Pennyworth returns one last time for what could be our last glimpse into the beginnings of Batman’s butler. This episode once again picks its name from a singer famous in the 1960s and once again it’s completely irrelevant to the plot.
Spoiler warning!
1. We’ve forgotten or ignored many things leading up to this point
Let’s recap how we got here. In the pilot episode, former SAS member Alfred Pennyworth is working at a strip club hoping to set up a private security firm. He’s spent 10 years in the military and is ready to start working for himself. He frequently has flashbacks to his days in combat, but this is the first bit that is forgotten about halfway through the season. Thomas Wayne shows up at the club to get his drunk sister and meets Alfred. Alfred also meets Esmé, currently a dancer with dreams of being an actress. Esmé is kidnapped because a fascist organization called the Raven Society is trying to get to Thomas Wayne. There goes another thing that gets ignored as the season progresses. Thomas was supposed to have information that could bring down the Raven Society and they were willing to kill to get it. Alfred, being the hero, saves the day.
Our next episode brings in John Ripper and his son Jason. It’s played as if Ripper is a scary serial killer/has political power in the London Underground. This is abandoned. Jason is a rich little jerk who can get away with anything, until he messes with a friend of Alfred’s. The episode ends with him being told to leave town because he’s an embarrassment to the family name. We next see him as a house boy to a satanist, but he seems like a completely different character.
Episode three introduces us to Martha Kane. Future love interest of Thomas Wayne, pearl necklace owner, and mother of Batman. Martha has a ton of money and uses it to pay Alfred to save a computer scientist. This Alan Turing type character is never seen again and is inconsequential to the plot. Where Martha gets her money or connections is never explained. Later we find out she’s working for the socialist rivals of the Raven Society called the No Name League. But it is not clear at all why they would want to rescue anyone or send them to America to avoid persecution by the government. Maybe at this point Martha was a CIA spook and Thomas just a forensic accountant, but by the end of the season this is just ignored.
The fourth episode has Thomas and Martha working for the No Name League explicitly. Martha brings in Alfred to find the new leader of the Raven Society after the first one was defeated by Alfred in the pilot. Alfred and Martha share a kiss, which Alfred comes to regret. Also Esmé is killed by a completely throw away character only to progress Alfred’s plot.
By the halfway point the show starts to decide what it’s going to keep and what it’s going to throw away. John Ripper is now Alfred’s running buddy and encourages Alfred to kill the leader of the No Name League Julian Thwaite. All so Ripper can be with Julian’s wife of course. Despite working for the No Name League just last episode Alfred is fine with this to find the identity of Esmé’s killer.
Aleister Crowley is introduced in episode six. Yet another thread that is left dangling. Martha loses days of her life and sees what is possibly the devil, but by episode ten this has been forgotten. Meanwhile Alfred goes to see a witch who ends up pointing him in the direction of Esmé’s murder. It’s also the only payoff of Alfred’s flashbacks since the killer is a soldier that Alfred humiliated back in his SAS days.
Julie Christie is not introduced in episode seven. The bulk of this episode is the rebuilding of former Raven Society leader Lord Harwood and his return to power. Alfred continues his search for Curzon, the man he believes killed Esmé.
Alfred’s search for Esmé’s killer Curzon intersects with the main plot tangentially as the killer’s father is with the Prime Minister who the Raven Society wants to overthrow. At this point we’ve set up the final arc which plays out over the last few episodes.
Continued belowAfter killing Curzon in episode eight, the penultimate episode finds Alfred having to pay the price. But only for about half the episode as the government needs him to stop the uprising of the Raven Society and their opposite counterparts the No Name League. Alfred is unable to kill Thomas and Martha who are the representatives for the No Name League causing Alfred to have to go on the run. Oh and the queen is kidnapped so that the Raven Society can take over the country.
2. No Man’s Land
With Alfred on the run and unaware, the Ravens have taken over England. They have the queen kidnapped and with her they have the army’s control. Alfred’s dad—secret fascist that he is—is quite excited and reports for duty. The whole martial law section of the episode is reminiscent of The Dark Knight Rises and is just about as successful. We even get our TV-MA treat with some more public hangings. Undine Thwaite, now former No Name League head, is one of the unlucky victims.
3. Band on the Run
Alfred, with help from Dave Boy and Bazza, makes an attempt to get to safety since he didn’t go through with his side of the assassination deal from the last episode. His attempt to take a boat to the United States doesn’t work out after an encounter with the police.
With the Raven Society in charge—and all the hangings—Thomas and Martha are worried about being taken away for their No Name allegiance. Alfred shows up to see if Thomas and Martha can get him out of the country. This is when Alfred is informed about the coup currently in progress. Thomas and Martha discover Alfred is the sniper that didn’t kill them during their meeting with the Ravens last episode. Could this be the piece that brings them all closer together?
4. God Save the Queen
Alfred knows immediately Bet is the one who has kidnapped the queen. She’s Harwood’s best kidnapper after all. Together they hatch a plan to save her.
After Alfred saves the queen from the Sykes they are able to call off the coup and the day is saved. Alfred gets the girl/queen in another example of this show being off the rails. If you had told me the Pennyworth prequel show would end with Alfred in bed with Queen Elizabeth I’d have thought you were talking about Legends of Tomorrow.
At this point I thought the episode was over. The Ravens are defeated, the No Names have no leader, queen and country are saved. But wait, dear reader, there is more.
It’s time for Thomas and Martha to take their strange flirting to the next level. But before anything can happen Thomas is shot! Martha tries to save him, but we are left wondering about his fate. I’m betting he lives and gets shot again later in life.
Alfred’s father is quite disappointed that the fascist coup has failed and takes it upon himself to assassinate the queen and prime minister. Alfred gets a chance to save the queen once more, but at a terrible cost. He has to shoot his own father to stop him.
5. Will we get a season two?
The queen just barely saved and Thomas shot, how will this play out? I would be surprised if we ever find out. While I will commend the writers for taking some chances and giving us twists and turns, the show was more often ridiculous than compelling. Plots were ignored. Characters suddenly changed. It certainly has promise; I still really like Jack Bannon as Alfred and Bet Sykes is an incredibly fun antagonist. It’s anyone’s guess where they’ll go from here, but one thing is for certain: this isn’t a show I’ll forget anytime soon.
