Two hospital attendants move out Butch's comatose body to take him upstate. They chuckle and load him into an ambulance, and dump Butch in Slaughter Swamp outside of Gotha. Butch's body drifts into some chemical residue from Indian Hill.
Jim tells Harvey that Ra's' trial got pushed up and realizes that Harvey is signing release forms for all of Jim's collars of criminals with Oswald's license. As they argue, Harper comes in and says that the court clerk called about Ra's.
Alfred finds Bruce examining the dagger and taking notes. The butler complains that Bruce isn't sleeping, and Bruce says that Alex is dead because he hesitated. Alfred insists that Ra's killed Alex and Bruce isn't responsible, and Bruce tells him that he found something in Winthrop's notes. He figures that the dagger is to be used against Ra's rather than for him, and that's why Ra's wants it. Alfred warns Bruce that he has to remember his vow not to kill. he knows because he's been down that path, and Bruce claims that he understands. With that, Alfred puts the dagger in a drawer and locks it away, and tells Bruce to get ready.
Bruce and Alfred go to Alex's wake. Jim comes in and Alfred excuses himself so that Jim can talk to him privately. The detective tells Alfred that Ra's is being released under diplomatic immunity, and he wants Alfred to watch Bruce. Bruce secretly listens in as Jim complains that Alfred has put Jim in danger. Alfred tells Jim to do his job and keep Ra's behind bars, and Jim walks off.
That night at the manor, the costumed Bruce gets the dagger.
In Blackgate, Barbara visits Ra's and offers to help break him out. Ra's declines and says that he called her there to say goodbye. Barbara points out that he promised her a gift among her imagining, and Ra's puts his hand against the glass wall of the cell. After a moment Barbara puts her hand on the other side, and energy flows from Ra's to Barbara. He tells her that she'll soon see what it is, and Barbara leaves.
in Slaughter Swamp, a white-skinned Butch rises out of the waters. He hears three drifters singing and goes to their camp where they're singing along to a child's nursery rhyme song on the gramophone about Solomon Grundy. When they approach him with torches, Butch knocks out two of them and the third one runs off. One of the dying men asks who Butch is, and Butch hears the gramophone playing. He takes clothing from them and takes his new name from the song: Solomon Grundy. Solomon then walks off toward Gotham.
Penn tells Oswald that the license program is a success, and 86% of crime is accounted for. Oswald wants the remaining 14% dealt with. Sofia comes in and asks if Oswald had lunch plans. He points out that he killed Carmine's loyalists, but Sofia tells him that he doesn't have the Falcone name and it accounted for 100-% of criminal activity. If they have a public lunch then it should bring in the unlicensed criminals. Oswald tells Penn to put a question mark next to item #4 on his to-do list: kill Sofia. Sofia accepts that as agreement and leaves.
Edward breaks into a pharmacy and demands a pill to cure his brain damage and improve his brain function. The pharmacist says that there is a trial drug, Smartivia, which might do the job. As Edward searches for them, the pharmacist jams a letter holder into Edward's hand and grabs his gun. He discovers that it's a fake, and says that they're sugar pills. The pharmacist sounds the alarm and calls the police, and Edward quickly leaves. Grundy is there and Edward realizes who he is and Barbara is the one who killed him. The monster knocks Edward out and carries him away.
At the station, Alfred tells Jim that Bruce is gone and is heading for Blackgate to kill Ra's. He insists that Bruce needs their help, and Jim agrees.
Bruce breaks into Blackgate and makes his way to Ra's's cell. He takes out the security cameras and takes out the dagger, After a moment he resheaths it and turns to go. Ra's tells him that he's weak and foolish, knocks him to the floor, and grabs Bruce by the throat. He says that Bruce still isn't ready and throws him out of the cell, and guards arrive. Bruce tells them to stop Ra's, but the guards bow to Ra's, knock out Bruce, and take him away.
The next morning, Jim and Bruce arrive and the head guard says that Bruce isn't there. He agrees to let them look around and says that he'll need their weapons. Jim and Alfred hand them over, and the head guard takes them in. Another guard radios ahead that they're there.
Edward wakes up dumped in the back of a truck. Grundy is there and asks Edward if he knows him. he recites his name and the children's rhyme, and doesn't remember what happened to him. Edward claims that he doesn't know him, and Grundy grabs his hand and demands that Edward help him as his friend. Angry, Edward finally admits that he can't help Grundy because he can't help himself. Grundy drags over a hot dog cart that he took and offers Edward a hot dog.
