Knight Moves: Gotham Episode 417, "Mandatory Brunch Meeting"

The hunt continues for the escaped Arkham inmates, including Jervis Tetch (BENEDICT SAMUEL), Jonathan Crane (DAVID W. THOMPSON), and their ringleader, Jerome Valeska (CAMERON MONAGHAN). And Jerome's own hunt also continues, as he seeks out a reclusive building engineer named Xander Wilde for reasons unknown.

Until now.

Leaving a trail of bodies in his wake, Jerome finds the proxy used by Xander to communicate to his clients. But she turns out to be too much for him to handle, and he finds himself knocked out and transported to Wilde's underground home where he's locked away in a concrete prison.

James Gordon (BEN MCKENZIE) and Harvey Bullock (DONAL LOGUE) are also trying to find Wilde to protect him from Jerome. Their search leads them to the discovery that he helped design Wayne Plaza, forcing them to turn to Bruce Wayne (DAVID MAZOUZ) for help in locating the engineer. Through notes kept by Thomas Wayne, they get a street but no house number, and manage to trace Wilde down to a nondescript concrete bunker that's the entrance to a massive underground labyrinthe.

Unaware that Jerome is already inside, Gordon and Bullock come face to face with the enigmatic Xander Wilde...

...whose real name turns out to be Jeremiah Valeska, Jerome's twin brother! He's been assuming that Jerome would come after him sometime in his life, and had this underground maze built as a form of protection. He cites several incidents in his childhood that made him fear Jerome, eventually resulting in their mother sending Jeremiah away in secret one night. However, as sane as he seems, Jeremiah may not be telling the whole truth.

Oh, and Jerome escapes, with the help of his Arkham buddies, causing a chase scene through the labyrinthe that only Jeremiah knows by heart.

In other news, Oswald Cobblepot (ROBIN LORD TAYLOR), having been briefed by Jerome on his plans for Gotham, recruits Butch Gilzean (DREW POWELL) to join him once again to rule Gotham, promising to help Butch return to a semblance of normal from his current Solomon Grundy appearance. And in The Narrows, The Riddler (CORY MICHAEL SMITH) has opened an entertainment club where contestants who can answer a riddle win cash, but losers spin the Wheel of Misfortune. When Leslie (MORENA BACCARIN) shows up to shut it down, he refuses -- until she makes him an offer that he simply can't resist: a challenge of riddles. It's an interesting mind game between the King of Conundrums and the Queen of the Narrows. Who knows the other better?

Cameron Monaghan really has thrown himself into the role of The Joker (can we get around to calling him that yet?) and in many places channels the classic Jack Nicholson version while quoting lines from THE KILLING JOKE. The relationship between Riddler and Leslie is also an intriguing one that is sure to end tragically at some point in the future -- that is if it survives the plans Jerome has for Gotham to drive it all mad. Trust us--it's going to be a gas!