[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his week on Gotham, Detectives Gordon and Bullock must track down a vigilante named Balloonman, who is targeting Gotham’s corrupt, and attaching them to weather balloons.
The darkness of Gotham continues as Oswald steps out of the bus with an air of confidence and pride as he watches children pickpocketing, a cop taking money off a storeowner, a mugger and prostitutes—everything that makes Gotham feel like home to him.
Elsewhere, a news anchor is reporting on Ronald Danzer, a financial figure who has robbed investors of millions of dollars in a massive Ponzi Scheme.
Inside the court, Danzer is talking on the phone with his lawyer. He wants his lawyer to fix everything and he doesn’t care about the people who lost their pensions. As Danzer rushes out, a man with a pig mask offers him a balloon. But as he tries to get away, the man calls him by his name and clips him to an air balloon. We then see Danzer floating above Gotham.
Our cop duo shows up to investigate. And of course, Bullock is totally uninterested. Gordon, on the other hand, reviews the case out loud. We learn Danzer was a man who was about to go to trial for scamming people out of their lives savings, and now his body has been taken away in a balloon. Gordon is not sure whether to call this murder or not. Bullock isn’t confused at all. In fact, he calls it a public service as he feels Danzer got what he deserved. He goes off to get a Danish.
Now back at the precinct, Gordon has the privilege of meeting Lieutenant Bill Cranston. Not really a privilege considering Cranston is a complete jerk. We cringed when he called Gordon a boy scout because Gordon believes criminals have rights. Cranston shows him his way of dealing with criminals, which is to get a statue—a gift from Chamber of Commerce—and use it to beat up criminals during interrogation. Gordon tells Bullock that Cranston is a thug.
Unfortunately, Bullock does not want to look for the murderer, as he doesn’t care. He never cares. Justice was served, period. So why is he surprised when Gordon is signing papers for custody of Selena Kyle. Davis from Juvenile Services has just dropped her off because she has information Gordon needs for his case. Bullock is upset about Gordon’s lack of knowing when a case is closed. If someone was blamed then that’s enough for Bullock.
Selina shows Gordon where she was when she witnessed the Wayne murder. He doesn’t believe her, until he finds the wallet she stole. However, while Gordon was in the sewer looking for the wallet, Selina uncuffs herself and runs away.
Major Crimes visits Mooney, asking about Cobblepot, and Fish gladly points a finger at Gordon. Although, Allen assumes someone with more power ordered the hit—all insinuations lead to Falcone. This puts a big smile on Mooney’s face, as this is exactly what she wants.
Oswald has run out of money and he needs a job. Recognizing Oswald, a man attempts to return him to Mooney for big bucks, but Oswald stabs him to death and takes his money.
Meanwhile, Bruce and Alfred are playfully sword fighting. Bruce laughs when Alfred surrenders. Given the recent tragedy, it’s nice to see young Bruce laugh. As Alfred cleans up a bit, he spots a file with all the pictures and information on the Wayne murder. He questions Bruce about this. Bruce says he just wants to find a clue, which he admits he hasn’t found one yet. Alfred reminds him that detective Gordon promised he would find the killer.
We are back to Oswald, who is looking for a job. He goes to a restaurant, only to get yelled out because he doesn’t have the right shoes. Oswald spots a man who washes the dishes wearing the shoes he needs. He finds out the man wear the same size shoes as him. Now with the right shoes, Oswald gets the job. But he is told that he must be blind, deaf and dumb about anything that goes on in the restaurant. He is okay with this, especially since he just spotted Don Maroni come in. It’s the perfect opportunity.
Next we have Bullock and Gordon talking to a man who owns the balloons. He saw the news and didn’t want to be blamed so he volunteered to go to the precinct. He gives them a name, Carl Smikers, an employer who stole four balloons. Yikes! Looks like there will be more murders.
The Balloonman already found his next man, Lieutenant Cranston. Turns out had been beating a drug dealer who didn’t make enough money. Although Balloonman gets knocked to the ground, he manages to cuff the balloon on Cranston anyway, and off he flies away.
Bullock and Gordon search for Carl Smikers. When they bring him in, he says he sold the balloons for money, but he knows who bought them. He also gives them a little lesson on how a balloon works, letting them know the bodies will come back.
Sure enough the body of Cranston comes down and in his pocket they find a form with Gordon’s name on it. He knows who the Balloonman is. They also find keys Gordon had given the Balloonman. Meanwhile, Balloonman had taken his third victim, a priest involved in sexual abuse.
Gordon remembers Selina mentioning a building for the homeless kids, so that’s where he tells Bullock they will find Balloonman Davis Lamond, who is considered to be a wonderful, sweet man, with no priors. However, Essen is more concerned about getting screamed at by the Commissioner then the actual people. She just wants Bullock and Gordon to close this case.
When Gordon and Bullock find the building and the van Lamond uses, Lamond grabs Bullock and points a gun at him. He talks to Gordon about the corruption and his life’s dedication to the children of Gotham. He wants to know whom Gordon is really fighting for. Bullock has had enough and clips Lamond to the air balloon, but as he goes up, Gordon grabs on to him and won’t let go. Bullock is then forced to shoot the balloon, knocking them back down. Lamond warns Gordon that there will be many more like him. Gordon doesn’t think so as long as keeps doing his job right. Yea…good luck with that Gordon.
Mooney again gets a visit from Falcone. She pretends to care about Natalia’s accident. Falcone insures her he will find those responsible. But Mooney doesn’t seem worried.
The media reports that Balloonman’s reign has come to an end, and commends him for his actions since they believe he stood up for the people of Gotham. Elsewhere, Bruce is watching the news. He tells Alfred that Balloonman was a criminal too because he killed people. Here we see a bit foreshadowing of Bruce and his attitude toward criminals in the future.
As Gordon and Barbara talk, she assures him that she knows he would never take the law into his own hands. Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door. Guess who? It’s Oswald.
Stay calm and join us again next week for another great episode of Gotham on Fox at 8/7c.
