Pennyworth season 2 is finally about to begin on Epix, and it’s all-out war in England.
When last we saw Alfred Pennyworth (Jack Bannon), he had just killed his father as he was trying to assassinate the Queen while acting as an agent of the Raven Society. Now it’s somewhere over a year later, and it’s clear nothing has gone well throughout England.
The Raven Society has waged all-out war across the country and captured the majority of the cities. Only a few cities such as London and Manchester are still free and protected by the No-Name League. It is clear, however, it is only a matter of time before the Ravens wear them down.
Meanwhile, Alfred has opened a new club in a neutral zone in London, and is saving money to take his mother, Bazza, and Dave Boy with him to the United States. Meanwhile, he seems to be in a relationship with a woman, but it’s clear he still hasn’t gotten over the death of Esme and what he had to do to his father.
Throughout the four episodes that were sent for review, all of the characters from season 1 return, but there are some distinct issues with their storylines. To the point we have seen, there is very little interaction amongst the various storylines. Alfred has had brief interactions with Thomas Wayne and Martha Kane, but he hasn’t expanded much out of that bubble. Meanwhile, Bet Sykes (Paloma Faith) has very much been on her own in these early episodes, and it’s unclear at this point what will bring her into Alfred’s orbit again.
It’s clear by the fourth episode what will more than likely lead to the characters coming together, but how that will come about remains the mystery.
While season 2 is still enjoyable, the separation of the stories does feel like a bit of a determent. As you are invested in one storyline, you are whisked away to check in on another, and then another over here, and another over here before winding your way back to the first. It’s something that happens on a lot of shows, but when the first season stuck so heavily to Alfred, it feels odd to depart to a more standard formula.
Even with the caveat of the separated stories, we’re still invested in this alternate reality version of history. And knowing where everyone ends up, it’s all that more intriguing. Martha Kane (Emma Paetz) in particular is intriguing as knowing she ends up a loving mother seems a fair distance from where she is as a character at the moment.
As was revealed some time ago, Lucius Fox is introduced this season bringing that much more of Bruce’s future support system into place. Now we just need a baby Bruce at some point, and that may happen as well.
As with season 1, the standouts are once again Bannon and Faith. While Faith’s role is slightly different this time around, it’s clear she is always about 10 seconds away from just killing anyone who crosses her path. Bannon remains as suave as season 1, but with a new layer of pain on top of everything following the closing events of season 1. He does a brilliant job of keeping everything cool and collected when around his crew, but then in those quiet, solitary moments, it’s clear this is a man with demons.
While perhaps not quite as addictive as season 1, Pennyworth season 2 is a fun ride.
Thanks to the coronavirus, the season will be split in two with the first four episodes airing in Dec., and the remaining episode will premiere at a later date in 2021.
Pennyworth season 2 will debut on Epix on Dec. 13.
DISCLAIMER: Epix provided Batman News with the first four episodes of Pennyworth season 2 for the purposes of this review. We watched all four episodes prior to beginning this review.
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