Awesome / Gotham Season Two

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.

Season 2

2x01: Damned if You Do

• Gordon beating up the sword-armed Zaardon bare-handed.
• While in the process of being fired, Gordon reminding Loeb he'd break him
  • Comes the end of the episode, and Gordon, through Penguin, did just that.
• The fact that Harvey Bullock was actually able to turn his life around, get a more fulfilling job, have a relationship that's nearing marriage, and kick his alcohol problem.
• Penguin, with the help of Zsasz, masterfully manipulating Loeb into rehiring Jim; it really highlights how far he's come from season 1, and cements how he's now a true crime boss. All while casually making himself a peanut butter sandwich.

2x02: Knock, Knock

• Edward Nygma taking a bullet for Miss Kringle while tackling her out of harm's way.
• Sarah Essen refusing to give Jerome the satisfaction of seeing her crumble, even though she knows he's going to kill her. She spits in his eye, headbutts him, and tells him that nobody is going to know who he ever was once he's locked back up. And considering who he might become down the line, she's right.
  • Even better: after the events of "The Last Laugh", she's right because somebody else (still don't know who) is going to steal his thunder and make him look like a wannabe.
• Harvey is happy to live a civilian life, with a happy relationship and getting away from the dirty politics of being a cop. But as soon as he hears that the Maniax shot up the GCPD and killed his former captain, he doesn't hesitate to return to the precinct, signature pork-pie hat on head.
• Jerome's willingness to do a triple Russian Roulette. Even better, he does it in three different areas of his head.
  • It gets better than that. The pistol they were using? That wasn't a standard 6 cylinder revolver, it was a five. Jerome ran through every shot except the last one before handing the gun back. Had Galavan not called the little game off, he would have been short one minion, guaranteed.
  • "Who's the boss? I'm the boss!"
• "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! GOOD EVENING!" Just listen to Jerome say that line and try not to think of Mark Hamill's Joker. He even does the Hamill laugh right afterwards!

2x03: The Last Laugh

• As upsetting as it was that such an amazing character was killed off, at least Jerome went out with a smile.
• Bullock walking into Oswald's domain unannounced and telling him in no uncertain terms that if he tries to make Jim do his dirty work again, he has to go through Harvey. He then takes great delight in reminding Oswald of how he used to be nothing more than Fish Mooney's errand boy, threatens to take him outside and beat him with a trashcan, and calmly tells Oswald that though he may be 'King of Gotham', he will be nothing more than an errand boy to Harvey. He ends by reminding Oswald that he still owes him for killing Fish Mooney before leaving. And all Oswald can do is sit and take it.
• Lee kicking Barbara right in the ovaries after the latter's delusional speech about how she and Jim are going to get back together.

2x04: Strike Force

• Every second Captain Barnes is onscreen. He strides into the Gotham police station, reams everyone out for allowing the massacre to happen, and hand-picks an Untouchables-esque team to clean up crime in Gotham once and for all. And despite the Foregone Conclusion of the setup, you actually buy that he might be able to do it.
  • He fires all the openly corrupt officers in the precinct and when one of them mouths off, he has him arrested.
• One for Zsasz: he goes into a mayoral candidate's office, where said candidate is surrounded by bodyguards, and not only takes them on, but also the GCPD's titular Strike Force when they arrive for backup. And he does it unflinchingly and singlehandedly.
  Mayoral Candidate: Count, idiot! There's five of us!
  Zsasz: I know. Hardly seems fair. *Psychotic Smirk* *opens fire*
  • When Gordon sees him, he momentarily freezes up. Probably because he remembers that time when Zsasz shot him twice...
  • One of the members of the New Gotham Strike Force managing to tag Zsasz, albeit non-fatally. It reminds the audience (and Zsasz) that he is not invincible.

2x06: By Fire

• Bridgit roasting her abusive "brothers" alive after another round of abuse:
  Joe: What, you're going to kill us?
  Bridgit: Yup. (fires up her flamethrower)
• Bridgit returning to the auction to free all the girls being sold. Doubles as a moment of heartwarming when you realize she's doing it because she can't stand to see anyone else be a slave like she was.
• On a related note, Selina gearing up with a shotgun to go save Bridgit from the abusive Pike brothers. No matter that the brothers were abusive pyromaniacs, nothing was going to stop Selina from protecting her friend. She even had the cheek to tell Gordon that she likes her chances of rescuing Bridgit better than his. And then of course Bridgit wound up rescuing herself, as noted above.
• Two (admittedly well-armed) street kids walk into a sex-slave auction run by hardened criminals. They walk out with everyone's money and not a scratch on them. To top off the awesome, Selina tosses off an open expression of contempt for what they're doing:
  Selina: All y'all suck!

