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Cr: Jessica Miglio/FOXNote: This recap and review will contain spoilers for the episode.
Recap
On this week's episode of Gotham, Penguin and Maroni celebrate the fall of Fish Mooney. Penguin tells Maroni he claimed Fish's nightclub in his name. Fish calls Maroni and tells him Penguin has been working for Falcone. Maroni plays it cool and says he has to go upstate and wants Penguin to go with him, right now.
A man is found dead on a rooftop and Bullock, Essen, and Nygma are on the scene. Nygma wants to examine the body, but it's not his job. Essen reminds him of that. Meanwhile, Selina is enjoying some food at Gordon's house when he gets home. Gordon knows someone is there. Gordon eventually catches Selina. She tells Gordon what she told Bruce last week. She never saw the killer's face. Gordon heads to the Wayne household to discuss it with Bruce and Alfred.
Penguin wakes up in Maroni's car and they're at a cabin in the country. During their breakfast, Maroni starts to piece things together and talks to Penguin without breaking a smile or flatout saying Penguin is a traitor.
The dead man's sponsor, from a phobia group, comes by the police station to talk to Bullock. She says the man had a fear of heights, which was what he was confronted with before he died. Bullock inquires more about meetings and pretty much asks her out in a date.
A man is walking home and the person who killed the guy on the roof is holding a pig and scares the man on the street. Said walking man gets kidnapped.
Nygma is examining the body, looking for clues. The real medical examiner comes in with Essen and Essen tells him to get out. The medical examiner says some nasty things to him and Essen suspends him.
Bullock and Gordon are investigating a place and find a man tied to a chair, with pigs around him. Another man, in a pig mask is holding a knife. Bullock and Gordon shoot the pig man.
Fish Mooney is enjoying a boat trip as she leaves Gotham. Bullock and Gordon find that both men are in the same phobia group. Bullock says he's going to the group because it's all been settled. Gordon says there's something else going on and Gordon wants Nygma to study the body, but he's suspended. Essen tells Gordon that because of taking down Detective Flask, eyes are on him, so he should let this one go... what?
Nygma goes to see Kringle to tell her he's suspended. Kringle says she's sorry he's been suspended.
Maroni returns to the cabin and says that there needs to be total honesty between each of them. Maroni says there's no guy they're meeting. Maroni wants one from Penguin now. Maroni says that he talked to Fish. He tells Penguin that Fish told him he was working with Falcone. Penguin tells Maroni that he took his gun and points it and him. Maroni says it's loaded with blanks and Penguin fires. Nothing happens and Maroni knocks him out.
Gordon meets Dr Thompkins for dinner. He wants answers on the case he's not supposed to work on. Thompkins tells him, in so many words, that she thought it was a date. Gordon gets called away because the second victim of abduction, the pig guy, woke up.
Bullock goes to the phobia meeting. Bullock meets the man who has been killing people at the coffee and donuts table.
Maroni has Penguin back in Gotham. He's going to kill Penguin at a junkyard. Penguin begs for his life.
Back at the meeting, Bullock talks about being afraid of dying on the job, alone. The killer, Todd, feels compelled to speak. He says he's afraid of failure. He says he inherited from his father and he's passing it onto his son. He gets emotional and leaves the room. Bullock's lady chases after him.
Penguin is in a car smasher and calls Maroni on his cell. Penguin calls the junkyard and the guy operating the machine and says Falcone is on his way an Falcone will kill him if he doesn't let him go. The guy stops the machine and runs off. Penguin escapes and runs off.
Back at the meeting, Bullock notices they've been gone for a while. Bullock leaves to see Todd drive off with Ms Mullens.
Nygma wages war on the medical examiner by putting a whole bunch of severed hands and feet in his locker. Prank war!
Bullock thinks he knows where Todd took Mullens. Todd is about to drown Mullens in a pool. Todd's son, Jonathon comes in... Jonathon Crane. Todd explains murdering people is for the good of humanity. Todd shoves her in the pool and watches her struggle. Bullock and Gordon come in and get into a shootout. Gordon runs after Todd while Bullock goes to save the girl. Ms Mullens is saved and Todd escapes.
Penguin wakens under a bridge and a group of church-going women find him and he hitches a ride to Gotham on their bus.
Back at the station, Thompkins stops by and says the killer removes his adrenal glands. She says it takes a doctor or nurse to remove the glands. Gordon says there's a job opening as a medical examiner now. The two plan to go to dinner. Then, they kiss, with everyone in the police station stopping what they're doing and watching. Nygma is reinstated because the ME is gone. Kringle tells Nygma he owes her a pencil.
Meanwhile, on the Fish boat, a group of men has taken over.
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Cr: Jessica Miglio/FOXThoughts
I know there's a history between Selina and Gordon but he's so apathetic to the idea that Selina is staying there. Oh, you're in my house and eating all my delicious cereal? I'm cool with that. Now, where's my girlfriend?
Bullock said "that's my name. Don't wear it out." God, I love Bullock's dialogue. "My love life is an open book, but a short and nasty one." Again, hilarious. I'm really loving his little one liners. He gives the episode a little bit of comedic flare. Sure, there are other characters doing the same thing, but no one delivers their lines like Donal Logue does.
Gordon is expected to not investigate these murders any further because eyes are on him because he arrested a cop? Where's the sense in that? Good job doing your police work but you can't do your police work because you did your police work. The way that police station runs is a complete mess and not in the "they're corrupt so everything is screwed up" type of way.
The whole Todd Crane part of episode felt vacant. I had no feelings towards this character and his motivation was unknown. Obviously, we're getting it more in next week's episode, but this guy just felt so bland and forgettable, much like the majority of the episode.
On the better side of things, it's strange to see, week after week, that Penguin's story line (and now even Nygma's story) become the best parts of the week and overshadowing everything else. The criminal element has so much life to it right now, while the police part of the show has fallen into the "villain of the week" showcase. Speaking of that criminal element, David Zayas as Maroni is fabulous. He delivers with such passion, as he did on Dexter and Oz, which he was also rad on, and he plays a manipulative man in power extremely well.
Once again, why does anyone in Gotham even shoot a gun? They're all terrible shots, except for the time Bullock shot the pig man.
Next week, the Penguin and Nygma come face to face? YES!
Hopefully, the second part of this storyline puts this into perspective because this episode falls a bit flat. Sure, we get to see the Crane lineage in this episode, but it misses its mark. The villain of the week style Gotham brings each week is really losing momentum, but luckily, most everything else happening here is pretty fantastic. Robin Lord Taylor, David Zayas, and Donal Logue are the real stand-outs in this episode, and thankfully, the score got a bit better, since last week's background music was pretty awful. Obviously, the show is still pretty good, but it's losing its luster.