Pennyworth: 9 Ups And 5 Downs From "Pilot"

PTSD and gun-toting grannies steal the show in Pennyworth's debut episode.

Pennyworth Jack Bannon
Warner Bros.

When Pennyworth was first announced last year, many did a disinterested shrug at this news. After all, who really wants to see the early days of Bruce Wayne's butler play out on the small screen? Absolutely nobody, that was who.

As it happens, the aptly-named Pilot is pretty darn impressive. Based upon this first episode, there is more than enough here to make Pennyworth a nice slab of slick 'n stylish TV that doesn't simply lazily rely on the fact that this show exists within the greater realm of DC Comics.

If anything, Pennyworth's initial offering promises that this will be a series more akin to James Bond or even Kingsman than anything Batman-lite. And that, for sure, is a good thing.

Pilot serves the obvious purpose of introducing Pennyworth's key players and the world in which they inhabit, and already we get to see that this version of Alfred is a little different to the mild-mannered, tea-pouring butler who is so often at the side of Master Wayne.

Is Pennyworth off to a flawless start? Of course not. But that's always to be expected with a new series. So without any further ado, then,here are the hits and misses of Pennyworth's premiere episode, Pilot.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.