Sure, it options clockwork metahumans, psychedelic thoughts management and murderous artwork patrons in Man Fawkes masks, however what Pennyworth is de facto about this season is fatherhood—what it means to have a father, what it means to be a father and what it means to lose a father. But, whereas it’s actually come to a head over these current episodes, undercurrents have been there for the reason that sequence’ starting.
Season one actually had a lot to say about Alfred Pennyworth’s relationship together with his personal father and getting out from underneath his expectations. Alfie’s father, Arthur Pennyworth, spent his life as a butler serving England’s elite, till received caught up in right-wing extremism, joined the Raven Society and tried to assassinate the queen. After that entire sequence of occasions, why on Earth would the youthful Pennyworth wish to comply with in his dad’s footsteps? Heck, contemplating Alfie was the one who foiled the assassination try by taking pictures his personal father, it’s a surprise he’s in a position to operate in any respect.
Definitely, he spent numerous season two in a darkish place. Granted, it was wartime—most of England was in a darkish place. Alfie match proper in. However mentally and emotionally, he was coping with even heavier stuff than the remainder of his fellow countrymen, which drove him into the make use of of one other father determine—Alfred’s former military captain, Gulliver Troy. Whereas Arthur was offended and misguided, it by no means resulted in poisonous habits in the direction of his household. Gully, alternatively, was abusive and harbored an explosive, violent mood. If he was ever an excellent particular person, he wasn’t any extra. True, Alfie didn’t assist issues by hooking up with Gully’s spouse (darkish place, bear in mind?), however Gully’s destructiveness to everybody round him had roots that ran a lot deeper than that.
Letting Gully again into his life was by no means going to finish nicely for Alfie. And as soon as once more, to avoid wasting his personal life and others, he was pressured to almost kill somebody who at one level had been very a lot a father to him.
However right here’s the place it will get fascinating—whereas each Arthur and Gully may have died on account of Alfie’s actions, they each lived, which gave them an opportunity to contemplate what that they had carried out. It gave them each an opportunity at redemption and reconciliation with Alfie.
That’s essential as a result of with out that, Alfie’s opinion on fathers can be fairly terrible and the thought of him as a mother or father would doubtless be insupportable to him. And that might be an actual downside as a result of as we discovered final week, he’s going to be one.
The information that Sandra’s pregnant definitely wasn’t anticipated and couldn’t have been welcome information for Alfie. We all know that he doesn’t like infants and his life-style definitely isn’t conducive to parenthood. Unsurprisingly, his preliminary response was…nicely, not heat and supportive. It’s disappointing contemplating that he clearly cares about Sandra, however what’s fascinating is that it’s Gully who will get Alfie to step up.
Whereas his poisonous habits could also be tempered considerably, Gully nonetheless isn’t all that pleased together with his life—one thing that’s maybe a bit extra comprehensible this season now that he’s developed superpowers which have price him his freedom and are slowly killing him in addition. Earlier this season, we noticed Gully take a whole pub hostage as a approach of rebelling towards his imprisonment. By final week’s episode, his state has devolved so badly that he’s just about able to die.
Sadly, he will get his want whereas on a mission with Alfie and Dave Boy, however earlier than he does, he learns that Alfie’s going to be a father and his excited response to the information is all the pieces Alfie’s wasn’t. The truth is, for the primary time this season—hell, in all probability all through the whole sequence—Gully appears pleased. He talks about how fatherhood adjustments all the pieces and provides life that means, and in a very noble act (noble sacrifice is one thing Gully does appear fairly good at), he dies to make sure that Alfie can escape and stay.
It is fascinating to take a position about why Alfie’s information appears to alter all the pieces for Gully, although I think the captain got here to remorse pushing away these he cherished and thought of household. He discovered to understand household’s significance in a approach that Alfie hasn’t but realized.
I do want Gully hadn’t made Alfie promise to take accountability for his little one. It makes it a bit much less clear whether or not it’s one thing Alfie genuinely desires to do or if he’s doing it as a result of he feels prefer it’s an obligation. (To be clear, it is an obligation, however you don’t need that to be the one cause he proposes to Sandra.)
I’m hoping we’ll ultimately be taught that’s not the case, and that Alfie embraces being a mother or father as a result of it’s one thing he desires. We’ll need to see. However you’d assume greater than anybody, Alfred Pennyworth is aware of what it’s like for a kid to lose a father. He’s misplaced two of his personal, in any case. He’s met and aided kids who misplaced their dad and mom in the course of the struggle. He noticed how a lot the lack of Zahra Khin’s father shattered her and the way a lot she was prepared to danger only for the possibility of getting him again. Alfie additionally noticed how damage and offended she was when she discovered he was accountable—I doubt he desires his personal little one feeling the identical approach about him for not being round.
Alfie might not consider himself as a household man, and he’s not. Or somewhat, he’s not a typical household man. He’s somebody who I consider ultimately grows to grasp the significance of household as a result of he realizes the fragility of it—whether or not it’s his mom’s grief over her husband and her unsure makes an attempt to seek out love once more, or Sully longing to see his spouse one final time however unable to go away the nation to go to her, or how outdated household demons appear to be slowly destroying the Waynes’ marriage. Household is essential, however it’s not everlasting and it’s by no means assured. It’s an understanding that Alfie is simply now beginning to determine, however it’s one which might be completely essential a lot later in life, when he’ll as soon as once more be confronted with a toddler who’s misplaced his dad and mom.
And this time, we all know he gained’t hesitate to step up.
New episodes of Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman’s Butler drop Thursdays on HBO Max. Sustain with Alfie’s newest exploits on our official Pennyworth sequence web page.
Tim Beedle covers motion pictures, TV and comics for DC.com and writes our month-to-month Superman column, “Tremendous Right here For…” Search for him on Twitter at @Tim_Beedle.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed on this column are solely these of Mandy Curtis and don’t essentially mirror these of DC Leisure or Warner Bros.
