[8.1/10] I don’t know the extent to which the folks behind the scenes knew that this was going to be Batman Beyond’s final season, but it’s easy to watch an episode like this one and surmise that they did. There’s a real sense of closure here to some of the show’s long running threats and story threads. By the end of the episode, the last scion of the Powers family is headed to jail, the Royal Flush Gang has been neutralized, and things even close on a hopeful note for Ten/Melanie and her brother.
There may be other Powers/Royal Flush Gang/Melanie episodes after this one, but there don’t really need to be. You could walk away from that part of the show and still feel satisfied, and I appreciate the show tying up loose ends as it goes through its final run.
Still, even if you didn’t know this was the last season, this is just a fun, twisty episode. This one stacks motivation on top of motivation and ploy on top of ploy, leading to a sense of hidden agendas and escalation that is both exciting and enjoyable.
We start with the gang having fallen on hard times trying to raise capital for their crime spree and lifestyle. We see the King and Queen having marital strife, where the Queen doesn’t think the King is living up to the legacy left by her father. We see Paxton Powers try to take the upper hand in the South American artifact the gang stole for him via his new bodyguard Ms. Thrope. The King decides to turn the tables and hold Powers for ransom and, naturally, that involves Bruce Wayne and Terry and plenty of other considerations.
I really like how this one blossoms. There’s a strong progression to how each choice leads to reactions and counter reactions, in a way that feels organic to the world and the characters established both here and in the series writ large. The King trying to live up to a legacy is an interesting angle to put on the domineering patriarch. Powers’s fascination with South American artifacts and desire to rid himself of Bruce Wayne gives him a distinctive drive in the episode. And as always, Bruce Wayne is a master planner, ready to lure his prey out in the open and sic his own combatant on them. The way the episode stacks conflicting plans and ploys on top of one another makes for a good thrill ride.
That leads to plenty of good twists. I love the reveal that the King was trying to rid himself of the rest of the Royal Flush Gang so that he could run away with Ms. Thorpe. It’s such a sudsy twist, one that requires a touch of willing suspension of disbelief, but which provides a good explanation for why the other members of the gang keep ending up sidelined. The martial strife angle is a time-worn but still potent one to put over the whole thing.
But the episode isn’t all flash and twists. I like that we get some closure for Melanie, seeing her hack it as a waitress in a fancy restaurant and feeling like she has no support or care from anyone, only to find it from her brother. That’s a nice note for her to go out on, one that closes the book on her romance with Terry, but still points a happier way forward for her. There’s even a nice touch when the King asks Terry if he knows what it’s like to always have to be in a great icon’s shadow, which is a nice knowing bit of dialogue. Overall, this one is a quality finale to several of the show’s early plot threads, clearing the decks for more exploration in the season to come, while providing a satisfying ending to some of the series’s big projects.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2020-06-11T14:33:36Z
[8.1/10] I don’t know the extent to which the folks behind the scenes knew that this was going to be Batman Beyond’s final season, but it’s easy to watch an episode like this one and surmise that they did. There’s a real sense of closure here to some of the show’s long running threats and story threads. By the end of the episode, the last scion of the Powers family is headed to jail, the Royal Flush Gang has been neutralized, and things even close on a hopeful note for Ten/Melanie and her brother.
There may be other Powers/Royal Flush Gang/Melanie episodes after this one, but there don’t really need to be. You could walk away from that part of the show and still feel satisfied, and I appreciate the show tying up loose ends as it goes through its final run.
Still, even if you didn’t know this was the last season, this is just a fun, twisty episode. This one stacks motivation on top of motivation and ploy on top of ploy, leading to a sense of hidden agendas and escalation that is both exciting and enjoyable.
We start with the gang having fallen on hard times trying to raise capital for their crime spree and lifestyle. We see the King and Queen having marital strife, where the Queen doesn’t think the King is living up to the legacy left by her father. We see Paxton Powers try to take the upper hand in the South American artifact the gang stole for him via his new bodyguard Ms. Thrope. The King decides to turn the tables and hold Powers for ransom and, naturally, that involves Bruce Wayne and Terry and plenty of other considerations.
I really like how this one blossoms. There’s a strong progression to how each choice leads to reactions and counter reactions, in a way that feels organic to the world and the characters established both here and in the series writ large. The King trying to live up to a legacy is an interesting angle to put on the domineering patriarch. Powers’s fascination with South American artifacts and desire to rid himself of Bruce Wayne gives him a distinctive drive in the episode. And as always, Bruce Wayne is a master planner, ready to lure his prey out in the open and sic his own combatant on them. The way the episode stacks conflicting plans and ploys on top of one another makes for a good thrill ride.
That leads to plenty of good twists. I love the reveal that the King was trying to rid himself of the rest of the Royal Flush Gang so that he could run away with Ms. Thorpe. It’s such a sudsy twist, one that requires a touch of willing suspension of disbelief, but which provides a good explanation for why the other members of the gang keep ending up sidelined. The martial strife angle is a time-worn but still potent one to put over the whole thing.
But the episode isn’t all flash and twists. I like that we get some closure for Melanie, seeing her hack it as a waitress in a fancy restaurant and feeling like she has no support or care from anyone, only to find it from her brother. That’s a nice note for her to go out on, one that closes the book on her romance with Terry, but still points a happier way forward for her. There’s even a nice touch when the King asks Terry if he knows what it’s like to always have to be in a great icon’s shadow, which is a nice knowing bit of dialogue.
Overall, this one is a quality finale to several of the show’s early plot threads, clearing the decks for more exploration in the season to come, while providing a satisfying ending to some of the series’s big projects.