‘Gotham’ Season 2 Spoilers: Jim Gordon Discovers Edward Nygma’s Shocking Secret In Episode 17; What Happened In ‘Into The Woods’ [RECAP]

After spending time in jail for a crime he didn’t commit, Detective Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) looked to clear his name on “Gotham” Season 2. In episode 17, entitled “Into the Woods,” Gordon learns who betrayed him, while putting Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) behind bars and into Arkham Asylum.

Episode 17 begins with Bruce (David Mazouz) and Selina (Camren Bicondova) stealing money from a mobster. Selina and Bruce are able to jump from one building to another and get away with the cash. Bruce spills some of the money into the street because he’s not doing it to steal; he’s doing it to learn about the criminals of Gotham.

The Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) is searching for Gordon, and Capt. Barnes (Michael Chiklis) thinks Bullock (Donal Logue) knows where he is. Bullock denies knowing anything and goes back to his apartment where Gordon is looking into his case so they can clear his name. Gordon and Bullock are convinced whoever set Gordon up is someone on the inside. Gordon remembers that Internal Affairs records all of their incoming phone calls, and they likely have the call that gave them the tip.

Bullock is able to get Gordon the keys to the office through his relationship with one of the employees, and Gordon is able to go in and grab the tape. On the way out he sees two men mugging a woman, and he can’t help but to try and save her. He fights the muggers off, and a cop sees Gordon. When the cop goes to call for backup, Gordon knocks him to the ground and runs away.

Gordon listens to the tape with Bullock, and they discover the caller used a voice changer. To help break down the tape further for clues, Gordon goes to Nygma’s place for help. Nygma is shocked to see Gordon in his apartment and at first thinks Gordon is there because he discovered that he’s the one who set him up. When Gordon asks him for help, he realizes he’s still in the clear.

When Gordon refers to whoever set him up as a psychopath, Nygma gets offended and starts questioning Gordon on things he’s done. Gordon starts to put two and two together and realizes that Penguin must’ve told Nygma what happened, and he set him up. They listen to the cleaned-up tape and hear a clock Nygma has, and Gordon now knows for sure it was him. Nygma then knocks out Gordon by shocking him with electricity.

Nygma drags Gordon to his car so he can dispose of him, but Gordon wakes up and escapes. Nygma pulls out a gun and shoots Gordon in the leg before he’s able to slip through a nearby window. Nygma chases him inside and tells Gordon he set him up because of Kristen Kringle (Chelsea Spack), and Gordon is able to get away. He runs off to Selina’s place where he finds her with Bruce and passes out due to the amount of blood he lost from the gunshot wound.

Bruce takes Gordon back to Wayne Manor so Alfred (Sean Pertwee) can help. After some rest, Gordon talks to Alfred because he doesn’t understand why Bruce is living with Selina. He explains that Bruce had more unfinished business after seeing Matches Malone (Michael Bowen), but he wanted to see how Gordon planned to expose the man who set him up.

They send Selina to GCPD headquarters to say she knows where Gordon is and that he’s going to see Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) to find out where the bodies are. Nygma overhears, and he goes to dig up Kristen’s body before police arrive.

This time Gordon sets up Nygma after following him right to the spot where he buried Kringle. Nygma holds Gordon up at gunpoint and explains that the murderous side of him is who he really is. He tells Gordon one last riddle and goes to shoot him. However, Barnes shows up with the GCPD, who were hiding in the woods. They heard everything Nygma said, so they arrest him and take him off to Arkham.

Lucious Fox (Chris Chalk) fixed Bruce’s father’s computer, and Alfred tells him he has to decide if he wants Selina or wants to finish his father’s work because he can’t have both. His father’s work got him killed, and Bruce could get Selina into danger. Bruce tells Selina he can’t go back with her, and she gets upset and thinks it’s because she’s “street” trash.

Barnes apologizes to Gordon and asks him to come back to work. Gordon wants to solve the murder of Wayne before he comes back to work, and Barnes allows it but only if he calls Lee (Morena Baccarin). However, Gordon can’t bring himself to do it after all he put her through.

Other Major Moments From Episode 17

• The evil Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) is back! Following the death of his father, Elijah (Paul Reubens), Penguin is forced to become the new servant for his stepfamily. After dealing with their abuse and discovering that Grace (Melinda Clarke) poisoned his father, Penguin snapped back into the murderous villain he once was. He killed both his stepsiblings, Charles (Justin Mark) and Sasha (Kaley Ronayne), cooked them and then fed them to Grace before stabbing her to death.
• Barbara is now awake from her coma and is sorry for what she has done. Hugo Strange (B.D. Wong) decides to turn her loose on the world as an experiment, unsure if she is really changed or not after her fall. Episode 17 comes to an end with her showing up at Gordon’s apartment.