Time Bomb (''Gotham'')

"Time Bomb" is the tenth episode of the third season, and 54th episode overall from the Fox series Gotham. The episode was written by co-executive producer Robert Hull and directed by Hanelle M. Culpepper. It was first broadcast on November 21, 2016. In the episode, a car explodes during Mario's and Lee's rehearsal dinner and this causes Falcone to go with Gordon to find out the culprit, discovering it's someone he has previously dealt with. Meanwhile, Nygma captures Butch and Tabitha, planning on torturing them as he believes that Butch killed Isabella while Barbara hurries to find them. Bruce, Selina, Alfred and Ivy are pursued by the known assassins but discover something else about the Court.

The episode received positive reviews, with critics praising the dark tone and the build-up to the midseason finale.

Plot

Lee's (Morena Baccarin) and Mario's (James Carpinello) wedding is just two days away and they dine with Falcone (John Doman) for their rehearsal. They also discuss that Alice Tetch's blood is being tested to find a cure. They leave and Falcone gives the keys to a guard to bring up the car. The guard is then killed when the car explodes.

While the paramedics attend Lee and Mario, Falcone talks with Gordon (Ben McKenzie), assuming that an old enemy may have had orchestrated the attack. Falcone is certain to take matters in his own hands and gives Gordon a day to find out. Meanwhile, Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) meets with the five families to discuss the security issues in Gotham when their reunion is interrupted by Barbara (Erin Richards), who holds them at gunpoint and demands to know where Tabitha (Jessica Lucas) and Butch (Drew Powell) are. He forces her to leave, threatening to kill her if she holds him at gunpoint again. Tabitha and Butch are revealed to have been kidnapped by Nygma (Cory Michael Smith), who begins to torture Butch with electric shocks, thinking he killed Isabella.

In Wayne Manor, Alfred (Sean Pertwee) is persuaded by Ivy (Maggie Geha) to turn off the alarm so she can slip outside. Fox (Chris Chalk) tells Gordon and Bullock (Donal Logue) that the explosive was a particular kind of high tech, and Bullock realizes that only a person he knows as Fuse could be responsible. They go to Fuse's apartment but find him dead. Concluding that the person who hired Fuse wanted him dead, they search files in his room and discover that the target is not Falcone but Mario. Mario is attacked at the hospital by bikers, but Gordon saves him. Barbara bribes Cobblepot's maid to reveal that Nygma bought several items from a local bondage store, but she doesn't know where he currently is.

Bruce (David Mazouz), Selina (Camren Bicondova) and Alfred (Sean Pertwee) discover that the key has the emblem of an owl, meaning it belongs to the Court. They also realize that Ivy is missing and then receive a call from Luka Volk (Costa Ronin), who they believe to be the Court's enforcer. Volk demands the key in exchange for Ivy, whom his team has kidnapped. They meet with Volk in the sewers, where he explains that they don't work for the Court of Owls, but are actually opposed to them. He and his group are members of the Whisper Gang, a group of smugglers who were once partnered with the Court. The Court betrayed them, causing many of the gang's members to go back to Ukraine. The key opens a safe that has a device that could destroy them. Bruce proposes that they join forces in order to beat the Court, which Volk accepts.

Mario leaves the GCPD and sets off to a jewelry store to pick up the rings. Gordon intercepts him and they are attacked by the assassins. Mario kills one of the attackers barehanded with surprising strength. Nygma steps up his game by putting Tabitha's hand in a custom-made guillotine-like device. The device's blade is released by a 55-second timer that will stop early only if she presses the button he has placed in her hand. If she presses the button, Butch will receive a fatal electric shock but she keeps her hand; if she doesn't press the button before the timer runs out, she loses the hand but she and Butch will be allowed to leave without further harm. Tabitha regretfully tells Butch that she isn't in love with him. Before she presses the button, Butch reassures her that his recent time with her has been the best days of his life and he is happy to be with her even knowing that she doesn't love him. Believing he is about to die, he then taunts Nygma, claiming to have killed Isabella, but when his confession contradicts the actual way she died, Nygma realizes that Butch is innocent. Touched by Butch's admission of love and his bravado against Nygma, Tabitha decides not to press the button. The device's timer runs out before Nygma has a chance to shut it off, and Tabitha's hand is severed by the blade. Barbara shows up to rescue Tabitha, but Nygma hastily leaves, advising Barbara to put the hand on ice.

