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Let’s Talk About ‘Rhyme ‘n’ Reason’:
- Thomas is haunted by his actions, and Martha is not getting over things very easily.
- Mrs. P has decided to try another date with Roger.
- Bet has tracked down Mrs. Gaunt, hoping she’ll get information in the whereabouts of John Salt..
- Prime Minister Aziz assigns Alfred to look after a government official from Kapoor, Zahra Khin, in London for a summit.
- Patricia makes a surprise appearance at Thomas’ house.
- Daveboy reads a book … but does he understand it?
- Zahra Khin realizes she has a traitor in her midst.
- Sally invites Daveboy to another art gallery function — for which Patricia is in town — featuring the works of Francis Faulks, the man who took such an interest in Daveboy at the last opening.
- Zahra admits to Alfred why she’s really in London.
- Thomas makes a surprising decision.
The latest episode of Pennyworth, ‘Rhyme ‘n’ Reason’, brings back some familiar faces, plunges Alfred into a whole new mystery, and reveals the Lullaby project has fallen into different hands. And Mrs. P decides to give dating a second shot (third?) by phoning up Roger, hoping that he’s still interested in seeing her.
Meanwhile, Thomas is having a bad time of it, having nightmares and jumping at the slightest bump in the night, to the point that Martha almost shoots him while he’s lurking around the living room with his own gun drawn. She’s trying to deal with the attempt on her life, knowing in her heart that it wasn’t Thomas who tried to kill her, but her brain can’t forget he was the one who plunged the knife into her side. Things get even more complicated when Thomas’ sister Patricia shows up out of the blue, looking for a place to crash — expecting to crash there — and sensing something is not right between her brother and sister-in-law. Even after Thomas reveals everything to her about their father, his CIA handler and their connection to a mind-altering drug, Patricia just tells him to shrug it off and move on. Easier said than done, but she does seem to get through to Martha a bit. But before the couple can discuss things further, Thomas vanishes … heading to the airport to meet a private jet for his flight to Gotham.
With business slow for Alfred, he takes a call from Aziz who wants him to work as security for a visiting dignitary from the island nation of Kalpoor in London for a summit. She isn’t there for a summit, however, she’s there to meet with Kalpoor’s president as she is a political dissident seeking to come to some terms for her people (her father had been the island’s leader until it went in a democratic direction). Zahra Khin, though, assures them both that her own head of security is capable enough to looking after her, but Aziz didn’t really want Alfie to be just a security guard. He sends Alfred to follow them because they may have other motives for being in London. As Alfred tails the car, they are stopped by a crossing guard … who then opens fire on them, as do the rest of the people on the street. Zahra’s driver is killed and Alfred is able to whisk her away to the pub/his office. After she makes a phone call to let her people know she is okay, Alfred gets her back to where she’s staying and they end up having a shag. Alfie says she’ll be safe as long as she doesn’t tell anyone where she is, but she tells him she’s already told her people. That worries Alfred and when her head of security, Win, shows up she knows who the rat is — him. Because he’s the only person she revealed her whereabouts to. Sadly for Win, his trip to London ends prematurely when he’s killed fighting Alfred, and Zahra reveals to Alfie why she’s really in London — she believes her father, whose role she took when he died (leaving behind her studies at medical school), is still alive. Unfortunately, this triggers a memory for Alfie and he tells Daveboy that they were the two who abducted the father of the woman he’s now protecting. But is the man dead or alive?
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Daveboy, however, isn’t in any condition to worry about someone whose death they may or may not be responsible for. Alfred noticed Daveboy was reading a book, a first for the chap, something about art that he really didn’t understand but he was doing it for Sally … because she had invited him to another show opening at the art gallery, the show for which Patricia was in town to attend. Daveboy was confused by the ‘art’, just framed white canvases, and was even more confused by the presentation that came with it courtesy of the artist, Francis Faulks. Standing high above the attendees, Francis spouted off some mumbo-jumbo that confused Daveboy even more, and then he and the others discovered they were going to be the art when two of Francis’ assistants poured red and white paint on those in the gallery below. Daveboy was not happy to have paint on his expensive new jacket, but Sally (and Patricia, one would assume because she is so very easily influenced — remember her dalliance with Aleister Crowley?) thought the show was amazing. What they didn’t know was that Dr. Glubb was with Francis, a bit perturbed with how the artist (and yes, he was the one with the V for Vendetta Guy Fawkes mask in the previous episode) was using the Lullaby drug. A handful of gallery attendees’ drinks were laced with the drug, and Daveboy was one of them. When Alfred came to the office to tell him about Zahra’s father, Daveboy was quite rattled by everything he’d experienced after being dosed, but neither of them know he’s been given the same drug that made Thomas try to kill Martha.
Bet Sykes finally reappeared this week, having tracked down Mrs. Gaunt with the help of the records and documents she stole from the Raven members she murdered. Mrs. G seems well aware of what Bet has done, but after what the two of them had already experienced together, they are actually friends. Well, as long as Mrs. G gives Bet what she wants — the location of John Salt. Mrs. G refuses and Bet threatens to kill her, but Frances knows she won’t and offers Bet a cuppa tea. Frances can see Bet is exhausted from caring for the baby she took, and offers to take the child off of her hands, but Bet ain’t having it. And if Mrs. G won’t tell her where Salt is, she will just do it on her own. As she attempts to leave, Frances relents and gives her the location of Salt. Bet and the baby make their way to a small fishing village and she sees Salt walking along, carrying a fish. She follows him down an alleyway but he’s gone. Before she can proceed, he returns and she pulls her gun on him, ready to get retribution for his murder of Lord Harwood. Salt proclaims that he’s not the man that he once was but she still threatens to shoot him. He says again he’s not the man he once was and pulls open his shirt, revealing a robotic body underneath. Two men appear behind Bet and knock her out, leaving her, the baby and us to wonder what exactly has happened to John Salt.
What did you think of this episode? Start a conversation in the comments section below.
New episodes of Pennyworth stream Thursdays on HBO Max.
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