Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (October 12, 2023)
The Batman prequel series Pennyworth came to an end with Season Three. After two good years of shows, I looked forward to seeing if things went out with a bang.
This two-Blu-ray set includes all 10 of Season Three’s episodes. The plot synopses come from IMDB.
Well to Do: “Hired to rescue a young woman believed to be under the spell of a dangerous hippie cult, Alfred Pennyworth (Jack Bannon) seeks help from a preoccupied Bet (Paloma Faith), while Thomas (Ben Aldridge) and Martha (Emma Paetz) field a surprise visit from Thomas’s father Patrick (Richard Dillane).”
To the best of my awareness, Seasons One and Two never specified the year(s) in which they took place. I deduced 1968 for S1 and maybe 1969 for S2 - albeit alternate years, not one that literally followed what actually happened in “our world”.
Season Three takes us well into the 1970s – five years after the finale of S2 – and it also kinda sorta attempts to relaunch the series. Not that it reboots or eliminates the prior events, but it gives us a detailed synopsis of the first two seasons and even adds the subtitle “the origin of Batman’s butler”.
I guess those behind the series felt its ratings underperformed and this might give Pennyworth a shot in the arm and a chance to survive. Given its cancellation, this apparently failed.
I admit this semi-sorta-reboot feels a bit desperate, but I liked the first two seasons more than enough that I want to give S3 a chance. I just think the shift ahead in time and the involvement of new super-powered characters offers a vibe that those involved figured they needed to bring Pennyworth closer to the universe of Batman and it seems less than organic.
Granted, I assumed Pennyworth would connect those dots eventually, though I didn’t know how far it would go. Given that the series takes place decades before the emergence of Batman, obviously it wouldn’t run that long, but it seemed likely the producers would push the links more fully.
In any case, “Well” needs to do a lot of heavy lifting to get us up to date, and it leaves some of those shifts unexplained – like when did Thomas become a doctor? Maybe Seasons One and/or Two mentioned a background in medicine, but if so, I missed it, and “Well” doesn’t explain how he went from CIA agent to physician. I guess he had enough time to go to med school between Seasons Two and Three, but it still feels like an odd leap.
As mentioned, I want to keep an open mind for S3, but “Well” just jumps ahead so much that it feels awkward. Hopefully I’ll go with the flow better as the year progresses, but the opener comes across as jarring and not especially involving.
Many Clouds: “While grappling with the true nature of Martha's work, Thomas agrees to help his father - and seeks Alfie's assistance. Meanwhile, after being questioned by Prime Minister Aziz (Ramon Tikaram), Alfred escalates his search for answers at the ashram.”
After only two shows, I don’t want to give up on S3, and I hold out plenty of hope it’ll improve from here. However, “Clouds” fails to kick into gear, partly because it too often feels like soap opera.
The main narrative related to the cult and murders seems less than engaging so far as well, especially after the grand events of Seasons One and Two. I still think there’s promise for growth, but two episodes into S3, I remain left a bit cold – though the program’s ending adds some promise.
Comply or Die: “While Pennyworth deals with an old friend, Daveboy (Ryan Fletcher) grapples with his conscience in a very public way. As tensions run high in the Wayne household, Thomas plots with Patrick, and Martha receives a proposition - and warning.”
Given the series’ connection to Batman, the introduction of super-powered entities makes sense. However, it comes as such a jolt after the 60s spy-genre vibe of Seasons One and Two that it still feels out of left field.
And these elements don’t blend well – so far, at least. Throw in too much relationship melodrama and “Comply” fails to draw me into S3’s narrative.
Silver Birch: “After Thomas is thrown behind bars, Patrick offers Alfie and a hesitant Daveboy a hefty sum to break his son out of jail.”
Those elements offer some excitement, but S3 remains mired in an overall theme that seems ill-defined. It toys with its “brainwashing” notions but doesn’t move in a concise manner – and the overall narrative doesn’t seem especially compelling even when it does come to the fore. “Birch” keeps us stuck in the mud.
