By Fire

6th episode of the 2nd season of Gotham

"By Fire"

Gotham episode
Episode no.| Season 2
Episode 6
Directed by| TJ Scott
Written by| Rebecca Perry Cutter
Production code| 4X6206
Original air date| October 26, 2015 (2015-10-26)
Guest appearances

* Chelsea Spack as Kristen Kringle
* Natalie Alyn Lind as Silver St. Cloud
* Clare Foley as Ivy Pepper
* Paulina Singer as Officer Josie Mac
* Michelle Veintimilla as Bridgit Pike
* Leo Fitzpatrick as Joe Pike
* Lucas Salvagno as Sal Martinez
* Ian Quinlan as Carl Pinkney
* Carol Kane as Gertrude Kapelput

Episode chronology
| ← Previous
"Scarification"  | Next →
"Mommy's Little Monster"

|

Gotham season 2
List of episodes

"By Fire" is the sixth episode of the second season and 28th episode overall from the FOX series Gotham. The episode was written by Rebecca Perry Cutter and directed by TJ Scott. It was first broadcast on October 26, 2015, in FOX. Continuing from the previous episode, Bridgit Pike decides to kill her brothers after being abused, going into a vigilante crusade, forcing Gordon to stop her with the help from Selina Kyle. Kringle's and Nygma's relationship turns into a tragedy, while Penguin decides to free his mother from Galavan's clutches.

## Plot

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As part of their plan to get his mother back, Butch tells Theo Galavan that Cobblepot cut off his hand for thinking he betrayed him and offers to work for Galavan. Galavan initially declines, stating that his associates "have both hands". Tabitha agrees to let him join them but Barbara is skeptical, citing when Butch kidnapped her. Finally, Galavan lets Butch be part of his operation. Galavan also threatens to kill a congressman if he doesn't support him in the elections, which ends when the congressman agrees to his terms and his life is spared.

Meanwhile, the strike force, led by Gordon, catch a thug and accuse him of being the arsonist who killed Officer Garrett in the previous episode. Bridgit is having a rough time after having killed the police officer. She lives with Selina, but continues to feel guilty. Selina proposes to get money so she can leave Gotham City, and both of them steal money from a human trafficking slave-ring. During their escape, they're caught on camera, and Gordon recognizes Selina. On their way to the bus station, Bridgit is kidnapped by the Pike brothers. Selina plans on rescuing her but is found by Gordon. Selina gives the information to Gordon, but Gordon states he will take care of the situation.

Nygma overhears Kringle talking to Lee at the GCPD, revealing that she is happy that her relationship with Nygma has been going well but believes that he is hiding something from her. Nygma enters the room, bringing Kringle coffee with a heart in it and invites her on a date that night.

Bridgit is brought back to the Pike home, where her brothers taunt her fear of fire by threatening her with firecrackers. Tired of their abuse, Bridgit kills them with a flamethrower. While looking for the whereabouts of Cobblepot's mother, Butch is discovered by Galavan and learns that he knows of his and Penguin's ruse. Galavan figures out that Oswald has a mental hold on Butch and tells Tabitha to try to beat it out of him. Selina reunites with Bridgit but realizes she's changed in her attitude and plans on taking down abusive people. Bridgit returns to the slave-ring, where she burns the captors and frees the women.

With a tip from Selina, Gordon, Barnes and the GCPD arrive at the slave-ring. Gordon tries to calm Bridgit, but she fights back. However, she accidentally catches fire while trying to defend herself. In an attempt to co-opt Bruce, Galavan proposes to help clean up the corruption in Wayne Enterprises. Butch escapes from the Galavans and tells Cobblepot his mother's whereabouts. Selina appears at Leslie and Gordon's apartment and is heartbroken when Gordon tells her Bridgit won't survive her injuries.

During their date, Nygma tries to tell Kringle a secret he's been hiding, but the two end up sleeping together. Later, Kringle confides in Nygma that she is worried that her ex-boyfriend Doughtery will come back and try to hurt her, but Nygma reveals to Kringle that he killed Dougherty while following her home one night and shows her Doughtery's police badge. Terrified, she tries to leave and tell someone, but he holds her against the door and tries to keep her from screaming, but he unknowingly strangles her, and she dies in his arms, leaving him shouting and crying in grief.

In an underground facility of a division of Wayne Enterprises, Bridgit, still alive, is brought to Indian Hill labs where scientists experiment on human beings.

## Reception

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### Ratings

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The episode was watched by 4.32 million viewers.[1] This was an increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 4.19 million viewers.[2] This made Gotham the most watched program of the day in FOX, beating Minority Report.

