Posted in: Amazon Studios, Review, TV | Tagged: Batman, Batman: Caped Crusader
Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 Review: Pretty Great Watch, Has Issues
Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 was a strong return, but it left us wondering if the show is trying too hard when it doesn’t need to.
Article Summary
- Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 keeps its gritty 1940s Gotham noir, sharp detective focus, and strong voice performances.
- New villains and darker takes on classic rogues give Batman fresh threats, with Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, and Joker standing out.
- Some Batman character changes feel forced, as reinventions like Roxy Rocket and Hattie Tetch distract from the story.
- Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 is still a strong watch, but its bold reinventions keep it just shy of excellent.
After Season One of Batman: Caped Crusader debuted two years ago on Prime Video, the show was already riding high on the fact that it was being written and produced by many who had worked on a lot of the DC animated shows over the years, all the way back to the original Batman: The Animated Series. It was pretty awesome getting a different take on the Dark Knight as a detective noir set in a gritty and darker 1940s tone. So we were pretty stoked when Season 2 came around, and we got a chance to review all ten episodes. That said, after watching it, we have a few mixed feelings about the series.
WARNING: We are going to get into spoilers. If you don’t want to know what’s happening, skip to the end. You have been warned!
Diving Back Into a Grittier Gotham
The show picks up a short time after the first one left off, with people now more used to Batman’s presence in the city, but crime remains rampant, and many still have to deal with it. As in previous incarnations of the Dark Knight’s history, a much larger array of criminals is becoming more prominent. Specifically, the rise of Edward Nigma, a right-hand man to Rupert Thorne, who has taken over in his absence as The Riddler (because he riddles people with bullets). The cops are starting to gain a little trust in the city, but not by much. And a new, darker terror lurks in the shadows with bigger plans for the city that is teased all the way until the last two episodes of the season.
The show’s tone and storytelling are well done, as they have kept much of the old-school city feel and classic detective work, with little push for new technology to have any presence in the show, except for one episode we’ll talk about shortly. The voice work in the show is also amazing, as these characters come to life, bringing a more serious tone to many episodes, as if Gotham has been wearing on everyone to some degree, and it shows in their tone. There are times you can see that even the happiest and most jovial of characters have some kind of pull on their heart just living here. It makes this series feel a lot more real than many other Batman and Justice League projects, which, ironically, comes as a breath of fresh air after years of campy and cartoony takes.
Making Change For The Sake Of Being Different
All that said, there are choices in the show that feel a little out of place. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the changes in Season One where we got a woman Penguin, a more down-to-earth version of Clayface, and a more methodical version of Harley Quinn. But this season, it feels like they made changes for the sake of making changes. As if they felt an urge to put their own stamp on it, or as if an executive had come in and said, “I want this show to be different for everybody!” A good example of this is Episode 2, “Rocket’s Red Glare.” They took the character of Roxy Rocket, who up until now had mostly been portrayed as an ex-stuntwoman turned petty thief who loved using all kinds of rockets, into a scientist.
But not just any scientist, one with morals who doesn’t want her inventions taken advantage of, so the company she works for tries to murder her. Then, she becomes an anti-hero using her inventions to destroy the company. It reminded us a little too much of the Batman: TAS take on Catwoman, where she couldn’t just be a thief, she had to be an environmentalist. Like we have to put a hat on a hat on a hat. Speaking of, the Mad Hatter in this series isn’t even really a villain in the traditional sense. They turned them into Hattie Tetch, who has a talk show called Hattie’s Tea Party, where she broadcasts her take on how bad the city is, like a ’40s-era news network pundit. Is she good? Not really. But is she a supervillain? Absolutely not. As if they needed to make the character so different that you couldn’t help but notice this is a “different kind of Gotham.”
Now, we totally understand that it probably comes off as “old man yelling at clouds,” or “don’t change my Batman” kind of talk. And yes, we’re very aware that there are Batman fans out there who are very unhappy with everything. That’s not what this is about, because change can be good, and characters can grow stale over time, and on occasion, you need a different take to breathe a new kind of life into them, like having Barbra Gordon be an attorney. Even if it’s just for one show, like how they portrayed Deadman in this season. The issue with Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 is that some of these changes stand out a little too much compared to those in Season 1. When you see them, they’re glaring; they take you out of the story and rattle that suspension of disbelief.
Some Jokes Are Just Darker
That said, many of the characters did come out of the wash looking pretty awesome. There are different takes on several iconic rogues from the gallery that feel like they fit this time period. We won’t get into full spoilers, only the ones that have been seen in trailers and images. But the Scarecrow and Mr. Freeze are pretty dark by comparison to their normal versions, and even this show’s take on Poison Ivy will make some people’s love for revenge plots spike. The biggest of the season, however, is this take on The Joker. This version of him feels like they put the original version of him in a blender with the Tim Burton version, and the darker, soft-spoken versions we saw in the 2010’s. This is not the “Ha-Ha-Ha” Joker you’re used to, and it makes for a juicier story.
Overall, Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 was a pretty great watch. They kept true to their setting and tone from the previous season without going to extremes or pushing Batman into unfamiliar territory. The overall arc of the season had some fun surprises and unexpected twists, a plethora of familiar characters, and a believable Gotham for the times. That said, there are genuine parts to the show where it feels like they’re trying too hard to reinvent the wheel. Not everything needs to be radically different to be good. Not every character needs to scream, “Hey, look over here, I’m different!” The season is great to watch; we highly recommend checking it out. It’s just a few small issues away from being excellent.
Batman: Caped Crusader – Season Two
Review by Gavin Sheehan
8/10
Season Two of Batman: Caped Crusader does an amazing job of expanding on the reimagined Gotham in a 1930’s setting, but some of its decisions for characters and storylines feel like they’re trying harder than they need to on something that doesn’t need to be changed all that much.
Network
Amazon Prime Video
Starring
Hamish Linklater, Jason Watkins, Eric Morgan Stuart, Krystal Joy Brown, John DiMaggio, Gary Anthony Williams, Michelle C. Bonilla
Produced by
Bad Robot Productions, 6th & Idaho Motion Picture Company, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation, Amazon MGM Studios, DC Studios
Executive Producers
Bruce Timm, J. J. Abrams, Matt Reeves, Ed Brubaker, James Tucker, Daniel Pipski, Rachel Rusch Rich, Sam Register, Geoffrey Thorne, Sarah Greisner
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