Written by Lauren LeFranc
Directed by Craig Zobel
Sofia: "You know, Oz, people underestimate you but not me. I've always known you were capable of more."
It's been over two and a half years since The Batman was in theatres and with another two years to wait for the sequel, this spin off certainly had a lot to to live up to. If this first episode was anything to go by, we're in for a formidable show ahead of us.
Last time we checked, the Riddler (Paul Dano) had flooded Gotham, Batman (Robert Pattinson) had an epiphany, Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz) left the city and Carmine Falcone (John Turturro/Mark Strong) was dead. Now what of Oswald Cobblepot aka Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell)? Well, he had big plans and a lot of headaches, some of which were of his own making.
The first headache being the death of heir apparent Alberto Falcone (Michael Zegen). Alberto made the mistake of mocking Oz's aspirations for greatness. Oz repaid that by killing him in the first five minutes of the episode and yes, Alberto's death really reverberated throughout this one.
First of all, there was the family meeting where the likes of Johnny Viti (Michael Kelly) and Milos Grapa (James Madio) eere only too happy to remind Oz of his place in the crime pecking order. Of course they were more of a minor annoyance compared to Oz's biggest obstacle in this episode.
I'm talking about Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti). For those of you crying out for a major female villain in the Batman universe, this show better be the start of DC pushing this particular character going forward. Sofia's just gotten out of Arkham and all she wanted was her brother back. She also knew that Oswald had something to do with it.
The dynamic between Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti will be the biggest driving force behind this show. Oz and Sofia could be the best of allies if their interests aligned but Oz grossly underestimated Sofia and nearly paid for it. It's a good thing his newly formed alliance with Salvatore Maroni (Clancy Brown) ended up saving him at the eleventh hour.
Then there's his rapport with homeless thief Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz). Basically Oz managed to get his own Jason Todd before Batman even met Dick Grayson and like Oz, Victor had his own aspirations for greatness. Oz fed into that with the way he took Victor under his wing and how the latter adapted to his mentor's dark world.
Then there's the two women in Oz's life. Every boy loves his mother and Oz undoubtedly prioritised his mother, Francis (Deirdre O'Connell) as she egged on his ambitions. There was also a brief showing of Oz's mistress Eve Karlo (Carmen Ejogo) but I don't feel we got too much other than a willingness to provide an alibi.
- There was some clips of The Batman along with Jayme Lawson briefly appearing as Mayor Bella Real.
- Victor has a bit of a stutter and we saw Oz's clubfoot during one character revealing scene. Oz also likes to mix slushies.
- Oz gave Maroni back his ring that Carmine took as a "fuck you" and that Oz himself took back from Alberto.
- The HBO and DC Studios logos were proudly on display for the opening and end credits.
- Sofia's already The Hangman in this show's continuity but there was no reference as to whether Batman had stopped her crimes or just the GCPD.
- Chronology: A week since the events of The Batman. I also loved the use of Dolly Parton's 9 To 5 in this episode.
After Hours did an excellent job in reintroducing viewers to this particular world and while our Caped Crusader and his withdrawn alter ego might be a no show, it's reassuring to know that our title antagonist can hold his own. He's got a great supporting cast and the grabs for power are going to be gripping to watch.
Rating: 8 out of 10
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