### Critical reception

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"Rise of the Villains: By Fire" received positive reviews from critics. The episode received a rating of 79% with an average score of 6.5 out of 10 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with the site's consensus stating: "Though season two continues to struggle with tonal consistency, 'By Fire' sets up a fun showdown between some of Gotham's most explosive characters."[3]

Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a "good" 7.4 out of 10 and wrote in his verdict: "'By Fire' may have been another one of this show's villain-as-a-kid origin tales, but it was utilized nicely right at the end to open up a whole new side of the series - that of the Indian Hill monster farm."[4]

The A.V. Club's Kyle Fowle gave the episode a "C" grade and wrote, "The biggest problem plaguing 'By Fire,' and really Gotham as a whole, is that it wants to explore the story of Gordon’s potentially compromised morality with as much gravitas as possible while also insisting that the more comic and cartoonish tendencies are fine because hey, this is just a comic book show, right? It’s a flippancy that’s insulting to anyone who watches the show and tries to invest in these characters, and it’s a general lack of attention paid to storytelling that results in frustrating swings in tone."[5]

## References

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1. ^ Porter, Rick (November 3, 2015). "Monday final ratings: 'Supergirl' and 'Blindspot' adjust down, 'Big Bang Theory' adjusts up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 9, 2015. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
2. ^ Porter, Rick (October 20, 2015). "Monday final ratings: 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' and 'Jane the Virgin' adjusted down, 'Big Bang' adjusted up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 22, 2015. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
3. ^ "Rise of the Villains: By Fire". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
4. ^ Fowler, Matt (October 26, 2015). "Gotham: "By Fire" Review". IGN. Archived from the original on December 5, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
5. ^ Fowle, Kyle (October 27, 2015). "Gotham aims to be gritty and funny, but fails to be either". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on December 4, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.

## External links

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* "By Fire" at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Gotham

Characters|

* Jim Gordon
* Bruce Wayne
* Selina Kyle
* Fish Mooney
* Oswald Cobblepot
* Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska

Episodes|

| Season 1|

* "Pilot"
* "Selina Kyle"
* "The Balloonman"
* "Arkham"
* "Viper"
* "Spirit of the Goat"
* "Penguin's Umbrella"
* "The Mask"
* "Harvey Dent"
* "Lovecraft"
* "Rogues' Gallery"
* "What the Little Bird Told Him"
* "Welcome Back, Jim Gordon"
* "The Fearsome Dr. Crane"
* "The Scarecrow"
* "The Blind Fortune Teller"
* "Red Hood"
* "Everyone Has a Cobblepot"
* "Beasts of Prey"
* "Under the Knife"
* "The Anvil or the Hammer"
* "All Happy Families Are Alike"

|

Season 2|

| Rise of the Villains|

* "Damned If You Do..."
* "Knock, Knock"
* "The Last Laugh"
* "Strike Force"
* "Scarification"
* "By Fire"
* "Mommy's Little Monster"
* "Tonight's the Night"
* "A Bitter Pill to Swallow"
* "The Son of Gotham"
* "Worse Than a Crime"

|

Wrath of the Villains|

* "Mr. Freeze"
* "A Dead Man Feels No Cold"
* "This Ball of Mud and Meanness"
* "Mad Grey Dawn"
* "Prisoners"
* "Into the Woods"
* "Pinewood"
* "Azrael"
* "Unleashed"
* "A Legion of Horribles"
* "Transference"

Season 3|

| Mad City|

* "Better to Reign in Hell..."
* "Burn the Witch"
* "Look into My Eyes"
* "New Day Rising"
* "Anything for You"
* "Follow the White Rabbit"
* "Red Queen"
* "Blood Rush"
* "The Executioner"
* "Time Bomb"
* "Beware the Green-Eyed Monster"
* "Ghosts"
* "Smile Like You Mean It"
* "The Gentle Art of Making Enemies"

|

Heroes Rise|

* "How the Riddler Got His Name"
* "These Delicate and Dark Obsessions"
* "The Primal Riddle"
* "Light the Wick"
* "All Will Be Judged"
* "Pretty Hate Machine"
* "Destiny Calling"
* "Heavydirtysoul"

Season 4|

| A Dark Knight|

* "Pax Penguina"
* "The Fear Reaper"
* "They Who Hide Behind Masks"
* "The Demon's Head"
* "The Blade's Path"
* "Hog Day Afternoon"
* "A Day in the Narrows"
* "Stop Hitting Yourself"
* "Let Them Eat Pie"
* "Things That Go Boom"
* "Queen Takes Knight"
* "Pieces of a Broken Mirror"
* "A Beautiful Darkness"
* "Reunion"
* "The Sinking Ship The Grand Applause"
* "One of My Three Soups"
* "Mandatory Brunch Meeting"

|

Season 5|

| Legend of the Dark Knight|

* "The Beginning..."

|

Related|

* Pennyworth

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