'Gotham' Season 2, Episode 1 Recap: 'Damned If You Do...'

Season 2 of the FOX drama series “Gotham,” has finally premiered. In Episode 1, Bruce Wayne and Alfred attempt to find out what’s in the secret chamber that they found in Wayne Manor. Meanwhile, Jim Gordon finds a way to get Commissioner Loeb out of his hair.

At the finale of Season 1, the young Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) discovered a secret chamber under his father’s office at Wayne Manor. Accompanied by his manservant Alfred Pennyworth (Sean Pertwee), Bruce kicks off Season 2 with a trip down the secret passage.

The pair descends what would become the future Batcave. Unfortunately, they are unable to break the security code.After a month of trying to figure it out, Bruce becomes desperate and decides to blow up the door.

Alfred tries to dissuade Bruce, but soon decides to just help the boy get what he wants. They manage to open the door and Bruce walks in to find a hidden chamber. He sees a note that his father left for him before he was killed. In the note, his father reveals his suspicions that his life could be in danger. He also offers advice to his son.

“You can’t have both happiness and the truth. You have to choose,” says his father. He also urges his son to choose happiness unless he feels a true calling within him. Bruce contemplates his father’s words amid all the secrets that surround him inside the chamber.

Meanwhile, Barbara Keane (Erin Richards) has also found her calling inside Arkham Asylum. She enters the facility after killing her parents and attacking Dr. Lesley Thompkins in Season 1. While inside, she meets Jerome Valeska, the man who is widely believed to be the Joker.

While in the asylum, Barbara fits right in. She manages to form a posse of inmates whom she can manipulate to be at her beck and call. She forms her own little gang of crooks who wait on her inside the facility.

Soon after, she and her friends encounter an unexpected ally. Theo Galavan, a high-powered Gotham businessman, decides to break her out of the asylum with the help of his sister, Tabitha Galavan. The siblings tell their captives that they have plans to take over Gotham City. Not all of the lunatics agree but in general, Theo’s use of flattery and the promise of greatness, appeals to Barbara, Jerome and a handful of their other companions.

Meanwhile, Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) has been demoted into a uniformed cop. Gordon and his partner Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) have found themselves in a tough spot after they butted heads with Police Commissioner Gillian Loeb in Season 1.

Harvey decides to quit the force instead of accepting the demotion. Jim decides to continue, but he runs into trouble almost as soon as he put his uniform on. The commissioner finds a way to sanction him for a mundane infraction and fires him.

Captain Essen tries to defend him but there is nothing she could do. After a lot of thought and some unlikely advice from Bruce Wayne, Gordon decides to get his job back, even if it means breaking the law and enlisting the help of his old friend Penguin.

Penguin now thrives as the head of the Gotham City underworld and Jim knows that he’s the man who can help get Loeb out of the picture. Naturally, Penguin wants something in return. He tells Jim to collect a debt from one of the other goons in the city. Jim initially says no, but desperate times call for desperate measures. He does as Penguin asks and the Mafia boss delivers his side of the deal.

Penguin visits Loeb and tells him to put Gordon back in the force. He also tells Loeb to leave the city. Loeb is obviously not inclined to agree to what Penguin is asking. However, the cut-off head of his bodyguard that’s sitting in his sink, and the cold barrel of a gun that’s resting against his temple, convince Loeb to agree to what Penguin wants.

Episode 1 ends with Gordon back in the force. Captain Essen has been promoted to Police Commissioner, after Loeb decides to depart the force. It’s the start of a new season and the start of a new day in “Gotham.”

The series airs every Monday night at 9:00 pm EDT on FOX. No return date has been confirmed for Australia.

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