Rhyme ‘n’ Reason: “Thomas and Martha are still haunted by everything that happened. Aziz tasks Alfie with spying on a visiting political dissident. Daveboy continues to try to impress Sally (Claudia Jolly).”
As we hit S3’s halfway point, “Rhyme” attempts to spice things up with some new characters. It doesn’t help, as these moments just add to the muddiness of the overall arc.
I simply find it hard to get behind a Pennyworth that spends so much time on romantic melodrama. This becomes more problematic when it resorts to frothy love from secondary characters like Daveboy and Mrs. Pennyworth, choices that seem perplexing and pointless.
Hedgehunter: “Zahra (Jing Lusi) sets out to find her father Zeya (David Yip) with help from Alfie. Bet confronts the full extent of John Salt's (Edward Hogg) powers, Daveboy bungles an important conversation with Sandra (Harriet Slater), and Thomas finds himself back in Gotham.”
Whereas Seasons One and Two followed clear through-lines, S3 continues to feel disjointed. All of a sudden we find ourselves with a plot related to the Zahra character.
Perhaps this will link to the “mind-control” domain previously seen, but right now, it comes across like a shift out of nowhere. Add to that my impression that S3 introduced Zahra mainly to give Alfred a new romantic partner and “Hedgehunter” fails to connect me to S3. Even some time actually spent in Gotham doesn’t help.
Don’t Push It: “Alfie and Daveboy search for a secret prison in the Hebrides which generates power by triggering traumatic memories.”
While the change of scenery should add spark to S3, instead it feels clumsy. Outside of an isolated scene – like the last episode’s visit to Gotham – the series has focused exclusively on England, so this shift comes across as off-putting.
Just like so much of the rest of S3. Seven shows in and things remain disjointed and without much to involve me. Maybe the last three episodes will bounce back but I lack much hope.
Red Marauder: “After a power station attack, Alfie, Daveboy and Martha help Gully Troy (James Purefoy) to restore public opinion of PWEs. Meanwhile, Dr. Glubb (Paul Brightwell) tries to stop Foulkes' reckless use of Lullaby.”
After receiving little attention so far, the PWE domain comes to the fore – and feels stale for anyone who knows the X-Men. Which is probably everyone who watches Pennyworth.
I can’t imagine those behind Pennyworth didn’t realize how closely the depiction of PWEs and the public reaction to them mirrors dominant themes from X-Men, but they went ahead with these choices anyway. Throw in some of the usual tedious relationship melodrama and we get another blah episode.
Rag Trade: “Thomas' hesitant return home is further complicated by Samantha's (Jayda Eyles) kidnapping. Sally involves Daveboy in the aftermath of Foulkes' (Paul Kaye) dinner party. An increasingly concerned Lucius seeks to free the PWEs.”
As we near S3’s end, I hoped we might get something vivid to wrap up the year – and the series as a whole. Maybe the final episode will pack a punch, but “Trade” brings the same-old S3 same-old.
That means plenty of relationship nonsense and nothing especially vivid or involving from the rest of the narrative. Indeed, “Trade” attempts drama via threads so trite that they seem more likely to provoke eye-rolling than thrills.
Highland Wedding: “As the city further descends into a lullaby-induced chaos, Alfie and Martha break into L7 to save Lucius - and the rest of the world.”
After nine mediocre-at-best episodes, can S3 redeem itself with its finale? Unsurprisingly, no.
Of course, “Wedding” ratchets up some action and fulfills the theme of the mind-altering drug, but it does none of this in an especially compelling manner. Whatever thrills it attempts feel like too little, too late.
The episode offers a scattered finish to a scattered season – and one that ends on an unfinished note. Clearly the producers figured they’d get a fourth year, as “Wedding” concludes with a cliffhanger of sorts.
That said, “Wedding” doesn’t leave the viewer hanging to a painful degree, partly because we know Alfred, Thomas and Martha eventually end up in Gotham, and also because S3 seems so dull. I lost interest in the characters along the way, so the series’ lack of resolution bothers me much less than it would if S3 fared better.
Still, it would be nice to see a final episode to wrap up matters. I’d also hope that a last go-round might send off Pennyworth on a more positive note than this mediocre batch of shows.
