Gotham 5x7 : Ace Chemicals review

Be warned there will be *SPOILERS* involved in this review. With that being said let's get into it.

Batman & The Joker. Two of the most iconic characters in any form of media. Add in Ace Chemicals and you've entered the origins of  The Joker and the toll it takes on one Bruce Wayne's life. That is what this week's episode of Gotham is all about. It begins inside a building where we see men run out with their shirts ripped open. On their chests appears to be Z marks cut across them. Inside the building we see a man in a suit launch fireworks into the air. But these aren't any ordinary fireworks oh no. They are Jeremiah based chemical fireworks that upon exploding in the air render all below them dead within seconds. The next morning Gordon gets a call about what happened and we see in more detail the Z mark on the men's chests. Turns out the victims were a group from the Narrows so Jim thinks it's a good idea to go see Lee and ask her. At the hospital we see Lee who is interrupted by a newly pregnant Barbara who wants her to be her doctor. Lee says she tried to kill her twice and refuses at first but eventually comes around. As they're talking Gordon walks in and asks Lee about the victims found earlier and the two work together for the rest of the episode. 

But all of that isn't why we're here this week really now is it? we're here for Bruce and Jeremiah. The Batman V The Joker. And that all begins with Bruce who after being told to go home and get some rest is seen walking down an alley. Further down the alley he steps on a paper cutout. On the paper is the same headline of the day his parents were murdered. Bruce turns around and sees that the entire wall behind him is covered in the same paper headline. Seconds later he sees 2 figures walk towards the subway. 2 figures that look eerily like his parents, so he decides to follow them. He follows them up to the tunnel that we know Jeremiah has been building and eventually winds up in Wayne Manor to be greeted by his parents and Alfred who seems to be acting strangely. Of course Jeremiah is here also and is greeted as a guest by Alfred. We soon learn of Jeremiah's sickening plan. It's a recreation of the day Bruce's parents were murdered. He says since Bruce denied his best friend request they will have to form another connection and this is it. He says he's also planted bombs around Wayne Manor and before heading to Crime Alley to perform the final act sets them off. Bruce rushes to save Alfred and the two manage to escape into the tunnel before the bombs go off leaving Wayne Manor to it's demise. In the collapses tunnel Alfred reverts back to himself and says that he was hypnotized by none other than Jervis Tetch aka The Mad Hatter. He and Bruce embrace before he tells Bruce to go after Jeremiah. He does and ends up going to the Monarch Theater. As we know it that is the place where upon leaving due to his fear of the movie ''The Mark Of Zorro'' Bruce asked his parents to leave early. And Jeremiah in an another demented move re-creates ''The Mark Of Zorro'' movie. We actually see him in full Zorro getup cut the Z mark into the same guys from the beginning of the episode with Echo in the background fully egging him on. Bruce shouts for him to come out before seeing his 'parents' walk out of the theater. He follows them into Crime Alley and this is where he finds Jeremiah standing over them claiming that he wants to be the star of the show. He has one more trump card up his sleeve however as earlier at Ace Chemicals Lee and Gordon who were snooping around were hypnotized by Jervis Tetch along with the help of a rollerblading Echo. Jeremiah turns Gordon and Lee around which completely throws Bruce off. 

The episode draws to a close as we see Selina lurking around. Earlier her and Penguin had bumped into Alfred and he told her that Bruce needed her help. Selina whips the gun out of Jeremiah's hand who seconds later takes off in the direction of Ace Chemicals. Lee and Gordon are taken out of their hypnotized state and Jim gets into the Ace Chemicals van which is carrying more of Jeremiah's fireworks. Bruce sets off after the demented guy and ends up in Ace Chemicals high atop where chemicals wait in a vat below. Both Bruce and Jeremiah finally duke it out with Jeremiah saying that without him Bruce's life is just a joke without a punchline which was brilliant. Ultimately Jeremiah's fate is met and he falls into the vat of chemicals with Bruce just watching over him. Back at the hospital and Jeremiah is still alive although burned and brain dead according to the nurses. Bruce thanks Selina for being there for him, back at the GCPD and Lee and Gordon talk some more eventually leading to them seemingly hooking up. Barbara will not like this I presume. The episode ends back at Penguin's city hall interior however and after recruiting Riddler to his side with a promise of getting out of Gotham they both go see Barbara. Their plan? build a submarine that can help deal with mines in the ocean of Gotham with a sonar. A hilarious moment occurs as Ed right away cops on that Barbara is pregnant and Penguin asks who is the lucky father. So how was this episode overall?? honestly great. A bit clunky at times but great. I kind of wish it just focused on Bruce and Jeremiah for the entire 40 odd minutes but given that only a handful of episodes remain I totally understand why it didn't. So all in all this was a great episode of Gotham and I once more look forward to next week. 

★★★★