BWW Recap: Shocking Developments Hit GOTHAM and a New Villain is on the Loose

When we left Detective James Gordon last time, he was walking to his new assignment, having crossed Mayor James one too many times. Gordon is now on security detail at the controversial Arkham Asylum, which has ties to both the Wayne family and Gotham's organized crime families. Speaking of the mafia, Gotham's criminal elements are still at odds over turf and money and power. And Jim's girlfriend is still spending time away from her man by hooking up with her old female flame, Det. Renee Montoya .

Episode 11, "Rogues Gallery," opens at Arkham Asylum as the inmates are presenting THE TEMPEST with mop wigs and cardboard sets. One of the inmates, known as "Frog-man," goes bananas during the performance and a patient gets hurt. Dr. Lang, Arkham's director, blames Gordon for his poor guarding skills. Jim meets an attractive medical staff member, Dr. Leslie Thompkins. She tells him she admires him for not quitting when the mayor tossed him into the dredge assignment.

Back in the city, Selina Kyle lurks in the alleyways and finds Ivy sick and alone, yet refusing to see a doctor. Selina insists Ivy go with her to somewhere safe and takes her to Jim's vacant apartment.

On the docks, Penguin tries to squeeze more money out of a group of local fishermen but they won't give in and call the cops on Oswald. Back at Arkham, Jim visits "Frog-man," the inmate who went on the attack and finds him out cold with a fried brain courtesy of overzealous electro-shock therapy. Dr. Lang is still on Gordon's case and orders Jim to find which inmate is frying the others. Jim questions guards and patients, including the creepy actor-manager-Vincent Price wannabe Jack Gruber. Gordon doesn't learn much but he does meet some of Arkham's finest residents - many looking like they could slip over to AMERICAN HORROR STORY fit right in. The helpful nurse Dorothy Duncan tries to assist Jim whenever possible.

At Fish Mooney's club, Falcone underbosses complain about the new situation and that Carmine, the big boss, might be ripe for replacing. Fish asserts she has a plan to take-over and talks over her plans with Butch, her right hand man.

Back at Arkham, in the darkened hallways, Jim discovers Royston, the patient who played "Ariel" from the play performance, wandering and realizes he has been given the electrical whammy. Dr. Thompkins examines Royston while Jim admits a staff member might be responsible for the electrical mayhem. Barbara, drowning her sorrows in sleep and pills, wakes up and tells girlfriend Renee she is over Jim. Renee says she regrets letting their rekindled affair go as far as it did and leaves. Barbara ends up is in tears as over her relationship situation. Back at Arkham and having called in the police, Jim meets his old partner Harvey Bullock. Harvey takes Dr. Lang in for questioning which allows Jim the chance to review employee records.

Butch meets Jimmy Saviano, one of underbosses, on the docks and they talk about old times growing up together. Saviano offers Butch a position, saying Fish is overreaching. Butch says he will think about the offer and reports back to Fish about the meeting, stopping short of telling her about the details.

The Penguin is in the holding tank at the GCPD house and begs Bullock to help him contact Don Marone. Bullock just smiles and playfully taunts Oswald. Harvey questions Dr. Lang and hones in on the fact that some of the staff members might be suspicious. Back at Arkham, Gordon realizes there are missing files and asks Nurse Dorothy to show him the basement. Dorothy reveals she is not actually a nurse but an inmate who has spent most of her life in the asylum. She has been helping with shocking the other patients. As Dorothy heads for the exit, she creates a nut-ball stampede by pulling the lever to release all the patients. During their wild escape attempt, Dorothy trips and is trampled to death. Jim arrives just in time to save the doctor and lock the gate before the patients make it to freedom.

Barbara calls Jim's apartment and Ivy answers the phone pretending to be Jim's lady friend, angering Barbara. At the police station, Don Marone admits he had Cobblepot put in jail as a payback for the Penguin's attempt to raise the taxes on the poor fisherman. Oswald apologizes and sucks up to Marone who lets the sniveler free.

At the morgue, an exam of the dead Miss Duncan reveals hidden shock marks, meaning she was zapped too - but by whom? Would you believe the creepy Jack Gruber, with the help of one of the brawnier inmates, Aaron. They attack a guard and Dr. Lang, leaving him for dead, just as Gordon returns to Arkham. Gruber leaves a polite, handwritten note to Jim confessing his electrical experiments on the inmates. As Gordon reads the letter, Aaron and Jack drive in to the streets of Gotham. Now that the Arkham Asylum case is solved - but we can expect more trouble from Gruber and Aaron - Gordon returns home hoping to find Barbara. Instead, he finds dirty dishes from his young visitors, Selina and Ivy.

Back at the Gotham waterfront, Butch meets with Saviano to deliver his answer to the generous offer to join the side opposing Fish Mooney: a bullet to the head. It seems Butch has chosen to remain loyal to Fish. The situation in among Gotham's mob families and their rivals looks to remain on edge.

Final thought: GOTHAM is off to a rousing re-start for the new year. What do you think?

COMING UP IN TWO WEEKS: Jack Gruber, now dubbed the "Electro-cutioner," is loose and Jim Gordon plans on stopping him before Gruber releases his villainous volts on GOTHAM.

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