The GCPD arrests the surviving assassin and Falcone tortures him, removing one of his teeth, on which Falcone finds a symbol that indicates to him that the assassin worked for an old associate. Volk and his enforcer are attacked by the Talon, killing the enforcer and demanding to know the location of the key. Volk fights him but despite his efforts, he is killed. Barbara and Butch rush Tabitha to the hospital, and Barbara figures out that Cobblepot had Isabella killed. Barbara tells Butch and Tabitha that they don't need to go to war about this—they only need to start one. Falcone meets with Kathryn (Leslie Hendrix), the person behind the attacks. He states that if Mario dies, then "Gotham will burn". That night, Lee visits Gordon in his apartment and kisses him goodbye. Mario watches from a distance and is then assaulted by thugs. He is revealed to possess the symptoms from Alice Tetch's blood and grows increasingly strong as he uses it to brutally dispatch the thugs after hearing voices telling him "She loves him". He then begins to repeat, "She loves me!"

Production

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Rotten Tomatoes (Tomatometer)	100%[5]
Rotten Tomatoes (Average Score)	8.3[5]
IGN	7.2[6]
TV Fanatic	[7]
TV Overmind	[8]

"Mad City: Time Bomb" received positive reviews from critics. The episode received a rating of 100% with an average score of 8.3 out of 10 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.^[5]

Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a "good" 7.2 out of 10 and wrote in his verdict, "'Time Bomb' wasn't a great episode, but it did use just about every Gotham performer in a meaningful way. This was a set-up chapter, leading us up to the oncoming midseason finale. Jim will battle an infected Mario for Lee while the Court rises up and dominates multiple storylines. Nygma, hopefully, will stop being so un-Riddler like and figure out just who the real betrayer is. Though if that does happen, Barbara will lose her leverage over Penguin. Still, if pressed, it'd probably be better to have Ed get his groove back."^[6]

Nick Hogan of TV Overmind gave the series a star rating of 4 out of 5, writing "This was an enjoyable episode, and it set the stage nicely for what should be an even better fall finale episode. With all of this meat in the story, surely Gotham will still be a 'Mad City' in 2017."^[8]

Sage Young of EW gave the episode a "B+" and stated: "While the cat's away, the mice will play. And while Gotham City's stringent police chief is locked up raving in Arkham, an opportunity presents itself. Word of Chief Barnes' condition spreads quickly through the city, and plans that were perhaps on hold are set in motion. Penguin hosts a meeting of the five families at the mansion and proposes a steep increase in protection fees. The decrease in law and order makes half of Gotham vulnerable and the other half more than happy to take quick and lucrative advantage of that vulnerability."^[9]

Lisa Babick from TV Fanatic, gave a 4.5 star rating out of 5, stating: "I can't imagine what could possibly be in the safe that could destroy the Court of Owls. You'd think that as powerful as they are that they would have gotten rid of whatever it is by now. How convenient for the future Batman to have this piece of information and the key to unlock it all. Will he destroy them this season or will it wait until he dons his cape and cowl?"^[7] Vinnie Mancuso of New York Observer wrote, "Well, surprise surprise, it turns out you can't even get engaged to the son of a notorious crime boss in Gotham City anymore without having to worry about him getting infected with magical carnie blood and turning into a hulking rage-monster. Gentrification is a bitch, man. Or should I say Tetch-rification?"^[10]

Robert Yanis, Jr. of Screenrant wrote, "Bruce and Selina's discovery regarding the Court of Owls has re-energized what many assumed would be the major thrust of the season but which has taken a backseat ever since Bruce made a truce with the secret organization earlier this season."^[11] Kayti Burt of Den of Geek gave a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "'Time Bomb' was a particularly bloody episode of Gotham, but it balanced the gore by tying together multiple plotlines in satisfying ways. Though, in many ways, 'Time Bomb' felt like a transitionary ep — Mario and Lee race closer to the altar, Bruce and Selina discuss their relationship, the noose tightens on Oswald's secret — it was elegantly told. Something Gotham can't often boast."^[12]

References

External links

• "Time Bomb" on IMDb
• "Time Bomb" at TV.com