In Gotham: Prisoners Jim Gordon is moved into the general populace. Harvey Bullock searches for ways to help his friend while Oswald Cobblepot bonds with his father and Gordon gets back up after being beaten down with a little help from a prisoner named Puck.
Jim Gordon’s life in prison takes a bad turn when Warden Grey (Ned Bellamy) zeroes in on the framed detective after telling him that former commissioner Loeb sends his regards. Gordon’s world has collapsed. Lee has lost the baby and is living somewhere “down south” and no one can contact her.
Grey tells his pet prisoner that he wants Jim dead before the week is out. Cobblepot has no idea that he has landed in a compony of wolves who are all out for Van Dahl’s blood and money. Elijah (Paul Reubens) has a hole in his heart and his wife and two other children are trying to kill him for their inheritance.
After Oswald find’s his father sleepwalking and confesses his life as the Penguin the two men grow closer. The rehabilitated King of Gotham suffers from nightmares but his treatment seems to be success. Jim Gordon warns Puck (Peter Mark Kendall) to stay away from him after the young man comes to his aid.
When both men are returned to the general population, Puck is beaten badly and returned to the infirmary. Before they leave the medical treatment area, Grey tells Gordon that he knows everything. The detective’s response infuriates the warden.
Gordon: “I know something you don’t know.”
Grey: “Yeah, what’s that?”
Gordon: “I know what kind of man you are.”
The Dahl family attempt to turn Elijah against his long lost son. Dahl reveals that he knew about Oswald’s criminal past. Elijah reassures his scheming family that her son is rehabilitated but they are not happy. Grace Van Dahl (Melinda Clarke) then sends Sasha (Kaley Ronayne) up to seduce Oswald.
Cobblepot is horrified and scrambles from underneath the young woman telling her to get a grip:
“Restrain yourself woman. I’m practically your brother! What are you thinking?”
Comically, after Sasha fails, the brother Charles (Justin Mark) asks if he should try. Sasha replies that he should not bother as she believes that Cobblepot is “simple.”
Harvey (Donal Logue) turns to Don Falcone (John Doman) for help getting Jim out of prison and the Van Dahl’s turn to poison to get rid of Elijah.
Jim is attacked while the prisoners watch what looks to be Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and “killed.” The one prison guard not on Grey’s payroll orders a body bag and they take Gordon out of the prison. He returns to save Puck who tells Jim once more that he is a hero.
Oswald learns of his father’s plan to leave him everything and the scheming Van Dahl’s manage to poison the eccentric Elijah. Gordon meets with Don Falcone to thank him and when Jim goes to check on Puck, the young man has died from his injuries.
Paul Reubens is brilliant as the sad, ill and odd Elijah Van Dahl. The Pee Wee Herman creator proves once again that he really can act without the quirky character that he has outgrown. Elijah may feel a bit like a rich Mr Rogers but the sick tycoon is grounded in his desire to make things up to just one of his “children.”
The death of Puck felt a bit like a Thunderbolt and Lightfoot ending, sans Jeff Bridges and the Cadillac, and that is perhaps the only letdown in the episode.
By the end of Gotham: Prisoners Gordon has gotten back up after being beaten down and Oswald looks to have lost his benefactor. On the ominous side, it looks like the death of Elijah may set Oswald back to his Penguin days and Don Falcone returning to the city may cause major problems for Butch and Tabitha.
Gotham airs Mondays on FOX.
Apparently Lee was the only M.E. in Gotham and when she scarpered off no one stepped up? 🙂 And yes Jim and Harvey saved Falcone’s bacon.
Good episode. Felt bad for that kid, Puck. He lost his life and his original crime wasn’t even all that bad. I sure hope that warden gets what he deserves.
As for poisoning Van Dahl, did nobody think of ordering an autopsy? Perhaps someone like the M.E.?
One thing I didn’t get is why Harvey told Falcone, “Look, you probably want to just tell me to go to }{ell, but I could really use your help” (or something to that effect). Last I checked, when Fish and her gang came after Falcone, wasn’t it Gordon and Bullock who eventually saved him?