mario wakes her up. He asks if she's okay, and she says that she's been having a dream about a virus loose in Gotham and it brought out the darkness in anyone infected. Lee tells Mario that he was infected and jealous of Jim, but Mario laughs it off. She says that in her dream, Jim shot Mario on her wedding night, and Mario assures her that he's fine. He then cuts his wrist, drips his blood into her glass, and tells her to take her madness. Mario tells her to drink, and she does... and wakes up.
The next morning, Jim goes to the station and tells Harvey that the Court is hiding the virus at bomb at a secure location. One of Kathryn's holdings is a tenement building near Miller Harbor, and there's a discrepancy in the square footage. Harvey suggests that Jim wait for Kathryn to call, but Jim figures that he can end it and she'll never know. Lucius has identified the basement, and Harvey reluctantly agrees to check it out.
At the tenement, Jim and Harvey find a secret door in the basement. Inside they don't find a bomb, but they find a crystal owl statue. When their flashlights shine through the crystal, they project a map of Gotham on the wall. Secret locations are marked on the map, and they figure that the bomb is at one of them. Someone tosses in a glass vial and the detectives take cover as it explodes. Barnes comes in wearing a costume and knocks Harvey aside. He then grabs Jim by the throat and says that he's there to punish him for his crimes... and knocks him out.
Once he wakes up, Alfred calls the station and leaves a message for Jim. He asks if Selina remembers anything else. All she remembers is the clone telling her that the guilty would be judged. Alfred insists that Bruce is still alive, and Selina is going to help him find Bruce. Selina refuses, and Alfred tells her that Bruce has been a friend to her. She doesn't know what good it will do her, and Alfred tells her that she's a disgrace like her mother. He tells her to run away and never come back, and walks out.
Once he wakes up, Harvey returns to the station. They find a kid who saw Barnes leave the tenement in a truck marked "Genovese Meats." Harvey puts a BOLO out on the truck and figures that Harvey has taken Jim somewhere.
Oswald sharpens a makeshift blade, and insists on calling Edward "Edward" rather than "Riddler." Edward tells Oswald to get over his love for him, and Oswald says that's not why he's there. He's there because Edward destroyed his empire and shot him, and no one who does that lives. Oswald promises to call the guards if Edward tries to escape, and Edward jokingly claims that he bribed the guards to poison Oswald's coffee. He then explains that he stole a dart from the guards a day ago, and shoots Oswald with it. Oswald yanks it out and collapses, and Edward picks the lock. As he gets it open, Oswald grabs his food tray despite his paralysis and slams it on the floor, summoning the guards. They come in and beat Edward as Oswald passes out.
The Shaman tells Bruce that there is one final step for him to take. He jabs a needle into Bruce's forehead and they find themselves in the study at the manor. The Shaman tells Bruce that he must give up the pain willingly. Bruce finds his mother's pearls in his hand, and the Shaman tells him to lock them away and become Gotham's protector. Bruce starts to do so but then stops, saying that he can't. The Shaman tells him that it's time to tell him the truth.
Jim wakes up chained to a chair. Kathryn and Barnes are there, and Kathryn says that Jim made a fool of her. She knows that Jim has been to Hugo's lab, and demands to know who else he's spoken to. Jim tells her to go to hell after killing his father and driving his uncle to suicide. He wonders if Barnes stands for anything now, and Kathryn tells him that Barnes was following Jim because he knows that Jim is an enemy of Gotham. As Barnes goes to a nearby judge's bench, Kathryn tells Jim that when the clock stops, Gotham falls. She walks out, and Barnes attaches an axe implement to his left hand and begins Jim's trial.
Lee visits Jervis at Arkham and he asks if she's been sleeping. Ignoring him, Lee says that she never blamed him for infecting Mario. She blamed Jim instead of a lunatic, and asks Jervis why she infected Mario instead of her. Jervis explains that when he shot Vicki, he saw that Lee loved Jim rather than Mario. He infected Mario so that Lee would blame Jim, and her love would become hate. His plan worked, and Lee is really the one to blame.
Oswald wakes up and Edward complains that his lock pick was confiscated and now they're both stuck. He admits that he doesn't know why their captors are keeping them there, and admits that since his first meeting with Kathryn he's had no contact with upper management. The guards have gossiped that the Court is planning an attack on Gotham. Oswald says that they have to escape before they can kill each other, and they have to work together. They agree that there's no sabotage or murder on the premises, and a six-hour window of escape. The two men shake on it.
The Shaman takes out another needle and explains that he's going to show Bruce his truth. It's one of his memories, of a meeting with the Court. The Shaman says that he honored the Waynes, and the Court tells him that Bruce wasn't harmed. He kills the man and the real Shaman tells Bruce that the Court was a means to maintain order in Gotham. When Bruce wonders who the Shaman is, he says that they must focus on one thing for a time. He tells Bruce that the Court must pay for their crimes, including the Waynes' murder, and asks if Bruce will help him.