2x07: Mommy's Little Monster

• Penguin slitting Galavan's neck after he kills his mother. He survives the attack, but it's still satisfying to see him get some major retribution for what he had done.
  Galavan: Any last words?
  Penguin: Yes. I'm going to kill you.
  • And right before then, Penguin calls him out like a true badass.
  Penguin: You don't have the stomach to kill me yourself. No wonder your family was run out of town. You come from a long line of cowards!
• When Gordon and Bullock track down Butch at a pub, Zsasz and his goons show up and start shooting up the place. Good thing Butch had a few big guns laying around.
  Bullock: We're out-manned here, partner.
  Gordon: Yeah...but not out-gunned.
  (brief shot of Butch's guns)
  Bullock: Oh, hell yeah.
• So during the night of Theo's big speech, Penguin plans to kill Galavan himself. However, everyone in Theo's pocket is ready to kill him sight on scene. How does Penguin solve this? By getting every single one of his men to dress like him of course!"

2x08: Tonight's the Night

• Alfred effectively beats Galavan at his own game of persuasion when averting Poor Communication Kills — unlike when Selina only came across poorly to Bruce regarding Silver in an earlier episode — by telling Bruce that he, not Wayne Enterprises, is his parents' greatest treasure thus ultimately causing him to decline Galavan's takeover offer that would give Bruce both even more personal wealth and the identity of his parents' killer. Also counts as a Heartwarming Moment.
• Harvey Bullock leading a Big Damn Heroes rescue for Gordon and Lee.
• Gordon & co. rescuing the original Mayor from Galavan's forces, thus having enough cause to finally bust Galavan — capped off by Gordon socking Galavan across the jaw!

2x09: A Bitter Pill To Swallow

• This episode may as well be entitled "James Gordon is a BAMF":
  • The elevator fight with the first assassin.
  • Killing said assassin with a Moe Greene Special when he's holding Officer Parks hostage.
  Gordon: Know what I like about those glasses? (shoots the assassin right in the eye) They look just like bullseyes.
  • His showdown with Flamingo.
  • Above everything else, when he could have killed Flamingo in cold blood... And didn't pull the trigger. Barnes believes that in the wrong situation a man, every man, could do anything, and that the law is the only shield against this, but in the end, after a terrible day, Gordon did the right thing even when the law could have done him nothing.
    • Even better because this is not the first time Gordon finds himself in this situation.
• Nygma snapping Penguin out of his Villainous BSoD with one of the most twisted, epic Rousing Speeches ever, telling him that their loss of loved ones makes them The Unfettered, and they should embrace it.
  "A man with nothing that he loves is a man that cannot be bargained. A man that cannot be betrayed. A man who answers to no one but himself. And that is the man that I see before me. A free man."
• Alfred effortlessly shutting down Bruce's attempt to sneak out and meet Silver.

2x10: The Son Of Gotham

• The future Trope Namer pulling his first successful Batman Gambit with help from Selina, tricking Silver into telling him everything she and her uncle know about his parents' killer.
• Alfred vs. Tabitha. It's awesome on both sides and shows why it's a bad idea to fuck with either of them, but Alfred gets points for laying down the mother of all threats before the fight.
  Alfred: I wonder what he'd do if I just disappeared you.
  Tabitha: Honestly, I don't think he'd care.
  Alfred: If I learn anything's happened to that little boy, we'll find out, won't we?
• Penguin's Villainous Rescue of Gordon from Galavan's Dirty Cops.
• One for Galavan: his fight with Gordon demonstrates that he's more than just a Smug Snake; he's got a fighting expertise that makes him quite a force to be reckoned with. He manages to kick Gordon's ass in less than a minute.
• When Galavan is cleared of all charges, he walks up to Gordon and smugly tells Gordon he still wants to be friends and respects him for doing his job properly. Gordon, who at this point is completely over Galavan's BS, responds by punching him in the face! Proper police conduct be damned, it was quite satisfying to see.

2x11: Worse Than A Crime

• The entire climax for one! Gordon, Bullock, Alfred, Selina, and Penguin joining forces together to save Bruce from the cult of Dumas and defeat Galavan once and for all?! Badass.
  • Let's not forget that epic Team Power Walk as they head to the Dumas hideout, ready to kick some serious ass.
• When Theo plans to abandon Silver and visibly threatens to strangle her, Tabitha knocks him down and she and Silver parachutes down, leaving Theo for dead.
• Penguin finally getting revenge on Galavan for killing Gertrude. First, he beats the ever loving shit out of him with a bat and when Gordon finishes him off, Penguin pulls out an umbrella and shoves the damn thing down his throat!
• Selina gets a huge one. She knows the location of where the monks have taken Bruce and leads the other allies there to rescue him, singlehandedly taking down a guard with a stealth attack before letting the others into the hideout. Without Selina, they would have had no idea where Bruce was. Selina saves the day!

