Alfred finds the name that Mr Ripper gives him isn’t quite as straightforward as he might have expected. Thomas Wayne is ordered to attend another truce meeting between the Raven Society and the No-Name League, leaving him to foist an unexpected arrival on Martha Kane. Lord Harwood’s recovery continues apace.

If that intro sounds like there’s a lot going on in this week’s episode of Pennyworth, then technically there is. It’s just a shame that a lot of it rather drags its feet and other elements just don’t seem to serve any plot purpose.

John Ripper gives Alfred the name he promised, which turns out not to be the name of who killed Esme, but of someone who can help him find the culprit. The problem is, when Alfred goes to visit this person, they turn out to be not at all what he expected in a very literal sense. This is part one of the show suddenly introducing a rather supernatural element to proceedings, courtesy of a wonderful performance by the ever reliable Felicity Kendall, who it turns out can play unhinged, possibly very scary individuals with a deft touch indeed.

Meanwhile, Thomas Wayne is busily figuring out things for himself, like just who it was who pushed for the murder of the head of the No Name league when his orders were to secure the death of Lady Gaunt. Turns out the people he works for are up to a lot more than they’ve been telling him, which is all well and good, and he’s understandably pissed off about it – but then when he receives orders from the very same person who reveals this to him to go and broker another meeting and make sure he does the job this time if things don’t go well, he just accepts. Bit odd.

Then a further spanner gets thrown in the works with the reappearance of Wayne’s wayward sister, just at the wrong time. Like any concerned big brother, he immediately dumps her on Martha while he goes about his tasks, and then…well, then things take a turn for the supernatural again. Wayne’s sister ends up somehow persuading Martha – an intelligent woman of no small resource – to go to a party thrown by Aleister Crowley (yes, that one, twenty or so years after he died in the ‘real’ world) and things just get increasingly bizarre and spooky very quickly. Still it gives the showrunners an excuse for an orgy scene so they can keep their titillation quota for the week up I guess…

Back with Alfred, a series of fairly ludicrous events leads him back to the self-same source he’d dismissed who then convinces him that the person responsible for his woes is…someone from his past. Honestly, it’s difficult to know what’s more far-fetched, the theory itself or the fact that Alfred seems to buy into it – even Dave Boy and Bazza are hugely sceptical.

Oh, and there’s some stuff with Harwood, who is recovering more of his old identity each day and is seeming set on taking up where he left off – where that will leave Lady Gaunt isn’t exactly clear. In the background, there’s one wonderful small gesture between two characters which carries a whole book worth of subtext and is executed perfectly, the usual couple of shots of jiggling ladies at the club, some aggressive reckless violence from our central character and the landlord’s daughter pouting because apparently she’s the only one who didn’t grasp that being shagged up against the bar last time out by Alfred only leaves room for two options for her character in a show like this, and neither of them is ‘lives happily ever after with the guy’.

Verdict: Getting slowly weirder by the week with the introduction now of full-on supernatural elements, Pennyworth remains a show with a stellar cast and some superb moments offset by some really cliched stuff. I’m still watching though. 6/10

Greg D. Smith