This is the second episode of the new season and I have to tell you that the energy from this one is non stop. Theo Galavan blackmails the mayor to be a puppet in his devious plan. Right off the bat, the city is under the control of a brilliant maniac. The monsters are coming to cleanse Gotham.
Jeremy Valeska (Joker) immediately put his criminal madness to good use by introducing his gang to the media by using human lemmings’ to spell out his name of his gang “Mainiax”. His wild and crazy behavior is a mirror reflection of our beloved psychopathic sociopath that we know and love, the Joker. His gang is a mix bag of crazies that rivals Charles Manson and his killer groupies. Barbara still continues to impress me with her silky smooth devious behavior. Her obsession with Gordon grows with leaps and bounds. It is a little annoying that Gordon believes that there is still some goodness in her, but that is to be expected from him. He still loves her.
Bruce and Alfred dig into Thomas Wayne’s man cave to investigate what Bruce’s father is hiding. However, Alfred tries to convince him not go any further and leave the past alone. Bruce is determined to find out about his father. Suddenly Alfred destroys the one computer that holds Thomas’s secrets. He justifies his actions by saying that he is only trying to protect him. Bruce is distraught with anger and fires him on the spot. Alfred doesn’t see that coming, but he gathers his composure and obeys.
Back at Galavan’s place, there is dissension in the ranks in the newly formed Mainiax. A challenge for leadership between Jerome and Greenwood leads to Theo suggesting they play Russian Roulette to finally decide to will lead the Mainiax. It’s no contest when Jerome dominates the challenge. It is pretty obvious that no one wants to go up against a madman, because they want to keep breathing.
Gordon tries to get Bullock to come back to work, but his fiancée intervenes and tells Gordon that e is not going back. Bullock says he is happy here being a bar owner where no one is shooting at him. Gordon is happy for him but under his breath he doesn’t believe that Bullock will ever leave the GCPD.
The Mainiax strike again when they take a bus full of cheerleaders hostage. Gordon gets there to find out that the Mainiax intend to burn the bus with the cheerleaders inside. He stops them and is able to capture one of the Mainiax. Unfortunately, he gets killed before he spills the beans by Theo’s dominatrix sister. Gordon is back to square one with finding out more about the Mainiax.
Bruce finds Alfred at the train station. He tells Alfred that he needs him. He wants Alfred to prepare him to be ready for what comes ahead, Alfred agrees. Bruce and Alfred are at a crossroads in their relationship. Bruce wants to grow up and become the man is needs to be. Alfred wants to protect him as long as he can, but he knows that by protecting him he fears he might push him away. So he recruits the one person he can trust, Lucius Fox. Right away Bruce and Lucius connect and start working together to finding out the mystery of Thomas Wayne’s family secrets.
Back at the GCPD, Barbara lures Gordon away from the precinct, while Jerome and his Mainiax simply enter.in. Gordon follows Barbara into an alley where he is ambushed by oneof the Mainiax. Barabara watches while he is beaten brutally. Her demeanor is cold and chilling as her former boyfriend is left for dead. In the precinct Jerome enjoys watching his gang massacre every single cop in the room. He binds Commissioner Essen to a chair while he taunts and teases her about how his Mainiax will paint the city red. Gordon gets to the precinct too late. He finds cops splattered all around him dead. He finds the Commissioner on floor barely breathing. She dies in his arms. The next day, Gordon is back at the precinct. Bullock arrives and announces he is back. A fellow cop enters in the Commissioner’s office where Gordon and Bullock are at. He turns on the tv, and the media have gotten a tape from the Mainiax. Jerome’s face appears and he announces that his campaign of terror is far from over, “YOU AINT SEEN NOTHIN YET!” he cackled. Then the video goes black.
The Pegnuin, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy are great villains, but the Joker makes you laugh while slitting your throat. This is the rise of the Joker so sit back and enjoy the ride. Gordon and Bullock are going to be extremely busy trying to stop him. Bruce is starting to take a path towards his destiny, but it can be a very dangerous path. Barbara has finally found her niche and purpose and loving every minute of it. Next week, we get to watch Jerome face his past and watch how he deals with it.
