GU97 - S5E08 - Nothing's Shocking

Nothing's Shocking about Jane Doe who assumes the face and identity of people to seek revenge. Nothing's shocking about Mr. Peen who comes back controlled by Scarface the dummy. Nothing's shocking about toxic river water turning people into killers. Really? This must be Gotham City!

A Shocking Blast From The Past:
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Jane Doe, Sarah Pidgeon, is out to take revenge on the cops who destroyed Jane Cartwright's life. This shocking villain is a link back to one of Bullock's first cases. Boggs, Lews, Dix (Harvey's former partner) and Harvey caught a case at the start of Bullock's career. A Mrs. Cartwright murdered her husband and confessed but later recanted. The crew didn't have enough evidence, so Harvey leaned on the 7 year old daugher Jane. She identified her mom as the killer. Harvey later learned that the husband beat his wife and Jane.

Jane got passed around foster care and eventually ended up in Arkham. Jane became one of Hugo Strange's test subjects. She can touch a person, absorb their memories, voice and appearance, and when she is done shed their skin like reptile. Jane Cartwright is dead Jane Doe lives and cannot even see her own face (it is lovely) as anything but horrible. She is out to seek revenge on those he hurt her. She kills Boggs & Lewis by playing Dix and then comes after him. Luckily the deaths at the Sirens Club had Barbara call Jim & Harvey. Harvey & Jim seek out Dix and save him from Jane.

Jim knows there is more to the story and what Dix and Harvey are telling them. So he, Harper and an officer head out the Cartwright home place. The officer is knocked out and Jane assumes his identity, but Jim spots the switch and takes her down. Back at the GCPD he learns the whole story from Jane. She escapes impersonates Harvey and kills Dix. She then assumes Barbara's identity to try an escape. Stabby Babs is able to overpower her and get free. Jane runs home. Harvey follows and tries to reason with her, but she will not back down. He has to kill her.

Back at the GCPD Harvey has to get the story and history off his chest to Jim. Jim cannot offer Harvey forgiveness. But truly Harvey knows he is better for having worked with Jim. It has brought him back from where he was.

A Shocking Return:
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It turns out Mr. Penn (Andrew Sellon) survived his attack in Haven, but it has left him unbalanced. He has come to depend on Mr. Scarface, the dummy, to make the hard decisions. Penn was managed, bullied and pushed around by Oswald. He can't advocate for himself so he is letting Mr. Scarface do it for him. It is shocking how fast Penguin and Riddler start talking to Scarface as if he is real. Ed says that Penn/Scarface are correct and Oswald uses people. He tells Penn about the sub and escape plans. Penguin distracts Penn and Ed sets off the sonar. Oswald gets the upper hand and shoots off Scarface's head. Penn acts like he is free, but Ed kills him. Ed and Oswald acknowledge that that need each other and work best when they are themselves.

It's Shocking What You Find Under The City:
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Bruce and Alfred hear about people going missing in the tunnels under the city. They hear the shocking story from a survivor. She and her husband went to go find the others. He is missing and she was beaten up. Rather than tax Jim and the already busy GCPD, they head down to the tunnels to find the missing people. The wall of the tunnels run parallel to Gotham River and that means Jeremiah's toxin is leeching through the walls. That has caused damage to the people living there. It turns out one or more people were driven insane by the toxins and attacking and killing the others. Bruce & Alfred rescue the missing husband, but have fight off one of the damaged people. Bruce has to pull Alfred off of the guy. Later in the hospital we get a great conversation between Bruce and Alfred. Alfred wants to help be a protector of the city. Bruce says the vengeance Alfred was seeking will not provide absolution. Alfred still feels guilty for the destruction of Wayne Manor and not being able to stand up against Tetch & Jeremiah due to weakness. Bruce wisely says, "Part of being a family is that we can be strong for each other."

Closing Thoughts:
Nothing's Shocking was clearly a story written after Fox extended the season. It gave the writers the ability to pull out some Batman villains and play a bit. Was it the best ep of the series, no, but it was fun. It gave us some insight into Harvey's character. It also had some great family discussions between Bruce and Alfred. So truthfully nothing was that shocking, but it was a fun little ride.
News:

The Trial of Jim Gordon:
After Gordon is shot in an attempt to establish a cease-fire, he hallucinates a trial for his life that could have deadly real consequences. Meanwhile, Ivy (guest star Peyton List) returns and puts her spell on Bruce, leaving Selina to defend herself. Lee has a life-changing moment as Barbara and Penguin consider their next moves in the all-new "The Trial of Jim Gordon" episode of GOTHAM airing Thursday, March 7 (8:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (GTH-512) (TV-14 L, V)

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