‘Gotham’ Season 4, Episode 17: ‘Mandatory Brunch Meeting’ Recap: ‘Legion of Terror’ [SPOILERS]

Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) may be rich, but he’s rich with substance. Instead of enjoying the luxury of his home, Wayne goes to St. Ignatius to look for Jerome Valeska (Cameron Monaghan). When he got there, Jerome and his team have captured the school’s Headmaster (Steven Hauck). In FOX’s “Gotham” Season 4, episode 17, titled “Mandatory Brunch Meeting,” Jerome is still on the loose and teams up with the Legion of Terror.

The headmaster shows Wayne, James Gordon (Ben McKenzie), Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) the detonator. Gordon shoots a desk clock behind the headmaster, thinking it was what the Mad Hatter used to control him. But he was wrong. The pocket watch attached to the headmaster was the triggering device. As the headmaster triggers the detonator, his body explodes in the room where he used to work.

As what Jerome calls it, his “Legion of Terror” plans to cause mayhem in Gotham. Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) sponsors the venue for their little meeting. Of course, Penguin and Jerome are old friends. Scarecrow (David W. Thompson) updates Jerome about their plans. Meanwhile, Mr. Freeze (Nathan Darrow) handles their Science lab. He immediately takes the job and says it’s no problem.

All a sudden, Jerome notices what their butler, Carl (Jonathan Rentler), is doing. Although he served the meals on the table, Carl wasn’t using tongs. This made Jerome raise his voice at him. Firefly (Michelle Veintimilla) questions his plans because they have no idea about what’s about to happen. The Mad Hatter (Benedict Samuel) arrives at the scene. Jerome offers him a seat to the brunch meeting, puzzling The Legion of Terror.

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In search of Xander Wilde, Jerome heads to Mayer and Hayes. Xander Wilde is his identical twin. He also used to be Jeremiah Valeska before their mother separated them. Jeremiah, now living as Xander, grew up to be an engineer for Mayer and Hayes. Jerome heads to Xander’s office and fires a shotgun at anyone who can’t give him his brother’s exact location. When Gordon and Bullock arrive, the company was a mess. Before they caught up with Jerome, Firefly comes with a flamethrower. She distracted Gordon and Bullock until Jerome gets to escape.

Meanwhile, The Riddler (Cory Michael Smith) hosts a game show-like event underground. His first contestant is Lars (Jason Yudoff), a strong-looking guy with a masculine look. Of course, it’s a game with Riddler’s hardest questions. “Forward I’m heavy; backward I’m not.” Lars answers “hourglass.” But he was wrong. The answer was “ton.” Because Lars was wrong, Riddler gets to spin the Wheel of Misfortune. The magical wheel gets to decide Lars’ fate in the game. It will answer the question what  Riddler gets to do to Lars. The pointer stops at “Rabbid Sack of Rats.” Coincidentally, it’s Riddler’s favorite misfortune.

Riddler Gets ‘Puzzled’

Before anything happens, Leslie Thompkins (Morena Baccarin) stops Riddler from his plans. Thompkins joins the show that Riddler plays. Without fear, she takes off her jacket and participates. But her condition is for Riddler to stop the show if she answers her riddles. Meanwhile, Jerome visits Ecco (Francesca Root-Dodson) in her home. But to Jerome’s surprise, Ecco shuts him down faster than he could’ve.

In a bar, Penguin finds Butch Gilzean (Drew Powell). The new resurrected Butch is still pale and not easy on the eyes. But to Penguin, he’s going to be a perfect villain in the future. So he walks right up to Butch and offers him a place in the Legion of Terror. Butch asked what the Legion of Terror is, but Penguin is not sure himself. Butch claims that he works alone now. Death and resurrection changed him as Grundy.

Gordon and Bullock talk to Bruce about Jerome and Xander. Wayne’s father was with Xander Wilde. In a log book, Xander visited Wayne’s father before. Gordon concludes that Xander was hiding from Jerome. Gordon traces where Ecco took Jerome and goes right to it with Bullock.

In there, Ecco guides them to a control room. In there, they meet Xander Wilde. Both shocked to see the resemblance since he’s Jerome’s twin. They asked what Xander is up to, but Xander answers otherwise. He tells the story of how he and Jerome are different. He claims that Jerome was a psychopath even when they were younger. Gordon looks around the room and sees that monitors are off even if cameras outside the building are on. He discovers from the screens that Xander has Jerome in captivity.

Back in the Narrows, Riddler and Lee play the game. Riddler asks, “I can be broken without being held. Given and taken away. Some people use me to deceive. But when delivered, I am the greatest gift of all.” Thompkins took her time and thought of the answer. But she outsmarted Riddler. Through interrogation, she got the answer she needed from the Riddler. The answer was “a promise.” She was correct and scored ahead than Riddler.

Doubled Ecco

The Legion of Terror traces where Jerome is. They are now headed to Xander’s secret lair. Mad Hatter hypnotizes Xander’s right hand, Ecco. She leads the criminals into the maze-like home. As Xander, Gordon, and Bullock plan their escape, they encounter the walls of the house, a maze designed by Xander. But he claims that it’s only him who knows how to go out. In a twist of fate, Xander gets caught by his brother Jerome near the exit. But there’s too little time that when Gordon and Bullock chased them, they ran away.

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It’s Thompkins’ time to ask Riddler. Her riddle goes “What three words are said too much? Meant by few, and wanted by all.” The answer is “I love you.” But Riddler can’t say that aloud. Because in him, Edward is still alive. Thompkins aims to awaken the love Edward has for her. But Riddler refuses it and ends up losing. It’s his turn to spin the Wheel of Misfortune.

Gotham’s Legion of Terror

Penguin finally convinced Butch to join the Legion of Terror. His terms suited what Butch has in mind. Meanwhile, although Thompkins won over Riddler, he still wants to kill Thompkins. In the Narrows, Riddler won’t allow Edward to come out from him. But Thompkins kisses Riddler, hoping the old Edward will return.

Gordon and Bullock brought back Xander to their department for custody. Jerome is back in their headquarters. Penguin introduces Butch to their legion. In there, they also have a test subject who happens to be a businessman. Scarecrow sprays a violet substance to his face. This substance makes him crazy. He laughs non-stop and turns blue due to loss of oxygen. His face started to tear; making him feel pain. It’s the Joker’s laughing gas.

“Gotham” continues next Thursday, April 12th, with “That’s Entertainment!” at 8:00 PM ET/PT on FOX.