‘Gotham’ Season 5, Episode 6 ‘ 13 Stitches’ Recap: A City Beyond Saving?

In an episode filled with flashbang action and more unlikely team-ups, Gotham’s final season is slowly embracing utter chaos and turmoil to usher in the Dark Knight. Titled “13 Stitches,” tonight’s episode locks in on the conspiracy between Secretary Theresa Walker (Jaime Murray) and Eduardo Dorrance (Shane West) to end Gotham’s criminal roots once and for all.

Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) is in dire straits—he needs a new team to help take down what Walker and Eduardo have in store. Oh, and not to mention the fact that Ed Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) is a sleeper agent who’s on a mission to kill Gordon too. Meanwhile, we’ve got Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) finding himself stuck with Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova) as they try to bust out of Gotham’s utter decay. But one thief stands in their way—Magpie (Sarah Schenkkan) and her bombs.

It’s an exhilarating episode for Gotham, which is another landmark for McKenzie as he also lends his directing chops to the story.

The Anti-Walker Force

“13 Stitches” opens with a chip-controlled Nygma chasing Gordon in the streets of Gotham. Gordon is able to hide from him but is trapped in an abandoned ambulance. Nyga breaks in and tries to choke him to death, but Gordon uses a defibrillator to fry the chip in Nygma’s head. Later, Nygma wakes up to Gordon interrogating him about Walker and Eduardo’s next plan. But Nygma couldn’t remember anything.

Meanwhile, in the GCPD, Bruce (David Mazouz) and Alfred (Sean Pertwee) grow suspicious of Eduardo’s men. Something doesn’t sit well with it, especially when they get thrown out of the building after they ask for supplies for the refugees. As the soldiers escort Bruce and Alfred outside, the duo incapacitates them and runs off to find Gordon.

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Gordon heads to Barbara’s (Erin Richards) club to ask for her help and information about Eduardo. Surprisingly, Barbara and Nygma offer their help in taking down Eduardo. Gordon’s reluctant at first, but he has no other team to rely on. With the alliance fully-formed, Eduardo busts in with his troops. A gunfight ensues, allowing Gordon’s trio to escape while killing some of Eduardo’s men.

Frustrated, Eduardo returns to the GCPD and executes three inmates to make a statement. He doesn’t want the police interfering with his mission to purge Gotham’s criminal entities, so he has Harvey (Donal Logue) and all the other detectives and police offices locked up. Eduardo then calls up Walker to tell her that Gordon has Nygma and the chip. It’s valuable evidence that will incriminate the Secretary, so she works up another plan to lure Gordon in.

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Later, Gordon heads to Bruce’s apartment to hole up with his new team. Lucius (Chris Chalk) operates on Nygma’s head to remove the chip and extract the data. Once successful, Lucius was able to download all the evidence that Gordon can use against Walker. But there’s one major problem. For them to send out the information to Bruce’s Press contacts in the mainland, they’d have to use a transmitter powerful enough to send the files. And that transmitter is located right on the GCPD’s rooftop.

True enough, Walker executes her plan to reel Gordon in. Eduardo’s men bring in a clueless Lee (Morena Baccarin) into the building. He radios into Gordon to tell him that if he wants to save Lee’s life, he has to bring Nygma back to him. Gordon then forms his team made up of everyone to break into the GCPD, send out the files, and try to save Lee—much to Barbara’s dismay.

Trouble with Magpie

Elsewhere in the episode, Penguin returns to his citadel only to find his underground stash of treasure broken into. There, he finds a woman named Magpie stealing his jewels. She escapes by throwing a fake diamond with a bomb to Penguin. In a fit, Penguin then runs to Selina for help in tracking down Magpie. There, he finds her fighting off multiple gang members who want to make a name for themselves. She’s now known to be Jeremiah’s (Cameron Monaghan) killer, and so the crooks wanted to elevate their status by killing her. Luckily, everyone who tried ended up either being dead or severely injured.

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Penguin then asks for Selina’s help. She agrees, but only if she gets to keep the diamond that Magpie stole. Penguin agrees, and they run off to find the thief. They arrive at Magpie’s hideout but are forcibly trapped after Magpie lines the entire room with bombs. Once again, she escapes.

