A Dark Knight: The Sinking Ship, The Grand Applause

"I have the extreme desire to never, ever see this pier again."

—Edward Nygma to Oswald Cobblepot again at Gotham Docklands

"A Dark Knight: The Sinking Ship, The Grand Applause" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of Gotham. It aired on March 22, 2018.

Synopsis[]

Bullock and Gordon try to track down someone who is key in Sofia's control over Gotham. Meanwhile, Penguin, Lee and Nygma enlist an unlikely ally in the form of Victor Fries as they seek revenge. Selina asks Bruce for a favor to help rid her of her guilt over Ivy.^[1]

Plot[]

Working with Oswald Cobblepot again, Edward Nygma rescues Martin and he delivers him to safety while Oswald escapes from Arkham, outraging Sofia and sending Victor Zsasz and Wendell to kill Penguin. Together, Oswald and Edward attempt to convince Lee Thompkins to help them but Nygma is captured by Butch Gilzean and returned to the Sirens, who take him to Sofia Falcone. However, Oswald had Victor Fries freeze him and successfully delivers Oswald in exchange for money and Oswald breaks into Sofia's mansion and follows Nygma to the pier and rescues him. Simultaneously, Sofia attempts to kill Mr. Penn since he's a witness to Sofia's schemes but Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock work together to protect him before surviving an attack from her, which leads to Lee shooting Sofia in the head, putting her into a coma. Gordon plans on confessing to the GCPD but Bullock forces him to live with the guilt instead. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle reconcile with one another when they worked together to return a necklace that Selina stole when Ivy Pepper killed Roland Charles and Barbara Kean becomes affected by Ra's al Ghul's powers.

Trivia[]

• Victor Fries references the events from "Heroes Rise: The Primal Riddle" by mentioning the first time Penguin asked him for help to regain Gotham City.
• A Maniax graffiti of the Jerome Cult can be seen when Penguin and the Riddler pass by a wall in the Narrows, foreshadowing Jerome Valeska's escape from Arkham Asylum in the next episode.
• The 14th issue of the DC Comics title Detective Comics can be seen at the start of the episode being read by one of Sofia Falcone's henchmen. 
• This episode was Sofia Falcone's final appearance of the series. Despite this, Crystal Reed was still credited for the remaining 7 episodes of Season 4.
• Sofia Falcone meets Ed Nygma and Victor Fries this episode.
• The "cursed pier" in the Gotham Docklands reappears. "A Dark Knight: The Sinking Ship, The Grand Applause" is the only season 4 episode to feature it. The scene on the dock was shot on a real pier at GMD Shipyard in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It is located near Steiner Studios where all five seasons of Gotham were shot.^[2] When talking about the pier scene from "The Sinking Ship, The Grand Applause" during a Q&A at Fan Expo Canada 2018, Robin Lord Taylor revealed that it was filmed on the shore of the East River in January 2018 and uncomfortable to shoot during the cold winter season.^[3][4]
• This episode portrays Arthur Penn as a member of the Spa Bo'sh Sumka, which makes this the first episode to reveal that Penn seems to hide some deep-rooted psychological issues that will later reach its peak when he is revealed to be the show's version of the Ventriloquist and Scarface in "Nothing's Shocking".

References[]