Welcome to our five thoughts on the first episode following the series’ first two part episode “Two-Face.” In this episode Batman helps an aging gangster find his missing son in the middle of a gang war.
1. Quiet Time
This episode really epitomizes the quiet after storm. We’re right off of the shows first two-part episode and the creators wisely chose to do something simple. There are no big supervillains and there is no high melodrama in this episode. We get to see a story about the mob, which is integral to the Batman character, and we get to see Bruce solve the problem without just beating up the bad guy.
2. A Message
This is an episode that is here to deliver a genuinely socially relevant message; something I’d be terrified of any show with a lesser creative team trying to do. It works here though as it’s applicable to the world the show has already built, and is already built into an interesting plot about rival gangs. It’s also something that could’ve come across as heavy-handed if it wasn’t for the terrific and sincere voice acting of both Kevin Conroy as Batman and guest star Eugene Roche as Arnold Stromwell.
3. Props for Not Being Cliché
There’s a moment in this episode where Stromwell finds out [spoilers by the way] that his son has become a drug addict. It’s a moment that Batman is trying to use to prompt Stromwell’s turn from the drug business which he’s been in for decades. This would’ve been the kind of ham-fisted ending that would make most audiences cringe, however, it’s later shown that Stromwell was faking the turn and wasn’t going to quit being a drug dealer. This felt genuine to the seedy character they’d built up throughout the show. Then when the episode does get to the character’s turn it feels right because the moment they use isn’t an attempt to play off of his compassion like using his son was, but it was an attempt to play off of his guilt.
4. Comic Book Characters vs TV Characters
One of my only major gripes with this show is one that carries over to a lot of other comic book adaptations. It’s the problem of creating new characters where already existing characters could be put to good use. Why are Rupert Thorne and Arnold Stromwell being used instead of more notorious Gotham gangsters such as Carmine Falcone, Salvatore Maroni or Roman Sionis?
5. A Non-Traditional Episode
I made a point for a few episodes to point out that certain episodes were non-traditional, and while that didn’t mean they were bad episodes; it did mean they didn’t feel like they fit with the tone of the series thus far. This episode on the other hand is non-traditional in the sense that it focuses almost entirely on Arnold Stromwell instead of Batman, it doesn’t include any costumed villains, deals with the roles of the Church and gangs in society, and deals explicitly with a real world issue. The difference between this episode and the others is that it tonally fits with the rest of the series. It feels like a Batman story even during the points where it’s doing other things.
