Gotham Knights Pilot Review

By Paul Maglietta

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment

So…..um….yeah this was apparently still a thing.

In December of 2021 it was first announced that the CW would be creating a new show set in the Batman universe, but would not focus on Batman but rather a set of new characters trying to unravel the mystery of Batman’s death. Now this is not the first time that Batman has not been the main character in a Batman property show. Smallville was notoriously not allowed to even make mention of the character, Gotham waited till the very last episode of the series to finally show a fully suited up Batman, and even Batwoman had a severe lack of Batman present. Now there is nothing wrong with shows that showcase supporting characters from comics, like Agents of Shield or Peggy Carter, but I will be the first person to admit I went into this show with a lot of hesitation. However, I pride myself on trying to give shows and movies a fair shake so let us all see how Gotham Knights did. Mild Spoilers ahead.

So let’s start with the positive. Following the end of Supernatural, Misha Collins announced he was cast as district attorney Harvey Dent. As a fan of Supernatural I was excited to see what the main cast would get up to next, although to be fair I was really really hoping to get Jensen Ackles cast as Batman. But Misha proves that he is more than just a gruff angel and brings some gravitas to the show that I was not prepared for. Collins plays the character strongly bringing a nice determination to do the right thing while also being conflicted about the events that happen in the first episode. I look forward to watching this character’s eventual downfall and the eventual rise of Two-Face, and honestly the draw of Misha Collins was the biggest thing the show had going for it. I also enjoyed the writing and chemistry between the leads. Although there is a heavy amount of exposition the characters all work well together and there were a few lines that got a genuine chuckle out of me. I was also excited to see the first real live action adaptation of Carrie Kelley and look forward to seeing more of her backstory as the series goes on.

But…..lets talk the cast and plot.

Cat Grant Said it Best

So the CW is notoriously famous for having casts of ridiculously good looking and diverse actors. Now that is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is always weird to see a high school full of models with abs trying to make it all seem like it is totally normal. Now I will also always give some leeway to a pilot episode. For those who do not know, the pilot is usually shot months ahead of time and when the network picks it up they will get an order of how many episodes they get and begin filming. You will often notice that pilots have different feels and possibly even different actors as opposed to the rest of the series, Arrow being a perfect example. However I found myself rolling my eyes more than once during this show. A tacky frame job, some over the top acting, and a ton of impossible coincidence really make it hard for me to just turn off my brain and enjoy the ride. A big gripe I have is that the main character is called Turner Hayes (played by Oscar Morgan) an adoptive son of Bruce Wayne framed for organizing the murder of Batman. Turner was created for the show and has no history in the comics, as opposed to so many established surrogate and even a biological son Bruce Wayne has. From Dick Grayson, to Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne it is very strange that they decided to go with a show created character. Now that may be a behind the scenes legal issue with Titans airing its last season or the recently announced Batman film, or it may be a red herring and we find out Turner is actually one of the many comic wards of Bruce Wayne. Still an unusual choice. And speaking of unusual choices, as excited as I was for Carrie Kelley…..it was so weird to have her in a black tactical suit calling herself Robin. Titans proved that a Robin suit can work on film and I was disappointed the iconic look of Carrie was held back, hopefully later this season we get a change.

So we are off to a rough start. Maybe its the writing, the pilot episode feel, or the fact that there was a Gotham Knights game recently that also dealt with the Death of Batman and the Court of Owls (also not a good game). I plan on trying for at least the first five episodes before a final verdict but as off right now the prospect is as bleak as Gotham City.

Star City Rating 2 out of 5