In the episode, after Alex's funeral, Bruce discovers Ra's has a likely possibility to be released from prison and sets to go and kill him himself using the knife.
The episode received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising Siddig's and Mazouz's performances as Ra and Bruce.
After being in a coma for six months, Butch Gilzean's (Drew Powell) body is taken out of the hospital in order to make room.
Afterward, he is dumped into Slaughter Swamp where his body is dropped into a lake that also contains toxic chemicals left over from Indian Hill.
Bruce (David Mazouz) decides to use the knife to kill Ra's (Alexander Siddig) as revenge for Alex's death.
During Alex's funeral, Alfred (Sean Pertwee) is warned by Gordon (Ben McKenzie) that Ra's has diplomatic immunity and will be released from incarceration.
Meanwhile, pretending that he was his friend before his rebirth, Nygma takes Grundy to a fight club headed by a woman named Cherry (Marina Benedict).
Cherry sends Butch to the medic for inspection, where it is revealed that Lee (Morena Baccarin) is secretly working there as the new doctor.
In September 2017, it was announced that the fifth episode of the season would be titled "The Blade's Path" and was to be written by Tze Chun on his writing debut and directed by Scott White.
In September 2017, it was announced that the guest cast for the episode would include Kelcy Griffin as Detective Harper, and Marina Benedict as Cherry.
"[7] Vinnie Mancuso of Collider wrote, "Tonight's episode of Gotham, titled 'The Blade's Path,' was one of those rare Balloonman specials: an entry so beautifully absurd that it transcends the show's regular status of silly fun to become something more, like a child accidentally finger-painting the Mona Lisa.
"[8] Lisa Babick of TV Fanatic gave the series a perfect 5 star rating out of 5, writing "Bruce broke his one rule when Ra's al Ghul pushed him to his limit, and Sofia Falcone tried to weasel her way into Penguin's heart, but the highlight of Gotham Season 4 Episode 5 was when Ed Nygma met the new and improved Butch Gilzean.