Gotham S04E03 "They Who Hide Behind Masks" Recap

Flashback to 125AD. An unknown man rides a horse through a battlefield covered with dead soldiers. He spots a man we know to be Ra's al Ghul and brings his body to the Lazarus Pit, which he uses to resurrect him. He informs Ra's that he is his new hair and bestows upon him a special dagger which he will use to take on the mantle of Ra's al Ghul.

In the present, Bruce works with Alfred to spy on a boat that has arrived at the docks with some illicit merchandise. Bruce spots a thief heading to the boat and Alfred advises him not to go after him, as the mask he is using is not bulletproof - only the suit Lucius Fox designed is. The new merchandise is for Penguin and Bruce finds himself cornered by guards, alerting the other thief to run off and escape. The other thief is revealed to be Selina. Bruce is able to use his skills to fight off the guards and get away, after which Alfred patches up a wound on his hand.

Jim goes to Miami where Falcone has retired. There he also meets Falcone's only daughter, Sofia. He informs Falcone about Penguin's rise to power and asks for his help to take him down. Falcone reveals that he's dying and the doctors have advised him to stay out of Gotham for his health. Sofia offers to go with Jim but Falcone tells her not to, saying she isn't ready for Gotham.

While Oswald and Zsasz are out of the club, an unknown woman breaks in and uses a blowtorch to free Nygma from the block of ice and let him out. She brings him back to her hideout and when he wakes, he learns that she is obsessed with him. Her name is Myrtle Jenkins and she proclaims herself to be his number one fan. She wants to help nurse him back to health so he can become Gotham's greatest villain once more, with her acting as his sidekick, "The Riddlette".

Bruce continues his investigation into the new merchandise. He finds that the merchandise is being sold on a black market auction in Cobblepot's club. Bruce is once again confronted by guards but Alfred arrives and beats them up, helping Bruce to get away. Barbara is shown to be after a particular knife before the auction commences but Oswald refuses to sell it to her.

Sofia offers to stay with Jim in Miami and the two talk about her life growing up there, also saying that Jim did what he had to do after her brother Mario was infected with the virus. She later kisses him when the two are walking on the beach.

Myrtle's attempts to heal Ed physically are unsuccessful so she tries to heal his brain by testing him with some riddles. He begins to display signs of brain damage when he is unable to answer the most simple riddles.

Bruce and Alfred research the knife and discover it was used to embalm King Balahsi, who ruled over ancient Mesopotamia in the first century. While researching it they discover a picture of Ra's from 2,000 years ago. They decide that the best plan is to obtain the knife is for Bruce to bid on it at the auction. Alfred advises Bruce to take on the persona of 'billionaire brat' so as to hide his true intentions. At the auction, Bruce goes on a spending spree so as to deflect suspicion that might have manifested if he were to only bid on the knife. Bruce plays the role to a tee and is surprised to see Barbara at the auction, not having known that she was back from the dead. Bruce and Alfred are suspicious when Barbara begins to bid on the knife. Bruce outbids Barbara by paying 2 million dollars for it and successfully wins the auction for the knife. Alfred warns Bruce that by winning the knife, Ra's will come after it and Penguin separately advises Bruce that Barbara will likely come after the knife.

Ed continues to struggle with answering riddles and reveals that his body has recovered enough to knock Myrtle out and escape.

That night, Selina sneaks into Wayne Manor to try to retrieve the knife. Bruce correctly deduces that Selina has been tasked to get the knife on Barbara's behalf. Bruce refuses to give up the knife, despite Selina's pleas to do him this favour so Barbara will see her as an equal. He tells her to leave empty-handed.

Jim returns to Gotham but is shocked when he learns that Sofia has followed him back, claiming to want to help him.

Oswald and Zsasz track down Myrtle and interrogate her on Ed whereabouts. He is long gone from her apartment but they are intrigued to learn that Ed is suffering from brain damage. Oswald orders Zsasz to kill her, while Ed is shown to be wandering the streets and becomes disgruntled upon seeing more posters for Oswald's club that display Ed in the background frozen in ice.

Ra's confronts Barbara about the knife, briefly fighting with her. But he is intrigued to learn that Bruce has it and is no longer upset to not have it just yet. He tells Barbara she has become a competent ally and that the knife is the key to everything. The two kiss.

Gotham airs on Thursdays on FOX at 8/7c.