The CW is serving up vigilante justice with the premiere of its brand-new series Gotham Knights, which aired on Tuesday. The series follows Bruce Wayne’s adopted son, who teams up with the children of Batman’s enemies. As Gotham becomes more dangerous, it’s up to this group of misfits to become the new saviors known as the Gotham Knights while figuring out who killed Batman.
The Man Behind The Mask
The series opens with a narration by Turner Hayes, the adopted son of billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne. Someone murdered Turner’s birth parents when he was a small boy, almost mirroring Bruce’s past. Perhaps it is their shared trauma, but Turner questions why Bruce picked him as he reveals a gold coin with an owl on its face. Turner walks over to a large bookcase with a hidden compartment bringing Batman’s mask out of hiding. While asking himself what other secrets his father had, the scene shifts to a Fencing tournament. But as the narration continues, the young man admits that he has his secrets, too, hinting at the things to come. Turner notices his father’s absence after his Fencing victory, which inspires him to throw a blowout party at his home, Wayne Manor. The party is wild; everyone from school is there, even Carrie Kelley, a quiet, sweet girl who managed to stop a large vase from crashing. Turner introduces himself. The two seem to be hitting it off but are interrupted by Cressida, Turner’s caretaker. The woman is less concerned about the party but informs Turner of the two kids kissing in Bruce’s off-limits billiard room, but as it turns out, the culprit is Turner’s best friend Stephanie with Brody, the boy he beat at the tournament. It becomes clear the two boys don’t get along.
The scene jumps to Wayne Tower, where Bruce is supposed to be. Three young thieves sneaked into the heavily secured building. One picks the lock to Bruce’s office, gaining access. The group is on a mission, searching for something specific, going straight for his vault, which someone emptied. Duela, the leader, wasn’t upset. She wasn’t after cash but the .38-caliber gun that killed Bruce Wayne’s parents. Duela grabs the gun from the vault, noticing the warm barrel. The robbing was a setup for something sinister. Suddenly they are surrounded by helicopters and spray painted across the window in bold letters reads, “Your bat is dead.” Laying on the sidewalk below is the lifeless body of Bruce Wayne. The team of thieves starts their escape when the Gotham PD shows up with District Attorney Harvey Dent, a friend of the Wayne family. The shocking scene reveals Bruce wearing the infamous Batman mask, indicating the murderer knew who he was.
Inside Wayne Tower, police officers catch up with the thieves, but their guns don’t stop Duela. The young woman is skilled in combat and takes down the two officers in seconds. The three escape through the back of the building and hotwire a police vehicle to avoid arrest.
Back at Wayne Manor, the party is interrupted by police sirens. Harvey meets Turner at the door, having to break the terrible news about his father. When the party clears, Harvey informs the grieving boy his father was Batman. Turner confides in Stephanie about his father’s true identity. The shocking news leaves him angry and confused, and in a rage, Turner throws a bottle across the room. The room goes silent, except for the sound of dripping. The two friends follow the sound, finding the hidden door to the Batcave.
American Hero
The funeral is now underway, and the news, along with the entire city, is there to celebrate the life and death of Bruce Wayne, who they now know was their beloved Batman. Adults and children line the streets, some dressed in costumes, others holding signs. While the ceremony unfolds, the Gotham PD catches up with the three fugitives accused of killing the masked vigilante, bringing the trio into custody for questioning. Harvey meets up with Turner before leaving the cemetery, informing him of the good news. However, Turner finds no peace in their arrest, needing to know more, like who put them up to it.
“With no batman, whos going to solve the murder of bruce wayne?”
The Family Business
Duela and her partners, the brother-sister duo of Cullen and Harper Row, are now undergoing excruciating interrogation by Detective Ford and Harvey. Deula was born inside Arkham Asylum, in and out of juvenile detention, with a mile-long criminal record. Harvey presents a playing card with a Joker on it, revealing that she is the child of the Joker himself. Harper and Cullen lived in a house full of abuse from their father. Their mom left, so their dad turned to his kids. Harvey and Ford don’t agree on a motive or who put the kids up to the murder. Cullen admits to needing the money for himself and his sister, while they can’t decide if Duela did it for greed or revenge for her father.
