Written by Marc Bernardin
Directed by Christopher Berkeley
Batman (re Gentleman Ghost): "What will you do with him?"
Papa Midnite: "You probably don't want to know that."
Batman: "No, I probably don't."
I'm gonna say something and I don't think it should be a controversial statement but Batman absolutely should embrace the supernatural side of things even more than it does. This episode was pretty damn great to be honest.
Enter the Gentleman Ghost (Toby Stephens), who wait for it, was actually a ghost and spent this episode terrorising the poor by also not robbing the likes of Harvey Dent on a public train. Of course not being robbed would negatively impact Harvey much later in the episode.
Away from Dent, the presence of an actual ghost meant that Batman had to resort to getting help from an expert in the field. Now this would've been a perfect place to introduce John Constantine (maybe next season) but instead we got Papa Midnite (Cedric Yarbrough). This meeting was a need in taking out the Gentleman Ghost.
I loved Batman and Alfred having to use magic (specifically burning an old deed) in order to defeat the Gentleman Ghost. Of course there was the last minute hitch of Alfred temporarily bring possessed by the Ghost before Batman finished off the Ghost once and for all.
Well, the Gentleman Ghost didn't completely disappear but was merely trapped in a test tube with Midnite making it clear he had his own nefarious revenge in mind. This version of Papa might not be a villain, but he's definitely got a dark side here though.
As for Harvey Dent, by the end of he episode he chose to get into bed with Rupert Thorne and all because his ratings were going down. This episode tried to imply that Harvey had a moral high ground before colluding with Thorne but his previous episodes really didn't set that up very well.
- Lucius Fox had a slightly bigger role compared to his earlier appearance. This included scenes with Gentlemen Ghost's descendant.
- I loved the scene Bruce had researching at the library with Wilma. It was a nice little character moment for him.
- What secret was Alfred keeping that he'd rather die than have Bruce knowing?
- Chronology: Not long from where the previous episode left off.
Night Ride delved into the supernatural and I absolutely enjoyed watching it unfold. Gentleman Ghost might not be a typical Bat villain but they were great in this episode and we got a nice dynamic with Batman and Alfred to boot. Oh and more Papa Midnite please.
Rating: 8 out of 10
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