Titled “Mad City: The Executioner”
Barnes gives Gordon an ultimatum, and Nygma gets some terrible news
In theory, justice is about absolutes. But rarely in reality is it uncomplicated. The good of Gotham City have killed and done other unsavory things, yet they’re still holding it down for Team Righteous. And in the best cases, our villains are three dimensional enough to inspire a great deal of empathy. Alice Tetch’s blood virus has turned Chief Barnes into a soul that can’t stomach the shades of gray that color the city and so refuses to acknowledge that they exist.
Barnes is a person of interest in Jim Gordon’s own investigation into the death of Dr. Symon at Lee and Mario’s engagement party. And why shouldn’t he be, when the man identified his killer with his dying breath? Jim can’t ignore it, even though “the last thing” he wants is for this to be the truth. He knows he can’t share this clue with the rest of the force yet, so he ropes Harvey into helping him look for evidence implicating Barnes. Harvey will do it, but only to clear his boss’ name. That’s good enough for Jim.
While Harvey goes back to the scene to dust for fingerprints, Jim takes a clandestine tour of Barnes’ office. He finds Alice Tetch’s file on the man’s desk and eyes it suspiciously. Barnes catches him snooping, fresh off of another unauthorized trial. Emboldened by his acts in the last episode, Barnes is on a role, taking out criminals who he hasn’t been able to punish with police work. As an added bonus, the virus also made him kickass at speeches. He delivers one about the whispers in his brain that “become roars,” calling him to his true purpose. Then he kicks out the chairs under a dangling sex trafficker, drug dealer, and murderer. Is the world a safer place with them out of it? Maybe, but Barnes’ carriage of justice is a whole new brand of recklessness. Playing god is its own crime……
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