Recap / Gotham S 5 E 11 They Did What

Directed by Carol Banker

Written by Tze Chun

As Bane enacts his final plan for Gotham’s destruction, Gordon rallies his former enemies to save the city. Meanwhile, Nyssa al Ghul kidnaps Barbara’s newborn daughter with ambitions to raise her as her own. Then, Bruce’s decision to leave Gotham points him to his destiny, while devastating Selina.

Tropes

• Affectionate Nickname: Doubles as a Mythology Gag; Oswald finally calls Ed "Eddie" like he does in the comics.
• All for Nothing: After spending half the season building a submarine to escape Gotham, Oswald and Ed lose it, the gold, and Oswald's dog Edward when Nyssa steals the sub to escape. Needless to say that neither of them are too happy to going back to square one as common criminals again.
• Badass Boast: Bane gets a few of these once again.
  Gordon: All wars come to an end.
  Bane (pointing towards his army): Oh this isn't a war, this is a firing squad!

  Bane (while having Selina in a chokehold): Just a little ounce of pressure. That's all that separates the living from the dead.
• Bait-and-Switch: After deciding to remain criminals and work together, Penguin and Riddler approach each other for a "hug", both of them holding a knife behind their backs. This seems to be setting up a potential Mutual Kill like what happened with Lee and Edward last season, but instead, they both decide against going through with it and have a genuine embrace.
• Barrage of Bats: Bruce has an experimental new cloaking device that has the side effect that its sound summons bats. In the fight with Bane, he puts the device on Bane's back and turns it on, resulting in a huge swarm of bats attacking the villain.
• Bittersweet Ending: The main seasonal arc wraps up in this episode, with the final episode serving as a Distant Finale, on this note. On the bright side, Gotham has been saved with the army turning on Bane and his men, reunification is now officially underway, Gordon has been promoted to Commissioner thanks to his heroism in keeping Gotham together, and all of our main characters have survived their ordeals intact. However, Nyssa al Ghul managed to escape from Gotham, Penguin and Riddler both decide to embrace their darker natures after realising that the city won't acknowledge their role in saving it, and Bruce decides to leave Gotham as he promised to earlier in the season, leaving Alfred and Selina devastated (especially the latter who doesn't even get a full send off with Bruce, just a letter).
• Bond One-Liner: Bane does this after snapping the neck of a military officer who defies him.
  Bane: Does anybody else have a problem with the general's orders?
• Boom, Headshot!: General Wade kills himself this way after being ordered to do so by Nyssa.
• But Now I Must Go: Once Gotham is safe and reunified with the mainland, Bruce decides to carry out what he promised earlier in the season and leaves Gotham in Jim's hands while he trains to become the hero that Gotham needs.
• Call-Back: A few.
  • Jim and Oswald reminisce on Jim's not killing Penguin, merely exiling him from Gotham, all the way back in the Pilot.
  • During his Motive Rant, Riddler references his time in the GCPD, vowing never to be that ordinary again. He also mentions the last time he showed Gotham what he truly was, which spanned the latter half of season 3.
  • In the same scene, Penguin mentions being in charge, referencing his mayorship in season 3 (and also possibly the Pax Penguina in season 4).
• Chekhov's Gun: The re-purposed battery that Jeremiah used to blow up the bridges last season makes another appearance as Bruce and Selina use it to drop the Wayne Enterprises building on the army to slow them down.
  Bruce: Lucius modified the bomb for it to be used for its original purpose, as a battery. (Beat) We need to make it a bomb again.
  Lee: You gotta be kidding me.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Played with; Ed and Oswald, who have betrayed each other repeatedly, seem poised to literally stab each other in the back at the same time, but decide against it.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Subverted. Nyssa effortlessly thrashes Gordon around like a rag doll while he is unable to even land a single hit on her. Though he quickly reveals that he was just feigning weakness so that he could get close enough to cuff her to him. He and Barbara then take her down without much difficulty.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: The reason why Penguin and Riddler decide to return to villainy; with their sacrifices having been ignored by Gordon and Gotham, they vow to take what they want and to rule the city like they did before.
• Everyone Has Standards: Barbara gets the soldiers to turn against Bane by bringing out all the refugees and having them stand with Gordon. The soldiers might be fine with fighting enemy combatants, but almost none of them are willing to personally massacre innocent civilians.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Going hand-in-hand with the above, most of Bane's surviving mercenaries turn on him alongside the army soldiers when ordered to massacre the civilians.
• Evil Gloating: Nyssa spends most of her screentime taunting Barbara and Gordon about how much she is going to make them suffer and how Gotham will soon be destroyed. Gordon actually Lampshades this.
  Gordon: Do you ever stop talking?
• Evil Sounds Deep: During his rant, Riddler's voice gets progressively deeper until he is practically growling with contempt and rage at the people of Gotham. As he finishes, he takes a look in the mirror and notices that nobody is talking back at him, hinting that the Ed personality is permanently gone.
