Ed Nygma Is Embracing His Dark Side On 'Gotham'

It feels like a lifetime ago that Edward Nygma was just a normal, nerdy guy who had an awkward crush at work. But since he killed Kristen Kringle on Gotham , Nygma has become the Riddler by literally embracing and absorbing his "dark side," which for the last few episodes has been personified by a vision of a second Nygma without his glasses. But now that the two Nygmas are one, it looks like all of the vestiges of his kind side are gone, and the only thing that remains from the Season 1 goofball is his obsession with riddles.

And it looks like that obsession is going to be a very dangerous game for the villain. While dealing with his guilt for killing Kristen, Ed found his evil side had begun hiding Kristen's body parts around the precinct. And while he initially freaked out at the concept, desperately grabbing her hand from a vending machine (hidden in the "Lady Fingers" slot, no less) before a security guard spotted him. At the conclusion of the episode, Ed grabbed a bone saw and stood over Kristen's body with a sick smile on his face. Chilling. Kind of makes you realize that Harvey may have been right about Ed all along.

Things have been devolving for Nygma for some time now. Throughout Season 1, his flirtation with Kristen Kringle became obsessive, and eventually he wound up killing her abusive boyfriend and covering up the crime.

And while the beginning of Season 2 made it seem as though a romantic relationship with Kristen had curbed Ed's murderous edge, as soon as the couple's romance got rocky, Ed strangled her to death. And he's been seconds away from getting caught a few times — Dr. Thompkins walked in to just barely miss Ed hiding Kristen in the very office where they examine bodies. And that seems like it was just the first close call of many.

Ed's love of riddles is reaching a pathological level, and as he destroys any vestige of the good-heartedness that made him a likable character, it seems he becomes more and more compelled to leave clues as to his real nature lying around his office. It's only so long before Dr. Thompkins or one of the detectives picks up on the Riddler's clues, and then Ed might find himself sent to Arkham Asylum — or worse.

Images: FOX; Giphy (2)