Posted in: DC Universe, Movies, Review, TV | Tagged: bruce wayne, entertainment, fox, gotham, Jerome Velaska, Jim Gordon, Penguin, television

Gotham Season 4, Episode 17 Recap: Mandatory Brunch Meeting

This article contains spoilers for the Gotham season four episode – Mandatory Brunch Meeting.

.

.

.

.

.

Bruce arrives at St. Ignacious looking for Jerome and speaks to the headmaster who tells him he didn't get to see Jerome, but Jervis Tetch had come by and asked for the location on a former student named Xander Wylde. Tetch also left a message for Bruce in the form a bomb on the headmaster. Gordon and Bullock show up and try to stop the guy from pressing the trigger, but he does anyway. We cut to the first ever mandatory brunch meeting of the Legion of Horribles, which is being held at the Penguin's place, ran by Jerome and attended by Firefly, Mr. Freeze and Scarecrow with them waiting for Mad Hatter to return as Jerome starts laying out his plan. He wants to paint the town crazy, then leave the underworld to the others. Hatter returns and smiles as if he was successful.

Gordon tells Bruce to stay away from Jerome or he'll press charges. Bullock finds out that Xander Wylde is a hot-shot structural engineer. Jerome goes to the firm Xander works for, carrying a shot gun and causing chaos, trying to find him but he's not there. On his way out, he crosses Gordon and Bullock, but Firefly helps him escape. They look into Zander, realizing this is personal for Jerome, Xander has no I.D. or address. But he built Wayne Plaza, so they need to go talk to Bruce. We cut to a show that the Riddler is putting on in the Narrows where he offers money to anyone who can out riddle him. If they win they get cash, if they lose the spin the wheel of misfortune. The first guy loses and gets a bag of rabid rats. Lee Thompkins tries to shut it down, but the crowd refuses, so she challenges Riddler to a game.

Jerome shows up at the apartment of Xander's proxy, a woman who shows him a large cage that she is going to transfer him in. Then she knocks him out as she was expecting him. Penguin goes to recruit Butch, but he's very different now as Grundy and throws Oswald to the ground and tells him to leave. Gordon and Bullock go to Bruce and Alfred to find out about Xander. Thomas Wayne met with Xander alone and there is an address. Cut back to Jerome waking up in a room with no doors, but a camera. He talks to hit as it's Xander and tells him he'd never hurt him, he loves Xander… then tells him he knows Xander did it and is going to squeeze him until he pops. Xander changes feeds to a car approaching the house. The house is just a cement room that leads into an underground structure. They are lead by Ecco to Xander who turns out to be Jerome's twin. While talking to him, they find out his name is Jeremiah and Jerome tried to kill him as a child, so his uncle took him away for a new life. He's build the underground house to be prepared for one Jerome would come for him. Gordon sees the security monitors are off, so he turns them on and sees Jerome in his cell.

Cut back to the Riddler's game. Riddler asks his riddle and Lee talks to him and gets him to give up the answer without knowing it… and she gets it right. Meanwhile the other Horribles arrive to get Jerome out, Gordon tells Jeremiah they need to get him out then go back for Ecco. His house is a maze and he will guide them out. They come across Ecco in the maze, but she is hypnotized and beats the crap out of Gordon and Bullock. She takes Jeremiah, but they catch up and knock her out. But Jeremiah ran away, right into Hatter, Scarecrow and Jerome. Jerome sends Hatter and Scarecrow to kill Gordon and Bullock then talks to Jeremiah. We learn that Jerome never did anything to his brother, Jeremiah lied about it. Their mom believed it though and gave up on Jerome.

Scarecrow and Hatter find Gordon and Bullock and Hatter tries hypnotizing them, but Bullock yells "oh hell no!" and charges them with his gun out and the bad guys start to run. They run past Jerome and he follows them out, leaving Jeremiah behind. But his plan is to drive Jeremiah insane along with Gotham. Cut back to the Riddler and Lee outsmarts him by making the answer to her riddle be, "I love you", something he won't say to Lee as it might bring back out Ed who is in love with Lee. Penguin offers to help Grundy find Hugo Strange to reverse the process if Grundy joins Peguin. He agrees.

Lee goes to Riddler and wants to work with him, plays on his feelings for her and they kiss. Gordon puts Jeremiah into protective custody and we get to see Jerome try out the first dose of his classic laughing gas on an innocent businessman with the expected horrific results.

They've been saying for a while that Jerome is not the Joker… but could Jeremiah be? That could be an interesting twist. But as of right now, Jerome is the Joker in everything except name. It seems like Penguin brought Grundy in to cover his back. Thought Grundy feels more like Joe Fixit, the grey-skinned gangster version of the Hulk. Just five episodes left and I have a feeling it's going to get crazier before the end.

https://youtu.be/2ee_cPNmwcA

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!