Gotham Season 2 Episode 20 Recap
Alfred (Sean Pertwee, left) fights Theo Galavan (James Frain) in episode 20 of “Gotham” Season 2. Fox

Jim Gordon has already killed Theo Galavan once on Fox’s “Gotham” Season 2. In episode 19, Theo returned and now believes he’s the immortal warrior Azrael. However, Penguin and Butch set out to prove he wasn’t immortal at all in episode 20, titled “Unleashed.

Episode 20 begins with Bullock (Donal Logue) and Gordon (Ben McKenzie) serving Hugo Strange (BD Wong) a warrant at Arkham to check his office because they’re convinced he’s turning criminals into monsters through his experiments. When they go inside his office they find that Strange has cleaned it out and shredded documents. Gordon swears they’ll still find a way to bring him down, but they’ll need a warrant to search more than just his office.

Theo (James Frain) hasn’t returned to Strange and is out searching for a weapon. After hearing about Theo’s return on the news, Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) finally leaves his father’s house and sets out to get revenge on Theo for killing his mother.

Bullock and Gordon return to GCPD headquarters to get another warrant for Strange. Capt. Barnes (Michael Chiklis) is recovering at the hospital and the force is looking for someone to rally the troops. Bullock gives the officers an inspirational speech and motivates them to track down Theo. Gordon gets the idea to locate Theo’s sister Tabitha (Jessica Lucas), who could lead them to Theo.

Bruce (David Mazouz) has Alfred (Sean Pertwee) take him to where he can find Selina (Camren Bicondova). Bruce is tired of waiting for Gordon to take down Strange and wants to take matters into his own hands with Selina’s help, even though Alfred doesn’t want him to. Bruce finds Selina and asks her for help breaking into Arkham so he can see what Strange is doing. He also tells her Strange has been bringing people back to life and that her friend Firefly/Bridgit (Michelle Veintimilla) is there too. Selina agrees to help him, but only if she goes alone so nothing happens to Bruce.

Tabitha is getting ready to get out of Gotham City when Bullock and Gordon show up at Butch’s (Drew Powell). Gordon wants her to help him since Theo will likely come after her after she turned her back on him earlier this season. She tells Gordon about Azrael and a sword that was buried with her grandfather that Theo will likely be digging up.

In the cemetery, Tabitha takes Bullock and Gordon to her grandfather’s tomb, where they find the sword in his grave. Just as Gordon lifts up the sword, Theo shows up and fights off both Bullock and Gordon. Tabitha tries to remind her brother of who he is and that he’s not Azrael. He then remembers her betrayal and that he was trying to kill Bruce. Theo suddenly stabs his sister with the sword and leaves her for dead.

Hugo Strange
Hugo Strange (BD Wong) develops a plan to avoid being arrested in episode 20 of “Gotham” Season 2. Fox

Gordon goes back inside the tomb and calls for help for Tabitha. She tells Gordon that Theo is now back on his original mission, to kill Bruce Wayne. Gordon takes a police car and calls Alfred to warn him that Theo will be coming after him again, just as Bruce arrives back at Wayne Manor.

Butch is at the hospital with Tabitha when Penguin shows up. Butch thinks Penguin is there to finish her off, but Penguin says he’s there because he wants help killing Theo. He just needs Butch to tell him where he is.

As Gordon heads to Wayne Manor, Bruce and Alfred prepare for Theo to arrive. While Alfred is gathering up weapons, he turns around and finds Theo. Bruce runs into the room with a sword and a fight among the three breaks out. Alfred and Theo duel with their swords and Theo eventually gets the upper hand and throws Alfred out the window, leaving Bruce alone.

Bruce runs down to the garage and tries to find keys to one of the cars. Theo follows him down there to finish the job of killing the last Wayne. Bruce takes off his shoes and leaves them by one of the cars. When Theo sees the shoes he goes to attack, but discovers Bruce isn’t there. Bruce then runs Theo over with one of the cars and continues through the garage.

It appears as though Theo is dead ... until no body is found. Theo then appears out of nowhere and grabs Bruce with Tabitha’s whip. Just as he’s about to kill Bruce, Gordon shows up and empties his gun into Theo, saving Bruce. However, Theo still isn’t dead and goes after Gordon and Bruce again. Penguin and Butch show up just in time to finish Theo off once and for all. Butch fires a bazooka and blows up Theo, then the two leave Wayne Manor.

Selina sneaks into Arkham and finds Bridgit thanks to help from Nygma (Cory Michael Smith), but Strange has brainwashed Bridgit. She thinks Selina is a human test and Selina tries to remind her who she is, but Bridgit doesn’t listen. The episode ends with Bridgit appearing to burn Selina with her flamethrower.

Other Major Moments From Episode 20:

  • Nygma is haunted by what he witnesses in Strange’s Indian Hill facility and immediately wants to escape Arkham. He tries to get out by climbing and crawling through air vents. When he finally makes it out, he thinks he’s home free, but guards quickly surround him and take him back.
  • Strange knows it’s only a matter of time before the GCPD searches all of Arkham for his secret facility. He’s going to have all his Indian Hill patients moved to a different facility and hopes that the killing of Theo will wipe out any evidence leading back to him.