Gotham Season 5 Episode 6: “13 Stitches” Recap & Review

A Dysfunctional Team

After a week’s hiatus, Gotham returns and picks up right where it left off. With a clearer picture of where things are going and some dysfunctional team-ups across several storylines, Gotham looks set for an explosive finish to its final season.

We begin with Jim being chased by The Riddler, under control of the armed guards thanks to the implemented chip in his brain. After being stopped by Jim, they team up together and go to Barbara for help in bringing the city back under control. Unfortunately, members of Delta Force show up and all hell breaks loose in the Ice Lounge, resulting in an explosion of bullets and broken glass.

Back at GCPD, Eduardo Dorrance and a handful of his soldiers announce they’re not here to make friends. It turns out they’ve been brought in to purge the streets of criminals by any means necessary. Including blowing up Haven to prevent Gotham’s anarchy from spreading across to the mainland. As Bruce and Alfred set into motion a plan to stop these armed guards, Penguin has problems of his own.

If I’m honest, this storyline doesn’t really serve much purpose but ultimately sees Penguin enlisting the help of Selina to track down a diamond stolen by an elusive thief from his home. This culminates in a showdown for both storylines as Eduardo goes head to head with Jim Gordon in the wreckage of Haven and Penguin tracks down the thief.

The return of Lee spells an interesting little dilemna for Jim although her amnesia-stricken persona proves to be somewhat of a problem. Hopefully Gotham doesn’t devolve into a love triangle between Lee and Barbara, especially with the latter finally coming into her own and showing some real depth. It’s been a while since Barbara has really been interesting here and for the past few seasons she’s really been under-utilized across several questionable storylines.

Still, the tantalizing ending here looks set to finally up the ante, and action, for the second half of this season. The early teases of Bruce Wayne acting like Batman and the villains confortably settling into their comic book personas is really what’s made this season as interesting as it has been so far. Whether this can continue through the rest of the season is up for debate but Gotham finally feels poised to finish on a suitable high if this episode is anything to go by.