GU 94 - S5E5 - Pena Dura

Pena Dura brought hard times for Riddler and Jim. Riddler struggles to find out who is controlling him. We find out that Jim's buddy Eduardo is here to take over Gotham not save it. Jim is not onboard with Theresa Walker's dark plan for the city.

Hard Reboot for Riddler's Brain: ©Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Jeff Neumann/FOX

Riddler is confronted by Jim and Eduardo, but due to sharp thinking and traps he makes it out. The GCPD and Delta Force announce to the city that Ed was behind the attack on Haven. The citizens of Gotham proclaim the hard sentence of death on Ed. They are hunting him down. He gets blindsided and knocked out. A crazy family decide to electrocute him via car. Ed pulls a Brer Rabbit and tricks his way out, but not before a few shocks. They bring back a memory of Oswald saying he was going to fix Ed.

Ed slips into city hall. Here Ed and Oswald have a powerful talk. This scene was well written and amazingly acted. Oswald says that he was trying to help Ed and got Hugo to save him. If anyone is controlling Ed it would be Hugo. They both pledge to confront each other openly and face to face. The status of their friendenemy relationship has been restored.

Ed heads to Sirens and seeks info from Babs. She hears him out and decides to help. She tells Ed where he can find the men to take him to Hugo Strange. Ed sneaks in to Hugo's lab in a bodybag. Hugo is surprised and intrigued. Riddler wants to know how Hugo controlled him. It seems the not so good doctor, fixed Ed and put in a control chip in his head. But the control was left to others. Hugo paralyzes Ed and reboots the chip.

A Hard Break Between Friends: ©2019 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Jeff Neumann/FOX

Jim and Harvey tracked down the dealer that sold the RPG. He is watching the movie "Tangier Incident." (Thanks to our buddy and S1 actor Joe The Cop a.k.a Thomas Calderone for that info.) They turn out to be outgunned. Then the calvary er, I mean Delta Force shows up. Eduardo Dorrance (Shane West) is in charge and saves Jim's bacon. Theresa Walker sent Delta Force in to retake the city. They start to work with the GCPD to take back the city district by district. Jim and Eduardo loose Riddler, but renew their friendship. Eduardo and Jim served together and saved each other's lives. It seems like hope has come to Gotham. They get word Ed was seen at city hall. Harvey and Eduardo take out Oswald's men and take him in.

Oswald reasons with Jim and give him the scoop on Hugo and Ed. In turn Jim lets Oswald go. Jim and Eduardo track down Ed and Hugo just in time. Ed is unfrozen and spills the beans about the chip and being controlled. About that time, Eduardo pulls out the remote and freezed Ed. Theresa Walker wants to take the city and wants Jim to be the head, but Jim has to kill Ed to do it. Jim fakes out Eduardo and escapes. Eduardo sends Ed after him.

Hard Times For Bat & Cat: ©Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Jeff Neumann/FOX

Bruce is filled in on the Delta Force arrival by Alfred. Bruce is taking what is happening to Selina personally and he wants to fix it. Alfred tries to break him out of it, but it does not work. Bruce finally finds Selina at Sirens. Babs and the ladies are cheering Selina for killing Jeremiah. Bruce and Selina talk at the bar. He is trying to have her see the light. He says he knows her and this is not her. She says she was there when his parents were killed and she did nothing. That is who she is. It is a hard time for this couple and things don't look to get better any time soon.

It Is Hard To Kill This Joker er Jeremiah: ©Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Jeff Neumann/FOX

Jeremiah wakes up in the tunnel. He is sore and stitched up. Ecco make armor for him, but he had to convince Bruce and Selina he was dead. Ecco and the crew have broken through. The tunnel comes up through the batoffice. Jeremiah and Ecco enter Wayne Manor via secret access through the fireplace. He has had a doctor do surgery on a couple to look like Mr. & Mrs. Wayne. It looks like Jeremiah is going to use them to shatter Bruce's world.

Closing Thoughts:

Pena Dura was not as hard on us as Ruin, but it set up a great deal of the season. The acting between Robin Lord Taylor and Cory Michael Smith was outstanding. These two have played off of each other for 5 seasons and it shows. BD Wong tore up his two short scenes. He seems to relish and enjoy his role as Hugo. Hard times are ahead for Gotham, but we cannot wait to see what is next!

News:

13 Stitches: Gordon assembles an unlikely team to protect Gotham from Eduardo Dorrance (guest star Shane West) and his Delta Force. Just as Lee Thompkins resurfaces, Barbara reveals shocking news that will change Gordon's life forever. Meanwhile, Selina and Penguin team up to outsmart fellow villain Magpie (guest star Sarah Schenkkan) in the all-new "13 Stitches" episode of GOTHAM airing Thursday, Feb. 14 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (GTH-506) (TV-14 L,V)

10 Ways Gotham is better the Dark Knight Trilogy: thanks to Ken From Chicago for sending this article from CBR: https://www.cbr.com/the-dark-knight-trilogy-vs-gotham-tv-better-comparison/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

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