Gotham S04E05 "The Blade's Path" Recap

In a flashback, we see Butch's body being brought to be dumped in a swamp after having been in a coma for six months due to Barbara shooting him in the head. His body floats and drifts along the surface and toxic waste from Indian Hill is shown to have been dumped into the water and muck.

Jim is determined to stop Ra's, while Bruce is determined to kill Ra's at Blackgate Penitentiary in order to avenge Alex. Bruce has been working hard to decode some text on the knife and believes that the knife may be the only weapon that can kill Ra's which would explain why he wants it so much. Alfred tries to keep Bruce on course and remember his vow to not kill anyone, warning that killing someone will only send him on a darker path and Alfred shares his knowledge of this from personal experience. Bruce claims to agree but the pensive expression on his face suggests otherwise.

Alex has a funeral and there, Jim informs Alfred that extradition papers have been drawn to send Ra's back home and implores Alfred to keep an eye on Bruce and keep him away but Bruce has been listening in on the conversation.

Barbara visits Ra's and he has her put her palm up to the glass of his cell and their hands glow. It's unclear what has just transpired, as Ra's simply tells her she will see eventually what has happened.

Butch emerges from the Slaughter Swamp as Solomon Grundy, complete with new pale skin and hair. He attacks some campers nearby and steals some clothes before walking off with his new name and identity. He later encounters Ed and the two decide to team up, albeit reluctantly. Grundy knocks him out when he recognises Solomon and throws him over his shoulder to carry him off. Ed had just come out of a pharmacy where he had been trying to find something to fix his cognitive trauma from being frozen and thawed from ice. Grundy insists that Ed help him but Ed says he can't help him when he is currently unable to even help himself. When Grundy reveals that the has stolen a hot dog stand, Ed warms to the idea of teaming up.

Sofia returns to Oswald and tries to reason with him, leading to the two of them seemingly beginning to bond and get along, though there may be more scheming underlying Sofia's motives.

Bruce steals the knife and uses his equipment to break into Blackgate Penitentiary, determined to kill Ra's. Bruce is caught by some security guards but they do nothing to help him, as they are on the Ra's payroll. Alfred goes to find Jim when Bruce goes missing and the two head to Blackgate in search of him.

When Bruce wakes, he and Ra's are alone in an underground area in the penitentiary. Ra's reveals that he is cursed and returns the knife to Bruce. He wants Bruce to kill him. Meanwhile, Bruce and Alfred fight off the corrupt security guards and carry on in their search for Bruce.

Ed and Grundy are attacked by some friends of the men Grundy had attacked earlier but Grundy easily fights them off. However, his hand catches on fire in the commotion and Ed runs off to grab a bucket of water to extinguish it. Following this, Grundy assures Ed that he is smart since he knew how to put the fire out and Ed gets a jolt of confidence as a result.

Oswald becomes emotional and upset when Sofia invites him out for a meal and the dish served is identical to one of his mother's recipes. She visits him later at the club to apologise and the two talk about the pain in their upbringing and Sofia massages Oswald's ankle which is flaring up in pain due to the weather. She shares how she broke her ankle as a kid and while her father told her to ice it and toughen up, her mother said that warmth is actually what's needed.

Ra's shows Bruce his true form in the reflection of some water and claims he feels nothing but pain and agony. He warns that if he doesn't kill Ra's, Bruce will follow the path of the light and become a husband and father, perhaps even forget that Ra's existed, and then kill everyone Bruce loves. By goading Bruce, he is able to force him to react and kill Ra's with the blade. Thus begins Bruce's journey into darkness and Ra's rapidly decays into a corpse and fully dies just in time for Jim and Alfred to turn the corner and see. Jim covers the story, saying he doesn't know what he saw, and says the official story will be that men serving Ra's broke in and helped him escape. He assures a tormented Bruce that nothing that has happened has changed Bruce's character.

Ed convinces Grundy to join an underground wrestling/fighting ring. Ed hopes to raise money there that will help him become smart again. Before he can fight, the person in charge sends for the doctor to patch up Grundy's burnt arm. The fighting ring doctor is revealed to be Leslie Thompkins.

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