Directed by Maja Vrvilo
Written by Steven Lilien & Bryan Wynbrandt
Gordon and Bullock try to stay one step ahead as Jerome zeros in on his next target. Meanwhile, Nygma hosts a riddle game show in the Narrows and faces his toughest challenger in Lee Thompkins, and Penguin goes to see Butch with a proposal.
- Ambiguous Situation: Xander is portrayed as a well-meaning, if paranoid, engineer, or essentially the Good Counterpart of Jerome. However, when Jerome is speaking with his brother, the conversation between the two of them has Xander admit Jerome didn't actually try to kill him but insists that he was going to.
- Body Horror: Jerome's proto-Joker Venom doesn't just drive the intended victim Laughing Mad... it bleaches their skin bone white, makes them cry tears of blood, and forces them to laugh so hard their jaws dislocate.
- Crazy-Prepared: Jervis uses a clock to brainwash the school headmaster into a suicide bomber. Gordon shoots it out... and then it turns out that the headmaster was also wearing a pocket watch as a backup.
- Horrifying the Horror: The Legion of Horribles' collective reaction to Jerome's Laughing Gas. Firefly looks on with concern, Oswald and Grundy look disturbed, and even Tetch looks terrified at the weapon Scarecrow and Jerome managed to create.
- Human Shield: Jerome tries to use Xander as one, interposing his twin between himself and the police and threatening to kill him if Gordon and Bullock don't back off. Jim points out that they know Jerome doesn't want Xander dead, so Jerome shoves his brother at the cops to distract them as he escapes.
- The "I Love You" Stigma: Lee bests the Riddler in a riddle contest by giving him a riddle where the obvious answer is "I love you", which he can't bring himself to say to her.
- ISO-Standard Urban Groceries: Ecco carries a grocery bag with a baguette and greens sticking out the top when Jerome ambushes her at her home.
- Laughing Mad: Jerome and Crane create the Joker Gas, and test it on a random guy; it works.
- Legion of Doom: In addition to his preexisting alliance with Jervis and Scarecrow, Jerome also brings in Firefly and Mr. Freeze, as well as a reluctant Penguin and Butch. He refers to them as the "Legion of Horribles".
- Mythology Gag:
- "A Legion of Horribles" was the name of the penultimate Season 2 episode.
- Riddler becomes the game show host of....The Riddle Factory!
- The Legion of Horribles hearkens back to The Joker, the Penguin, Catwoman, and the Riddler trying to create a United Underworld in Gotham.
- In one issue of the brief 1970's Joker series, the Clown Prince pretended to be the descendant of an artist named Thaddeus Wilde. Jerome's brother in this episode goes by the name Wilde.
- The Scarecrow introduces Gotham's version of The Joker's famed laughing gas, a sickly purple concoction that is more reminiscent of Smilex from the 1989 film than its green counterparts in the comics or various animated media.
- Jerome muses to Jeremiah about how "one bad day" is enough to drive anyone crazy.
- Ecco's outfit in Jeremiah's bunker is a diamond-patterned red, white, and black shirt.
- No-Sell: Played for Laughs. Harvey counters Jervis's attempt to brainwash him by screaming at the top of his lungs to drown him out, while charging and shooting at him to keep him from talking.Tetch: Listen to my voi—Bullock: Oh hell no! You are not hypnotizing me again! AhhhHHHHHHHHHHH! *charges after Tetch and Scarecrow*Gordon: *beat* Well, that's one way to do it.
- Noodle Incident: Whatever incidents had Jeremiah so convinced that his brother wanted to kill him that he made up stories of actual murder attempts to get their mother and uncle to send him away from Jerome. It's implied something gruesome involving stray pets was a factor.
- Oh, Crap!: Related to No-Sell above... Tetch attempts to hypnotize Bullock as Scarecrow's aerosol-based gases would likely result in Friendly Fire due to the cramped corridors, and when that fails to work (as Bullock charges in guns blazing against the only two villains in Jerome's Quirky Miniboss Squad that rely solely on subterfuge and guerrilla tactics), the two Horribles are forced to turn tail and run away.Bullock: AHHHHHHHHHHHH!Tetch: *panicking* Let's go! Letsgoletsgoletsgo!
- The Reveal:
- Jerome has a twin brother, Jeremiah, who was sent away for his own protection after he lied that Jerome had tried to kill him. This turned their mother against Jerome, which is what served as his Start of Darkness.
- Secondary Color Nemesis: Jeremiah wears a burnt-orange suit, green shirt and purple tie, toned-down versions of the Joker's usual attire.
- Shout-Out: Harvey shooting screaming and chasing after Tetch and Crane is reminiscent of Han Solo doing the same thing in A New Hope.
- Title Drop: The episode's title is how Jerome refers to the Legion of Horribles' meeting at the start of the episode.
- Unholy Matrimony: The beginning of a team-up and hookup between the Riddler and Lee, of all people.
- Villain Episode: This episode pretty much belongs to Jerome, as we follow him throughout the show as he searches for his long lost brother.
- Villainous Friendship: Penguin claims he and Butch had this back in the day, and he wants to go back to that. Butch ultimately is willing to work with him, but not be his friend again.
- Villain Team-Up: In addition to the formation of the Legion of Horribles, Penguin recruits Butch to help him retake control of the city's underworld in exchange for getting him back to normal.
- Wham Line: After an entire 30-second promo has pointed to Jerome looking for someone we get this Tagline: Who Is The Joker? We don't get an answer. Maybe.
- Wham Shot: Gordon and Bullock meet the mysterious Xander Wilde, who is revealed to be Jerome's twin brother.