While at school, Turner gets into an argument with Brody, who begins taunting him about his dad. Brody argues how weird it is that the men who killed Bruce Wayne knew he was Batman, but Turner didn’t. Though it caused Turner to think instead of waiting for the GCPD to find the people who killed his dad, why not use the Batcave to solve the murder himself? Turner and Stephanie leave school together, returning to the Batcave, and it turns out that Stephanie isn’t just his best friend but also a master hacker. Stephanie tries to hack the Gotham City National Bank to find cash withdrawals and under what names. However, the young woman underestimates the power of the Batcave computer system and winds up hacking into every bank in the city. During the search, they find 17 cash withdrawals made under Turner’s name to the killers, setting him up, and before they can inform the police about the fraud, they have already shown up at his home.
A Moral Dilemma
After Turner gets into police custody, Harvey confronts Detective Ford, believing Turner did not do it. But Ford is adamant that Turner did, using his parent’s unsolved murders as a historical pattern. Ford continues to add that Bruce wanted to change the beneficiary on his last will, which Ford believed was his motive. Then, to add salt to an open wound, Harvey drops the bombshell news that his attorneys no longer want to represent Turner in the case. Harvey then hands over a sixth-century Athenian gold coin found at the crime scene. Ford soon interrupts their conversation to move Turner to the jail cell he shares with Duela, Cullen, and Harper. Duela especially was not pleased to see the Bat Brat, and once Harper accused him of setting them up, the real trouble began. Cullen and Harper argue, causing Deula to fight with them and Turner to fight with Duela. Duela then turns around, head-butting Turner in the face. The four end up getting into a brawl, alarming the guards. When they show up, Duea fights with them right before being separated. And while that is happening, Harvey has a moral dilemma. Does he recuse himself from the case, or, as the DA, does he convict Turner, who is a nephew to him? He also wants to be governor, making the decision more complicated.
Turner, Duela, Harper, and Cullen soon start transportation to another facility in an armored vehicle surrounded by cops. Duela reveals that the fight at the jail was fake, and they only did it to take items off the cops they could use to remove the handcuffs. They understand that none of them killed Bruce but are afraid of being killed by whoever did it. Now, they need to work together to get away before the killers finish what they started.
The Escape
The transport is now taking place, and Duela distracts Ford, who is in the truck with them, by messing with her cuffs while Cullen and Harper work on removing theirs. Cullen attacks Ford from behind as Harper attacks the guard with pepper spray. Ford loses his gun, and Cullen gets ahold of a baton stick and continues to attack Ford until he can’t move. They free Deula from her cuffs, offering Turner the choice to escape with them, an offer he doesn’t pass. Duela attacks the second guard, getting ahold of his taser gun and using it on the driver, causing the vehicle to go out of control and crash. The group can escape the truck, but Deula takes Ford as collateral. Turner intervenes, explaining they can’t prove they aren’t killers if they kill, but Duela isn’t as naïve. She knows they don’t care if they are innocent or not. Ford grabs the gun, proving her right. The police department is aiding the murderer to conceal their movements. Ford cocks the gun and aims. When out of the darkness, a masked vigilante using Batman’s same symbol rescues them. The stranger takes out the police cars and each officer. The young hero is Robin, better known as Carrie Kelley from Trig. Carrie found out Bruce Wayne was Batman by accident when Mutant Gang threw him off the roof of her apartment, and she dragged him to safety. After that, she became his eyes and ears.
The episode closes with the group seeking safety at Turner’s secret hiding location. They discuss their situation when Cullen shows them the watch he stole from Ford. Embellished is the same symbol as the coin Harvey showed Turner earlier. Their street-smart companion Duela recognizes it right away. The design belongs to the Court of Owls, a dangerous outfit in charge of Gotham City. Nobody knows who they are, nobody dares ask. Duela recites the poem, and the scene jumps to Cressida burning Bruce Wayne’s last will and then to a parking garage where a man dressed head to toe in black decapitates Ford.
I hope you enjoyed this recap, and remember Gotham Knights drop new episodes every Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. You can find more coverage of the show here.
