BEWARE THE BATMAN “Darkness” Review

The latest Beware the Batman is the second episode in a multi-parter. Did this one live up to hype?

The last episode ended on a down note, as Ra’s al Ghul (Lance Reddick) defeated and captured Batman (Anthony Ruivivar), and took control of Gotham City. Ra’s, obviously, has the upper hand. With Batman captured, Katana (Sumalee Montano) and Alfred (J.B. Blanc) must form a plan to rescue him.

But that isn’t easy either; Katana suspects Alfred may have something to do with her father’s death. Meanwhile, Barbara Gordon (Tara Strong) wants to do her part to help too, and Silver Monkey (James Remar) may prove to be an unlikely ally.

As you might remember, I wasn’t impressed with the last episode. Luckily, I enjoyed this one more. The stakes are being raised, side characters are getting important roles, and the villains are playing trump cards.

Batgirl fans will like that Barbara Gordon gets to step up here, and longtime comic fans will immediately notice a certain….comic reference. Foreshadowing? Hopefully before the now non-existent season 2! Barbara also gets some humorous scenes with her dad, Commissioner Gordon (Kurtwood Smith).

Katana and Alfred’s plot is also engaging, although I must say, Alfred didn’t handle it well at all. If he had told Katana from the beginning, Ra’s couldn’t use any of the info as blackmail. And calling Ra’s a liar when he is the one telling the truth doesn’t look good for you at all, Alfred…

The most disappointing aspect would be Silver Monkey. Sure, its cool that he help Batman, and I was stoked to see him fight against Lady Shiva (Finola Hughes), because Silver Monkey had a personal vendetta against her. Sadly, the fight is off-screen. Sigh.

The cliffhanger at the end was very well done. Its so good, it leaves me worried the next episode or so won’t be able to live up to it. If the show does, it will gain my complete respect!