Pennyworth: Season 3

Mixed bag is mixed.

I feel like the totally awkward new subtitle feels completely superfluous. Whatever. We have bigger things to discuss.

We'll starrt off with Jack Bannon's hilarious recap. It's possible a large reason this show is successful is because it's grounded by such a cool and charismatic presence as Bannon instead of chained to an overacting damn fool like Gotham's Ben McKenzie. That strikes me as more and more likely, simply because this episode is the first that sort of had some flaws that I recognized from Gotham. Normally this show avoids that. But the reason I probably don't detest the episode the way I did Gotham most weeks is because Bannon is the center instead of McKenzie. That's probably the entire secret.

Next I think we need to discuss the fact that last season ended with the awesomest cliffhanger ever, and the beginning of this episode completely undercut it, said the heroes won, and set the rest of the episode five years later. With THAT specific cliffhanger, not to have a huge battle to open the season is a giant middle finger to people who supported the show while it was on the bubble at Epix. The entire reason I was raving for HBO Max to get it's poop together and pick up the damn show is because I NEEDED resolution from that cliffhanger. The last time I saw a completely exciting and dire cliffhanger resolved in such an unsatisfying fashion was Red Dwarf. Also British accents for what's it's worth. But even though Red Dwarf is a good show, that was its worst fault. I recognize the same thing here. At least they didn't pull a Green Eggs And Ham and simply pretend the cliffhanger didn't exist. But that's really no kind of bar for television to clear. Did I mention the second season of Green Eggs And Ham sucks? Because it does.

The baby's name is Julie? That worries the HELL out of me for obvious reasons.

Sam Wayne also freaks the poo out of me. Because we've never heard of her before. Anywhere EVER. And here's is the only thing I'm grateful to the subtitle for: Just based on the Samantha's birth, I think perhaps some viewers were invited to imagine this series takes place on an alternate Universe where Bruce Wayne and Batman won't exist. The new subtitle tells me Sam is gonna end badly instead. I'm not looking forward to that. There is enough suffering in the Waynes' life already. Although judging by Patrick's servile reactions, Grandpa Wayne can't actually get enough of it.

I have NO idea what is going on what Patrick Wayne and his dominatrix girlfriend. I think he's right that Thomas is clueless about Martha, and she insisting otherwise means she is going to have a hard time reaching whatever goal she wants. I think Patrick knows something about Thomas only his father would and could understand: Thomas really IS that sincerely dumb. It's not a put-on. It's not because he's honest to a fault and his father can see through his lies. It's just it is totally believable to anyone who knows this fool that his wife could have this entire secret life behind back he doesn't know about for over five years. He IS just that stupid.

The "enhanced" people thing makes me nervous as hell, and is the exact trap Gotham fell into in with trying to resemble the comics before anything in the comics should have reasonably taken place. I don't like it for that reason. It feels like a network mandate, and I feel Heller and Cannon in particular suck at comic book stories. I suspect another reason the first two seasons were successful was because it was an entirely different genre that Cannon and Heller COULD write believably. Getting superpowers involved is sadly probably going to be this show's shark jump.

I could listen to Jack Bannon read the phone book in that Cockney accent of his, and still give it a positive review, but the truth is that episode worried me a little bit. .

That's more like it. It was also a bloodbath.

I love that Alfred refuses to give up the stuffed bear he named Toby as a kid to Sam. His defensiveness over his mother's potential sex life is endearing too.

For the record Mary, I'm as disappointed with that guy as you are. What a creep.

I love Alfie essentially stealing Sandra's affections in front of her soon-to-be-doomed loser boyfriend. Ian never really had a shot with Alfie in the room, did he?

Also for the record, Martha asking Lucius if they were cool is exactly as painful and awkward as you can imagine a white woman asking a black man that would be. It doesn't stop Lucius himself from being cool. Martha has no actual say over that part.

Wow. What an ending. *1/2.

That ending was dark. This show has pretty loathsome bad guys, but I hate Virginia more than most of them just for that. That was just not right.

I like Alfred's scenes with Gully at the bar. I think Martha has very good chemistry with Lucius too.

Bet and Julie have been absent for two episodes in a row. I remain worried about them.

I'm rooting for Mary, personally. She was SO broken in the first two seasons so this year has given me some hope for her.

Even Wallace never asked why his friends call him Daveboy. That cute girl is definitely a fan of his awful eulogy. And you know what? I see why.