2x13: A Dead Man Feels No Cold

• Victor Fries' freezing formula is terrifyingly effective once he refines it. Gordon and Bullock come across a crime scene where one guard's bullet is frozen in place just after it was fired, and later he throws a canister into the bay and freezes the entire thing.
• Nora takes her fate into her own hands, switching Victor's perfected formula out for one of the faulty ones, choosing to die rather than live in a world with her husband dead or in prison.
• In a Creepy Awesome way, Hugo Strange spends the whole episode getting one: he is just THAT GOOD at manipulating everything in his favor that by the episode's end, he's the only character who has gotten everything he wanted.

2x15: Mad Grey Dawn

• A reminder of who Bruce will grow up to be; Bruce taking a level in badass, calling the leader of a drug dealer gang a coward for hitting Selina, and continues to do so as the dealer beats him. After the beatdown, Bruce gets back up, and inflicts a beatdown on his own to the drug dealer before making his escape. Afterwards Bruce said he won't let himself be broken.
  • One for Selina: she watches with growing apprehension as Bruce takes the beating, and finally she snaps "Enough!" and breaks her captor's hold, out of sheer fear seeing what Bruce is going through. And is later seen stitching him up. Big sister instinct indeed.
• A villainous example, in that Nygma plays absolutely everyone like a fiddle, framing Gordon with no one being the wiser.
  • To emphasize: once Nygma decided to tear Gordon down, it took him under an episode to do so - faster and more thoroughly than any of Gordon's foes so far.

2x16: Prisoners

• Puck standing up to Weaver and his prison gang from beating Jim to a bloody pulp.
• The one prison guard who looks out for Jim during his stay at the general population prison, from locking Weaver in the hole to assisting Bullock in helping Jim escape, to finally knocking out the corrupt prison warden when he tries to murder Jim.
• Harvey Bullock never gives up on trying to prove Jim's innocence. From visiting him in prison, to calling in all the favors he knows to at least get Jim an appeal, Harvey spends his every waking hour trying to figure out how to get his partner back. He ends up tracking down Don Falcone to help facilitate Jim's escape.
  • Don Falcone gets a mention here as well. He's been in retirement for over a year and has no reason to stick his neck out for anybody, let alone a man who tried to have him arrested on multiple occasions. But he does it anyway because he considers Jim an 'old friend'.

2x17: Into the Woods

• As horrifying and morbid as it was, it's incredibly satisfying to see Oswald take revenge against his wicked stepfamily. They murdered his father, took his inheritance for themselves, called Gertrud his "slut mother", bullied him, and treated him like a lowly servant (a la Cinderella), with the intention of murdering him and making it look like a suicide. How does he repay them? He murders his stepsiblings, cooks them for dinner, and serves them to his stepmother, then finishes her off by slaughtering her with a knife. With them gone, not only did he avenge Elijah's death, he also got his entire inheritance back.
• Gordon and Nygma's confrontation in the woods. While Nygma expected Gordon to take the long and extremely complicated route due to his own Complexity Addiction, it turns out Gordon figured it out the normal way, and is driven absolutely mad at this revelation. Before Edward can pull the trigger on the gun he stole, the entire police force jumps out from behind the trees, and while Nygma tries to Make It Look Like an Accident, of course the captain doesn't buy it and the future Riddler finally gets his dues by being sent to Arkham. There was no one left unimpressed by how Gordon unwittingly beat Nygma's Crippling Overspecialization.

2x18: Pinewood

• Jim Gordon demonstrates that He's Back! in the most awesome way possible: by singlehandedly plowing a path of utter destruction through Gotham's underworld in search of the Lady, all to the tune of The Sex Pistols' cover of "My Way".
  • Right after he heads out, Harvey comments to himself that it's going to be a bad day for Gotham's hitmen. That's right: when Jim Gordon is on the hunt, everybody had either run or just give him what he wants.
• Victor Fries makes an equally awesome return by halting the truck that Jim, Bruce, and Alfred hijacked to rescue one of their allies. He ices over the road, causing the truck to skid, and once they step out, he appears out of nowhere. And if you thought the Preminger/Wallach "ice collar" from the Adam West show looked corny, the showrunners more than made up for it by integrating it with Powered Armor and goggles in a very Batman: Arkham City -esque fashion. Not to mention he remains The Voiceless throughout the entire ordeal, making him like a frozen version of the Terminator.

