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GOTHAM Season 2 Episode 6 Recap: ‘Rise of the Villains: By Fire’

Hey Spoilerphobes: there be major spoilers in this here post—so don’t say we didn’t warn you, OK?

And just like that, the origin of the first-ever female Firefly is born!

Gotham‘s epic two-part Firefly arc came to a shocking conclusion in tonight’s episode, “Rise of the Villains: By Fire.” Not only did it reveal just how Bridgit Pike transformed from weak victim to revenge-fueled villain, it also opened up the door to a whole new chapter of Batman mythology: Indian Hill!

But before we get to all that, the hour began with Butch as he met with Theo, Tabitha, and Barbara to sell the story that the Penguin chopped off his hand in anger and betrayed him—all while Theo threatened city officials into endorsing him for mayor. Everyone seemed to believe Butch about Penguin, and so Theo hired him, while Tabitha and Barbara planned what they could attach to his new stump, like knives and mallets and mini-chainsaws. Fun?

But after Theo caught Butch looking for clues on where Penguin’s mother is being kept, he figured out that Penguin had Butch programmed to obey him in all things. Theo sicked Tabitha on Butch to de-brainwash him. But did it work? Well, next thing we knew, Butch looked thoroughly beat up and made his way to Penguin’s, where he explained that he found out where Theo was keeping his mother. But he’s not telling the truth, right? Trusting Butch, Penguin rallied all his henchmen to launch an assault to get his mother back, but it’s got to be a trap! Unless Butch survived whatever Tabitha put him through and was truly helping Penguin?

Gotham

The ever-scheming Theo also invited Bruce over for dinner with his ward Silver St. Cloud, and it’s clear that there are sparks flying between the two kids. But the real reason Theo wanted time alone with Bruce was to propose a partnership: once Theo becomes mayor of Gotham, he wants to work closely with Bruce to “clean up” Wayne Enterprises. But we all know his real goal is to destroy the company—along with Bruce himself. (Bruce, just say no!) But alas, Bruce fell victim to the same charade that Gordon did, and another doomed partnership was born.

Meanwhile, it’s clear that Gordon has gone off the edge trying to get information on the firebug who killed his fellow cop. So much so that his Unit Alpha team reported him to Captain Barnes after they watched him beat up some suspects. Barnes tried to talk sense into him by explaining that even in times of war, the good guys can’t cross the line. “I learned that the hard way,” Barnes said ominously. Any guesses on what happened in Barnes’ past to make him such a stickler for laws and rules?

After Selina brought Bridgit safely to her home, she tried to help Bridgit realize that she’s free from her brothers now. But she needed quick cash before she could skip town to get away from the GCPD looking for her. So the twosome robbed a sex-slave auction (um, ew!), with Selina convincing Bridgit to just grab the money and go instead of helping the enslaved girls. But just as it seemed like the new Firefly is home free, while Selina was walking Brigdit to her bus so she could leave town, they got ambushed by the Pike brothers. They knock Selina down and kidnap their sister …and her stolen money.

Since Selina was caught on camera outside the auction, Gordon immediately went to see her to find out why she was running in league with a cop-killer. Selina revealed to Gordon that Bridgit was forced to commit all her crimes by her brothers, and Gordon gave Selina his word that he’d keep Bridgit safe if Selina stayed out of it (for her own safety).

Fox

Back at the Pikes’, Bridgit’s brothers threatened her, taking out their anger over her “abandoning” the family. They think they’ve convinced her to rejoin their efforts, but as it turned out, she actually got her revenge on them for years of torturing her and treating her like a slave. On went her Firefly suit, and the Pike brothers got burnt to a crisp. When Selina caught up with her, Bridgit told her that she’s really free now. Killing her brothers awakened something in her, and she believes she’s now ready to bring that same justice to all the other girls in Gotham, but Selina knows that whatever Bridgit is planning is going to get her killed, so they split up.

After their split, Selina tipped off Gordon where Bridgit was heading next so he could help her before she did anything stupid—back to the sex-slave auction. While Bridgit managed to free all the trapped girls, the GCPD cut her off before she could escape. Gordon tried to reason with her, but a member of Unit Alpha accidentally got a shot in, nicking her fuel line and sending her whole suit up in flames. Gordon, naturally, told Selina that Bridgit wasn’t “going to make it,” which resulted in Selina angrily telling Gordon the truth: it was Penguin who hired the Pikes to set fires to Wayne Enterprises buildings.

Meanwhile, in the GCPD, Nygma overheard Kristen telling Lee about her abusive ex-boyfriend, and how she’s glad he disappeared from her life. On their date at his apartment later, Nygma and Kristen finally slept together. But after, Kristen confessed to Nygma that she’s afraid her ex will come back and hurt Nygma for going after “his” girl. And that’s when Nygma tried to brag about how he already took care of it. Kristen thought it was a joke at first, but she realized he was telling the truth when he showed her the badge he took from her ex’s body. She freaked out and tried to leave, he restrained her by her neck …and strangled her to death by accident. Oops? So long, Kristen Kringle! Talk about an awkward morning after.

Gotham

But it’s the end of the episode that was the real jaw-dropper: turns out, Bridgit didn’t die. Her suit actually melted to her body and she’s now fireproof. The last thing we see are two men wheeling her bandaged body on a gurney in some basement for “testing” along with “the rest of the monsters.” Where is she? None other than Indian Hill, a division of Wayne Enterprises!

Are you excited to see Gotham explore this dark chapter of the Batman mythology? Where do you think this is going next? Hit the comments section below to weigh in with your best guess now!

Images: Fox

Gotham airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on Fox.

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