As Penguin cooks up a plan to get out, Selina deduces that he is leaving Gotham. Penguin admits to it, and Selina wants in. Penguin refuses at first, but Selina offers a sure way to get out. After some haggling, Penguin agrees. Selina happily runs off, revealing that she knew that the door wouldn’t explode in their faces all along.

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They trace Magpie back at Penguin’s stash only to find her bleeding to death. It runs out that Penguin had his items booby-trapped in case Magpie returned. Penguin then shoots Magpie, killing her instantly.

The Birth of Bane

Bruce, Alfred, Lucius, Barbara, and Nygma prep for their GCPD attack while Gordon heads out to meet Eduardo. Outside the GCPD, Eduardo arrives with Lee. Gordon shows him the chip and breaks it, saying that he’ll never tell anyone what Eduardo and Walker did to Haven. Eduardo doesn’t buy it and decides to settle his beef with Gordon through hand-to-hand combat.

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Meanwhile, Nygma arrives at the GCPD fully clothed in ballistic armor. He drops a bomb on the floor and tells them that it’s rigged to blow in two minutes. The only way to stop is through a code that they can get from his riddle. At the same time, Alfred, Lucius, and Barbara break in to help Bruce transmit the files using the police station transmitter.

Nygma then drops the riddle, “The pallid beach mouse can give birth every four weeks. Assuming we start with two mice and the size of an average litter is twelve mice, and that they are equally split male to female. How many pallid beach mice would we have at the end of one year?”

Bruce climbs up to the rooftop only to be met with a patrolling guard. As the time ticks for the bomb to “blow,” Bruce is stalled as he fights with the guard. Meanwhile, Alfred and his team wait for Bruce’s signal so they can throw in toxic gases into the vents. Back outside, Gordon loses the upper hand when one of Eduardo’s men breaks up their fight upon seeing Gordon take the advantage. He then orders his men to take Lee away and kill her, giving Gordon the “mercy” of not seeing his former love killed in front of him.

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Bruce is finally able to subdue his foe and tinker with the transmitter. The files are successfully sent out, and Alfred’s team throw out the gas into the vents. Nygma’s side of the plan, however, goes awry when Harvey was able to answer his riddle by saying that the pallid beach mouse is extinct. Luckily, the gas kicks into the room, suffocating everyone except for Nygma.

Back outside, Eduardo beats Gordon up with a crowbar. But as he strikes him, Gordon gains the strength to push him off, impaling Eduardo on a metal rod ala Rick Grimes of The Walking Dead. Gordon hears two gunshots and runs off to find Lee. There, he sees her holding the gun, with the two soldiers dead.

With the day saved, Gordon returns to the GCPD with Lee. He asks her about her whereabouts after Gotham fell. Just like Nygma, Lee couldn’t remember anything after she stabbed Nygma in the Narrows. Meanwhile, Walker appears by a dying Eduardo’s side. Her plan failed after members of the Press got the files that incriminated her. So she set out to do the work of purging Gotham herself. She then brings out a breathing mask for Eduardo and puts it on his face. That’s when it’s revealed that Lee is also a sleeper agent sent to kill Gordon. Walker activates Lee’s chip, and Lee goes blank as she attacks Gordon in the GCPD.

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Luckily, Gordon finds a broken telephone cord and electrocutes Lee, frying the chip. As soon as Lee wakes up, Gordon tells her about the chip. Barbara then tries to interrupt, but Gordon has none of it and orders her to leave. That’s when Barbara reveals that she’s pregnant after they had sex in Gordon’s office a couple of nights ago.

The episode ends with Jeremiah abducting Alfred. He wakes up at the Wayne Manor, as Jeremiah tells him that “today is the big day.”

‘Gotham: 13 Stitches’ Overall Verdict

McKenzie has proven his salt as a director for a couple of Gotham’s episodes in the past. “13 Stitches” proves to be his best work yet. It’s filled with detail and grittiness that the Batman lore tends to give off, and it doesn’t hold back with the episode’s pace. What I like most about McKenzie’s style is how he puts action front and center, making it less of a Batman drama and more thrilling and action-packed. And with the slow reveal of the Batman V Joker storyline before the big finale, it looks like Gotham will go out with a loud bang with a fearful swarm of bats in tow.

Gotham continues next Thursday, February 21st, with Ace Chemicals” at 8/7c on FOX. Watch the preview below: