TV Review: Gotham – Season 2 Episode 10 “The Son of Gotham”

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Season 2 Episode 10: "The Son of Gotham"

Synopsis: Detective James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) confronts a suspect who is connected to Theo Galavan (James Frain), but falls short of obtaining any information. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) gets one step closer to discovering the name of his parent’s killer.

Recap: There is one episode left after tonight until 2016, meaning that if the mid-season finale of Gotham is going to resolve any of this season's mysteries, there is not a lot of time to do some. You would expect this penultimate episode to get ready for the big halfway point but instead we are given a few developments and a hell of a lot of questions that could leave us wondering what will become of these characters over the winter hiatus. But, even without resolution, we have some revelations and one damn fine thrilling hour of television. "The Son of Gotham" represents another high water mark for the series as it continues to improve over last year.

Theo Galavan is about to have his day in court to answer for kidnapping Mayor James and torturing him, but the newly elected Mayor of Gotham does not seem to be concerned about spending years in prison. James Gordon, already conflicted about his place in the justice system of his home town, now has to face the fact that by allowing Eduardo Flamingo to live last week he allowed the killer to murder Officer Parks. After attending the rookie's funeral, Captain Barnes removes Gordon from the Galavan case and has him investigate a woman who was attacked. That attack was thwarted by some robed monks who murdered the criminal and slit his throat. Their symbol was found amongst Galavan's belongings and Bullock discovers it represents The Order of Saint Dumas, an ancient sect that bears the same name as Theo Galavan's ancestors.

Gordon and Bullock visit an Abbey that belonged to the Order and is now a massage parlor, finding the rich patrons inside murdered. Gordon gets into a fight with one of the monks who begins reciting phrases about killing nine people to cleanse Gotham before he steps in front of a truck. Gordon, Bullock, and Dr. Thompkins learn the men are penitents who have committed seven murders in Gotham already. Following clues that lead them to the sewer system, Gordon and Bullock wound a monk and learn the remaining death is known as the Son of Gotham and that will usher in the next phase of their ritual. Meanwhile, Dr. Thompkins runs into Edward Nygma who is getting incessant phone calls from The Penguin. She asks about Ms. Kringle and Nygma lies and said she left town with Officer Doherty. Nygma fakes tears until she leaves and calls Penguin to tell him to get rid of Kringle's glasses. I love the Odd Couple dynamic between Penguin and Nygma and wish that could be a long-running subplot, but alas the legal system gets in the way.

Before we discuss Galavan's grand jury hearing, we need to address Bruce Wayne. Determined to learn the name of who killed his parents, Bruce tells Selina they need to find out from Silver St. Cloud what Theo Galavan knew. Bruce promises to pay for Galavan's legal team in exchange for the name and whispers something to Silver. She tells Bruce that she found out but before they can meet, both are kidnapped by The Knife, played by Sons of Anarchy favorite Tommy Flanagan. The Knife claims to work for Wayne Enterprises and says he will kill Bruce Wayne for what he knows. As The Knife drags Bruce away, Silver says she never knew the name and was lying. When The Knife returns after cutting up Bruce, he threatens to cut off SIlver's finger when she spills the name: M Malone. The Knife lets go and Bruce walks back in. The entire kidnapping was a trick pulled off by Bruce and Selina. Silver's true nature comes out and she claims the name was still a lie, but Bruce doesn't believe her. Silver begs Bruce, saying this is not who he is, but Bruce disagrees. Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce reveals to Selina he whispered his affections to Silver, but was truly thinking of her.

In court, Mayor James takes the stand and lies, saying he was kidnapped by Oswald Cobblepot. Galavan is freed immediately and when he tries to make amends with Gordon, the detective slugs him and is dragged away. Outside the courtroom, Gordon is tazed and taken to the Gotham docks. There, Galavan reveals his true name is Dumas and he is going to cleanse the poison of Gotham to take back what was taken from his family. He also says the last victim, the Son of Gotham, will die with a purpose. He then frees Gordon to taunt him and easily beats the cop using his fighting skills. As he leaves, he instructs the dirty cops to kill Gordon. Galavan heads to Wayne Manor with the ceremonial Wayne knife and tells Bruce he is going to kill him. At the docks, before Gordon can be killed, Penguin arrives in a rage at Galavan being freed and demands to know where he is.

Next week's episode will hopefully reveal the Order of St. Dumas' master plan, the fate of Alfred who we last say kicking Tabatha Galavan's ass before getting stabbed twice with a knife and ending up in the back of a garbage truck, Gordon teaming with Penguin again to stop Galavan, and maybe if Edward Nygma will finally get away with murder. All together, this was a really solid hour and definitely shows that this series has been able to get away from the constant need of referencing DC Comics characters like the first season did. This was a riveting and original hour that is sending the show full speed towards one hell of a break point for the season. FOX has revealed that the second half will also have the "Rise of the Villains" subtitle, so maybe everything won't be resolved in one more hour. In either case, this show has gotten so much better.

Episode Final Verdict:

Next Episode: "Worse Than A Crime" airs November 30th – When Bruce Wayne is kidnapped, Gordon must look to some unlikely and dangerous allies for help. It is a battle of the villains, and not everyone makes it out alive.