Find out what happened when James Gordon met Bruce Wayne in our Gotham season 1, episode 1 recap.
The start of the episode introduces fans to a young Selina Kyle. Using her skills of pickpocketing to score some cash for herself and milk for alley cats. She happens to be in the same alley that Bruce Wayne and his parents turn down. A criminal asks for money and jewelry before shooting both Bruce’s mother and father as Selina watches from the shadows.
At the Gotham City police department an addict manages to break free of his restraints and take a cop’s gun, threatening the entire building until he gets what he wants — his pills. Everyone pulls their guns on the criminal except James Gordon, who tricks him into thinking some ordinary ibuprofen is what he wants. It distracts him enough for Gordon to disarm him.
Gordon’s new partner Harvey Bullock isn’t happy with his actions. Or to get a call into homicide. It ends up being the call to the Waynes’ homicide. Gordon is the first one to be able to get Bruce to talk. They’re able to bond over the loss of their fathers at a young age. Gordon promises to find the man who killed Bruce’s parents.
Turns out that Bullock likes to have his coffee with a bit of alcohol. Although he didn’t want the case to begin with, he doesn’t want to turn it over to his rivals Montoya and Allen either. But Gordon and Bullock quickly get pressure from Captain Essen to close the case quickly.
Edward Nygma, the coroner for the police department, who happens to like riddles, tells the detectives that the bullet used was expensive. Gordon thinks that the murderer’s expensive clothes and weaponry means he wasn’t an average street criminal.
Bullock decides they need to pay Fish Mooney a visit as the murder happened on her turf. Mooney is a little busy teaching one of her employees a lesson with her bat. When she leaves to go meet Bullock, Oswald Cobblepot takes a turn.
Early in the morning, Bullock calls Gordon and says he has a lead. He tells Gordon that Mooney told him someone was trying to sell a necklace matching the description of Martha Wayne’s. The guy, Mario Pepper, turns out to be Ivy’s (as in Poison Ivy) father. When they tell him they’re going to search the place, he bolts. After a chase with shots fired, Bullock shoots Pepper, killing him. A search of his place results in the necklace.
Later, Oswald meets with Montoya and Allen and snitches on Mooney, who planted a necklace on Pepper. He says it happened after she met with Gordon and Bullock.
At his parent’s funeral, Bruce thanks Gordon for keeping his word and finding the killer. Gordon is sorry that it didn’t see a trial, but Bruce isn’t.
Montoya then goes to see Gordon’s fiancé Barbara. She tells him that Gordon was in on framing Pepper for a murder. But Barbara says he’s not capable of doing something like that. It’s clear that Montoya and Barbara have a very intimate past.
When Barbara asks Gordon about the murder, he says he didn’t frame him. He tracks down Montoya and asks her what evidence she has. Montoya won’t tell him, but Gordon says he’ll figure it out on his own.
Gordon goes back to Pepper’s apartment and confirms the man didn’t own anything close to the clothes Bruce described. Gordon tells Bullock, who doesn’t want to hear it because he killed Pepper. He’s worried that if it came out that Pepper was framed, they’d lose their jobs. Bullock doesn’t care that the real murderer could still be on the streets.
So Gordon goes to see Mooney on his own. Oswald gets nervous to see him. Mooney doesn’t offer up any answers but does have her thugs grab him. Bullock tries to save him, but her men grab him too.
Mooney has realized that Oswald snitched on her. When she asks him why he would betray him, Oswald says he doesn’t know what she’s talking about. But Mooney knows that Oswald was the only one who saw her with the pearls she planted. When she calls him her little penguin, Oswald tries to attack her. Poor decision on his part.
Before Mooney’s men can start their slaughter, Carmine Falcone shows up and takes them down. Falcone has a message for Mooney: She has to ask for permission if she wants to kill policemen.
Talking to Gordon, Falcone says that he was friends with Gordon’s father. He explains that Pepper was framed so the people of Gotham could feel safe. Although Gordon wants to come clean about what he knows, Falcone says no good would come of taking the police department down.
Now that they’re free, Falcone wants Gordon to show his loyalty by taking care of Oswald. Bullock tells Gordon that if he doesn’t, then Falcone will go after Barbara. Instead of doing what Falcone wants, Gordon pretends to shoot Oswald and tells him never to return to Gotham.
Gordon pays a visit to Bruce. Although he isn’t going to tell the public about Pepper being framed, he can’t keep it from Bruce. Bruce says he’s glad the murderer is still alive so he can see him again. Gordon promises to find him and clean up the police department.
After swimming across the harbor, Oswald surfaces only to attack a fisherman for his food.