Directed by Jeffrey G Hunt
Written by Bruno Heller
Gordon and Dr. Thompkins investigate a murder at a circus, while Bruce delves into the corruption at Wayne Enterprises. The Penguin, meanwhile, opens his club and finds himself proving to be ill-suited at any business which involves interacting with people.
Gordon and Dr. Thompkins soon find each other at odds over the validity of a tip coming from a psychic at the circus with the evidence pointing to an age-old cult. Which turns out to be a diversion to protect a member of the troupe. One with a rather... familiar laugh...
Tropes:
- Adaptation Origin Connection: Jerome is based on The Joker. In the comics however, the Joker never had a connection with the Flying Graysons, Nightwing's dead family.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Played with. Despite this taking place in the DCU, Gordon shows no sign of believing in the supernatural nor is there any hint that there's any reason he should believe in it.
- Ax-Crazy: Literally so with Jerome, since he murders his mother with a hatchet.
- Bat Deduction: After finding the axe, Gordon correctly concludes the titular fortune teller, Paul Cicero, had been trying to mislead him with his fake cryptic message. Then, knowing absolutely nothing about Cicero or who was important to him, decides that he must have been protecting Jerome, Cicero was the victim's former lover, that Jerome was Cicero's son, and that Jerome genuinely didn't know Cicero was his father but would still have trusted him to help cover up a murder. All of this turns out to be completely correct.
- Blind Seer: Paul Cicero is the fortune teller of the title. The trope is subverted when it turns out he's only trying to distract suspicion away from Jerome.
- Busman's Holiday: Jim Gordon stumbles into a murder case by going to the circus.
- Call-Forward: Haley's Circus is the home of the Grayson family. It also turns out to be the home for what might be Gotham's version of you-know-who.
- Circus Brat: Jerome was raised in the circus by his mother.
- Circus of Fear: Subverted. Haley's Circus is full of oddballs but no-one who is actually dangerous except for Jerome.
- Disposable Sex Worker: The ringmaster described Lyla as "a party girl, back in the morning with her knickers in her handbag". Barely two minutes later, she's found dead.
- Evil Redhead: Jerome.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas:
- A drunk in Penguin's club is foolish enough to heckle the Penguin's mother. It's his last mistake ever.
- Subverted with Jerome, who tries to make Gordon think he's a dutiful son... but when his mask slips away reveals he's not a huge fan of his mother being a "nagging, drunken whore."
- From the Mouths of Babes: Selina and Ivy give fashion and dating advice to Barbara Kean, after she finds them squatting in her apartment.Barbara: What's wrong? Jim loves me in this color.
Selina: Yeah, but you don't want it to look like you're trying. You want him to think that you just happened to bump into him when you were going... sailing. Or something.
Barbara: Sailing.
(Ivy nods enthusiastically)
Barbara: ...all right. - Heroic Sacrifice: One of the prisoners lets himself get beaten to death as part of Fish's plan to confront their organ harvesting captors.
- I Don't Think That's Such a Good Idea: Alfred tries to persuade Bruce a few times from confronting the Wayne Enterprises board.
- Innocuously Important Episode: Appears simply to be an episode set at a circus featuring Shameless's Cameron Monaghan. Who's character then displays both a Slasher Smile and Evil Laugh, behavior very familiar to Batman fans.
- Kubrick Stare: Jerome gives one as he starts laughing at the police station, which makes him look like someone familiar.
- Mythology Gag: John Grayson (the future father of Dick Grayson a.k.a. Robin) telling Gordon he'll name his son "Gordon", with Mary Lloyd (Robin's future mom) not too keen on the idea.
- The Nose Knows: An unusual version: Gordon knows that snakes have a keen sense of smell, so he orders the snake dancer's python to be released from its cage to locate her body, having noticed that it's acting in an agitated manner and knowing it would try to seek out its owner.
- Oh, Crap!: When Jerome's mask slips away to reveal the Slasher Smile commonly associated with a particular Batman nemesis...
- Organ Theft: The prison Fish Mooney has been shanghaied to is stocked with victims of that. She and the other prisoners present a problem to the boss when they're prepared to beat one of their own to death — and he's willing to take it.
- Psychic Powers: Subverted. The fortune-teller is just a fraud.
- Really Gets Around: Jerome's mother, the snake-dancer, was known for having many lovers.
- Revealing Cover Up: Gordon likely never would have put things together if not for the attempt to divert suspicion.
- Slut-Shaming: Jerome doesn't have a high opinion of his mother's promiscuity.
- Trailers Always Spoil: The episode's trailer already showed Jerome is batshit crazy.
- Wham Line: Not a "line" per se, more of a distinctive laugh.
