The penultimate episode of Beware the Batman opens with a campaign rally for Dent’s opponent in the mayoral election, Jocelyn Killroy, the director of the CDC from “Sacrifice.” Her main rallying cry is that District Attorney Harvey Dent has a “bat problem.”
Meanwhile, in a darkened office somewhere in Gotham, The Key is working on a business deal. His meeting is interrupted, however, by Batman and Katana, who now know Dane Lisslow never existed and that it was The Key who gave him his false identity. An interrogation of The Key reveals that Lisslow’s real name is Slade Wilson. Back in the Batcave, Alfred is thrown by the news that Lisslow is Wilson. Alfred then reveals he knows Slade Wilson. When Alfred was in MI-6, Slade Wilson was his protégé. Wilson became too reckless and was discharged on Alfred’s recommendation. In anger, Wilson tried to kill Alfred and then disappeared. Following his departure from Wayne Manor earlier in the series, Alfred went searching for Slade Wilson, to make peace. At the end of his journey, though, Alfred believed him to be dead. Batman deduces that Dane Lisslow/Slade Wilson is Deathstroke and knows that Bruce Wayne is still alive.
Meanwhile, Harvey Dent is hospitalized following the explosion at the armory at the end of “Epitaph.” His face is completely bandaged. Anarky visits his room just as Dent decides to escape. Dent tells him he has changed and that his sole goal now is to kill Batman, whom he blames for his injury. Dent and Anarky begin to threaten Jocelyn Killroy and Deputy Mayor (and currently acting mayor) David Hull. Giving in to his demands, Killroy drops out of the race, and Hull enacts Marshall Law in Gotham City.
Like the episodes wrapping up the League of Assassins storyline, the episodes wrapping up the Dent v. Batman storyline are wrapping up with multiple episodes that are heavily story-driven. There are no other side plots to follow, no poorly developed characters ruining episodes, or any other painful elements that normally wreak havoc on Beware the Batman episodes.
However, as the writers begin to wrap up the Dent v. Batman storyline, they are faced with two major problems. The first has been an ongoing issue. Dent is already an angry person. The tone does not change at all; he just drops the pretense of being focused on law and order. To the viewer, there appears to be no change, especially since Dent began working with Anarky prior to his injury. Furthermore, at one point Dent warns Hull, “Don’t make me change my minds.” Yet, there has been nothing that suggests he is of two minds. Secondly, the scene where Dent escapes the hospital is incredibly similar to the 2008 movie The Dark Knight. It is nearly impossible to not hear “Introduce a little anarchy,” in the back of your mind while watching that scene. Both scenes depict a bandaged Harvey Dent talking to an agent of chaos and supporter of anarchy. The only difference is that Dent is a little more willing to take action.
An episode like this would normally be lauded. However, when the episode is heavily reliant on a character that has been developed poorly, the episode fails. The story was, indeed, compelling, but the issues with Dent are just too potent to overlook.
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