Still mad about the bogus resolution to Season 2, but this season is getting interesting in its own right. ****.

This show is so charming. It's like if Doctor Who wasn't so routinely soul-crushing.

But yeah it definitely reminds of Doctor Who when Doctor Who doesn't suck (which sadly isn't often). Alfred's mother's date in particular is something we would have seen on the relaunch era of the show.

While we are on the subject, I want the Doctor Who producers to keep Jack Bannon in their casting Rolodex. He'd make a fantastic Doctor.

Daveboy continues to amuse me. I'm as confused by his girlfriend as anyone.

Alfred turning the tables on Virginia with literally no sweat and a wry smile, is the appeal of the show in a nutshell. She's being built up as this untouchable mastermind, but Alfie fixes her lot and good, (and easy!). I love that.

Alfred admitting to Sandra that him breaking out Thomas from the Tower of London was NOT actually any sort of misunderstanding is another part of the show's appeal.

It's not the best live-action DC show. That is Superman & Lois. But it's the best TV-MA one on HBO Max. I'd argue it's the only one worth a damn, actually. ****1/2.

This show should not actually work and week after week. And yet, it somehow does. I don't understand why, but I appreciate it.

I like when Thomas suggests Martha could stop acting afraid of him, Martha tells him she IS afraid of him. As a show set in the past it doesn't really have men in it who understand how to help women deal with traumas, much less traumas they are responsible for. Thomas is mad Martha isn't getting over it on his timetable. But it doesn't work that way. And back in the 1970's men did not have that context.

The idea that Aflie and Daveboy kidnapped the lady's father ten years ago is a good one.

Bet's stuff is, as always, interesting. And funny. Don't forget funny. It probably would have been a lot less hassle for the heroes if John Salt hadn't been souped up, and had the common courtesy to die when she shot him. I like that her ex-girlfriend tells her she's not going to shoot her. I like that because she's right.

Mary's stuff with her shy new boyfriend is very sweet.

Patricia comes to visit at the very worst time, but considering how plainly needed her advice actually was, it was probably ironically the best timing ever.

I don't understand why this show is as solid as it is. Yes, Jack Bannon and Paloma Faith are heavy-hitting scene-stealing actors, but Gotham proved a show having a couple of those is not enough. And it's from that dud's same producers. I don't get why it is this good. ****.

That could go either way. Either the series is ruined from this point forward, or it becomes even better. I recognize that episode as pivotal, although I'm agnostic as to whether or not it was actually good, or even good for for the long-term health of the series.

Is Bet actually dead? If so, that seems to me to be a mistake. Unless her actress wanted to leave. But her fight with Salt was brutal and devastating.

And Alfie sleeping with the woman after finding out who she was is pretty unforgivable. I think it's the worst thing we've ever seen him do.

I love that when Mary's boyfriend comes downstairs in his casuals Alfie is holding a gun. That was truly funny.

I don't trust Aziz even when he suggested he recommended Alfie because he thought he'd be best for the job.

Now for the ending, The idea that Patrick Wayne was murdered in a dark alley by Thomas (while seemingly wearing a Gary Ghost costume, and in control of his faculties, no less) is really going to be hard for me to accept. It could lead to amazing things. But it strikes me as equally likely it's a shark jump. There is such a thing a paralleling later themes in a prequel. That's going a bit too far.

We'll see. I'll give it a middling grade, and reserve the right to change it higher or lower depending on how the season shakes out. ***.

What a great high-concept episode. Jack Bannon done brung the goods too, so the pathos was quite excellent. Also Alfred's sin was one of error, not malice. It's believable to me for that reason, and also forgivable too. The second thing is the thing most TV forgets to do when saddling a major character with an unhappy past. When asking if the character can forgive themselves, it never occurs to shadier writers whether the audience actually should. That's why Alfred's regret about the kid being killed works great as a mistake in judgment.

I'm glad we're taking a break from Thomas. In reality, it's because the show is on a budget and his actor wasn't contracted for the episode. But really, I don't want to immediately deal with last week's horrible ending either. I'm not looking forward to getting back to it, but I appreciated the breather from it nonetheless.

Terrific episode of a terrific show. ****1/2.

What I love about the show is that there is a real sense of humor about it. A lot of it is to do with the funny accents and British phrases. But what I love is that the humor does not detract from the big dramatic moments like Gully's amazing death scene at all. That's properly tragic, and with the hug and a kiss, sort of awkward too, in the best fashion.

