After a long (too long) hiatus, Gotham is back and things are certainly in full swing. The first half of the season set up an awful lot of storylines, and it’s nice to see what looks like the light at the end of the tunnel for many of them. One loose end is that of lovable (he is, sort of, right?) mobster and Fish Mooney henchman Butch Gilzean. We’ve seen Butch dole out punishments to cops and mobsters alike, all with a devious sort of relish fit for only the finest of sociopaths. He’s also loyal, sitting and waiting for Mooney’s next order, but recent developments have me leaning toward thinking this isn’t something to be revered. What exactly is Butch's endgame on Gotham ?
Last week’s episode found Mooney’s plan to sabotage mobster Carmine Falcone with young singer Liza blowing up in her face. Mooney thought she had everything all tied up, but she neglected one detail: Oswald Cobblepot, who is acting as a double agent and knows everything about everyone in Gotham City.
After Mooney “abducted” Liza to use her as bait for Falcone, Cobblepot told Falcone everything about the plan. Falcone then confronted Liza, Butch, and Mooney, strangled Liza, and had Victor Zsasz, his right-hand murder man, capture and lock up Butch and Mooney. Cobblepot’s reward for flipping? Mooney’s whole nightclub and gang. Butch stands by Mooney all of that time and gets… nothing. He’ll probably die if he stays with Mooney. So what are his options now? I say he has three.
Become A Hit Man For The Highest Bidder
"But he’s stood by her so long!" you say. "He wouldn’t do that! They must have intel on each other!" Well, dead men (and women) tell no tales. Mooney would easily sell out Butch in order to stay on top, so Butch may try to get there first. For Butch, killing is easy: Remember when he shot a childhood friend, Saviano, point-blank in the head, simply because Mooney asked him to? Even though Saviano offered Butch Mooney’s whole kingdom for her head, there was no conflict in him in that scene, just action. Just business. In Gotham, staying alive can be a business, and Butch knows when to hold them and when to fold them.
Flip On Mooney & Become An Informant
A mobster working for the cops? It’s actually not that much of a stretch. Bullock and Gordon need help infiltrating the mob in hopes of finding out who killed the Waynes, and Butch certainly knows where all the bodies are buried. Besides immunity, Butch looks for security, and becoming a stool pigeon for the police is the best kind of security. As long as no one finds out that is — then you sleep with the fishes.
Flip On Mooney & Waddle To The Penguin
Butch is very much a social climber. He’s been silently and stealthily climbing Gotham’s mob ranks for years, biding his time and knowing just who to hitch is wagon onto. For a while, Mooney looked like Gotham’s biggest potential shooting star, but since she took on too much too fast and got caught, her light is certainly fading. Who’s the next breakout criminal to grace Gotham? Cobblepot, of course. He’s played both sides against the middle since the beginning, artfully manipulating literally everyone on the show. Cobblepot is the next big thing, and Butch would do well to cut bait with Mooney and join the Penguin.
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