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Spirit of the Goat Recap

Ten years ago, Randall Milkie stares at himself in his bathroom mirror and insists that he is the Spirit of the Goat. He dons a leather mask with horns and smashes the mirror, then goes out and abducts a young girl, Shelly Lawson, from her apartment.

Later, Harvey and his partner, Detective Dix, get a lead on Milkie's van and trace it to an abandoned opera house on Cannery Street. Harvey insists on going in immediately despite Dix's advice not to play hero. Inside, they find Shelly's corpse suspended from a scaffold in the center of the stage. The candles are just lit and they figure that Milkie is still there. The two detectives split up, yelling for Milkie to surrender. Milkie yells back that "Milkie" is gone and that now the Spirit of the Goat occupies his body.

Milkie pulls a lever, dropping Dix through a trapdoor on the scaffold, and then attacks Harvey. Harvey manages to grab his gun and kill him, and pulls off the mask to confirm that he's the man they're looking for. He then goes to Dix, lying broken on the floor beneath the scaffolding.

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Harvey is called to the docks where a girl, 21-year-old Amanda Hastings has been killed and strung up, just like Shelly was. While Nygma works out another Riddle, Harvey is surprised to discover that Jim isn't there. He points out to Nygma that Amanda was a first-born child, and that the Goat always killed the first-born of the rich and powerful. The detective figures that they're dealing with a copycat and tries to call Jim again.

Jim and Barbara are arguing at her apartment in the clocktower, and Barbara insists that she just wants to help share some of his burden, just as he helped her with his burden. Jim admits that the crime in Gotham is too much for any cop, and Barbara asks him to let her in. He agrees to tell her everything and make it right, just as the phone rings. Jim figures that it's a case, kisses Barbara, and leaves.

Renee and Crispus canvass the docks trying to find a witness that can place Jim at the scene. They talk to a sailor, Olaf Nilsson, who points out Jim in a photo and says that he was the killer.

At the crime scene, Harvey asks Jim why he was later, but Jim avoids the question and figures that they should catch the copycat Goat killer before the heat comes down on the GCPD. Harvey suggests that they talk to Amanda's parents, figuring that she knew her killer, and tells Nygma to call him when they're ready to perform the autopsy.

The detectives meet with Robert Hastings and his wife, and Robert sits clenching his fist and talking about his nightmare of a dark presence. However, he assures the detectives that Amanda had no enemies, and the family therapist, Dr. Marks, says that the couple isn't ready to deal with the stress right now.

Nygma goes to the record annex and chats with the clerk, Kristin Kringle. She's talked with Nygma before and is less than thrilled to see him. Nygma tries to make small talk about Kristin's name, figuring that her parents had a sense of humor, and Kristin quickly tries to get rid of him. He offers to help her reorganize her files but Kristin hastily says that they're fine the way they are and leaves.

As they leave the Hastings home, Harvey tells Jim that Milkie was able to abduct his victims from their homes because he was a maintenance worker and had the keys. Jim calls to get the names of the companies that had access to the Hastings home, and is notified that they're beginning the autopsy.

Oswald goes to his apartment to see his mother, Gertrud, who figures that he's been with a woman. He assures her that he's just been taking care of business and that they hurt him when all he wanted was a little respect. Gertrud assures him that the bullies are jealous and Oswald promises her that he'll be someone in Gotham.

At the morgue, the medical examiner informs Jim and Harvey that someone knocked out Amanda with chloroform before killing her. Harvey tells him to look for a sewn-up incision at the base of Amanda's scar. The examiner, surprised, finds one there and admits that they overlooked it. Harvey tells him to open it up, clearly expecting the penny that is inside the incision. He tells Jim that the penny was Milkie's MO but they never released the information to the press. They meet with Essen to brief her on the case, and Harvey insists that they left the information about the penny out of the file. The medical examiner at the time, Ed Hayes, knew about the penny but he died of cirrhosis. Essen suggests that Harvey should talk to his old partner, Dix, and Harvey reluctantly agrees.

At the manor, Bruce and Alfred are watching a newscast about the copycat killer. Alfred suggests that they should leave Gotham for a vacation since Bruce might be a target. Bruce says that he has work to do and that the Goat killer wouldn't take him because there's no one to take him away from.

Kristin returns to the record annex and discovers that Nygma has created a whole new filing system for her. Furious, she orders him out and wonders if he's trying to cost her her job. Nygma vaguely understands that he's done something inappropriate and leaves.

