Pennyworth is back with another episode following our favorite future butler on his way to becoming Batman’s manservant. This episode is named after the woman who sang the titular songs for Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, and Moonraker. Will it be all tuxedos and martinis?
Spoilers follow.
1. Bet loves Esmé
The episode starts with Bet arriving just in time for Esme to be killed. Her sister Peg isn’t buying her story and there seems to be more than meets the eye to Esmé’s murder. We know it wasn’t Bet, but it isn’t very clear who it was. In Bet’s own way, I really do think she loves Esmé. It’s a shame they’ll never cross paths again. Esmé’s fear of Bet and relief when she was executed could have really paid off with Bet showing up very much alive.
Esmé’s funeral begins with music that reminded me of Elfman’s Batman theme. It’s unclear if it was intentional, but it is a nice touch and reminder of a beloved theme.
Thomas and Martha attend the funeral and Thomas shows little in the way of compassion. Martha on the other hand has genuine remorse and guilt. Bruce gets his guilt complex from his mother with Martha remarking “This is on me; this is my fault.” Their relationship sadly hasn’t developed beyond these quick exchanges.
Alfred spends a good portion of the episode having conversations with a dead military buddy called Spanish. Alfred has seen enough death and destruction, but this death has pushed him too far. Alfred also blames himself for Esme’s death and is not having an easy time coping. Him talking to the ghosts of his past is a great way to deal with the feelings Alfred has on screen and keep things moving. It really illustrates how bad things are for him. At one point he’s in such rough shape he needs his father just to shave him!
2. Lord Harwood is in worse shape than we thought
Like our hero, Lord Harwood is also not living his best life. He’s rescued by Bet after the funeral from being tied up on the street like an animal. The torture of Hardwood has done more than make him lose his feet and his nose. He can barely speak, is easily spooked, and won’t even answer to the name Harwood. Bet’s sister gives him the name Ginger which feels at odds with his previous villainous incarnation.
With Ginger’s new foot prosthesis and nose covering he gives us a little reading of Shelley’s Ozymandias. Most well known by comic book fans from Watchmen: “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
3. Thomas Wayne is a spook
In earlier episodes the No Name League and the Raven Society seemed like covert groups on the fringes of society. It’s now become a full on gang war in the streets of London. Public brawls and violence are now commonplace. This sets the stage for Thomas to see the leader of the No Name League, Julian Thwaite. They’ve got a plan to turn the tides of the war and need Alfred to do it. They plan to assassinate Frances Gaunt, leader of the Raven Society at a proposed peace talk.
Then comes the reveal of who Wayne is actually working for: the CIA. Alfred had previously accused Martha of this, but Thomas is the real spook. Thomas reports back to his CIA handler and is clearly uncomfortable with setting up an assassination. He may be wooden and nigh emotionless at funerals, but setting up a murder is enough to give him pause. He ultimately keeps the plan in motion as his CIA contact tells him they also want the Raven Society leader killed.
Thinking Martha can convince Alfred to take the job he pays her a visit. Martha hasn’t been doing well since the death of Esmé and will have no part in the violence anymore. I think this is a good direction for her character arc. She has become one of the more well rounded characters despite starting off fairly wooden. At least we know they won’t kill her off for at least 20 years.
Thomas-while ordering a glass of warm milk at a strip club-goes Alfred’s military buddies for the assassination job as his second choice. He ends up recruiting Dave Boy as Bazza knows better than to get mixed up with Wayne.
Continued belowThe notion of the No Name League being the good guys and the Raven Society being the bad guys is completely stripped away in this episode. Neither faction is left looking altruistic by the end.
4. Run for fun with a serial killer?
To get Alfred out of his depression our favorite undertaker/possible cannibal/maybe serial killer John Ripper gives him a fitness montage. Real Rocky stuff here. The only thing missing was some “Eye of the Tiger.” Earlier in the season it was implied that Alfred would be working for Ripper to a degree, but it takes information about Esmé’s death to make it really happen.
Exercise really is good for the mind and the body. Their little run club sparks some life into Alfred and he’s convinced to get back to work. After getting a gun from the bartender from episode two, Alfred pays a visit to his old strip club stomping grounds. Epix has to get in their TV-MA quota, as the background of this scene has some acts you wouldn’t expect to see in a Batman show. Alfred is looking for his friends and finds Bazza doing drugs with strippers. This is completely out of left field. Dave Boy was like the one who didn’t have his life together, Bazza had been portrayed as the more level headed one. Looks like his friends were doing just as bad as he was and they should probably join the run club.
5. This show has gone off the rails
The climax of the episode has Dave Boy hesitating to kill the head of the Raven Society and getting shot himself. This is completely out of character for a guy who has shot no less than a dozen people this season. Alfred shows up to kill Julian Thwaite despite working for the No Name League for most of the season. The assassination of Thwaite with a shot to the head is particularly gory. I’d say on the level with the Titans DC Universe show. Several times the camera lingers on the bod-left only with a bottom jaw. Gaunt and Thwaite’s now widow are left stunned while Alfred escapes with a wounded Dave Boy.
Getting back to the bar Alfred leaves Dave Boy bleeding out so he can have sex with the bar owner’s daughter. Like the head explosion this feels completely shocking. I think the show is trying to tell us Alfred is alive and ready for action again, but it just feels gratuitous.
To shock us even more we see the Prime Minister-who we knew was secretly leading the Raven Society-with the queen and chief of police who are all way more involved with the Raven Society than we previously thought. The lines between sides have been blurred.
The episode ends with Ripper in bed with the apparent new head of the No Name League Undine Thwaite. It gives some explanation as to why Ripper wanted her husband dead. He was portrayed as above the squabbles between the No Names and the Ravens and also not above killing someone himself if he wanted it done.
Who are the good guys here? When will Alfred become a butler? Will Thomas ever stop being wooden and start a relationship with Martha? We aren’t any closer to these answers this week.
