Like most episodes in Batman: Caped Crusader‘s first season, “Nocturne” certainly doesn’t skimp on atmosphere; set at a carnival making a visit to Gotham, it is perhaps the most evocative half hour of its first ten episodes, led by Marc Stone’s stoic editing and Frederik Wiedemann’s unassuming score. Unfortunately, “Nocturne” still falls victim to the problems plaguing this first set of episodes; poor animation, stiff characterization, and a wildly inconsistent application of its serialized elements.
I quite enjoy how “Nocturne” opens, introducing a pair of orphans who decide to sneak out and get a look at the carnival setting up near their orphanage (run by Mrs. Thompkins, the first of a few Batman/Detective Comics deep cuts in this episode), one of whom finds themselves in an extremely unsavory position with a young, goth-y woman. Though Caped Crusader has still lacked a good detective story (“…And Be a Villain” and “The Stress of Her Regard” being the closest examples), but “Nocturne” at least builds a bit of mystery into its premise – particularly when the girl, Natalia, is revealed to be working in the carnival alongside her older brother Anton Night (known in other Batman stories at Night-Slayer), and possesses an interesting ability to transform energies into strength.
However, the second and third acts of “Nocturne” are largely disappointments; neither aim to cash in on the unsettling tone of the cold open, instead shifting back into stories about the Wayne family lineage and Harvey Dent’s ongoing political snafus. Of the two, the latter is at least interesting; seeing Bruce play weak in front of his date Julie – aka Julie Madison, Batman’s OG girlfriend from his first Detective Comics issues – and get beat up by a group of carnies (one of which is the most understated, bland interpretation of Killer Croc I’ve ever seen) is thoroughly unengaging material, nothing but flat observations of his wealth and nods towards the internal conflicts this show’s avoided since its opening episodes.
Dent’s conundrum is the one story of this episode that does aim for something a bit more ambiguous, and the one arc this season that’s been consistently developed (this episode drops the task forces and Gotham PD, along with Renee and Alfred). As the episode where Harvey Dent is disfigured by Thorne’s henchman, this seems an obvious choice – but it is the detail put into the story that makes this version of Harvey more interesting. His willingness to compromise his morals and break election finance law, as we find out in this episode, has its limits; when Thorne tells him to make a case against a notorious scammer go away, Dent refuses, even as he takes Thorne’s money to sneak into his carnival fundraising pile.
Typically, Dent before his break is defined by his moral compass; by clouding it gray before his “transformation”, Caped Crusader opens itself to the opportunity for a different kind of Two-Face to follow, one whose culpability and potential redemption are much more front facing for the character. It’s a less theatrical take on the character, of course – but once “Nocturne” reveals that even after all his compromises, Dent’s still losing in the mayoral polls, it gives his character a big of tragic self-righteousness, the kind that drives the best interpretations of his character throughout history.
It’s too bad that energy and focus isn’t matched elsewhere; unfortunately, Anton and Natalia Night are both duds as characters, neither proving to be more interesting or frightening than her first appearance might suggest. Anton’s nothing but an opportunistic showman, taking advantage of his sister’s powers and turning a blind eye to the death and destruction she’s leaving in her path, as she consumes the life force from children in order to maintain her energy levels and strength.
Any metaphorical meaning is lost because this version of Natalia is insufferable; there’s no real internal conflict for her character, someone who argues with her brother for an entire scene only to immediately ignore him, setting them on the path to his death and her capture by Batman (who refuses to let her be consumed by the sun, an arbitrary deadline built into Natalia’s character that does absolutely nothing to add to the episode’s tension).
Without Dent’s plight, “Nocturne” might feel like a complete misfire – that is, until a young Carrie Preston (the Robin from Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns trilogy) appears with her slingshot, unafraid to take on Natalia, even after she reveals the horrific powers inside her. Little Carrie brings such a great energy to the episode’s climactic moments, giving some emotional stakes where Batman’s lifeless character absolutely does not; it’s a testament to Halley Wegryn Gross’s script (whose writing credits include Banshee, Westworld and The Last of Us Part II) how Carrie’s presence energizes this episode’s big conflict – because once Batman shows up, the scene returns to its slightly flatter, less exciting tenor.
Though “Nocturne” is able to find its footing when it focuses on Dent and Carrie, the lack of compelling material about Batman, Bruce Wayne, or the Night family prevent it from effectively marrying its stories together on their shared theme of turning the other cheek, and how avoiding a problem only makes it fester until its completely out of control. Those ideas are lurking under the surface, but Caped Crusader‘s continued struggles to translate them into exciting, resonant episodes of television are glaringly obvious – and only growing more troublesome by the episode, especially as this season heads into its climactic pair of episodes.
Grade: C
Other thoughts/observations:
- that’s Haley Joel Osmont as Anton, and McKenna Grace as Natalia.
- Though Natalia the character is fairly uninteresting, her character design is the closest this show’s come to Batman: The Animated Series… and though I hate to say this, I don’t mind it.
- FOUR Robins in one episode? What is this nonsense?
- this episode features Bruce Wayne bitching out on a strength test, and Batman being fooled by a mirror (see The Killing Joke‘s final sequence to understand my frustration here). Not the greatest look for our protagonist, who also plays off donating to the orphanage as a “heck of a tax write off”. This Batman kind of sucks, y’all.
- Harvey Dent blowing off Mrs. Thompkins is such a sad moment for his character, and one I’m glad the episode doesn’t make a huge deal of. It speaks volumes about his character, and perfectly sets up the downfall awaiting him at the story plays out, and his bad decisions balloon.
- How am I just learning Thorne is voiced by Cedric Yarbrough?
- Strange to see this episode end on a POV shot of Harvey taking acid to the face.