Epix
Well, Pennyworth has concluded its second season — Epix, are you going to greenlight a third? — and successfully answered a few of the nagging questions I had from the penultimate episode.
Such as how did Alfred and company, including his father, so easily exit the Raven Union stronghold? Sure, Salt had Alfie and his friends caged for a bit (and one has to wonder if they would have been let out had Bet and Peg not shown up), and poor Alfie was given the worst of Salt’s punishment. But Mr. P’s apparent act of selflessness so he could see Mary one more time wasn’t as altruistic as it seemed. The thing is we never got to see how they left the fortress, so we don’t know why Alfie wasn’t suspicious. As far as he was concerned, his dad was sincere … and that was Salt’s game all along.
With Stormcloud now in the Prime Minister’s hands to dispose of safely, Alfred has to brace his mum for the news that her husband is not dead. And when Arthur wheeled himself in, the sight was a bit much for her. But after recovering from her fainting spell, Alfred left the two of them alone to catch up. Meanwhile at Aziz’s office, Gully bursts in looking for Alfred (he’d already been to the house before Alfie and Arthur arrived), a bit too wreckless, causing the vial containing Stormcloud to hit the floor and break. But … nothing happened. They’d been played, as Salt smugly revealed to General Thursday. But Thursday notified Salt that the army would not provide him the vehicle to launch Stormcloud. No worry, though, because Stormcloud is already in London. All he has to do is push a button. As for Thursday, he’s tossed in the brig for defying Salt.
Aziz notifies Alfred that their Stormcloud was a fake and then it all hits him — his dad played him. Hard. Granted, Arthur did want to see Mary again, but his ruse back at Raven HQ was simply to give Alfred, Thomas, Lucius and Dave Boy a false sense of security. He’s still firmly entrenched in the Raven Union, believing that their agenda is what’s best for the country. London will fall, and if he has to sacrifice himself and his family for the cause then so be it. But Alfred lashes out verbally, raging at Arthur about killing the wife who still loves him and his son. The shaming actually seemed to hit a nerve this time and Arthur admitted to Salt’s plan and that Stormcloud was in London. Where? Harwood’s coffin, of course. That’s why it was so important for Harwood’s funeral to take place in his hometown. It was not about sentimentality at all. It’s now up to Alfred to save London, and he leaves Mary and Arthur alone. Mary says that even though he tried to kill them all, she still loves Arthur. He asks her to put a kettle on, and while she’s got her back turned he carefully disconnects the breathing tube. Before she can return with his tea, Arthur quietly dies, perhaps in his mind a noble sacrifice in exchange for his own sins and so that Mary is not saddled with taking care of him.
Alfred and Dave Boy make their way to the church to diffuse the bomb with the help of Lucius but they get an unexpected guest. Two actually. First a priest with a gun trying to keep them from desecrating the remains. He’s quickly dispatched by guest number two — Gully, who is only interested in finally evening things up with Alfred. After he stops shooting long enough for them to explain what’s going on, Lucius attempts to diffuse Stormcloud but … it doesn’t work. The countdown process is sped up and there’s no time for anyone to get to safety. Alfred decides the only way to try to save London is to … swallow the capsule. Lucius has no idea what will happen if it detonates inside a body, but he assumes there will be an explosion of some sort. Before he can swallow it, and with Gully now satisfied they are on even ground now, he volunteers to swallow the capsule. Down the hatch it goes, and Gully starts convulsing violently. But … there is no explosion. Instead Gully’s skin begins to turn blue. What does this mean? Back as the office Martha finally says yes to Thomas and Aziz marries them before what they assume will be the end. Everyone is relieved that it isn’t. But what has Stormcloud done to Gully?
The second question answered from last week was what happened when Bet, Peg, Vikki and Frances were taken to Salt’s penthouse? While Salt was impatiently awaiting the moment for the launch of Stormcloud, he finally went back to the penthouse and was surprised to see Vikki and her ‘friends’ in the room. Bet wasted no time in violently attacking him, pummeling him about the head, while he frantically tried to protect himself and the device to set off Stormcloud. Bet and Peg were intrigued by the button, and Peg nearly pushed it but Bet took it away from her. That just freed up Bet’s hands to continue thrashing Salt, leaving him a bloody mess with some seriously jacked up teeth. Somehow, Thursday was released from custody and he and his men arrived in time to save Salt’s life to cart him off to the brig, giving Mrs. Gaunt the opportunity to proclaim herself as the new head of the Raven Union with Thursday at her side. At least Gaunt is a bit more sensible than Salt, so perhaps things can be worked out with Aziz and the Queen.
Six months later…
Epix
Martha and Thomas are awaiting the birth of their baby but the war still rages on. Gaunt and Thursday have continued the siege on London but the rebel forces are still fighting. As a new attack is launched, Martha instinctively springs into action, but Thomas insists that she’s in no condition to fight. The baby isn’t due for a week so she’s going … except the baby has other ideas as her water breaks. Baby Wayne is on the way. Thomas manages to ‘call the midwife’ and she arrives in time to help the delivery along. Thomas and Martha are now the proud parents of a bouncing baby … GIRL! Well, that’s an unexpected twist. In Batman lore, Bruce has a brother, not a sister. So this is certainly an interesting development.
In the streets of London, Bet, Katie and a band of rebels are doing their best to hold their ground and not allow Raven forces to advance further into London. It seems a futile attempt as they wait for their commanding officer to arrive. And he does. It’s Alfred, of course, and he’s got a new weapon that is sure to stop the Raven Union in its tracks. The Ravens are amused by the rebels’ bread truck but their not laughing when Alfred and Dave Boy open the doors, revealing their new weapon — it’s Gulliver Troy, looking a bit like Mr. Freeze, but now presumably with the help of Lucius Fox, he’s now a super-soldier able to direct streams of Stormcloud toward enemy forces without doing harm to anyone else. Gully easily takes out the Raven troops, and Alfred’s ragtag troop begins their own assault.
Cut to black. End credits.
And that’s it for Season 2. It was a terrific season, improving on the also terrific first season with the war as the central point of the season’s story arc. I’m a bit sad that we lost Harwood along the way, but I’m glad Bet (and I assume Peg) are still around … and that Katie is still with Bet. Yay! Over all, a really great season that’s definitely worth a second, bingable watch. Now the ball is in Epix’s court. Will they grant the series a third season? Only time will tell but we’ll keep you updated on the Hotchka social media pages when an announcement is made. Let’s hope this isn’t the end for Alfred Pennyworth and friends.
What did you think of the finale and the season? Start a conversation in the comments section below.
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