Evil literally rises above the city as a vigilante arises to punish a few of the corrupt citizens of Gotham. The show begins with a con artist being stopped by a man with a food cart. The man attacks him and handcuffs him to a weather balloon, that takes him into the sky. He later falls to his death. Meanwhile, Jim decides to check out Selina’s claims to have witnessed the Waynes’ murder. She gives him proof she was there when it happened by confessing to pick-pocketing someone a few blocks away and dropping their wallet in the sewer just before the incident happened. Jim confirms her story based on a police report, but does not trust her to run away after helping him. He handcuffs her to a rail and then heads into the sewer to find the wallet and see if there is any evidence. However, Selina manages to pick the lock on the handcuffs with a pen and escapes. Before she does she lets Jim know she has tricked him. The vigilante is dubbed “The Balloon Man” after striking again. This time it is a corrupt cop/drug dealer from Jim’s precinct. Whereas the first victim was dismissed due to his high profile criminal history, Jim and Bullock are put on the case to prevent future cop killings.
Elsewhere, Fish relaxes in her night club and notices the boy Falcone beat to punish her, Laslo, has changed. Even with his injuries he has become apprehensive about being with her. Fish coldly orders one of her men to dispose of him and to arrange an “accident” for Falcone’s girlfriend, Natalia. Oswald returns to Gotham, but is spotted by one of Fish’s men. He stabs the man to death in a garage to defend himself and cover his tracks. Later, he tires to get a job in a restaurant frequented by Falcone’s rival, Maroni. To get a position (and have the right shoes for the job) he kills one of the employees. There, he makes a powerful ally out of Maroni when the crime boss finds his ability to listen and love for his mother to impressive. The Balloon Man strikes again before Jim and Bullock can stop him, this time attacking a Cardinal. The city’s officials are on edge, forcing Captain Essen to put pressure on the detectives to solve the case quickly. Meanwhile, Fish implicates Jim in Oswald’s murder when Renee and Crispus question her. The former goes to see Barbara again to warn her about her fiance and tries to come onto her. She resists her advances, affirms her love for him, and reminds Renee of how bad their romantic relationship was.
Jim and Bullock manage to find out how the Balloon Man got the weather balloons and confirm his identity when the original thief passed them onto a social worker who has snapped and is punishing the criminals and officials of Gotham for failing the city. After a brief struggle, Bullock attaches the Balloon Man to one of his own balloons and watches as the man begins to float into the air. Jim tries to get him to save him, but he refuses. To save him Jim holds onto the man, forcing Bullock to shoot it down. Before he is carted away, the Balloon Man warns them there will be many more like him. Young Bruce Wayne looks on at the television as he says it. Later, Oswald shows up at Jim and Barbara’s apartment asking the detective, “Did you miss me?”
Next Week–> Oswald tries to enlist Jim’s help in stopping an upcoming war
