"Jailhouse Wreck"

"Jailhouse Wreck" is the twenty-seventh episode of Gotham Girls and the sixth episode of Season Three. It first aired on September 24th, 2002. Batgirl pays a visit to Commissioner Gordon to express her concern over his new "Get Tough On Costumed Villains" policy. She suspects that he is experiencing some kind of post-traumatic shock because of the three days he and the men spent lost in suspended animation. Unable to persuade the Commissioner of the danger Harley, Ivy and Catwoman are in, Batgirl takes the unprecedented move of breaking them out of prison. They are safe, but Batgirl has been declared "Public Enemy Number One."

Plot[]

Gotham News reports on the reappearance of the missing men with a sub-headline that Commissioner Gordon is back on the job. In his office at the Gotham Police Department, the commissioner is greeted by Batgirl, entering through his window. The vigilante confronts Gordon about the lack of evidence pointing toward Harley, Ivy and Catwoman's arrest. She tells him that all of the evidence points elsewhere, but he maintains that if they're not guilty of this crime, then they're guilty of something else, so it doesn't matter. Batgirl retorts that it used to matter, but Gordon states that being been a victim himself, he finally sees the menace costumed villains pose. Nonetheless, he insists that since the women are in protective custody, they're not in any danger.

At the prison, Caroline Greenway leers through the bars of Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, and Catwoman's cell. Talking to the officers she's overseeing, the ex-commissioner voices a grudge against Harley for effectively taking away her power when she returned the men. Ivy finds herself pinning for Arkham. As the police brandish their night sticks, Greenway orders the men to open the doors—when, to everyone but Catwoman's surprise, Batgirl appears at a window, breaks their handcuffs with a batarang, blows open the wall and breaks them out. Leading the women to a laundry chute, Batgirl tells them it's their escape route, and after some mild hesitancy they all jump in. Down below, in the laundry room, Batgirl lands on a motorcycle she had previously attached to the laundry hamper, and drives them all to safety.

Later, in the sewers, Poison Ivy suggests that they all thank Batgirl and go their separate ways. However, the vigilante makes it clear that her help in their escape doesn't constitute a pardon, and as soon as she's sure they'll be safe, she intends to return them to the prison. Catwoman tells Batwoman that she'll have to catch them first, and Harley Quinn and Ivy promise that if she does, they'll cooperate.

The meeting is cut short when Renee Montoya arrives and pulls her gun on the suspected criminals. Leaping into action, Batgirl topples the detective to the ground to allow for the women's escape. Thinking this means Batgirl is in on the mischief, Renee is shocked to think maybe this means Harvey Bullock was right to distrust the bat-family all along. Batgirl attempts to assure her that things are much more complex than they may seem. As the police close in, exclaiming they intend to take no prisoners, Batgirl tells Renee to be on her guard and drops down a pipe, just as police surround its mouth, guns out...

To be continued...

Interactive Segment[]

A clickable bat reveals more details in the newspaper reporting on recent events.

Trivia[]

• In this episode and the next, a prominent, unnamed police officer appears, voiced by Tom Kenny. This character is designed to resemble Sergeant Mike Cosgrove from Freakazoid!{{{1}}}^[?], also by Gotham Girls writer Paul Dini and Batman: The Animated Series creator, Bruce Timm.

Cast[]

Actor	Role
Tara Strong	Batgirl
Arleen Sorkin	Harley Quinn
Diane Pershing	Poison Ivy
Adrienne Barbeau	Catwoman Renee Montoya
Jennifer Hale	Caroline Greenway
Bob Hastings	James Gordon
Tom Kenny	Cops