Damned If You Do...

"It's hard to walk away, but it can be done. I just couldn't carry that badge anymore. Look at me now. Right? I'm sober... I have a woman who does not dislike me, I live in a house, I sleep at night. I've never been happier in my life."

- Harvey Bullock to James Gordon

"Damned If You Do..." is the first episode of Season Two of Fox's Gotham. It was written by Bruno Heller and directed by Danny Cannon. It is the twenty-third episode of the series overall, and premiered on September 21, 2015. This episode is the second season premiere.

Synopsis
Penguin is King of Gotham and after a shakeup at the GCPD, Detective James Gordon’s moral compass wavers, as he seeks help from Penguin. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne continues to explore the secrets from his father’s office, while GOTHAM newcomers Theo Galavan and his sister, Tabitha, make friends with some unlikely allies, a group of dangerous inmates from Arkham.

Recap
The first episode of the second season of Gotham starts right where we left off with Bruce and Alfred exploring the secret passage behind the fireplace in the study at Wayne Manor. The two of them travel down the staircase into the cave-like tunnel where they reach a big iron door. A password is needed in order to unlock the door. After several attempts in on the keypad Bruce realizes that he cannot open the door.

We see the new daily rituals of some of the characters from last season. Jim Gordon is at home getting dressed for work. Leslie helps him adjust the tie on his new blue cop uniform. Harvey Bullock wipes down the countertop in the bar in which he know works. Oswald Cobblepot stands at the head of a table in front of about 20 menacing looking criminals. A large man kneels in front of Cobblepot allowing him to place a mafia-like kiss on the man’s forehead. Oswald glances at Victor Zsasz who had been looking on, awaiting his cue. Victor walks over to the kneeling man and fires a bullet into his freshly-kissed forehead. The Penguin beams as the room full of villains recoils at the sight. Finally, Barbara Kean enters the Arkham Asylum dressed like she’s about to spend the weekend in The Hamptons. Jerome Valeska and several other inmates watch interestingly, but Barbara doen’t seem bothered at all.

A costumed man thanks his master for giving him a beaker containing a blue liquid. He kneels at his master’s feet and drinks the liquid as he instructed. We can tell the master is a well-dressed man but his face is unrecognizable. The costumed man chuckles as the master sends him on his mission.

Jim Gordon is directing traffic in his new police uniform. The costumed man from appears garnishing two pistols. He announces that he is Zaardon the Soul Reaper and fires two shots into the air. Gordon confronts Zaardon causing him to replace the two guns with a large sword. Gordon puts his gun down as well. Gordon dodges a couple of wild swings from Zaardon’s blade and is able to subdue him. Another cop, who has not been present this whole time, casually strolls over to the scene as Gordon handcuffs Zaardon. Gordon, irritated that the cop is late for his shift, shoves him out of frustration.

Zaardon doesn’t understand why he was apprehended so easily. He claims he drank “dragon’s blood out of the master’s chalice”. It’s clear that Zaardon will be visiting Arkham Asylum very soon. As Gordon locks Zaardon in the holding cell, the prisoner informs him that dark days are coming.

Gordon runs into Ed Nygma in the locker room of the police station. Edward seems a little off but he tells Gordon that he has never been better. Before the conversation gets any deeper, Gordon is summoned to Captain Essen’s office over the loudspeaker. Shortly after Gordon leaves the locker room, Ed is startled by the sound of his own reflection speaking to him. Apparently this isn’t the first time the two have had a conversation. It’s official. Ed has lost it. The reflection suggests that Ed needs to pursue his coworker, Kristen Kringle romantically. Ed doesn’t think that is a very good idea. He yells at his reflection to leave Ms. Kringle alone and storms out of the locker room.

Commissioner Loeb is in The Captain’s office berating Jim for shoving the other cop from earlier. Loeb admits that Gordon’s demotion to uniform duty was an attempt to get him to resign as Harvey Bullock did. The Captain attempts to defend Gordon but it does not work. Captain Essen has no choice but to fire Jim Gordon effective immediately. Before leaving the office, Jim assures Loeb that he will make good on his promise to take him down.

Thompkins and Gordon lie in bed discussing the day’s events. Jim tells her that he loves being a cop so much that he would be willing to bend the law to get his job back.

In a cell at Arkham, Barbara is reading a magazine when Jerome comes over to introduce himself. Jerome tries to bond with Barbara over the fact that they both killed their parents but she doesn’t seem interested. Another inmate, Richard Sionis, looks on from a distance. Sionis has sent Jerome over to Barbara as his wingman. Jerome informs Barbara that Richard could be the friend she needs. According to Jerome, Richard is the top dog in Arkham. Barbara just wants to know if he can get her a phone.

Cobblepot is holding a meeting with a few of his employees. He discusses with Selina Kyle, Butch and Victor that he needs to collect all the debts owed to Falcone as his own. In walks Jim Gordon needing a favor. Cobblepot agrees to help get Commissioner Loeb fired if Gordon will go collect the debt. Gordon declines.

Jim is drinking his feelings at the bar with Harvey Bullock. Although Harvey works at the bar, he tells Gordon that he was able to quit drinking after leaving the police force. He is living a happy civilian life. Gordon tells Harvey how proud he is of him and stumbles out of the bar.