Harvey and Jim go to the hospital where Dix is staying, and Jim insists on going in with his partner. Dix is in a wheelchair, his legs shattered from the fall ten years ago, and complains that Harvey has come to see him after causing his injuries. Harvey introduces Jim and confirms that Dix never told anyone about the penny. Dix figures that Milkie wasn't working alone and Harvey walks out. Dix warns a surprised Jim that Harvey is a hero who is likely to go off in any direction. Jim goes out and discovers that his partner is paying Dix's medical bills and making sure that he has porn magazines.

At the Copley home, the daughter Emma is packing for a trip on her parent's yacht. When she goes upstairs to get the rest of her things, the Goat killer breaks in and chloroforms the maid unconscious, then abducts Ember when she comes back downstairs. When Ember doesn't meet her parents, they come home and find the unconscious maid, and call the police. Harvey goes to the crime scene and confirms that there were no signs of a break-in, and calls to tell Jim that his theory was correct. As Jim checks the maintenance companies, Harvey says that the first Goat killer took eight hours to kill his victims from the moment of abduction, and figures that they're wasting time. Jim says that he's checking to see which maintenance workers have called in sick over the last two days so that their killer would have time to deal with his victims, and Harvey tells Jim to get Nygma to help.

As Renee leaves the MCU station, Barbara approaches her and says that she'll tell her whatever she can find out. She asks Renee to keep an open mind about Jim, but Renee warns that Jim will get Barbara killed. Renee warns her former lover that they are getting a warrant for Jim's arrest, and advises Barbara to get out of Gotham. She tells Barbara never to come to her again and walks away.

Jim and Nygma tell Harvey that they've eliminated three of the suspects on sick leave from consideration, leaving one man, Raymond Earl. Earl's boss told Jim that Earl has been squatting at an address on Cannery Park, and Harvey realizes that it's the opera house where he killed the Goat ten years ago. He and Jim go there and find Ember on the same scaffold that the Goat used ten years ago. The killer runs up to the balcony and Harvey gives chase while Jim frees Ember. The Goat attacks Harvey and the two men struggle. The killer prepares to beat Harvey's skull in with a hammer, but Jim arrives in time to knock him unconscious.

Selina breaks into Bruce's study and finds him sleeping on the couch. She looks through the room and glances briefly at his investigation board, and then takes a jeweled box from the desk. When she hears Alfred approaching, Selina ducks out the window before the butler can see her.

Oswald takes a bath and Gertrud comes in with his clean suit. She worries that he's doing something illegal and Oswald assures her that it's just business. Gertrud tells her son that she's the only one he can trust, but is suspicious when Oswald says that he has found a policeman that he can trust.

Jim and Harvey put Earl in an interrogation room and lay out their case for Essen. She's satisfied that they have the killer and leaves, but Harvey still thinks that something is wrong. Milkie and Earl never met, so there's no way that Earl could know about the penny. He figures that they're missing something, but tells Jim to go home and get some rest so they can start fresh in the morning. Once Jim leaves, Earl starts clenching his fist and muttering "no," and Harvey realizes what he's missing.

When Jim comes home, Barbara him that Renee has found a witness and is coming to arrest him. She wants him to leave the city with him before it's too late. Jim assures his fiancée that he didn't kill Barbara, and she wonders what he's hiding from her. Before he can answer, Crispus and Renee arrive and put Jim under arrest.

Harvey goes back to the Hastings house and discovers that Marks is conducting hypnotherapy with Robert. The detective calls her out into the hallway and says that he's done some checking. He knows that she's been doing pro bono work as a hypnotherapist at outpatient clinics, and treated Earl several times. Harvey points out that both Robert and Earl were clenching their fists, and knows that hypnotherapists give their patients a clenching gesture to use when they're trying to resist an impulse. Marks congratulates Harvey on working out the connection and admits that he's right and she hypnotized both men into becoming the Goat. Harvey wonders why she did it, and Marks explains that she struck back at a corrupt Gotham by sending her kills to target the first-born of the rich and the corrupt. A man can't be hypnotized into doing something against his will, but Marks assures Harvey that Milkie and Earl wanted to kill the rich.

Robert comes out to see what's going on, as Harvey arrests Marks. She gives Roberts a trigger phase and he attacks Harvey. However, he manages to fight the older man off and shoots Marks in the leg when she tries to escape.

Later at the station, Harvey is briefing Essen when Renee and Crispus bring Jim in. They tell Essen that they're arresting him and when Harvey objects, try to arrest him as well. Jim tells Harvey that he didn't kill Oswald, and Harvey assumes that he's lying to cover himself. As Essen gets into an argument with the MCU officers over custody, Oswald comes in and introduces himself. Furious, Harvey realizes that Jim lied to him.

Written by Gadfly on Jun 26, 2019

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