A series of art heists in Gotham has the cops baffled, and draws the attention of the Knights. Duela and Carrie bond somewhat as they pursue an unconventional line of enquiry on the Talon.

In spite of myself, I’m coming to somewhat enjoy my weekly sojourns into Gotham Knights’ version of Bruce Wayne’s hometown. Yes, it’s ridiculous, yes it’s often poorly plotted and painfully scripted and yes, it is almost always obvious, and yet, there’s something about it which elevates it slightly above hate-watching. The cast are all decent enough, struggling with the confines of that script, and occasionally, as here, that inherent quality manages to overcome the clumsiness of the narrative in which they find themselves.

So yes, it’s blindingly obvious almost straightaway who is perpetrating the art heists in Gotham, though at least the why is a bit more interesting. The gang get involved when it becomes clear that there’s a connection to the Court of Owls, after initial reluctance, and set off to try to find the way to stop the very last painting (what are the odds?) from being stolen. This is the technical ‘A’ plot of the episode, but also its weakest element. Between a pointless detour with Harper’s ex and the usual extreme silliness of a Knights ‘heist’, it’s the usual standard for the show.

The ’B’ plot which actually informs the title of the episode is way more interesting. Duela airily announces she has a plan to get answers about the Talon and waltzes off, left to it by the rest. When she returns, Carrie is the only one around to get involved in her scheme, which inevitably involves kidnapping and torture. While the ‘victim’ of their attentions couldn’t be more transparent, the dynamic between Carrie and Duela is interesting, one the earnest do-gooder who believes in doing things the ‘right’ way and the other a cynical criminal who doesn’t much care for ‘morality’ as long as she gets the results. The eventual message of the episode about ‘doing bad for good’ is a little forced (and indeed bashed over the heads of the audience by some clumsy dialogue) but it’s nice to see more depth to both characters and it’s an unexpected bond to see forming within the group.

Speaking of unexpected bonds, Stephanie and Harper’s inevitable friendship / maybe more journey gets another painfully obvious instalment. It would maybe have worked better if Harper hadn’t been made so cartoonishly and performatively jealous / contemptuous of Stephanie to begin with, or had the relationship been made more gradually developed then it might have been an interesting highlight to the show. As is, it feels forced.

And speaking of forced, Harvey’s subplot continues to plod in the background, with Rebecca fearfully asking him for help in the wake of the attempt on her husband’s life and this leading exactly where you would expect. Should we care at this point? Like so many other details at the edge of the actual plot, it feels somewhat superfluous, though he is at least confronted with some plot-adjacent stuff by the end of the episode.

Verdict: It’s better than the previous episode, but that’s a low bar. This cast deserved better than the scripts here, and occasionally they elevate the material. 5/10

Greg D. Smith