Jim walks all the way to Wayne Manor. He notices that Alfred and Bruce are covered in dirt, no doubt from being down into the secret tunnel. Jim apologizes that he has been fired from the police force and was not able to find out who murdered Bruce’s parents. He tells the two of them that Cobblepot’s request is just too ugly to consider. It just isn’t right. Bruce poses the question that maybe the right way is also the ugly way. Bruce waits for Gordon to leave then hurries down the tunnel to attempt to unlock the steel door. After a few tries he resolves to just break the keypad by striking it with a hammer.

Jim goes to find Ogden Barker at a nightclub to collect the debt for Cobblepot. The confrontation escalates when Barker refuses to pay. This leads to Gordon robbing Barker at gunpoint. Gordon flees but finds himself trapped. Gordon kills Barker and flees the scene.

Bruce is making a homemade bomb. He is desperate to get that steel door open. Alfred is not pleased with the Bruce using explosives, especially inside the house. Bruce persists that he is going to make the bomb with or without Alfred’s help. Alfred really has no choice but to help

Cobblepot is gracious to Jim for completing the task. He assures him that he will make sure the police don’t find out about Jim’s involvement. When Jim gets home he receives a phone call from crazy Barbara. It looks like Richard was able to get her to a landline phone inside the asylum. Bruce hangs up in her face only for Barbara to call back and leave a threatening voicemail on the answering machine. Leslie suggests that she and Bruce leave town as there is nothing left for them in Gotham. Jim refuses. He has to stay and make things right.

Commissioner Loeb enters his kitchen in the middle of the night, only to see The Penguin and Victor raiding the cabinets for peanut butter. The Penguin tells Loeb that he needs him to reinstate Jim Gordon but the Commissioner scoffs at the idea. After threatening his life The Penguin manages to convince the Commissioner to change his mind. Loeb agrees to resign from his position as commissioner.

Businessman and scientist, Theo Galavan, introduces former Loeb as he names his predecessor, Captain Essen. Zaardon has finally made it to Arkham and he is having a hard time keeping the “dragon’s blood” down. Barbara, Richard and Jerome look on as Zaardon passes out, emitting blue fumes from his mouth. The fumes knock out all the inmates and the prison alarm sounds in the background. An armed woman and two additional gunmen have blasted through the security doors and taken out the guards. Captain Essen tells Jim that 6 inmates including Barbara Kean have escaped from the asylum.

The armed woman that broke into Arkham’s name is Tabitha. She is Theo Galavan’s sister. Theo had Barbara, Jerome, Richard and several other inmates taken out of the Asylum. It turns out that Theo Galavan is Zaardon’s master. He proposes the inmates should band together as a team in order to take over Gotham. Richard, who is accustomed to being in control, is not happy with that idea. After expressing his displeasure to Galavan, Richard is excused from the team. For a second it seemed like this proposition was optional, until Tabitha kills Richard in front of the 5 remaining inmates. Galavan’s team has been assembled.

At Wayne Manor, the homemade bomb has been completed. Alfred and Bruce take cover as they attempt to blow the door to smithereens… and it works. Alfred and Bruce walk through the rubble of what once was the secure door and secret passageway. In the room, there is a computer desk with a note on it. In the note left by Thomas Wayne, it says that the secret room is dedicated to Thomas’s investigation into Wayne Enterprises. It also states that the password to the locked room was BRUCE (imagine that).

The episode ends as Jim Gordon changes into his detective suit. He’s back on the force but was it worth it.

Starring

 * Ben McKenzie as Officer Jim Gordon
 * Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock
 * David Mazouz as Bruce Wayne
 * Morena Baccarin as Dr. Leslie Thompkins
 * Zabryna Guevara as Captain Sarah Essen
 * Sean Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth
 * Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot
 * Erin Richards as Barbara Kean
 * Camren Bicondova as Selina Kyle
 * Cory Michael Smith as Edward Nygma
 * James Frain as Theo Galavan
 * Jessica Lucas as Tabitha Galavan

Guest Starring

 * Cameron Monaghan as Jerome Valeska
 * Peter Scolari as Gillian Loeb
 * Anthony Carrigan as Victor Zsasz
 * Dustin Ybarra as Robert Greenwood
 * Todd Stashwick as Richard Sionis
 * Will Brill as Arnold Dobkins
 * David Fierro as Zaardon
 * Otto Sanchez as Odgen Barker
 * James Andrew O'Connor as Tommy Bones
 * Stink Fisher as Aaron Helzinger
 * Philip Goodwin as Compere
 * Drew Powell as Butch Gilzean

Co-Starring

 * Michael Barra as Officer Franks

Production Notes

 * Jada Pinkett Smith revealed that she would not be returning to the show in Season Two as her contract only extended through Season One.
 * However, in January 2016 it was announced that she would be reprising the role for the second half of season 2.

Prop Notes
Dear Bruce, these last weeks I begin to feel very mortal, which prompts this note to you. Perhaps I'm being paranoid. I hope so. In any case, if you're reading this, then I'm dead, and you figured out that the entry code is... BRUCE. I'm sorry I had to hide this part of my life from you, because this place only exists because of you. Becoming a father made me want to be a better man, and I started asking hard questions about the family business. So here we are. As I write this, you're 12 and a fine, good hearted boy. So I'm sure you'll be a fine, good hearted man. But that's all I know. I don't know what happened to me or your mother, or how life has turned out for you. I don't even know how old you are. So I'll resist giving you much fatherly advice. Only this: You can't have both happiness and the truth. You have to choose. I beg of you, my son, please choose happiness. Unless... Unless you feel a calling. A true calling.
 * Bruce's letter from his father says: