| Episode | Cast | Crew |
- "Hugo Strange would rather destroy half the city than let them out. And now they're out."
- —Jim Gordon to Harvey Bullock
"Wrath of the Villains: Transference" is the twenty-second episode of the second season of Gotham and the season finale. It aired on May 23, 2016.
Synopsis[]
While Gordon, Bruce and Lucius remain at Indian Hill, the city of Gotham will be met with a new threat as Hugo Strange’s inmates devise a plan to escape and start their new lives in Gotham.[3]
Plot[]
The GCPD Strike Force arrives at Arkham Asylum, ready to blow the gates. Suddenly Basil, disguised as Jim Gordon, appears at the gate to stop them, declaring that nothing bad is happening there after all, calling the police to back in GCPD. In the basement of the Asylum, Hugo Strange prepares a bomb to blow up Indian Hill, and enlists Ms. Peabody to prep the patients for transfer to the upstate facility.
Elsewhere, Bruce and Lucius are at the mercy of Edward Nygma, who plays a sadistic riddle game to find out if they know who really runs Indian Hill. Bruce figures out the that the correct answer is not Hugo Strange but Wayne Enterprises. Nygma then asks them who really runs Wayne Enterprises.
Meanwhile Professor Strange administers truth serum to Jim to find out what he knows - and getting him to reveal some of his deepest feelings while he’s at it, including his guilt about Lee and his regret for not having gone after her. With Jim fully relaxed, Strange asks him if knows about the Secret Council that runs Wayne Enterprises and all of Gotham. It is clear from Jim’s reaction that he truly has no idea about this. Satisfied, Strange leaves him to his fate.
At Elijah Van Dahl's mansion, Penguin, Butch and Barbara see on the news the recent developments about the raid on Arkham.
When Bruce gives the wrong answer about who really runs Wayne Enterprises (since he like Jim doesn’t know), Nygma gleefully imposes the penalty, death by poison gas. As he falls unconscious Bruce has several flashbacks of his youth, but to his great surprise he and Lucius later awake in the same room as Jim. Ed reports to Strange that Bruce and Lucius likewise do not know the truth. He offers to assist Strange with any of his other cases, to which Hugo says thanks but no thanks and has him locked back his cell.
Back in his office, Hugo contacts the white-haired woman in an owl mask, and brightly reports his intelligence. She orders him to kill them all, and to continue with his patients’ transfers. She also reprimands him for releasing Galavan, and warns him that none of his other patients are to be seen at any cost.
Meanwhile at the GCPD, Basil's extremely poor impersonation of Jim begins to generate the suspicion of both Bullock and Alfred.
At Indian Hill, Selina, in her guise as Firefly’s ‘servant’, finds Bruce and the others. Bruce begs her to escape and save herself, but she clearly has her own ideas. Downstairs, Ms. Peabody attempts to use thorizine on Fish to transfer her, but in doing so allows Fish to touch her and falls under her control. Moments later Hugo Strange encounters Fish with Ms. Peabody and a couple of other orderlies now in tow. Reading the situation, he first vainly attempts to sweet talk her, then flees from her touch as Fish orders Peabody after him. Hugo runs to activate the bomb; Peabody tries to stop him, but he knocks her unconscious and initiates a 30-minute countdown, which also activates a lockdown of the facility.
Back at the GCPD, Barbara shows up to ask Jim what is happening at Arkham. Crazy or no, she still knows Jim better than anyone and soon realizes this is not really Jim. As she cries out and slaps him, the whole department watches as Basil's face twists and deforms from the blow. Bullock realizes they’ve been had and immediately redeploys the assault team back to Arkham. Barbara subsequently notifies Penguin of Strange’s imminent flight, for which he thanks her and tells Butch to saddle up.
At Arkham the fleeing Hugo encounters Victor Fries and Firefly, accompanied by Selina, and entrusts Fries to kill the remaining prisoners. After Selina objects, Strange orders Freeze to kill her, but Bridgit stands to protect her. As Mr. Freeze and Firefly face off, Selina takes the opportunity to free Bruce, Lucius, and Gordon. They return to the site of the fight where Strange tries to run but ends up right between Freeze and Firefly as they fire at each other. He crumples between the dual blasts of fire and ice. Gordon checks to see if Strange is still alive. Below, the bomb timer continues to count down.
When Strange improbably regains consciousness, he entreats them to flee before the bomb downstairs explodes. Lucius notes that radioactive material had been detected in the facility, and that it would kill thousands if released. Strange whimpers that he calculated the risk of a radioactive cloud to be low, and that even that risk was better than letting the monsters below out. Ignoring his pleas that there is no time, Jim and Lucius determine to try to defuse the bomb.
Selina remembers that Nygma knows the way down to the hidden facility. After insisting that Bruce and Selina run for safety, Jim and Lucius get Ed to help them into the elevator (pointing out it’s his only chance of survival). In doing so however Nygma short circuits the security system, opening a door below allowing Fish Mooney to make her way to the prisoners’ bus, which she promptly drives out of the facility.
Gordon and Lucius reach the bomb, but neither has an idea of how to defuse it. Outside, patrol cars speed to Arkham as Fish careens off in the bus. Lucius and Gordon are running out of time when suddenly Peabody, still slumped against the wall, stirs and murmurs "water". With a few seconds left on the timer, Gordon throws water on the circuits of the bomb, and it miraculously shorts out and stops. Their relief and amazement are only compounded when Peabody groggily repeats her request - that they bring her a drink of water.
Outside Arkham, Hugo Strange is put into a police car, and Bullock congratulates Jim for being the hero yet again. Bullock tells him that several patrol cars are in pursuit of a bus that left the compound. Fish in the bus wildly evades the GCPD. Gordon ominously warns Bullock that the occupants of that bus are monsters. Bullock radios his officers to redouble their efforts to find it.
Somewhere in the city, Fish crashes the bus under a hailstorm of gunfire from Butch Gilzean, Penguin, and his men. Penguin, approaching the wreck in gleeful anticipation of his long-awaited revenge on Strange, is gobsmacked to see the long-dead Fish emerge instead. She reaches out to caress his cheek, at which he promptly faints and keels over. Butch and his men retreat in utter dismay.
Back at Arkham, Gordon says farewell to Bruce, informing him of his intention to leave town to find Leslie. Bullock catches up with Jim as he is leaving and protests, but Jim explains that he knows now he must do this, and has every confidence that Bullock will manage fine without him. As he drives off, Bullock begs him to stay - all the more so as he realizes Gordon has driven off in his car.
Meanwhile Alfred’s hope that Bruce’s policing adventures are at an end is short-lived (and his hint that Gordon has gotten his priorities straight seeking the love of a good woman - made with Selina sitting nearby - roundly ignored). Bruce has learned of the existence of a Secret Council that controls everything in Gotham, and fervently declares that they are at last close to the ultimate truth. Alfred knows he can do no more than nod his head in resignation.
Out in the city, a homeless woman notices the crashed Indian Hill bus while walking the streets. Hearing the moans within, she opens the door to release the trapped passengers, only to recoil in horror as monsters emerge. As she cowers while they saunter off, a boy identical to Bruce Wayne, but with longer hair, stops to thank her politely before walking away.
Trivia[]
- The episode is dedicated to production designer Doug Kraner, who had passed away on April 4, 2016.
- The figures created by Hugo Strange who are unleashed at the end of the episode are a reference to the Monster Men in the comics.
- 514A is introduced in this episode.
- This is the only season finale where Morena Baccarin (Lee Thompkins) does not appear.
- A shadowy figure resembling Jerome Valeska is seen leaving the prison bus along with the other monsters, complete with audio of Jerome's trademark laugh, which foreshadows the character's potential return. In subsequent interviews related to the mythology of the Joker in the show, the "clone" depicted in this episode has been hinted to possibly being the Joker in the future. This was later disproven as the Joker ended up being Jerome's twin brother, Jeremiah Valeska, who had no involvement with Indian Hill.
- The episode titles makes reference to Batman: Transference, where Professor Strange abducted and posed as Batman. In the episode itself, it is Jim Gordon who is abducted and Basil Karlo who impersonates him.