Gotham episodes 4 and 5 recap: Who destroyed Haven? And why?

Catherine Palmer

On Gotham, the person who destroyed Haven tries to figure out what drove them to do it. Selina’s revenge mission puts her at odds with Bruce.

Like the city of Gotham, my immune system has been put through the ringer over the past couple weeks. Now that I’m feeling better, though, I’m ready to dive back into recapping. Unfortunately, Gotham has only grown more beleaguered in my absence. Here’s a look at what went down in episode four, “Ruin,” and episode five, “Pena Dura.”

Dynamic duos and a lot of p’Zsasz

Well, it’s not every day that the life of a career assassin gets saved by cops. But this is Gotham, and the destruction of Haven shakes everyone to the core. Even Penguin and Barbara, who could hardly be called moral, are horrified by the slaughter of more than 300 innocent people.

Jim is naturally ridden with guilt, especially after the deputy police badge he gave Will Thomas is recovered. He reluctantly teams up with Penguin, who readily offers his men and ammo to capture a suspect seen walking out of Haven moments before the explosion. The suspect turns out to be the one and only Victor Zsasz, everyone’s favorite hitman!

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But there are a couple problems.

Penguin really hates Zsasz for betraying him and allying with Sofia Falcone, and he’s ready to see Zsasz’ head roll, period.
Zsasz could not have been the Haven bomber because there was no bomber. The culprit launched a rocket-propelled grenade from a rooftop (not the ground) to turn the building into a bomb. (more on that later)

Knowing Jim wants to let Zsasz walk, Penguin takes over the GCPD, breaks out Zsasz and puts Zsasz on trial back at his compound. Zsasz’ last hope is for Jim to win back the support of the people from Penguin.

Jim’s inspirational speeches don’t have quite the same power post-Haven, though, so he and Harvey pull a Pirates of the Caribbean: stir up chaos and rescue the person seconds before death. (In this case, it’s a public guillotining rather a hanging.)

So, the “innocent” assassin gets to live, at the least for the duration of a car ride. Tired of everyone, Zsasz included, mocking him for being so moral and noble, Jim challenges Zsasz to a shoot-out and orders Harvey to give Zsasz his gun. Zsasz decides to be smart and walk away, and Harvey calls out Jim for making him a part of his reckless idiocy.

Reeling from the day he’s had, Jim finds comfort in the arms of… Barbara! Could she be the mother of Barbara Gordon, who’s been teased to appear this season? (Based on the description of episode six, “Stitches,” we’re thinking hell yes she is!)

Who’s the real culprit?

Ed, a former CSI, helps Lucius determine the logistics of the attack in exchange for an old police file. The file, which he thought his Riddler side had told him to look at, is a literal dead end, but he realizes there’s a potential witness to the attack.

He breaks into the old woman’s apartment and gets hit over the head just enough times to verify her account of what happened. (My outlandish theory was actually right, at least as far who did it.) The head trauma triggers memory flashes of Riddler launching the RPG. Ed is horrified to learn he committed such an atrocity, though his next move to murder the witness.

The end of Jeremiah Valeska?

Alfred rescues the handcuffed Bruce from Jeremiah’s church just as Bruce is about to be murdered by some of Jeremiah’s thugs. While Alfred believes going after Selina is ultimately pointless, he supports Bruce no matter what. Unfortunately for Bruce, they arrive just after Selina has stabbed Jeremiah repeatedly. But is he really dead?

Reunions

The woman (Teresa Walker) who Jim’s been talking to over the radio finally comes through for Gotham. Lead by Jim’s old army buddy Eduardo Dorrance (aka Bane!), the troops finally roll in to restore order.

While Jim is frustrated that they brought no supplies or food (Dorrance promises that will come later) and that it took the deaths of 300+ people to get Walker’s attention, he is hopeful that life will finally start improving for the citizens of Gotham.

The army and GCPD’s first priority is to capture Riddler, who has now been officially identified as the culprit behind Haven, but he’s not about to make it easy for them. While Jim and Dorrance are left to solve his latest riddle, Ed runs into trouble of his own, courtesy of wannabe vigilantes.

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Being tortured via electrocution actually provides a welcome break in the case, though. Ed reunites with Penguin, who he now remembers promised to “fix” him. Ed believes that Penguin broke him, but Penguin reveals that he paid Hugo Strange to save Ed’s life after Lee stabbed him.

When Ed pays a visit to the exquisitely evil doctor, Strange reveals that Ed is being controlled by a device that he implanted in his head on behalf of a mysterious third party. Unfortunately, Ed can’t do much with the new info since Strange cuts open his brain again and tinkers with the device to presumably fix the glitch.

Afterward, Ed still remembers everything, but he remains at the mercy of his controller: the U.S. Army, specifically Walker. As Dorrance reveals to a mystified and crestfallen Jim, he’s just following orders. He doesn’t know what Walker’s goal is or why she blew up Haven, but he’s on her side.

What he does know is that Walker wants Jim to shoot Ed as “proof of loyalty.” Dorrance also threatens to shoot Jim if he doesn’t comply. Jim chooses secret option C (running away… without his gun), so Dorrance orders Ed to find and kill Jim with his own weapon.

Bruce confronts Selina

Convinced that deep down Selina still has the same moral compass as him, Bruce tries to make her see the error of her ways and set her on a better path. However, Selina tells Bruce that she’s always been this way, citing her inaction the night his parents died as proof that she consistently acts in her own self-interest.

To her point, Selina and Bruce are not the same. They never have been, and they never will be. However, her characterization of herself is also far from accurate, and Bruce is proof of that. Over the years, she’s proved time and time again that she cares about other people much more than she wants to admit.

In fact, Selina has arguably gone out on a limb for Bruce more often that he has for her, which is even more meaningful considering her background. Growing up on the streets, Selina learned that looking out for herself should always be her first concern, and yet she put her life on the line repeatedly to look out for Ivy and Bruce.

Selina’s dark side is undoubtedly becoming stronger, but Bruce is right to keep seeing the good in her too because it’s always been there and it always will be.

It’ll be interesting to see which side wins out next because Jeremiah is, of course, very much still alive, and he has a new, monumentally cruel plan to torture Bruce.

What do you think will happen to Riddler? Do you think Barbara is pregnant? Let us know in the comments section below.

Catherine Palmer

Catherine Palmer is a Southside Serpent and former editor and columnist for The Johns Hopkins News-Letter. She wishes she could have majored in TV Studies but settled for a creative writing degree.