Penguin drops off a trunk for Theo, hoping this act will free his mother. It doesn’t, and an agitated Penguin returns home. A lackey arrives to inform Penguin that the cops raided his count house. So Penguin kills the messenger. Tabitha shows up with a new assignment for Penguin: arson, and lots of it. She also delivers him something he will need later.
Butch pays Selina to vouch for him to the Pike brothers, a trio of professional arsonists. Selina was friends with their sister, Bridgit, when they were kids, and uses that to get in front of the Pikes. It’s a lot of work, but a lot of money, and the Pikes take the job. The youngest Pike heads to the Merc, which is like the CostCo of heavy artillery. Literally – there are friendly “blue light special” announcements, and shopping carts for the big spenders. Young Pike doesn’t like that a stick of explosives is priced at $500, so he slips it into his pants.
While Gotham PD raided the count house, they were attacked with a rocket launcher. Barnes was stunned and wanted to raid whoever sells those. Jim says the Merc, so the Merc they raid. Young Pike, when he hears the police, abandons his shopping cart and runs. He is cornered by Jim and Barnes and reaches for his gun to shoot his way out. The cops open fire, hit his stolen explosives, and blow his punk ass up.
The remaining two Pikes are less concerned about their brother’s death than they are about who will take his place. They turn to Bridgit, who refuses. She hates fire, and reminds them they are not “actually” family (her mom banged their dad). So the brothers say that, if she isn’t really family, they won’t feel bad turning her out. She decides arson is less deplorable than prostitution and agrees.
The Pike brothers wait in the van and walk Bridgit through the bomb setup over walkie talkie. She has about a minute and a half to get out after igniting the fuse, but they inform her of one more task: stealing something from a safe. When Penguin delivered the Trunk to Theo, in it was Bunderslaw from Wayne Enterprises. In the box that Tabitha says will be needed for the arsons is Bunderslaw’s eyeball. Bridgit uses this eyeball to get past the retina lock on the safe. Inside is a huge, sharp, antique knife. She grabs it and escapes as the bomb goes off. Her leg catches fire, but she makes it out alive. Her brothers aren’t too concerned over this – they have four more fires to start that night.
The knife is delivered to Penguin, who wants to know what is so special about it before he turns it over to Theo. It is old, and it has the Wayne family crest on the hilt. Butch suggests he speak to Edwige, an antique dealer who knows everything there is to know about Gotham. She is hesitant around the knife, but finally relays the story.
Almost 200 years ago, five wealthy families ruled the high society of Gotham. The Waynes were the richest and most powerful. Celestine was promised to the eldest son of the Elliott family, but Caleb Dumas lusted for her. Caleb and Celestine were found in an “illicit embrace,” and Celestine swore he forced himself on her. By way of punishment, Celestine’s brother chopped off Caleb’s hand with the very sword that Penguin holds. The Waynes took all of the Dumas’ money and power. They changed street names, absorbed property, and kicked the Dumas out of Gotham, essentially erasing them from Gotham history. Caleb retreated to a religious order his family started, Celestine never married, and the Dumas family changed their name – to Galavan.
Despite being burned, Bridgit is exhilarated by her time as a firebug and partakes in the next evening’s arsons willingly – even eagerly. Selina is worried about her newfound “calling” when she visits and finds Bridgit sewing a fire-resistant body suit for herself. (Yes, she becomes Firefly.)
Jim discovers that, though they may be hidden by holding corporations and other false names, all the buildings that were burned were owned by Wayne Enterprises. Following the pattern, the next target should be the Gotham Book Depository. Jim and Harvey stake it out. Sure enough, that is the next building the Pike siblings hit. Bridgit is a little nervous about using her new flamethrower. No sooner does she get out of the van than the police surround her. The van peels out, leaving Bridgit to fend for herself. She keeps Jim and Harvey at bay with the flamethrower, but it malfunctions, giving Garrett a chance to tackle her. She fights him off, gets the flamethrower working again, and sets him alight. Selina has been watching from a fire escape, and she help Bridgit escape while the cops are tending to their fallen comrade.
Garrett later dies, giving Barnes a renewed sense of fury. He wants the Gotham PD to stop at nothing to get the cop killer – so long as it is legal. Theo is there to offer his condolences and request Jim’s endorsement for his mayoral run. He had asked Jim earlier in the episode, and he politely declined, not wishing to sully his police work with politicking. At Lee’s urging, Jim changes his mind and promises to endorse Theo, on his word that he and the police department won’t have to deal with the criminal scourge alone.
Butch worries that Penguin is sounding a little paranoid. In fact, Penguin believes he may be going mad, on account of his mother. But he has a plan. Theo is acting out of emotion, and emotions can be manipulated. He wants Butch to go to Theo and tell him that Penguin is going mad and he needs a job. Once Butch is in his organization, he can find Mrs. Kapelput. Butch worries that Theo won’t buy it, but there is one more part to his plan that would see Theo sympathize with Butch. Penguin takes out a hidden cleaver and chops off Butch’s hand. Now he matches Theo’s ancestor.
Theo is not alone in his revenge plot. Father Krill arrives, admires the knife, and inquires as to Bruce Wayne’s wellbeing. Theo doesn’t have him yet, but the Father is not concerned. “Our brothers are crossing the sea. Gotham will be redeemed in blood, and Bruce Wayne will die.”
That line might have been more effective if we thought there was a chance young Bruce Wayne could die.
Check out a promo for next week’s new episode, titled “By Fire.”
