Gotham Episode 1.06 Recap, Plus Episode 7 Promo

Gotham City, ten years ago. Bullock was a bright-eyed detective, full of hope and possibility, paired with an older, disillusioned detective, Dix. They are on the trail of Randal Milky, a serial killer who has been killing the children of the city’s wealthiest citizens. Bullock refuses to wait for backup and rushes in. The most recent victim is strung up ritualistically, already dead. Dix drops through the platform she is propped up on, and Bullock fills Milky with bullets. With his dying breath, Milky promises “the spirit of the goat will always come back.”

Gotham City, present day. Bullock is haunted when another body, that of Amanda Hastings, is found strung up in a similar fashion. Bullock is pissed off that there is a copycat out there, and takes this case personally. During the autopsy, he asks the medical examiner to check for a cut in the back of Amanda’s head. Sure enough, the scalp has been cut open and stitched closed. A penny has been placed inside.

Bullock is irate. This was Milky’s signature, and it was kept out of all press and official reports. The original medical examiner is dead, and the only other person who knew that detail is Dix. Bullock doesn’t want to check in with Dix (he still feels guilty about Dix “busting his gams” and confining him to a wheelchair because of the case) but does. Dix swears he never told anyone about the penny, and thinks Milky was working with a partner. Bullock doesn’t like this option, either. I don’t know what option he would prefer: that Milky, who called himself the “spirit of the goat” was back from the dead?

Another girl is snatched from her home, and Bullock says that if the Goat stays true to form, they will have about eight hours to rescue her. Since neither home showed evidence of a break-in, it had to be someone who had access to the home. A cross-reference of maintenance workers leads them to Raymond Earl and the same abandoned theater Milky operated out of ten years ago. Bullock goes after Earl while Jim rescues Amber. Bullock isn’t having much success, and Jim jumps into the fray, knocking out Earl.

Raymond Earl has a long rap sheet and history of mental illness. He and Milky were too similar, even though they never met, and Bullock is suspicious. If he doesn’t find out what changed Milky and Earl to make them want to be the goat, the killing will never stop. Watching Earl in the interrogation room, Bullock notices his hand clenches in a distinctly twitchy way. Bullock saw the same clenching in Amanda Hasting’s father’s hand. This is a physical movement that is often used to combat compulsive habits.

Bullock visits Robert Hastings, who is in session with Dr. Marks, a hypnotherapist. He lays out his findings to her. He thinks that she “turned them upside down,” and made Earl and Milky into killers. Dr. Marks doesn’t deny it; she calls it “therapy for the city.” By having the children of the rich killed off, she sees it as negative reinforcement. Bullock attempts to arrest her, but she tells Robert that “the golden temple is open; now kill this man.” While the men scuffle, Dr. Marks escapes but Bullock is able to shoot her in the leg.

Jim Gordon has his own problems this week. He and Barbara argue – again – over what he isn’t telling her. She begs him to share just half his burden with her, and he agrees – after work. Renee, once again, warns Barbara about being involved with Jim. She has found a witness who claims that he saw Jim shoot Oswald. By the episode’s end, Jim is arrested and taken into the station. Bullock stands by his partner, insisting (but thinking he is lying) that Jim wouldn’t do that. Then Oswald walks into the station, in a new suit, and Bullock gets pissed.

I feel like tonight’s episode was loaded with innuendo and foreshadowing – I’m just not sure to what. For starters, Milky wore a cowl that looked suspiciously like Batman’s cowl. He was also killed on the same day that Bruce Wayne was born. I have long felt like “Gotham” was accelerating the Batman-ification of Bruce Wayne, maybe hoping to introduce him in season two; is this a way for them to do it? It seems like a horrible idea. Maybe it is just coincidence, or poor costume design. I like the idea of a cult being a “big bad” peppered throughout the season. Cults are far more interesting (to me) than gang wars.

Also, I want them to do something with the Riddler or shut up about him. Nygma was all over tonight’s episode, spouting riddles that annoyed everyone. I was most annoyed by the fact that he was drinking out of a coffee mug with a question mark drawn on it. No one will ever accuse “Gotham” of being too subtle. There is a prolonged sequence in which Nygma is being creepy-flirty with a young woman in archives named Christine Kringle. This has to mean something – I’m just not sure what. I can’t find any mention of a “Kringle” in the Batman oeuvre, but she has to have a purpose.

In addition, FOX has released the first promo for episode 7 of “Gotham” which you can check out in the player below. Titled “Penguin’s Umbrella,” the episode is officially described as follows:

“As violence between Maroni and Falcone continues to escalate, Penguin reveals a new component of his manipulative strategy, forcing Gordon to deal with the consequences of his decision to spare Penguin’s life.”

“Penguin’s Umbrella” is set to air November 3. “Gotham” airs Mondays on FOX at 8 PM.