Sometimes the relationships we try to hold onto the most hold us back forever in the worst possible way, and it isn’t until we recognize that and decide to unshackle ourselves that we can truly be free. In this episode of CW’s Gotham Knights, the amateur crimefighters deal with some personal demons and past traumas by reevaluating their relationship with their respective parental figures, and while that may be liberating to some, others get even more entrapped in their deplorable existence.
In the previous episode, Rebecca March was revealed to be the true leader of the Court of Owls all along, as she murdered her own son, Brody, after knowing that he had learned too much about the Court from Stephanie Brown. The March couple contemplates tying up loose ends by taking care of Stephanie, and unbeknownst to Rebecca, Lincoln resurrects his dead son using the Electrum. Meanwhile, Harvey’s regular persona battles with his other self in the preconscious plane of his mind and emerges victorious, although it is not confirmed whether his other half truly perished or not. In order to treat Turner’s radiation poisoning, Carrie had to ask for her mother, Dr. Kelley’s, help, and post-treatment, as she is about to turn Turner over to the authorities, Carrie stops her in her tracks by revealing her secret identity as Robin. With two more episodes to go, Gotham Knights addresses some troubling personal issues among the members and strengthens the bond among them before a final showdown with the Court.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Is Turner Acting Aloud?
During his imprisonment at the hands of the Court, Turner Hayes was physically and mentally tortured by Lincoln March, who implanted the idea in Turner’s head that his deceased adoptive father, Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, was responsible for the deaths of his birth parents. This idea was further affirmed by Carrie revealing the fact that she had torn pages from Bruce’s journal, which expressed a sense of guilt Bruce felt about the death of the Hayes couple. This affirmation was enough to send an aggrieved Turner down a reckless, carefree path, as he no longer believes in the cause the team is fighting for and questions their purpose as well.
Gotham Knights Episode 11 begins with Duela and Turner engaging in pillow talk after the previous night’s fling, and the Joker’s daughter shares her fond childhood memory of getting a birthday gift from her deranged father. Duela was born and brought up at Arkham Asylum, and every memory she has of her birthdays through the years is associated with the place—all except the one she is currently having with Turner. She states that there is a strange connection that they share, as Joker’s and Turner’s parents’ deaths were Bruce’s responsibility, and suggests Turner investigate the truth about those deaths. The duo also takes the police scanner from the team’s Belfry hideout with them to avoid the cops. Cullen goes to check up on Carrie and learns that she had stolen Bruce’s journal pages previously to spare Turner the pain and also that she is grounded by her mother for revealing her secret identity as Robin.
Stephanie’s Troubles
Meanwhile, Stephanie makes a rash decision and goes directly to the authorities—DA Harvey Dent and Police Commissioner Soto—to testify against the crimes committed by Lincoln March as the leader of the Court of the Owls. As she prepares to sign a sworn affidavit against him, her father, Arthur Brown, gets arrested on the charge of continually pressurizing doctors to prescribe drugs to his addicted wife.
In the absence of Harvey and Soto, Lincoln March goes to the interrogation room to meet Stephanie and threatens her with her family’s downfall. He remarks that if Stephanie drops the charges and gives up her fugitive friends, he is willing to look the other way. Stephanie goes to meet her father, who has taken the fact for granted that she will help out her family by doing as Lincoln instructed her to do. Stephanie is put in a dilemma to either side with her friends or with the toxic people she knows to be her family: a disinterested father who values his image and status more than he cares about his family and an addicted mother who has deliberately slipped into the worst stage of addiction despite Stephanie making all the efforts to pull her out of the miserable condition.
After learning about Turner and Duela’s escapade, Cullen goes to the police station in disguise to acquire another police scanner, sees Stephanie there, and learns about the entire situation from a fellow officer. Cullen fears that Stephanie might give them up under pressure and lets her sister, Harper, know about this.
However, Stephanie refuses to take responsibility for her inept parents any further and refuses the deal offered by Lincoln. At home, she is berated by her mother, who raises her hands at her when the truth about their pathetic parenting is brought up during the conversation, but Harper arrives on the scene and rescues Stephanie, giving her piece of mind to Stephanie’s mother while doing so.
Who Is Jane Doe?
Previously, GCPD was on alert due to some criminals mimicking the crime organization Royal Flush Gang’s MO, and it turns out it was a signal for Duela sent by her villainous mother, simply known as Jane Doe. As Duela and Turner go to Ace O’Clubs and meet her, Jane suggests her daughter accompany her out of Gotham. However, Turner is not to keen on following Duela on an adventure with her psychotic mother, and Duela realizes that her wish to have a life with Turner will not be possible in the near future. Meanwhile, Jane sees Turner, the most wanted fugitive in Gotham City at the moment, and decides to capitalize on the chance by calling the cops on them by using the police scanner, unbeknownst to Duela.
Harvey, who was alerted about Turner’s possible location, rushes to the spot, secretly meets with him, and finds him dissociated and jaded. Turner argues that Bruce is responsible for the deaths of his birth parents and the Joker as well, but Harvey is not willing to jump to conclusions about his best friend without investigating properly. Before Harvey can continue having the discussion with Turner, he is drugged into unconsciousness by Jane, and Turner, whose drink was spiked as well, gets knocked out on the spot.
Did Harvey Survive Duela’s Wrath?
A captive Harvey finds himself in front of Duela and Jane and finds that the psychotic villain, who used to be his stalker, was acquitted of her criminal charges in Arkham thanks to Lincoln March’s interference. However, Jane reveals that after her initial ‘approach,” it was, in fact, Harvey who persuaded her to have a romantic relationship with her, later ditched her when she was pregnant, and put her in Arkham on the grounds of mental illness to protect his image. This revelation shocks Duela to her core, who learns it was not Joker; rather, Harvey Dent was her father, and Jane only used Joker’s name to let her daughter remain protected from the dregs of Gotham. Harvey has no recollection of the events whatsoever, as it was the other half of his persona that was responsible for all these horrendous actions.
Jane triggers Duela’s feeling of abandonment and provokes her to kill Harvey for taking their deserved life away from both mother and daughter. Duela hesitates, and Harvey tries to reason with her by appealing to her good senses, but Duela isn’t convinced that his split personality disorder was responsible for the ordeal. Goaded by her mother, Duela finally snaps and shoots Harvey, fleeing the scene before the authorities arrive.
Meanwhile, an unconscious Turner is found by the police, who were tipped off by Jane about his location, but a timely intervention by a disguised Cullen saves him from incarceration or a worse fate. Back at Belfry, Cullen confronts Turner about his uncharacteristic behaviors, and the duo makes amends after Turner appreciates Cullen for always being there for him and the entire team. Stephanie and Harper share a kiss elsewhere at the hideout, with both of them forming a bond over their mutual respect and feelings.
Harvey wakes up at the hospital and finds out he was miraculously saved from the bullet by the Court of Owl coin that was inside his chest pocket. Although his misery is far from over, the news of Duela being his daughter, which he allegedly kept secret for years, is already being leveraged by Lincoln March for his mayoral campaign. Episode 11 of Gotham Knights ends with Rebecca at March’s household receiving a distressed voicemail from Harvey, who wishes to meet with her as he states that he knows about Lincoln and the court situation. Rebecca replays the particular section in her voicemail of Harvey, professing his protectiveness of her. It seems like Rebecca still isn’t over Harvey just yet, and with her being the Court’s head, things will just turn from bad to worse for the DA. On the other hand, with two episodes left in Gotham Knights season 1, it will be interesting to see whether Duela comes to her senses and returns to her team before her manipulative mother gaslights her any longer into committing more atrocities.
