The Raven Society make their move, having consolidated their advantages. Alfred prepares to flee the country. Bet and Peg keep their prisoner entertained.

If there’s one word I’d use to describe this season finale, it’s breathless. It hardly feels as if it pauses from one scene to the next, throwing one thing after another at the screen until it ends in an action-packed climax which practically demands a second season. Its pacing is only matched by the audaciousness of some of its narrative beats.

Picking up where we left off last week, the Queen is a hostage, Harwood has all his ducks in a row, and the Raven Society’s coup can finally begin properly. I for one have always found this part of the show’s narrative uncomfortable viewing, given current political events around the world, but especially on our own shores. The image of violent, fascistic ideologues who claim all they want is order and will commit violence against any who stand in their way doesn’t feel all that removed from reality at this point, no matter how dressed up in comic book absurdity it might be. Gold nose or not, Harwood cuts an all-too realistic figure in both his charisma and his goals.

The other tension which makes the show harder to watch (in a good way) as time has gone on is the revelation that Mr Pennyworth Snr is a member of the Society, and the sense that this is leading inevitably towards a showdown with his son. It’s been a fantastic portrayal of an extremely complex character by Ian Puleston-Davies; at times it’s difficult to like Pennyworth Snr, even when it’s easy to sympathise with him. The revelation last time out that he has terminal cancer adds an extra layer to that confusion. I’m still a little unhappy at the earlier implications of his domestic abuse towards Mrs P (and possibly even Alfred himself) but as the show went on, it did become clear that this was a more nuanced character than might first have been suggested. Quiet moments shared with both his wife and his son reinforced that, and it was this which helped set that tension as you wondered just what might happen if/when Alfred discovered his Dad’s extra-curricular activities.

As for Alfred himself, well let’s say his life is never quiet in this episode. I’ll have to deduct some merit for the way in which the show throws him through so many different things so quickly – when I said breathless, I meant it, and it does sadly start to feel a little like the writers had a laundry list of set pieces and scenarios they were absolutely determined to squeeze their lead into before the hour was up, meaning that the pacing strays from breathless to simply rushed on more than one occasion. That said, Bannon is obviously in his element here, and some of the cheekier moments really do feel earned, even as they simultaneously feel ridiculous.

Shout outs are also due to Paloma Faith and Polly Walker as the Sykes sisters, who don’t get a lot to do here but have been fantastically entertaining from the very off. Their scenes with Jessica Ellerby as HM the Queen are delightfully tense, straddling that line the Sykes so often have throughout between awkward and exhilarating. Like the Pennyworth parents, I could quite happily watch a whole TV show just about these two, where they came from and all the things they’ve got themselves involved in over the years.

If there are losers, as such, it’s Ben Aldridge and Emma Paetz as Thomas and Martha, who get so little time for their own subplot that it can’t help but feel forced and artificial in a way that runs directly counter to the talents and onscreen chemistry of both. It slots in with the whole rushed feeling of the episode, but still feels like a waste. Similarly, it doesn’t really feel like Jason Flemyng gets the payoff that he’s so richly deserved and done so much work towards here, and that’s before we even get to the spectacular crime of wasting Anna Chancellor and Danny Webb by giving both so very little to do here. Again, I would be surprised if a second season weren’t in the offing, and I can only hope these actors and their characters get more of what they deserve if and when it happens.

All things considered though, Pennyworth signs off much as it arrived – loud, fast, full of energy and vim, but pushing a little too far at its own limitations at times. There’s (as usual) little that will genuinely surprise, but it’s all done with style and excitement – it just feels like perhaps this finale could have benefited from a longer run time to let all the constituent parts breathe just a little better.

Verdict: Pacy, action-packed but just a little too rushed to achieve true greatness. A fitting finale to what has been a generally entertaining take on an age-old character and leaves the door open for plenty more in season 2. 7/10

Greg D. Smith