In this episode of Gotham, “Wrath of the Villains: Pinewood,” Barbara helps Gordon track down the Waynes’ murderer, Bruce and Alfred discover that Wayne Enterprises was doing some questionable science experiments and Hugo Strange raises the dead.
The hits keep coming at Jim Gordon. No sooner does he break out of jail and catch Pinkney’s real killer (Nygma) does he have his psychotic ex, Barbara Kean, knocking on his door. Gordon pulls his gun as she explains that she’s been released from Arkham. And like Oswald — until he murdered his step-mother and siblings — she’s turned over a new leaf. She tells him that after she woke up from her coma, the memories she had were “horrifying.” Barbara claims that the person who did those things is not her. She worked out her issues, and now she’s totally sane.
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Girl Trouble
Barbara may be sane, but Gordon isn’t interested in becoming besties. Desperate to prove herself, she offers to help him solve the Wayne murders, but Gordon doesn’t want her assistance. He escorts her out the door, but before she leaves, Barbara asks him to just say her name. He says, “Goodbye, Barbara,” and slams the door in her face. In the hall, she runs into Bullock, who she greets with a “Hey, Harvey.” If his arms weren’t full of pizza and beer, he might have pulled his gun too.
Pinewood Farms
Lucius Fox is helping Bruce try and figure out the information in his father’s top-secret files, but the decryption program could take weeks. Bruce is able to access his father’s calendar. The week Thomas was murdered, he was supposed to meet with a woman named Karen Jennings about something called Pinewood Farms. Lucius says most of Wayne Enterprises’ black-op program had similar sounding names. Nice names covering up nasty business.
The Lady
Gordon and Bullock are trying to figure out who hired Matches Malone. He worked with a contractor named “The Lady.” She’s the one who sent assassins after Gordon at Galavan’s penthouse. Bullock says she went out of business after Gordon took out her A-Team. Bullock encourages Gordon to come back to GCPD so he’ll have the resources to track The Lady down. But Gordon doesn’t want Barnes breathing down his neck. He wants to do things his way.
Working outside the confines of the law, Gordon is able to beat the crap out of all The Lady’s known associates in an attempt to ascertain her whereabouts. He finally gets a tip that she could be at a club called Artemis.
Dr. “Strange” Love
Hugo Strange continues his experiments, and he feels he may finally have perfected the reanimation process with his latest creation, Patient 44. Miss Peabody is dubious, given all his previous failures. She also knows that somebody is looking for Karen Jennings. Jennings and Strange go way back; she was one of his first experiments. Whatever Jennings is, it’s nasty. She maimed and killed several orderlies when she broke out of Arkham, and they haven’t been able to find her since.
Bruce gets Jennings’ address from his father’s planner, and he and Alfred decide to pay a call. Nobody answers, but Bruce has learned to pick locks — a skill he acquired during his time with Selina. Once inside, they see claw marks on the doors and walls. Jennings breezes by and gives Alfred a nasty scratch. She lingers in a shadow, and Bruce explains who he is and that he doesn’t mean her any harm. Jennings emerges and reveals that she has a massive claw instead of a hand.
Bruce wants answers about Pinewood Farms, but Jennings warns him that he’s in danger. Whatever Thomas Wayne was investigating got him killed, and she’s the first person he’s found who might know why. Bruce pleads with Jennings to tell him what Thomas was up to.
Barbara Won’t Take No for An Answer
Gordon shows up at the Artemis Club to find Barbara waiting. This club is women only. And not just any kind of women, but rather women of the “criminal persuasion.” Gordon wants to go in guns blazing, but Barbara warns him that this particular approach will probably result in The Lady disappearing, probably for good. She offers to go inside and get him what he wants.
Gordon questions why Barbara is so eager to help, and she reminds him that she was there when he started the Wayne case and she knows how much it means to him. If he can solve it, maybe he can shut the door on the past and it will stay shut.
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Weird Science
Karen Jennings tells Bruce that Pinewood Farms was a bioengineering program at Wayne Enterprises. Jennings was doing time at Blackgate for killing her father. He was a drunk who liked to beat his daughter with the deformed arm. One night, she fought back and Daddy fell down the stairs.
Some men showed up and told her they could fix her arm, even make it better. Instead, they turned her into a monster. Thomas Wayne had no idea what was going on at Pinewood. When he found out, he shut it down and paid to hide the surviving participants.
