At an unknown location, Barnes has three previously convicted felons ready to be hanged. Barnes goes on a quick little speech and promptly passes judgement—guilty! Barnes happily executes them.
Ivy Pepper has used her newfound “talents” to seduce her way into an antique’s dealer’s home. She learns that he has a vault and hypnotizes him with her special plant-based perfume. After he opens the fault, she knocks him out and proceeds to steal a large emerald necklace. But the dealer wakes up before she’s able to make a clean getaway. It’s a small struggle—something a knee to the dealer’s groin automatically solved.
At the Mayor’s mansion, Ed receives a call from the GCPD. When he arrives at the station, he identifies Isabella’s body. Ed is inconsolable and hugs Penguin, who is happy that he’s the shoulder being used to cry on.
Ivy has welcomed herself into Selina’s home. When Selina confronts her, Ivy reveals who she really is. A dumbfounded Selina tries to process the situation.
Barnes catches Jim looking through his office files. Jim tries to fake his way out of it, but it only results in Barnes insisting the two partner up to go after an enforcer named Sugar—someone Barnes claims is the one who killed the hitman Paulie Pennies.
The car ride to apprehend the suspect is tense. Barnes tries to get a feel to see where Jim stands on the investigation. When they get there, Jim watches as Barnes executes Sugar and then turn the gun on him.
Selina has brought in Bruce to help with the Ivy situation. The three bicker until they’re interrupted by crossbow-wielding assailants. The three escape through a secret back exit. At a safe location, Ivy tells them about her latest heist. Bruce offers to buy the emerald necklace so he can give it back—thus, solving their problems.
Penguin refuses to watch Ed in a state of depression. His rousing speech causes Ed to have a need for closure—which means going back to the scene of the “accident” to say goodbye. Barnes admits everything to Jim, who deduces that the cause is Alice Tetch’s virus. Barnes forces Jim to join him in his crusade or be framed. When one of Sugar’s acquaintances interrupts them, Jim makes a run for it and dives through a window.
Mourning at the railroad tracks, Ed finds it odd that Isabella would fall asleep at the wheel while being only four blocks from her own home. He questions a homeless man about what he saw the night of Isabella’s accident. The man recollects hearing a girl scream. When Bruce, Selina, and Ivy go to the antique dealer’s home to return the necklace, they find him dead with an arrow through his eye. Selina wants nothing to do with the emerald necklace and tosses it. It breaks open, revealing a key. With a bigger conspiracy at hand, Bruce offers his home as a safe haven.
Harvey enters to find the GCPD in total chaos. Jim is now the target after Barnes accuses of him of going off the rails. Harvey receives a call from Jim and learns everything that has transpired. The call is cut off when Jim loses his phone from Barnes’s pursuit. A desperate Harvey asks Lee for her help after revealing that Barnes is infected.
Ed thoroughly examines Isabella’s wrecked car and discovers the brake lines were cut. He immediately has an inkling of who may be the suspect.
Barnes chases Jim into an abandoned building. Harvey and the GCPD race to the scene and call out to Barnes to give himself up. Jim tackles Barnes and a fight ensues. The fighting ends when the two hold each other at gunpoint. Barnes, refusing to stand down, fires at Jim, who fires back in self-defense. As the GCPD enter the vicinity, they find Barnes injured, but alive. The crossbow-weilding assailants rummage through Selina’s home and discover newspaper clippings for the Wayne murders—giving away Selina, Ivy, and Bruce’s current hideout. Jim thanks Lee for helping him. She reveals that she fabricated the results of Barnes’s blood to get the rest of the GCPD to believe Harvey.
Ed confronts Penguin, who’s now nervous that he’s catching on. However, Ed reveals that his suspect is Butch. His reasoning? Butch killed Isabella as revenge for being framed. Jim and Harvey solemnly look at the now empty captain’s office. At Arkham Asylum, an angry Barnes is straitjacketed and repeatedly screams “guilty.”
Best Moment(s) - I have to admit that I enjoyed the interaction between Bruce, Selina, and Ivy. When they initially announced Ivy’s storyline for Season 3, I (and I’m sure many other viewers) were probably worried that this show was going to use her to seduce Bruce. However, the writers did the unexpected choice of keeping her immature personality intact. I found myself laughing out loud at some of their very awkward moments. It’s still kids being kids.
Final Thoughts - “The Executioner” brings an end to Barnes’s character arc. Or does it? I’m sure we might hear more about him. Much of the suspense from tonight’s episode was from the anticipation that he was going to be revealed as a classic DC super villain. But it seems that he’s a completely new character. Although the end scene of him in Arkham Asylum is very reminiscent of the final scene in The New Batman Adventures‘ “Judgment Day” episode, showing Two-Face’s internal struggle. Overall, it was an enjoyable episode that had some thrills and laughs