Barnes tells Jim that they could have cleaned Gotham up together, but Jim turned against him. He asks how Jim pleads, and Jim admits that he shot Barnes and sent him to Arkham. Barnes declares death by beheading, and Jim tells him that the Court are murderers and will unleash the virus against the innocent and the guilty. His captor says that the virus gives strength and clarity, and Lee came to him and wanted to know if Mario would have killed her. Barnes told her that the virus is a gift, and Jim says that Mario was innocent. He then asks to dye wearing his badge, and Barnes agrees. He gets it from the nearby table and pins it on when he reaches over Jim sets off a grenade on his chest. Harvey and his men break in, and Barnes leaps out the window and runs off.
Back at the station, Jim tells Harvey that he's going to Kathryn's townhouse before she realizes that he escaped. O'Toole says that the strike force captured Kathryn and are bringing her in. Alfred arrives and tells them that Bruce has been abducted. He explains about the Court, and Jim admits that they already know about it. He explains that he's been working undercover against them, and Alfred admits that he and Bruce had a run-in with the Court months ago, and they replaced Bruce with a clone. Alfred admits that they broke into a house to find something to use as leverage, and they found a crystal owl that he managed to break. Jim explains about the owl that they found, and figures that if they reassemble the owl they stole then they can find Bruce and the owl.
Oswald yells for help when Edward places a blade to his throat. When the guards run in, Edward tells them to release him. They go into Oswald's cell, and Edward cuts Oswald's throats. When the guards examine him, they discover that the "blood" is Jell-O. Oswald knocks out one guard, and Edward grabs the tranq gun from the other and shoots him with it. Once the guards are down, Oswald frees Edward.
The squad brings Kathryn in, and Jim talks to her in the interrogation room. He says that he's seen the map and knows about the bomb, and asks why she kidnapped Bruce. Kathryn denies everything, and Jim tells her that the Court can't keep her safe. When he says that she's the leader, Kathryn tells him that he doesn't know anything.
Alfred brings the owl pieces to Harvey's office. Harvey calls a man who makes plaster masks of murder victims, and tells Alfred that Jim is questioning Kathryn. Alfred barges into the interrogation room and demands to know where Bruce is. He takes out a knife and stabs her in the hand, pinning it to the table.
Barnes breaks into the station and tosses a gas grenade into the squad room.
Alfred demands to know where Bruce is, just as explosions shake the building. Harvey goes out and finds Barnes disposing of the cops. He goes back into the interrogation room and tells the others what's going. They take Kathryn out as Barnes screams that they all corrupted the station. Kathryn screams to Barnes, yelling for help, and Jim tells Barnes to give himself up. Barnes declares a sentence of death and drops down on Jim. Harvey punches him but Barnes shrugs it off and knocks him aside. Alfred attacks Barnes and Barnes shoves him aside as well.
Kathryn tells Barnes to stop the nonsense and take her out. Furious, he decapitates her and says that it's justice. Barnes advances on Jim and promises that no one will escape the executioner's blade. Jim grabs a shotgun and shoots off the axe and Barnes' hand. He tells Barnes that the station is a church—his—and clubs him unconscious.
Edward and Oswald break out of the building and Oswald scares off the homeless people nearby. They still have five hours on their agreement, and Edward asks how Oswald plans to win when all he has is himself. Oswald tells him that he has an army of Hugo's monsters. He tells Edward that even if he was alone, Edward wouldn't stand a chance. They agree to see what happens and walk off in different directions.
As the police clean up the station, Lee arrives and says that she just came to get some things. She tells Jim that she's done with the place, and figures that Barnes discovered the truth that there is no justice. Lee points out that Jim still hasn't paid for the pain he's caused, but she'll pay for what she's done. Jim wonders what she means, but Lee says that it doesn't matter and walks off. Harvey comes over and tells Jim that the guy putting the owl back together will need another hour. Jim figures that the Court's leader will act once he learns of Kathryn's death, but admits that he doesn't know who the leader is.
The Shaman takes Bruce back to put away Martha's pearls so that the Court can pay for what they did. Bruce locks away the pearls, and the Shaman thanks him. Back in the real world, the Shaman asks Bruce how he feels when he thinks of his parents' murder. Bruce says that he feels nothing, and a Talon steps forward. The Shaman explains that the Court has recruited the Talons from orphanages, and the process does more than remove feeling. He orders the Talon to cut off his little finger, and the Talon immediately does so. The Shaman then tells Bruce that once they take away the pain, the mind becomes clay to be molded. He explains that Bruce will do whatever he says, and Bruce agrees.
Once the owl is assembled, Harvey shines a light through it. Alvarez tells him that Barnes escaped his transport, and the virus sample they got from Hugo is gone. Jim remembers that Lee has the combination to the case as well.
At home, Lee injects herself with the virus sample. Her eyes turn black and she smiles.
Written by Gadfly on May 23, 2017