Thomas suspected the experiments had started up again, and that’s why he saw Jennings. Thomas wanted to warn her. Bruce is convinced that whoever is doing these experiments is who killed his parents. Jennings didn’t know anyone’s names, but she does remember one man’s face. Bruce wants Jennings to take him to Pinewood Farms. He promises nothing will happen to her.
The Philosopher
Barbara sits down with The Lady. She tells her she’s thinking of getting into the assassination business, and she’s looking for a partner.
Gordon sneaks in through the back, but Barbara catches him off guard and holds a knife to his neck. She delivers him to The Lady. Barbara goes back into bad-girl mode, but it’s obviously a ploy to gain The Lady’s trust. The Lady claims to not know anything about who is behind the Wayne murders. She did take the contract but never saw the client. He went by the nickname “The Philosopher.” Getting all she could out of The Lady, Barbara tazes her.
Bruce and Gordon Join Forces
Bruce, Jennings and Alfred arrive at Pinewood. The place is deserted. Bruce suspects that Jennings is trying to put him off the scent and wonders what she’s hiding. They don’t get a chance to find out because some men show up. They aren’t as interested in Bruce and Alfred so much as Jennings. She slits one guy’s throat while Alfred shoots the other. The police arrive on the scene.
Barbara may have gotten Gordon information, but he doesn’t like the way she went about it. He also still doesn’t trust her. Barbara is very intent on Gordon not seeing her as a monster. Gordon says that if Barbara wants to be a better person, that’s her choice, but he will never forgive her for tying to kill Lee. Their walk down memory lane is interrupted when Gordon gets a phone call from Bruce.
Alfred and Bruce are released, but Barnes plans to send Jennings back to Blackgate. Bruce tells Gordon everything he’s found out about Pinewood. Since everybody is sharing, Gordon tells Bruce and Alfred about The Philosopher. Gordon wants Fox to put together a file of all the scientists who have worked at Wayne Enterprises. If Jennings can pick this man out, if he’s The Philosopher, they can tie him to the Waynes’ murder. They just have to break Jennings out of Blackgate before whoever else is looking for her gets there first.
Gordon, Alfred and Bruce make their move as Jennings is being transported. They throw a big bag of money in the road and tell the cops they can have it as long as they look the other way. Jennings confirms that The Philosopher was the man who ran the program at Pinewood. Once she identifies him, Bruce promises to get her a new identity and get her as far away from Gotham as possible.
Jennings admits that she has been hiding something from Bruce. After Thomas got her out, he visited her. She was very angry, and Bruce’s father never gave up on her and reminded her she wasn’t alone or a monster. Jennings didn’t want Bruce to pursue his current course because she didn’t want him to see his father differently. Thomas started Pinewood. His intentions were good, but the man in charge took advantage of him. Thomas didn’t realize this until it was too late.
Mr. Freeze
Their getaway is waylaid. Professor Strange has sent Victor Fries, aka “Mr. Freeze.” Fries may not have been malicious before, but all that gas he inhaled has changed his personality, and let’s say it isn’t for the better. Bullets slow him down, but they don’t stop him. Jennings tells Bruce how proud his father would be and sacrifices herself to Freeze, who turns her into a block of ice and then shatters her. Then Mr. Freeze takes his leave.
A Murderer is Unmasked
Bruce is upset about Jennings, but he’s also discouraged that the one person who could identify The Philosopher is dead. But all is not lost. During his research, Lucius found a photo. There in black and white in a company newsletter is a picture of Hugo Strange, also known around Wayne Enterprises as The Philosopher.
Strange is on Gordon’s radar, but the Professor has his hands full. Patient 44 is a success story. Hugo has managed to bring Theo Galavan back from the dead. Only now, he’s going by the name Azrael, the Angel of Death.
Gotham airs Mondays at 8pm on FOX.
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Jennifer has worked as a freelance writer in the entertainment field since 2012. In addition to currently writing feature articles for Screen Rant, Jennifer has contributed content ranging from recaps to listicles to reviews for BuddyTV, PopMatters, TVRage, TVOvermind, and Tell-Tale TV. Links to some of Jennifer’s reviews can be found on Rotten Tomatoes.
