Episode | Cast | Crew |
- "I will disappear, and let you live your life. You will follow the path of light, grow into a fine man. Become a husband. A father. There may be a day where you forget I ever existed. But then I will return, and I will kill everyone you love. Just as you watched your parents die, just as you watched me slice your friend's throat, I will slaughter your wife and children before your very eyes, and there will be nothing you can do about it!"
- —Ra's al Ghul to Bruce Wayne
"A Dark Knight: The Blade's Path" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of Gotham. It aired on October 19, 2017.
Synopsis[]
Nygma comes face-to-face with Butch Gilzean, but he is not who he used to be. In an attempt to regain power and identity, Nygma decides to put his former partner's skills to the test. Meanwhile, Sofia Falcone takes action to protect her own life by appealing to Penguin's vulnerable side. With the power of the dagger in his possession, Bruce surprises those around him with his bold actions.[1]
Plot[]
After being in a coma for six months, Butch Gilzean's body is taken out of the hospital in order to make room. Afterwards he is dumped into Slaughter Swamp where his body is dropped into a lake that also contains toxic chemicals left over from Indian Hill.
Bruce Wayne decides to use the Balahsi Knife to kill Ra's al Ghul as revenge for Alex's death. During Alex's funeral, Alfred Pennyworth is warned by Jim Gordon that Ra's has diplomatic immunity and will be released from incarceration. Meanwhile, Barbara Kean visits Ra's in Blackgate Penitentiary in a escape attempt but Ra's states that he just wants to say goodbye. When they touch hands through the glass, light passes between the two of them, to Barbara's surprise seemingly giving her an unknown power. She asks him what he did, to which Ra's says she would see very soon.
Back on Slaughter Swamp, Butch suddenly wakes up in a zombie-like state. He wanders around the area to find a group of campers. He attacks the campers with a superhuman resistance and strength. Suffering amnesia, he adopts the name of a nursery rhythm, Solomon Grundy. Edward Nygma robs a pharmacy in search of a cure for his mental condition, but the pharmacist injures Nygma and escapes, calling the police. Making his escape, Nygma literally runs into Grundy.
Bruce arrives at Blackgate and manages to enter Ra's cell, ready to kill him. However, he hesitates and decides to leave only to be ambushed by Ra's and assassins from the League of Shadows posing as guards. They take him to the underground of the penitentiary while Gordon and Alfred investigate upstairs. Ra's tells Bruce that the knife was brought to him for his resurrection, having a vision of him as his heir and he is the only person who can kill him. Gordon and Alfred manage to defeat the guards and reach the room. Ra's begin taunting Bruce, threatening to kill his loved ones in the future, prompting an angry Bruce to finally stab him in the chest. This causes Ra's to age in the pace of a few seconds until becoming a decaying corpse.
In the aftermath, Gordon decides not to report Bruce murdering Ra's. Bruce decides to leave his vigilantism and leaves the suit for Alfred. Meanwhile, pretending that he was his friend before his rebirth, Nygma takes Grundy to a fight club headed by a woman named Cherry. Cherry sends Butch to the medic for inspection, where its revealed that Lee Thompkins is secretly working there as the new doctor.
Trivia[]
- Butch Gilzean, born as Cyrus Gold, becomes the supervillain Solomon Grundy, who, in the comics, is killed and disposed of in Slaughter Swamp before becoming one of Batman's known foes, Solomon Grundy, named after a nursery rhyme with the same name.
- This episode takes place six months after Heroes Rise: Heavydirtysoul and therefore approximately one month after A Dark Knight: They Who Hide Behind Masks.
- This is the first season 4 episode in which Anthony Carrigan (Victor Zsasz) does not appear.
- At the end of the episode, Bruce says "I'm not the heroe Gotham needs", like Jim Gordon said at the end of the film "The Dark Knight"