The recaps continue to delight me. I'm going out on a limb and saying this show has the best recaps in television history. You might be like, "Matt, that's not an actual brag. All recaps suck." But for me, the fact that these are the first recaps ever that DON'T which is why it's a brag after all.

And yeah, the only thing for Alfie to do at the end is to keep his promise to Gully to be a good father. Alfie and Daveboy's increasing animus in the episode (it's sort of ridiculous Daveboy takes an innocuous phrase like "Fair enough," as a challenge) is great because I see both of their points of view, even if the reality is it's Daveboy sucking. But him telling Gully about Alfie becoming a father is in my opinion the moment the mission is won, and Captain Blighty gets enough strength to make the ultimate sacrifice.

And part of me agrees with Alfie that that specific sacrifice was unnecessary, and that they all could have survived the mission if he'd allowed Alfie and Daveboy in on the final push. But Gully is also right that he probably would do far better for the P.W.E.'s as a martyr. It's sad, but it's also probably true.

Worried about Patricia. VERY good cliffhanger there. I also like Lucius deciding to take his stand after all.

The little moment at the beginning of Roger trying to relate to Alfie, and Alfie more or less allowing it is kind of delightful to me. I understand why Alfie doesn't much care for Roger. But I like that because his mother does Alfie doesn't jump down the guy's throat every time he says something unwise. And what's nice about that is that I think Roger is the kind of person who mostly only says unwise things. And considering her first husband, as big a difference as Roger's gentle demeanor is with him, I think Mary likes her men a little dumb.

Considering the choas going on at Warner Discovery, I expect this show will be unfairly axed at the end of the season. My hope is the producers understand what a question mark a continuation is, and make the season finale relatively closed-ended so we can get a somewhat satisfying ending. I would love it if the show ran five years and we got the entire backstory of Alfred Pennyworth and Thomas Wayne. But with things being what they are, I'll be satisfied simply if things don't end on a wicked cliffhanger. ****1/2.

I liked a lot of it but I had some misgivings. I don't like how easy that was for Virginia, and I pretty much rolled my eyes when she asked to talk to their people to see what kind of deal she could get. It's not just that I'm glad Martha shot her then. It annoys me that her spiel about the CIA being happy to take over the Waynes' assets after she murders the entire family MIGHT be true. If that's so, the crazy general declaring to the Prime Minister they are at war isn't actually wrong about that specific thing.

Next week looks bananas. I will lay bets that it will also wind up the series finale, so I damn well hope it's satisfying. So much stuff going on in the trailer suggests a satisfying wrap-up IS a longshot.

I love that Lucius Fox cannot ever bring himself to swear. On a TV-MA show, it's endearing.

I never liked Sally, but when she correctly points out Daveboy isn't actually stupid, I'm glad they got back together. Daveboy needs someone in his life telling him that.

As for Alfie and Sandra at the beginning, the fact that he thinks what he wants doesn't matter shows why she was right to reject him. If he's being with her because he believes he owes it to her, and not because he wants to be, then really, screw him. That is not remotely an acceptable marriage proposal. And I liked Mary telling him as much at the end.

I don't see how Bett with superstrength can possibly end well. And now I REALLY hope there is a season four, even if I doubt there will be.

I found a lot of Thomas and Martha's stuff with Virginia maddening, and it made it so I couldn't fully enjoy the episode. ***.

That was a smashing finale, with excellent uses of both "I Will Survive" and "Morning Is Broken", and is the show ending the season in top form. If this were a normal season finale, I'd be ecstatic.

The thing is, I suspect it's the series finale. HBO Max will certainly cancel it for the thinnest of reasons, and as far as last episodes go, it's not a remotely acceptable one. I feel like television that amazing deserves a five-star grade. But while everything is so up in the air I can't give it that. It's possible the show just broke my damn heart. I went into this week knowing that was a possibility, but if the show is canceled now, I will basically sit down and cry. I really resent the fact that the current business climate of television, especially Warner Discovery television, means that a LOT of great stuff is arbitrarily ended, despite having huge fanbases and being great.

But man, if this show doesn't get another season, I'm gonna lose it. If you ask me this was the WORST year they could have picked to roll the dice with an amazing and crazymaking cliffhanger like that. ****1/2.