Pennyworth

Bannon is a talented lead, flashing charm and strength as well as he balances immediate assuredness (for those hard-to-escape scenarios) and long-view obliviousness (toward his own path in life). The show mimics his versatility, coming across as an exciting new chapter in Bruce Wayne’s growing televised saga. “Pennyworth” sounds like a bad idea, but Batman die-hards and casual fans should both soon discover how very good it is.

Juggling more adult fare, Heller manages to make Pennyworth a compelling modern drama but adds in a darker hint of comic book ink, never letting the tone tilt too much toward the outlandish or over-the-top, but also just unhinged enough to stand out.

“Pennyworth” is kind of fascinating in that it looks good, the performances are solid, the design is strong … and I just never found a reason to care. Like so much modern TV, every episode is too long, and the slack pacing doesn't help an already slow writing sensibility. There's nothing overly wrong with "Pennyworth," except it never quite justifies its existence.

The stories are fairly thin, but the look of the show and the charisma of Bannon and some of the supporting players — notably the English singer Paloma Faith as Bet Sykes, a Raven Society enforcer who takes a quick dislike to both Alfred and Esme — cover for that for a while.

[Jack Bannon] is a charming, resourceful and alert performer, and his Alfred — with an aggressively pompadoured widow’s peak that embodies the nervous energy of a generation — is a consistently engaging presence at the center of the series. Bannon is well matched by Emma Corrin as Esme ... Rather than amplifying or enriching each other, the straight-ahead drama and the comic contrivances cancel each other out. It’s harder to take either one seriously in the presence of the other.

There’s simply no dynamic undercurrent propping up Pennyworth. That’s a problem considering that its surface-level action is standard-issue, all frantic chases through London’s misty streets, bouts of fisticuffs against generic ruffians, and subplots involving Alfred’s army mates Dave Boy (Ryan Fletcher), who’s a wild-and-crazy drunk, and Bazza (Hainsley Lloyd Bennett), who has no discernible personality traits. ... Unsurprisingly, the most engaging elements of Pennyworth are its bad guys.

The plot is wildly written, with huge swathes of time spent on things like Esmé’s acting career while almost none is devoted to fleshing out its strange world. That means we don’t get anything thrilling or complex enough to justify its weary, “troubled ex-military tries to adapt” narrative.

This is quite simply the best series I have watched this year. It's dark, but with bags of subtle humour. It captures many echoes of fifties / sixties Britain, while subverting it.. It has plus and sub-plots overlaid on the distopian premise. I delight in all the things hinted at but left unsaid, the different course of history is integral to the story, but it's not the story itself. It answers, in part, the question of how, if Gotham is a dark and different part of the US, the rest of the world might also be changed. Absolutely outstanding

as a stand alone, this is a strong story line with a depth of story. if people are complaining while looking for a " batman feel" they have never picked up a comic book and read a back story. very good series and hope they continue many seasons.

Gets better as the seasons progress and I ended up really loving it. Good writing with lots of action and fun. Didn't end well because it was cancelled, but only really needed a couple more episodes to tie it all together.

The plot armor is thick in this show. We know that Alfred must survive to buttle for Batman, but plausibility would have been nice. Perhaps that will be added for Season 2?

Trying to like this. I really am. In several episodes, he enters situations without a plan. How many lucky breaks can he get? Seems like it gets good and then falls again. Not missing it these last few weeks of not watching. So ...