FOX's Gotham season 5, episode 10 recap: Bane finally rises!

As Gotham nears the end of its final season, Barbara goes into labor, Bane makes a flashy debut and Bruce’s past comes back to haunt him.

Months after Jim and Lee’s wedding, Gotham is finally ready for reunification! Lucius’ filters have successfully cleaned the water, and the green zone now extends into all corners of the city. The army rolls in to make a final assessment, and General Wade gives the all clear.

But before everyone can live happily ever after, Bane makes his grand debut in an 18-wheeler and kidnaps Jim, Bruce, and Wade. Meanwhile, just as Penguin, Ed, and Barbara prepare to leave Gotham forever, Babs goes into labor and turns to Lee for help. Here’s a look at what went down in “I Am Bane.”

A daughter’s mission

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Walker, aka Bane’s boss, finally reveals her surprisingly personal grand plan for the city. She wants to “punish Gotham for the sins of Bruce Wayne,” specifically the murder of her father… Ra’s al Ghul.

That’s right. Walker is none other than Nyssa al Ghul, and she wants to watch Gotham burn. In order to carry on her father’s mission of purging humanity of weakness, she wants the military to enact “Special Order 386,” a contingency plan to raze Gotham if it’s deemed to be beyond redemption.

Bane is working with Nyssa to ignite that baptism by fire because he shares her worldview. As he explains to Jim, “If a room is full of monsters, the only way to defeat them is to become one yourself.”

Thanks to Dr. Strange, he’s now a fireproof killing machine. While Nyssa continues her psychological torture of Bruce, Bane sets off to take out Nyssa’s other target: Barbara, who Nyssa knows had an equal hand (literally) in killing Ra’s.

Jim tells Bane that Babs is pregnant in the hope that he’ll be merciful. However, Bane is not about to risk their plan to save humanity in order to spare a child. Before he can come up with Plan B, Jim gets dragged off to Strange’s lair.

Fortunately, Bruce eventually manages to break out his restraints and radio for help. Alfred answers the call, and he and Selina head over to the clinic to save Barbara from Bane’s wrath.

And baby makes… four

While this episode is quite depressing, the one major upside is seeing Barbara and Lee bond! Yes, Babs tried to kill Lee… twice, but that’s all the in past now. The women’s first priority is the baby’s safety, which makes them quite a formidable team when Bane and his squad attack the clinic.

While Penguin and Ed (who came to get the pressure regulator valve Barbara stole from the sub) try to fend off Bane with flammable oxygen tanks (which goes quite poorly since he’s fireproof), Lee wheels Barbara to the ambulance bay. Barbara is in agony since the clinic is out of epidurals or seemingly any kind of painkillers, but she proves to still be one hell of a shot as she epically takes out every single assailant she and Lee encounter.

They make it to the bay unscathed but call off the escape attempt when they realize Barbara is about to deliver. With Lee’s help, Barbara gives birth to a healthy baby girl, but the ladies’ celebration is cut short when Bane crashes.

Meanwhile, Penguin and Ed head back to the waterfront since Ed secretly managed to steal back the valve. Ed admits that he knew Barbara was lying when she said she’d hidden it, and Penguin realizes they didn’t have to protect Babs and Lee after all. Ed maintained the pretense so Penguin would help him keep the women safe.

Back in the ambulance bay, Lee and Barbara try to shield the baby from Bane when Alfred suddenly runs him over. He tells Lee and Barbara to take the car and demands that Selina stay with them. But Selina wants to have Alfred’s back.

Unfortunately, neither of them is a match for Bane. After knocking out Selina, Bane beats Alfred to a pulp. He then lifts Alfred over his head and smashes Alfred’s back into a pole. When Selina comes to, Bane is gone, and Alfred is lying motionless on the ground. She cries out for help, but no one is around to hear her.

Special Order 386

Just as Dr. Strange begins his attempt at Bane 2.0, lab rat Jim breaks out of his chair and attacks Strange, who flees and sets off an alarm. Jim checks Ward for a chip implant before freeing him from his own chair Strange’s lair and then reunites with Bruce.

They all head back to the GCPD and hear the good news from Harvey. Barbara had the baby, and she and Lee are headed to The Sirens Club.

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Unfortunately, Wade, who evidently was experimented on, then gives “Special Order 386. Jim and Co. watch helplessly as military planes bomb Gotham. Meanwhile, Lee and Babs discover a massacre at the Club, courtesy of Nyssa. After swiftly knocking out Lee, Nyssa confronts a terrified Barbara, who’s cradling her newborn.

Do you think Barbara will survive? How will Gotham recover from Special Order 386? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Gotham season 5, episode 10 recap: I Am Bane

By Catherine Palmer | Mar 21, 2019

As Gotham nears the end of its final season, Barbara goes into labor, Bane makes a flashy debut and Bruce’s past comes back to haunt him.

A daughter’s mission

More from Show Snob

And baby makes… four

Special Order 386