Sofia goes to a restaurant owned by Janos Szabo and reminds him of who she is. She asks how he's faring under Oswald's rule, and he says that they're doing well and wouldn't complain if they weren't. Sofia tells him that she's invited Oswald to lunch there and wants it to be a meal that Oswald will never forget. Janos glances over at his grandmother sharpening her dagger, and Sofia smiles.
Bruce wakes up in the subbasement beneath Blackgate, and Ra's comes in and tells him that Jim and Alfred are upstairs. He admits that he wanted the dagger and set up the entire thing, and holds it up. Ra's explains that it was given to him after he bathed in the Lazarus Pit for the first time, and he had a vision of Bruce... his heir. He gives Bruce the dagger and says that Bruce is the only one who can end his suffering. Ra's asks Bruce to set him free.
After he eats, Edward says that he has to go. Grundy grabs him and Edward insists that Grundy is better off on his own. The surviving drifter arrives with several others, and they attack. Grundy easily kills them, shrugging off their blows, but one of them manages to set Grundy on fire. Grundy grabs a bucket of water and puts the fire out, and Grundy tells him that he's smart. Edward admits that he is and Grundy hugs him... very tightly.
Oswald arrives at the restaurant with his bodyguards. Sofia says that she picked the place because it's Hungarian, and she heard that Oswald's mother is Hungarian. Oswald has a bodyguard check the food for poison, and he finds nothing. After taking one bite, Oswald starts to excuse himself but Sofia insists that he try the goulash. He says that his mother made goulash, eats a bite of the dish, and remembers his mother. He says that he's leaving and walks out. The grandmother comes over and confirms that she followed the recipe that Sofia gave her. Sofia admits that she doesn't know if Oswald liked it or not.
As the head guard takes Jim and Alfred through, Jim says that he was there for a while as a prisoner. He wonders why the guard isn't taking them through maximum security, and the guard claims that he's taking them to the yard. Jim recognizes the name of one guard, and the man claims that the name belongs to his cousin. Alfred asks the head guard where the real guards are, and he and Jim attack the fakes. They take out all of fake guards, except the head one, and he says that they'll never find Bruce. Alfred shoots the man dead and Jim figures that Bruce is in the subbasement.
That night, Oswald is at the Iceberg Lounge drinking when Sofia arrives. She apologizes for upsetting him, and Oswald figures that she's buttering him up. He says that Gertrude was the only one who did something for him without wanting something in return, and Sofia says that Carmine wasn't like that and it drove away everyone who loved him. Oswald orders her to go, and Sofia notices that he's limping worse than usual. He says that it's the weather, and Sofia says that she won't judge and checks his damaged leg. As she massages it, Sofia explains that she broke her leg as a child when she was playing and her father told her to put ice on it. Her mother said that warmth was needed, and Oswald remembers that Gertrude used to sing. Sofia begins singing as well.
Ra's tells Bruce that he has been alive for centuries waiting for Bruce. Only Bruce can kill him, and only with the dagger. Ra's's aged form is visible in his reflection in the water, and Ra's begs Bruce to end his suffering. The man says that Bruce will never be free unless he kills him, and explains that he will disappear and Bruce will follow the path of light and become a fine man and husband. Bruce may eventually forget that Ra's existed, but then Ra's will return and kill everyone he loves. Bruce stabs him in the chest, and Ra's rips open his shirt to reveal the rot taking his body as it reverts to its true age. Jim and Alfred arrive just in time to see the end.
Later, the police secure the prison. Bruce asks Jim if he's going to arrest him for murder, and Jim says that as far as he's concerned, Ra's escaped. The boy says that he took a life, and Jim tells him that just because he knows that he's capable of something doesn't mean that he has to do it again. Jim says that he's still the boy he first met that believes in doing good, and nothing that happened with Ra's changed that.
At the manor, Bruce prepares to burn his costume. He tells Alfred that it's over, but Alfred says that it has become bigger than that and Bruce can make a difference. Bruce figures that when he took the dark path and killed Ra's, he's not the hero that Gotham needs. Alfred warns that it will be a long journey back, but says that he has always believed in him and always will. He takes the costume and says that when Bruce feels worthy, it--and he--will be waiting for him.
Edward tells Grundy that they need a new plan, and Grundy asks if Edward knows him. After a moment, Edward lies and says that they were best friends, and with Grundy's muscles they can make money and use it to make him smart again. After that, they'll figure out what happened to Grundy. They go into Cherry's underground fight club, and Edward tells Cherry that he'd like to enter Grundy as a fighter. Cherry says that they'll patch Grundy up and then they'll talk. She sends a flunky to bring the house doctor: Lee.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 22, 2017