10 Best Batman: The Animated Series Episodes
3. P.O.V
Bold and cinematic, P.O.V. is a wonderful story, told in a series of flashbacks among the three key players.
Beyond graphic novels and perhaps Japanese anime, it’s hard to believe that you would have seen an internal affairs investigation in cartoons at the time of B:TAS. A central theme of Batman is, of course, the corrupt police force of Gotham City and this episode addresses that theme head-on, placing officers Harvey Bullock, Renee Montoya, and her rookie partner officer Wilkes in a room with Lieutenant Hackle to explain what happened at a police sting gone wrong.
While the corrupt police message is a well-worn one, P.O.V. offers a fresh and exciting vision, most notable in the way that it juxtaposes Harvey Bullock’s false testimony with imagery of what really happened. The story-telling is intelligent and the episode flies by.
Fleshing out Batman’s friends and enemies within the police force, while also showing that Gotham’s bad guys aren’t always on the wrong side of the law, P.O.V is a fan favourite, and with good reason.