In a series that has become known for its darkness, last night’s episode stood out as being particularly dark. Whatever hopes we had for Edward and Bridget were sent up in flames before our eyes. Let’s take a look through the ashes of “By Fire.”
SPOILERS AHEAD
Bridget was a character we were all rooting for. She was a good person – maybe too good for this cesspool of a city. But we had hope that she was going to be spared the unhappy ending that has befallen so many in Gotham before her. And there was a glimmer of hope; Gordon was made aware by Selina that Bridget didn’t kill that cop willingly, that she was forced to by her evil “brothers.” But of course, we knew all along that all that hope was just self-delusion; this is Gotham, where happy endings get blow-torched and thrown into the furnace that powers this City of Evil.
After being kidnapped by the Pike brothers, Bridget decides she has had enough, and kills them both – a rare moment when someone on Gotham actually gets a deserving comeuppance. But then something happens to her – she snaps, and becomes what she hated: vindictive, unfeeling, murderous. Even Selina walks away from Bridget at this point, and we know the inevitable downfall is nigh. Her final confrontation with Gordon is predictable, but compelling nevertheless. Destroyed by her own fire, Bridget’s sad story comes to an end. Or does it? We end the episode with her being wheeled into a secret facility – Indian Hill – run by the Wayne Corporation. They want to know how she has survived the fire, and they assume it is because she is fire-proof. They don’t seem to know that she had a protective suit on. The look in Bridget’s eyes as she contemplates the horrific “tests” that await her was a powerful and disturbing moment, one that also promises some compelling further stories as Bridget becomes “Firefly.”
On the Edward Nygma front, it might sound crazy, but I was also starting to have hopes for him as well. He was actually starting to really make it work with Kristen Kringle – she even liked his weird riddles. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, but that’s when he made his mistake. He let his guard down in this episode, and attempted to open up to her. Now, opening up to someone is great, as long as you’re not A MURDERER. When people say they “want to get to know you better”, they are thinking normal stuff, like what are your hopes and dreams, what deep thoughts do you have, and so on. They don’t mean how many people have you stabbed to death and disposed of at work. But, pumped with confidence, that is exactly what Edward shares with Kristen.
Now, as a viewer, even at this point I was thinking it could go either way – given how Kristen seemed to be cool with him hearing voices, I would not have been shocked if she reacted to the news with an evil smile and kissed him. But nope, she went the other way, with a full-on “get away from me you murdering freak” type deal, and I was genuinely sad for little Edward. Another happy ending (albeit a twisted, sick happy ending) was shoveled into the kiln, and Edward put the cherry on top by strangling Kristen. We can expect now that Nygma will lose any touch with reality he might have had after this, and I am sure it won’t be long before he starts shopping around for question-mark-patterned onesies.
This week, Theo Galavan (Duma) continued his long, inexorable march towards a final revenge for something Bruce’s distant relative did to one of Theo’s distant relatives hundreds years ago (still can’t see the logic on this one, but oh well). He … um, “convinces” another senator to back his Mayoral bid with his usual “incentive” of a death-threat. He continues to lure Bruce Wayne into his web using Silver as bait – although Bruce does seem to note Tabitha’s blood-smeared cheek. And he catches on to Penguin’s plan to have Butch spy on him – which has to go down as one of the most transparent “secret plans” ever attempted in the show. Poor Butch is becoming almost the Sansa Stark of this show, falling lower and lower, and seeming to never catch a break. He does his job though, and Penguin learns the location of Mama. As he prepares to go and rescue her in the coming episode, we just have to believe that Galavan has a surprise waiting in store for him. But then again, there is Rule #1 on Gotham: never count out Penguin. He always wins in the end – it’s just a matter of how and when.
“By Fire” was a dark but compelling episode that really had some amazing moments. The further story of Bridget/Firefly will be interesting to watch unfold, not just because of her story, but to see the darker side of Wayne Enterprises, which so far has only obliquely been alluded to. I will once again be rooting for someone who has no business being rooted for, when Penguin fights to save his mother. I am genuinely sad for Edward, and I now fear what he will become now that his tiny bit of humanity is gone. And Theo – well, to be honest, I am not all that into him and his story. I just want him and his smug grin taken down; however that happens, I am cool with it. I just hope that Bruce and Silver aren’t collateral damage when it happens.