This review contains spoilers for Gotham Knights Episode 1
When Batman is killed in the first episode of Gotham Knights, his adopted son becomes the prime suspect. A ragtag group of young heroes and villains must work together to find the real killers, protect Gotham City and clear the names of the innocent. Easier said than done when there’s a massive conspiracy in the underbelly of the city.
Gotham Knights Season 1 Episode 1
Danny Cannon (director), Natalie Abrams (writer), Chad Fiveash (writer), James Patrick Stoteraux (writer)
Oscar Morgan, Misha Collins, Anna Lore, Navia Ziraili Robinson, Olivia Rose Keegan, Fallon Smythe, Tyler DiChiara (cast)
March 14, 2023
What is Gotham City without Batman? That’s the question posited by the first episode of Gotham Knights. After opening with the death of Batman, it isn’t long before the city descends into chaos. We’ve always known Gotham is constantly teetering on the edge of anarchy. Having suspects for the death of Batman brings no solace to the people of Gotham—especially when the prime suspect is Bruce Wayne’s adopted son, Turner Hayes (Oscar Morgan), who apparently had no clue about his father’s nighttime activities.
Though Turner receives a great deal of sympathy, Gotham immediately turns against the first son of the city the moment the police “discovered” he may have killed the old bat (pun intended). Fairweather friends, indeed. Turner, clueless and surprisingly skill-less, has only one ally—District Attorney Harvey Dent (Misha Collins). Dent believes in Turner’s innocence despite all evidence to the contrary. Well, this Harvey is Bruce’s best friend, so he’s basically the kid’s uncle, which makes him not exactly unbiased.
Turner has no choice but to team up with the most unlikely people: the Joker’s slightly unhinged daughter, Duela (Olivia Rose Keegan), and queer siblings on-the-run Harper (Fallon Smythe) and Cullen Row (Tyler DiChiara). He’s also got his childhood friend, tech genius Stephanie Brown (Anna Lore), and Carrie Kelley (Navia Ziraili Robinson), who was Batman’s sidekick Robin and knew more about Bruce than even Turner did.
Do some of those names look familiar? Yep. Gotham Knights is a kind of DC medley, with a cast of characters from all over the comics universe. I admit, I really like that. Why not remix the hell out of the canon? Who ever thought of these characters together? How are they going to work together, or against each other? I actually do want to see that.
I’ll be completely honest, I didn’t have the highest hopes going into Gotham Knights Season 1 Episode 1. I’m excited for the videogame of the same name, but the show promos left me feeling a bit cold. The CGI looked off and the acting didn’t feel strong. Some of those misgivings continue into this premiere but more on that later.
I’m really surprised, and relieved, by how good the story is. This is a genuine, good old-fashioned superhero detective story, a la the Batman stories people have loved for so long, and the Arkham games I have enjoyed playing. But Gotham Knights Season 1 Episode 1 also has tons of fan service that will have people nodding knowingly. For new viewers not yet familiar with DC, there are going to be some surprising revelations down the road. I love the twists in the episode, most of which rely on strong writing and not just nods to the canon. I hope this continues for the rest of the season. The CW’s writing has a lot of peaks and valleys, but considering that some of the team behind this show also wrote Batwoman (which I absolutely and completely adored), I am going to be cautiously optimistic about the quality of the plot.
Despite the great story, the young actors need to put in more work to make an impression. Granted, Gotham Knights Season 1 Episode 1 is the premiere, and they’ll have time to hone their skills, but this seems to be an issue with a lot of CW shows. Watch the premieres of Naomi, Walker, or Riverdale, and tell me there isn’t a pattern.
So far, Keegan is the only one who feels real, even though her Duela has the most expansive personality. Smythe spends almost all the episode looking concerned, which is understandable for Harper but a little variety in expression is needed. DiChiara’s Cullen is more convincing—given more screen time, he could really make his presence felt. I’d say the same for Robinson, but then I’m also excited seeing a female Robin, so maybe I’m biased.
I was a bit surprised by Misha Collins mostly phoning it in. Whatever people have to say about Supernatural, Collins’ Castiel was often the heart of episodes, especially near the end of the series (my take on Castiel’s demise was vastly different from many others, make of that what you will). But he’s not really on form in this episode. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s not getting much from the other actors, or whether it’s the burden of playing an iconic character like Harvey Dent, but I expected much more from Collins and I’m a little disappointed.
So far, I’m completely unconvinced by Morgan’s Turner being the lead. For one, why make Turner Hayes a brand new character? Bruce adopted so many kids and has his own. And from what I’ve seen in Gotham Knights Season 1 Episode 1, this is essentially a Dick Grayson story, so why not have the son be Dick? Because right now, I’m not seeing anything appealing, or even remotely relatable about Turner. Aside from the few moments he mentions being an orphan, he doesn’t really have much presence. There’s no inkling of the skills that Dick had, the cunning of Jason Todd, Tim Drake’s smarts, or even the smart-assery of Damien Wayne (I am not a fan of Damien, so the fewer of his personality traits, the better, thanks). Not yet, at least. I’m willing to believe that Turner will grow into all these but in Gotham Knights Season 1 Episode 1, he’s too much of a blank slate.
It doesn’t help that Morgan’s acting needs a lot of work. Sad, happy, annoyed, confused, scared—Morgan has the same expression throughout. The acting in this episode is generally not good, but Morgan’s is considerably poorer than the others. I think Gotham Knights Season 1 Episode 1’s biggest failing is that we don’t need an audience stand-in as a hero, definitely not in a property people are so familiar with. And why after generations of having able-bodied cis straight white men being leads do we have yet another? Is that the only way the CW thought people would be interested? If Turner’s going to be a whole new character, why does he have to be the same kind we’ve seen a gazillion times before?
It’s an especially egregious choice since I’m way more excited for literally everyone but Turner. Harper is bisexual and proud of it. Cullen is trans and wants to fight his own battles. Duela has mental illnesses thanks to the horrendous circumstances she was born into. And Carrie is a young Black superhero in a city that objectively sucks and does not see her. Any one of these characters could have been the lead! And I would have loved it. Deep sad marginalized sigh.
Nevertheless, Gotham Knights Season 1 Episode 1 is riding high thanks to a riveting plot. The pacing is tight, and aside from one scene that defied continuity, the rest of the episode flows organically. I’m already seeing how the motley crew of outcasts are going to come together, and while the acting definitely needs improvement, it isn’t terrible enough to take you out of the story. To my immense shock, I not only enjoyed the premiere but I’m looking forward to more of the season. Maybe Turner will eventually grow a personality and give me a reason to root for him. But till then, I’ll watch for all the characters around him who are much more relatable. Oh, and I’m going to try and solve this mystery before the heroes do. That’s what everyone does while watching murder mysteries, right? Right?
