Pennyworth season 1, episode 1 review: Pilot

The untold origins of Batman’s butler come to life in this hard-hitting gritty spectacle, but is this “bad penny” worth tuning into on a weekly basis?

As far as never-before-told origin stories go, DC Comics has a horde of lesser-known characters just waiting to be brought into the light by a good old-fashioned prequel series.

So you can understand why fans were initially perturbed to learn that, in the wake of Gotham‘s conclusion, we weren’t just getting another Batman prequel, but one centering on his butler of all characters.

And yet here we are, welcoming Epix’s Pennyworth into our lives as it enters the already-overcrowded market of superhero content and comic book adaptations. However, that right there poses us with an interesting question about what the show actually is, and the answer to that question has led to it becoming one of this year’s most pleasant TV surprises.

Without further ado, let’s delve into the pilot episode.

No Superheroes Here, Mate

Pennyworth may be based upon the origins of the butler of the world’s most famous superhero, but that doesn’t automatically make it a superhero show.

Centering on Alfred Pennyworth’s pre-Gotham City life, the pilot episode introduces the butler-to-be as “Alfie” – a former British SAS soldier determined to move on from the horrors of war and form a new life for himself on home soil with his own private security firm.

However, when he and his girlfriend get dragged into the crosshairs of a secret society through a chance association with Thomas Wayne (yes, that Thomas Wayne), things get nasty real quick.

It’s true; if you were to strip the pilot down to the basics, you would find the core elements of a superhero show. You have the emotionally conflicted hero, you have the chilling villain and you have a morally grey area between good and evil that the former must walk to overcome the latter.

That, however, doesn’t make it a superhero series, because in all honesty, Pennyworth is a completely different kind of beast.

In many ways, its more like a complex British crime drama that just so happens to utilise comic book characters. The pacing is deliberately slow, allowing the writers to give each character a chance to breathe, fleshing Alfred, his former army buddies Dave Boy and Bazza, Thomas Wayne, Esmé and the allusions to the Raven Society out to an admirable extent and allowing us, as viewers, to get a much better grasp of the story.

It doesn’t rely on any type of structure, and it isn’t building that story around any particular beats (a.k.a. fight scenes). It’s free of the conventions of most superhero TV shows and it thrives because of that.

Furthermore, the explict language, adult tone and disturbing violence complement it, positioning it as more of a British spy thriller than anything else – and that’s exactly what it should be.

The Name’s Pennyworth… Alfred Pennyworth

If its true that the quality of a television show relies upon the quality of its star, then it goes without saying that Pennyworth is bloody brilliant. Of course, the script is strong and the story is well-paced, but its actor Jack Bannon who brings it all to life.

Before going any further, we simply must remember the weight that the role of Alfred Pennyworth carries with it. From Jeremy Irons and Michael Caine to Alan Napier and Michael Gough, a who’s who of stars have portrayed the legendary butler over the years – which, of course, meant that Bannon had a lot to live up to. However, he doesn’t just achieve that, he makes the whole thing his own – and does so in a way that nobody else ever has.

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Drawing inspiration from both Caine and Gotham‘s Sean Pertwee, Bannon successfully manages to transform Batman’s docile butler into a deadly secret service agent in a single episode – one that oozes more charisma than anyone he’s on-screen with and could even, believe it or not, hold his own against the evils of Gotham City itself.

However, while the young actor is indeed completely at home in the mayhem of a fight scene (something he demonstrates in the Harwood House showdown), he ticks so many other, more important, boxes.

There’s a unique charm to his performance as he walks the fine line between confident and cocky that makes it hard to take your eyes off him. It would be hard to describe if it wasn’t so obvious, because what Bannon does is command our attention – and with his charming personality and effortless charisma, you can rest assured that he gets it.

007’s got nothing on you, mate.

More To This Story

Of course, one of the main concerns surrounding Pennyworth stemmed from the possibility that it might run its course pretty soon because, once Batman’s butler overcomes the baddies in the most badass of fashions, would we want to tune into see it again and again on weekly basis?

Well you can relax, because the pilot episode addressed those concerns beautifully.

Not only does the main narrative (which revolves around the Raven Society’s rise to power) have legs, its ties to Britain itself, and the future that it could create for the country, gives the show much more stakes than we all initially anticipated it to have.

Additionally, now that we’ve already seen Alfred thrown into the thick of it, things are going to continue to escalate over the coming weeks.

Pennyworth Season 1 Episode 101: Pilot

More than that, however, Pennyworth may center on good-ole Alfie, but there are times when it very much feels like an ensemble piece – and that gives it plenty of room for story development.

Alfred’s views on young people differ from those of his father (who wants him to become a, we-kid-you-not, butler) which, of course, has created an interesting dynamic between the pair (though Daddy P still gets a thumbs up after saving the day with the wine bottle).

Moreover, Thomas Wayne’s new job promises to lead us into even more interesting Raven-themed territory. However, perhaps the most interesting character of them all was the one who was the least explored.

Paloma Faith’s villainous Bet Sykes may come across like a psychotic pensioner wearing her Sunday best but, from her apparent interest in Esmé to her backstory-laced rant in the Pennyworth home, there’s more to her than meets the eye – and Faith did a wonderful job of conveying that.

All in all, Pennyworth is a refreshing treat that left us wanting more. In an era that is saturated with superhero content, it offers us something different and, in doing so, opens up DC’s superhero genre to the world of British espionage.

It’s a visually-stunning frolic that is every bit as compelling, violent and intense as we could have hoped for. And, with the combination of strong writing and a stellar cast, it promises to take viewers into the uncharted comic book territory that we never knew we needed in our lives.

One thing’s for sure: this reviewer will be tuning in again next week. Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel and all that jazz.

The Butler’s Housekeeping

• The only real criticism here is that both top tier villains seem a little generic. While both Lord Harwood and the Prime Minister could be intimidating when they wanted to be, they come from the playbook of posh monologue-loving British baddies.
• It was Paloma Faith who really stole the show in terms of villainy… and, well, just about every other way too.
• Ryan Fletcher was hilarious as Dave Boy. Hilarious!
• It was really interesting seeing the dynamic between Alfred and Thomas and the idea of witnessing that friendship develop over the series remains one of its most exciting aspects.
• The way in which Thomas Wayne was dressed during his first appearance, and the way in which he hailed a taxi, was eerily reminiscent of the mugged father in the opening scene of Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman.
• Harwood House (the location in which in Esmé was being held captive) appears to actually be Knebworth House – the iconic English country house that also served as Wayne Manor in Burton’s Batman.
• You can tell that the Gotham showrunners had an input in the visuals here, as there are a number of beautiful shots of the London cityscape that are strikingly similar to the shots of Gotham City which became a fixture of that show.
• The singer in the club was performing “Back To Black” by Amy Winehouse which is, of course, an anachronism. The show is set in the 1960s while the song wasn’t released until 2007.
• So the Prime Minister was shady after all, eh? So he wasn’t just twiddling his mustache and spouting corny lines of dialogue for no reason, then?
• Both Thomas Wayne and Lord Harwood used variations of the phrase “I’ll be back” within minutes of each other. Either that was Bruno Heller and Danny Cannon’s way of reminding us that the show is returning next week, or they’re just really big Arnold Schwarzenegger fans.

What did you think of Pennyworth? Will you be tuning in again next week? Let us know in the comments below!