2x19: Azrael

• Gordon presents Hugo Strange with a warrant in an envelope to search for Pinewood. Strange doesn't budge, but then it turns out the envelope is empty, and Gordon just wanted to read his reaction to be sure he was on the right track.
• In what must be about a week, Nygma deconstructs his various Arkham inmates and learns how to pacify them, not only to protect himself, but bend them to his will.
  • Not only that, but he uses the now-pacified inmates to gather the items he needs for his plan to infiltrate Dr. Strange's secret underground laboratory. He succeeds.
• The look on Bruce's face when he sees Azrael in full costume. It's like all the doors that have been holding him prisoner have been opened for him.
• Strange hits on the idea to give his subjects new stories to latch onto. His apparent first stop: The Mad Hatter.
• Barnes demands to know why he should trust Gordon after being lied to so many times, Gordon fires back that it's difficult tell him the truth, and that Barnes' anger and stubbornness have made the GCPD suffer for it.
• Everything about Azrael himself is awesome. You can clearly see how he's acting as an in-universe inspiration for Batman's later development.
  • In particular, the fight in the GCPD is extremely Batman. The atmosphere is just like a Predator section.
  • This might be the closest fans will ever come to seeing a live-action Phantasm.
• Barnes' fight with Azrael on the rooftop. He actually would have won if he hadn't been distracted by the shock of seeing that Azrael is Galavan.

2x20: Unleashed

• That fake search warrant from last episode? This week, Gordon and Harvey return with an actual warrant, practically shove it in Hugo Strange's face, and Harvey basically threatens to tear apart Arkham brick by brick if that's what it takes to find Azrael.
  • At which point they enter Strange's office to find he's already shredded all the incriminating documents. When they protest, he tells them they're free to go through the shredded papers, but that aside from that, their warrant doesn't let them do anything. A definite villainous CMOA for our resident evil genius in chief.
• Harvey's epic Rousing Speech in the GCPD headqaurters to all the assembled cops. It's downright inspiring, especially considering this came from one of the most openly dirty cops on the force. Harvey's grown a lot this season.
• Despite being beaten up by Alfred, hit with a car by Bruce, and shot about six times in the back by Jim, Azrael still gets to his feet and points his sword at Bruce, Gordon, and Alfred, refusing to surrender or die. And then the Penguin strolls through the gates of Wayne Manor, twirling a fresh umbrella.
  The Penguin: My last one got stuck in your throat, so I'm thinking about shoving this one somewhere else. Jim, a little tip for next time: always bring the right tools for the job. See You in Hell, Theo.
  • Followed immediately thereafter by the reveal of Butch holding a fucking rocket launcher. And then they blow Galavan/Azrael to pieces. He's not coming back from that.
  • This whole scene is made even better by the hilariously-over-the-top rock music blasting the whole time.
    • Just where did Penguin get the rocket launcher from? Either he's been hiding that thing for a long time, or he actually convinced someone to sell him/steal him a rocket launcher.
• Basically, this whole episode is one long Moment of Awesome for the good guys, the bad guys, and Butch. And the cherry on top of this sundae of awesomeness? The ending credits promise the return of none other than Fish Mooney.
  Hugo Strange: Who are you?
  Fish: My name is Fish Mooney, bitch.

2x21: A Legion of Horribles

• When Bruce is taken by the Arkham guards, rather than worry for his own safety, he bellows at the top of his lungs, "WHERE'S SELINA?! What have you done with her?!" Doubles as a Heartwarming Moment.
• Selina gets one during her fight with Firefly. She sneaks above Firefly on a catwalk, then drops down behind and knocks Firefly out cold, in a move that's very reminiscent of her future self.
  • She's also quick to play on Firefly's 'Goddess of Fire' identity. Once she realizes she can't fight her way out, she pretends to be Firefly's handmaiden so they can both escape.
• Fish Mooney cutting off Strange's attempt to give her a new identity by revealing she still knows exactly who she is.
  • And later, realizing that whatever was done to her has given her mind-control powers that activate via skin contact. You can see the wheels turning in her head as she realizes just how damage she can do to Strange for keeping her locked up.
• Harvey doing an admirable job as acting captain of the GCPD. Especially when he mobilizes a task force once Alfred tells him that Bruce, Lucius and Jim might be in danger.
  Harvey: You're talking about a place that's an armed fortress. Chockablock with armed guards. Now, while we could send in an assault force of a pudgy, middle-aged Irish detective and a recently stabbed Englishman, I think the acting captain of the GCPD can do a little better.

—(Cut to twenty officers in full attack gear lined up in the station as Bullock looks them over.)

2x22: Transference

• Barbara being the one to realize that Clayface is impersonating Gordon and exposing him with a punch to the face.
• Selina playing Firefly against Strange and Freeze. Resulting in a short but epic elemental Beam-O-War between the two villains.
• Gordon and Lucius, neither of whom are trained for it, disabling the bomb threatening to blow up Arkham.
• Penguin, Butch, and their men intercepting the Arkham bus and taking it down, with Butch wielding a vest mounted Gatling gun.
• Nygma interrogating Lucius and Bruce under threat of poisonous gas, when you realize it's essentially Batman's first time facing off against the Riddler. Nygma wins.