Knight Moves: Gotham Episode 409, "Let Them Eat Pie"

CHICAGO meets SWEENEY TODD in this episode of GOTHAM as Professor Pyg (MICHAEL CERVERIS) moves up from attacking the GCPD cops on Penguin's payroll to the very elite of the city itself. When the bodies of several homeless are left on the GCPD doorstep, Captain Gordon (BEN MCKENZIE) and Lucius Fox (CHRIS CHALK) discover the bodies have been excavated of their organs. When Gordon traces Pyg to the location where the bodies were butchered, he loses another cop and runs across a cryptic message--a quote from Jonathan Swift's A MODEST PROPOSAL. The implications are clear: Pyg plans to make the rich eat the poor. Literally.

Meanwhile, Penguin (ROBIN LORD TAYLOR) is very unhappy that Gordon has been promoted to Captain, and he suspects Sofia Falcone (CRYSTAL REED) is behind the machinations. So he enlists his young mute friend, Martin (CHRISTOPHER CONVERY) to spy on her and report back to him everything he sees. But when he attends the orphanage charity dinner, he finds Martin is conscripted into another plan, as he is forced to accompany Professor Pyg in the serving of the guests.

Pyg politely informs the guests what is in the pies -- and provides photos of who is in the pies, before demanding they eat. Their refusal will result in the death of Martin. Once again, we see that Penguin can be manipulated by his need for attachment to a friend, despite his many claims to the contrary. He forces himself to tuck in, and demands everyone else do the same or he will hunt them down and kill them.

Of course, GOTHAM is supposed to include the journey of Bruce Wayne (DAVID MAZOUZ) toward becoming Batman. Well, Bruce is a little busy this episode being an insufferable prick. He's killed Ras al Ghul, avenged his parents, and feels empty. So he's throwing himself into partying and hangovers, disrespecting Alfred and treating him like the hired help instead of the father figure. As this season, particularly, is meant to be about Bruce's "Hero's Journey," here's to hoping this destructive brat phase is short-lived.

Gordon saves the day (if not the stomachs), and Penguin gets his first bit of information from his little stool-pigeon (who is such a protege that he's even begun styling his hair like Penguin). Sofia may have underestimated her opponent--or she's playing a game of 4-D chess that we can't predict. After all, we don't know what she said to Martin when she caught him earlier in the hallway...