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DCTV: ‘Gotham’ Recap Season 2, Episode 21 — Jada Pinkett Smith Is Born Again

By Dustin Murrell
Published on: 15:15 PST, May 16, 2016

With a cast of Batman villains that could rival this summer’s Suicide Squad, Fox’s Gotham aired its second-to-last episode of Season 2 on Monday night. Jada Pinkett Smith returned as Fish Mooney, reanimated from the dead by Dr. Hugo Strange. Viewers were given a closer look at Firefly and introduced to the Chameleon. In the same vein as recent movies like Marvel’s Civil War and the DC Comics-based Dawn of Justice, it appears as though teams are being built for a huge showdown, just in time for the season finale.

As viewers left Gotham City last week, Selina/Cat was about to get torched by Gotham‘s newest super-villain, Firefly; Edward Nygma/Riddler had almost escaped Arkham Asylum but had been caught; Dr. Strange had avoided being busted by the GCPD and continued to experiment on patients; and Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin had just convinced Butch Gilzean to help him kill Theodore Galavan/Azrael, saving James Gordon, Bruce Wayne, and Alfred at the same time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6kbfmeZ2SE

NOTE: The following includes spoilers for Season 2, Episode 21 of Gotham, “Wrath of the Villains: A Legion of Horribles,” which originally aired on Fox on May 16. It is the final episode before the season finale.

Jada Pinkett Smith as Fish Mooney

One of the characters original to Gotham and not pulled from the pages of DC Comics, it appeared we had seen the last of Jada Pinkett Smith’s character when she was killed off earlier in the series. But as Dr. Strange’s “Subject 13,” Fish Mooney was brought back to life — and something unique to her process, she was the first one able to remember who she was before she died.

While Dr. Strange kept Mooney locked up, she discovered a new ability that came along with her Frankenstein-like rebirth: she can apparently force her will upon someone simply by touching them.

Edward Nygma questions Bruce Wayne

Having been thrown back into the pits of Arkham Asylum after nearly escaping last week, the future Riddler cuts a deal with Dr. Strange (yet another example of the Gotham City villains working together) to help the doctor keep James Gordon and company away. Taken out of his cell, he’s tasked with questioning Bruce Wayne to find out everything he knows. As the show ends, Wayne has less than five minutes before he will be gassed to death.

Bruce had Lucius Fox with him, as the tech genius was helping him look for Selina in Arkham Asylum. The two were trapped, separately from James Gordon, with the clock ticking as Gotham went off the air.

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Dr. Hugo Strange captures James Gordon

Gordon accompanied Lucius and Bruce to look for Selina — and to find evidence against Dr. Strange — but all three were caught while on the premises. Gordon was used to demonstrate the ability of one of Strange’s other creations, the Chameleon. With his extremely malleable skin and a device created by Strange, the Chameleon’s face can be contorted to look like anyone else. With a wig that Hugo had handy, the Chameleon was the spitting image of James.

So far, Hugo’s monster army consists of the Chameleon, Fish Mooney (who clearly doesn’t like being held captive), and Firefly (who has Selina as a servant and is showing signs of remembering her former life). However, Hugo’s boss isn’t interested in the team of villains that Strange is creating. She’s only interested in his ability to reanimate the dead, complete with memories and personalities.

While the boss did not reveal her name, her allusion to “the court” would indicate the introduction of the Court of Owls. Those familiar with Batman lore will likely know about the Court of Owls. Those unfamiliar will certainly learn more about it next week and even more in Season 3.

Harvey, Alfred, and everyone else

When Bruce, Lucius, and James don’t return quickly from Arkham, Alfred has a talk with Acting Police Captain Harvey Bullock. Showing that he’s slowly becoming a gutsy captain who looks for a good excuse to cut through the red tape, he unleashes the full wrath of the Gotham City Police Department on Dr. Strange and Arkham Asylum. The showdown will happen in the season finale.

Despite the major role they played in last week’s episode, Oswald “Penguin” Cobblepot and his new friend Butch Gilzean didn’t show up at all in “A Legion of Horribles” — and they aren’t aware that Fish Mooney is alive again.

Next week on Gotham

As always, a preview/trailer for next week’s episode has already been released. Next week, it’s going to be Team Strange vs. Team Good Guys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2QjNh2d_xo

Where to Watch

Fox airs Gotham on Monday evenings at 8/7c. Replays of the most recent episode of Gotham can be streamed on-demand at Fox’s website beginning Tuesday. Season 1 of Gotham can be streamed via Netflix.

Current episodes of Gotham (including “Rise of the Villains: A Legion of Horribles”) can also be streamed with a Hulu Plus subscription the day after it airs on Fox.

[Image via FOX]

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