• Eye Scream: Debris flies into Oswald's eye when he shields Nygma from a grenade. We actually get to see the damage that the shrapnel does to Oswald's face, and it's enough to make Nygma gag.
• Foreshadowing: When Bane is attacked by a flurry of bats, one of them flies in front of the full moon and forms a Bat Symbol.
• Heel–Face Turn:
  • Subverted. Penguin and Riddler finally make a stand and decide to defend Gotham from Bane. Then when it's all over, they both agree that nothing has changed and they still wish to rule Gotham as a criminal empire.
  • Played straight with Barbara, at least for the time being.
• Hope Spot: Gordon and Barbara take Nyssa down and it seems that they can finally get the General to stop the military invasion... until Nyssa orders him to blow his own brains out.
• I Choose to Stay: Despite being prepared and willing to leave the previous episode, Oswald has a change of heart and decides to remain to try and fight for Gotham.
• Idiot Ball: For the sake of a cool shot of them running away from the explosion, Bruce decides to activate the bomb without letting Selina know that they should run away as soon as the bomb glows red beforehand, and instead tells her that when they have only seconds to run. Possibly he just knows her so well by now that he knows she won't retreat until he does too.
• It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Bruce's trauma over seeing Selina nearly killed by Bane. When he leaves Gotham at the end, he also leaves her behind.
• Karma Houdini:
  • Nyssa al Ghul manages to escape Gotham in Penguin and Riddler's submarine with all their gold. The only consolation is that her plan to destroy Gotham and get revenge on Bruce and Barbara failed and she is forced to flee with her tail between her legs after being stabbed by the latter.
  • Once again Hugo Strange, who not only created the chips that mind controlled Ed and General Wade but was also directly responsible for the creation of Bane, escapes from justice and doesn't even appear onscreen to receive punishment.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: Bane and his remaining loyal mercenaries realize they're outgunned and surrender when the army turns on them to protect the civilians of Gotham.
• Like a Son to Me: Alfred finally says this out loud to Bruce, though he also notes that he has never tried to replace his parents.
• Made of Iron: Nyssa somehow survives being stabbed with a large 8 inch long knife and later walks a very long distance to the submarine and is even able to pilot it. Given that her father could only die at the hands of one person, in particular, the same may apply to her.
• Manly Tears:
  • Both Alfred and Selina cry when Bruce leaves Gotham in a plane.
  • Oswald gets a bit teary-eyed when he and Ed hug for the first time since season 3.
  • Bullock tears up during the celebration for Gordon's promotion.
• Meaningful Echo: Selina echoes what she told Bruce in the penultimate episode of season four about being there whenever he needs her.
• Missed Him by That Much: When she learns Bruce is leaving, Selina tries to catch him, but makes it to Gotham Airport only after Bruce's plane has taken off.
• Motive Rant: Riddler goes off on a very lengthy rant on how much he despises being normal, how from now on he will do everything in his power to make sure that Gotham remembers him, and how he will take the city back from Gordon.
• Murderous Thighs: Barbara quickly kills one of Bane's soldiers this way as she is handcuffed while Gordon takes care of the other.
• Mythology Gag:
  • A prototype out of Wayne Enterprises has the project name Nightwing.
  • Barbara says her daughter's name is Barbara Lee Gordon, including Lee as a reward for helping save her life.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Bullock has this reaction when he realizes Bane is about to fire an RPG at the border.
    Bullock: Jim, that thing's pointing right at us!
  • Ed and Oswald have one when they see the grenade that landed in front of them.
• Punch-Clock Villain: As Harvey notes, most of the army soldiers that are fighting with Bane are only following orders (and, as a previous scene shows, only following Bane after being cowed when he killed their commanding officer). As such, Gordon orders his men to only target Bane's mercenaries. In the end, the army not being truly evil ends up being the deciding factor in the downfall of Bane and Nyssa's plan, since they're not about to murder unarmed civilians.
• Rank Up: After the city is saved, Gordon finally receives his promotion to Commissioner just like in the comics.
• So Proud of You: Alfred says this verbatim during his farewell to Bruce.
• Taking the Bullet: Oswald shields Ed from a grenade, permanently damaging his right eye in the process.
• Tempting Fate: When Bane orders his men to start targeting Gordon, Oswald shoots one in the head and taunts him. Bane quickly changes his target and shoots at Oswald instead.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: Ed and Oswald both decide that if they won't receive the honor due them for saving Gotham, they may as well try ruling it as criminals.
• Title Drop: Nyssa says it when one of Bane's men radios to let her know that Wayne Enterprises was dropped into the middle of their path to the GCPD.
• Trash the Set: While the Wayne Enterprises building has been less prominent the last few seasons, its destruction to block the army's advance is still a major emotional moment for Bruce.
• Villain: Exit, Stage Left: After being stabbed by the same knife that killed her father, Nyssa leaves City Hall and is forced to escape from Gotham in Oswald and Nygma's submarine after her plan to destroy Gotham falls apart.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Said by Lee when she hears of the plan to reuse one of Jeremiah's bombs to bring down a building to try and slow the advance of the military.