The amateur crimefighters of Gotham, led by Turner Hayes, add another feather to their cap as the team goes on a direct confrontation with the Court of Owls and escapes unscathed while at the same time being hailed as public heroes by the media. Previously in Gotham Knights, we saw the team bust a drug racket operated by the McKillen crime family, and with their past exploits of distributing millions of mob dollars to the masses, they received much public and media acclaim. The early 19th-century serial killer/circus performer Felix Harmon’s exploits as Talon were also discovered by the team, and even after being buried under the Batcave, Talon lived, and as we saw in the previous episode, he stabbed the socialite Lincoln March right in front of Harvey. In the midseason episode of the series, the eponymous team gets busy learning more about Talon as well as investigating the curious case of an art thief, which is more involved with their prime target than the team initially realizes.
Spoilers Ahead
A New Player In Town
The episode begins with a costumed thief entering Gotham City Hall to steal a valued pieces of art. After deliberately triggering the alarm, the person waits for the security to arrive, knocks them out, and leaves with the artwork. This marks a series of artwork heists by the perpetrator, who doesn’t leave a clue or even follow the same modus operandi. GCPD takes the help of renowned criminologist Sophia Green to crack the case, who has previously proven to be effective in sending even criminals like Magpie to prison and thieves like Catwoman into hiding. The team hears about the case update in the news broadcast but doesn’t think it’s a priority with more pressing issues to look after first.
How Does Duela Plan To Extract Information About The Talon? What Is The Connection Between The Art Thief And The Court Of Owls?
Stephanie meets the team at the Belfry Clocktower hideout and briefs them about Brodie’s father, Lincoln March’s condition after the near-fatal attack from Talon. Turner and Co. speculate about finding out more about how Felix Harmon survived for such a long period and was even alive after the Batcave came crashing down on him, and to do that; they need more information about him. Duela suggests that she might have a way or two to get the information but leaves before providing an explanation. Later, Duela brings Cassie into a garage to show off her handiwork; she has managed to abduct the shriveled, paraplegic Eunice Harmon, daughter of Talon Felix Harmon, from the hospital and bring her inside a car trunk.
The rest of the team is summoned by Stephanie and Cullen, who have found a connection between the artwork case and their ongoing investigation. They opine that the artworks that have gone missing were not the most valuable of the lot and didn’t follow any thematic pattern, except for the fact that all of them were previously the property of Alan Wayne. Seeing a possible connection with the Court of Owls to be explored, the team finally agrees to investigate the art theft case. Harper Row goes to her ex-boyfriend, Dylan McKillen of the McKillen crime family, to learn about the possible identity of the culprit, but she also learns that the person is an outsider about whom the criminal underworld has no clue. At Belfry, Stephanie finds out there is one more artwork that has been stashed away in museum storage, which will allegedly complete the collection of Alan Wayne’s artwork. The team decides to intercept and catch the culprit red-handed.
What Did Duela And Carrie Learn From Eunice?
To Carrie’s utter disbelief, Duela tortures Eunice to get information about Felix Harmon out of her, to no avail. Carrie suggests a gentler approach and promises to return the music box (which they had previously taken) that her father had given her. Delighted, Eunice agrees to help and remarks that the longevity of her father was to the Court’s credit. When Felix Harmon’s reputation as the serial killer Gotham Butcher became known, he was executed in public, but not before the secret society injected him with a last supplement of an unknown substance, one that provided the deadly assassin with regenerative and resurrection features, which the Court has been in search of ever since. Later, in Carrie’s absence, Eunice distracts Duela, viciously stabs her in hand and almost chokes her with her oxygen supply pipe. Carrie returns and somehow saves Duela.
Elsewhere. Harvey consoles a grieving Rebecca March (with whom he previously had an affair) for her husband’s condition but is surprised to learn that Rebecca was instead worried about him. Harvey suggests she take leave from Gotham for a few days with their son Brodie to avoid all the hassle, and Rebecca agrees to do so. However, at home, she continually receives mysterious calls, which spook her enough to call Harvey, who promises to reach her and look into the matter. It turns out that the person who has been calling her continuously might be Miranda Livingston, with whom Lincoln cheated on Rebecca. Knowing Miranda won’t be the last of Lincoln’s mistresses to call at the house, Rebecca laments about her failed marriage with Lincoln to Harvey, and the duo ends up sleeping together. Afterward, Rebecca expresses her desire to be with Harvey, who professes his wish for the same and goes on to tell her something, but the duo gets interrupted by a call from the hospital that informs them that Lincoln has awakened from his coma.
What Could Be The Master Plan Of The Court Of The Owls?
The episode ends with the team, consisting of the Row siblings, Stephanie, and Turner, goes to the storage facility to intercept the thief. However, things go southwards when the thief gets alarmed by their presence and shoots, which injures Harper. Turner’s Batarang throw messes up the aim of the thief, and a bullet deflects right into the person’s leg. The team finds out the perp is none other than Detective Green, who was forced to do the Court’s bidding after her family was taken away by the Court. The Gotham Knights promise to bring her family safely, and she manages to steal the last artifact from the storage as well.
The team finds a drop-off location sent by the Court, and Turner decides to go through the deal on Detective Green’s behalf. At the venue, the elite owl-mask-wearing members of the Court take the artwork from them and try to double-cross Turner and co. by ordering their execution. Fortunately, Turner and Duela manage to turn the table around by presenting Eunice Harmon in front of them, whom they are holding hostage, and reminding the Court that any harm done to Felix’s daughter will definitely rob the Court of any service their most prized Talon might offer. The Court has to accept the terms presented by the Gotham Knights begrudgingly, and in exchange for Eunice, they spare Green’s family.
At Belfry, Duela and Carrie discover a secret compartment inside the music box that they had previously offered to return to Eunice, which is shown to contain a stash of old photographs of the various gatherings of the Court of the Owls, some even dating back to the 19th century. Cressida appears in Harvey’s office to seek help, and despite Harvey’s reservations about helping a traitor, Cressida implores him to listen to whatever she has to say about the Court, on which the fate of the city depends immensely. Elsewhere, we see that in one of their secret hideouts, the members of the Court of Owls are burning the stolen artworks, which reveal a detailed map of Gotham City.
The powerful Court’s nefarious schemes, which basically act as puppeteers over the socioeconomic structures, administrative, and legislative sectors of Gotham City, were known to exist right from the inception of Gotham City. However, the integrated connection was clearly revealed through this episode, as the hidden city plans, which were presumably made by the architect Alan Wayne, were the particular thing that the Court was after—perhaps to command absolute control over the city, accessing anywhere around the city through any point. In the previous episode, Joe Chill left clues for Turner about how the Court seamlessly accessed the city and left without a trace, and the discovery of the city plans will take their surveillance game to the next level. It is also related to whatever Cressida wants to confess to Harvey, but with the latter already seeming to be occasionally slipping into Court’s mind control tactics, it remains to be seen how much Harvey can be of help. In the upcoming episodes, we are likely to know more about the Court’s plans and how the Talon, Felix Harmon, retaliates after Duela and Carrie’s adventure with his daughter Eunice.
