Barnes gives Gordon an ultimatum, and Nygma gets some terrible news
In theory, justice is about absolutes.
But rarely in reality is it uncomplicated.
And in the best cases, our villains are three dimensional enough to inspire a great deal of empathy.
Credit: Jeff Neumann/Fox
And why shouldnt he be, when the man identified his killer with his dying breath?
Jim cant ignore it, even though the last thing he wants is for this to be the truth.
Harvey will do it, but only to clear his boss name.
Thats good enough for Jim.
He finds Alice Tetchs file on the mans desk and eyes it suspiciously.
Barnes catches him snooping, fresh off of another unauthorized trial.
As an added bonus, the virus also made him kickass at speeches.
He delivers one about the whispers in his brain that become roars, calling him to his true purpose.
Then he kicks out the chairs under a dangling sex trafficker, drug dealer, and murderer.
Is the world a safer place with them out of it?
Maybe, but Barnes carriage of justice is a whole new brand of recklessness.
Playing god is its own crime.
Barnes heard from the witnesses to Symons death that Jim spoke to the man right before.
He asks his detective point blank if Symon identified his killer.
Jim lies and says he tried to and failed.
Then Barnes spins a story about a trusty C.I.
and a mob connection.
(Killing it on the gangster names this year, show.)
But his tone demands it.
Ive had uncomfortable car rides with bosses before, but wow.
Barnes is operating under the assumption that Jim already knows what he did, but that he doesnt knowwhy.
(Though Jim did pretty much call his motive in his earlier conversation with Harvey.)
He taunts him by ordering that the detective take his statement.
Jim tried that, thank you very much, but hes back to coloring inside the lines.
Theres so much more they can do, Barnes says.
Its up to Jim to decide if hes willing to flout the law to protect and serve.
The man has an alibi for the night of Symons death, albeit a sleazy one.
But one death is just specifics to Barnes.
Sugar is guilty of a great many other crimes, so he gets a bullet to the chest.
Barnes turns the gun on Jim.
NEXT: Join or die
Jim drags the body away at gunpoint while Barnes makes his case.
The Tetch blood has mangled the mentor/mentee relationship between the two.
Now Barnes wants Jim as his partner in distributing lethal vigilante justice.
Jim is hopeful when he connects the dots between Barnes personality transplant and the Alice Tetch file.
But Barnes isnt interested in getting help and letting this new him go.
Either way, Jim is screwed.
And the last time he made the call to end a life, he lost everything.
So he makes the noble decision and declines the offer.
Its easy for Barnes to spin their field trip into something very bad for Jim.
Harvey doesnt believe it for a second, but he cant stop the dominoes from falling.
(I was gone for like an hour.)
Harvey thinks fast and approaches Lee in her office.
He needs proof that Barnes is infected and thus entirely unreliable.
Even if she has to make it up.
Jims life is on the line.
Right now, he says, you and I are all he has.
Barnes chases Jim through the foundry and eventually catches up.
Jim takes advantage of the distraction and body-checks Barnes.
A struggle ends in guns drawn and pointed at each other.
Barnes wont drop his gun.
If Jim is so adverse to killing guilty men, then he wont shoot.
But Jim wont let him go either.
Ivy may have the better philosophy than Barnes about giving creeps what they deserve.
Shes getting by on her feminine wiles, and frankly, Im rooting for her.
But Ivy crosses the wrong man when she fleeces an antiquities dealer who pronounces objects the fancy French way.
She shows up to Selinas squat because her game isnt fun any more.
The anonymous man (Like I learn their names) attacked Ivy when he realized what shed taken.
Ivy comes to Selina for help, and Selina summons Bruce in turn.
The three duck them, but Selinas residence is still made.
Ivy assumes that the dealer sent these men after her.
The solution is simple, Bruce supplies.
All she needs to do is to give the emerald necklace back to him.
Clearly, its important.
But Ivy still has the stubbornness of a pre-teen, and she figures shes earned the trophy.
Bruce offers to buy it from her so everyones happy.
Selina throws the necklace in frustration, breaking it and revealing a key.
Perhaps the man was so enraged by Ivys theft because his ownership of that key became public.
He died for it, and now the keys new owners are the target.
Bruce offers the ladies safe lodging while they figure out who these men are and what this key unlocks.
Attraction is just currency for Ivy.
Its the nothing she gives for what she takes.
He gets a call from the GCPD and fears the worst.
When he identifies Isabellas body, Oswald is right there to offer comfort.
Ed falls into Oswalds embrace right there.
Oswald is so tragic because he is completely ruled by his feelings.
Hes also a true narcissist; he wants to control how Ed mourns.
He wants it to be all about him.
Even if youve only known them like a week.
But this is not healthy behavior.
It is depressing and if Im being honest, a bit scary.
He counsels Ed to move on, and the with me is silent.
Ed sits up tall and announces that hell say goodbye to his love at the scene of her death.
And when Oswald gets her name wrong, Ed coldly corrects him.
At the tracks, Ed finds reason to question the events of her death as described by the police.
Why would Isabella have fallen asleep at the wheel a mere four blocks from their home?
Why was she screaming before the impact, as a homeless man remembered?
He examines her car himself and finds the brake lines cut.
Ed returns to the mansion with a fire in his eyes.
He cant even properly admire how Oswald instructed that Eds likeness be added to his mayoral portrait.
Oswalds life flashes before his eyes, and then: Butch.
This was revenge, Ed says.
His crush already has a body count.
Odds & Ends:
