Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Gotham Knights season 1, episode 6, “A Chill in Gotham.”A major story element of Arrow season 1 seems to have been adapted for Gotham Knights. While set on an Earth outside the Arrowverse Earth-Prime, Gotham Knights has drawn favorable comparisons to Arrow for its similarly dark tone and how it puts new twists on the classic formulas of DC Comics. Despite this, and the common theme of the heroes trying to save their city from a conspiracy organized by the rich and corrupt, the story of Gotham Knights had not drawn directly off of Arrow until recently.
Gotham Knights season 1, episode 6, “A Chill in Gotham,” found the teen heroes trying to solve the riddle posed by a ledger they had discovered along with millions of dollars in money that was being laundered on behalf of the Court of Owls. The ledger was written in some kind of code, with a numeric cipher that defied the teens’ best efforts to decrypt it. This led Stephanie Brown to consult her father, a famous quiz show host, who had trained her from birth in the study of code-breaking.
The Gotham Knights Ledger Is Like Robert Queen’s List in Arrow
While Arthur Brown refused to help Stephanie cheat at what she claimed was a homework assignment, he did comfort his daughter, saying, “My little Sherlock. Fear not. You’ll figure it out at last.” The teens later determined that this was a clue, referring to the last Sherlock Holmes novel, The Valley of Fear, where Professor Moriarty and his minions used a book cipher to send each other messages. With that knowledge, the Knights cracked the code and determined the ledger listed the locations of multiple businesses housing the illegal enterprises of the Court of Owls. This was similar to Robert Queen’s List from Arrow season 1.
Before sacrificing himself to give his son a chance to live, Robert Queen gave Oliver a seemingly empty notebook. Oliver later determined the notebook had writing in invisible ink, which listed the many corrupt business magnates and criminals involved in Malcolm Merlyn’s Undertaking project. The List, as the book became known, determined Oliver Queen’s targets as The Hood throughout Arrow season 1.
Will The Ledger Guide The Rest Of Gotham Knights’ Season 1?
Using the ledger, the teens destroyed one illegal drug lab managed by the Court of Owls in the climax of Gotham Knights season 1, episode 6, “A Chill in Gotham.” Afterward, Turner Hayes said they could decode the rest of the entries and might be able to find the center of the Court’s operations. It seems likely that The Ledger of Gotham Knights will continue to offer the team a direction for their vigilanteism in the same way that Oliver Queen utilized The List in Arrow season 1.
Gotham Knights season 1 continues on Tuesdays on The CW.
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