[7.3/10] This works well as a follow-up to the prior Catwoman episode. Initially, the bit with Dagget sending out goons to collect stray animals felt a little too standard Saturday morning cartoon villain to me. But in the end I actually like his evil plot. Using strays to spread a toxin that you have the only antidote for is, well, if not clever exactly, then at least a solid comic book villain plot.
It’s a little conveninet that this plot pops up right when Selina Kyle goes free, but the show finds a nice way to connect her by having her cat, Isis, ensared by Dagget’s henchmen. That helps give Catwoman a personal stake in the fight, beyond her usuall high-minded rigtheous indignation against people who treat animals so poorly. Granted, she gets shunted off to the side a bit once she gets infected with the toxin and Batman has to save the day, but she still gets some cool fight moments when she subdeues the goons in the alley as Selina Kyle, and gives them the business just as well in the lab as Catwoman.
The show also maintains the “Bruce loves Selina, Catwoman loves Batman” dynamic that still works well, and the pair’s banter still clicks with me. I also got a big kick out of Alfred’s dry wit reaction to this news, “Oh these modern romances are so complicated.”
Still, where this one shines is in the animation, design, and score. All of the animals look and move distintively, both on and off the toxin. The sequences where Batman races away from an infected hound through the snow is riveting. And while the set piece on the ice is a little silly, the editing and framing of the struggle help preserve the tension while Shirley Jackson’s stellar score does the rest.
Of course, everything gets wrapped up nicely in the end, but for the fact that it’s never really clear how Batman’s stopped Dagget for good. But whatever. The goons are thwarted, and I’d be lying if I said I was anything but endeared and a little touched when Selina and Isis were reunited, and that’s enough (I say as I write this with a cat curled up next to me.)
Overall, the animation and music carry the day on this one, bolstered by a villain plot that’s compelling once it comes into full view, and a Bruce/Selina pairing that still works well.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2019-11-10T17:20:50Z
[7.3/10] This works well as a follow-up to the prior Catwoman episode. Initially, the bit with Dagget sending out goons to collect stray animals felt a little too standard Saturday morning cartoon villain to me. But in the end I actually like his evil plot. Using strays to spread a toxin that you have the only antidote for is, well, if not clever exactly, then at least a solid comic book villain plot.
It’s a little conveninet that this plot pops up right when Selina Kyle goes free, but the show finds a nice way to connect her by having her cat, Isis, ensared by Dagget’s henchmen. That helps give Catwoman a personal stake in the fight, beyond her usuall high-minded rigtheous indignation against people who treat animals so poorly. Granted, she gets shunted off to the side a bit once she gets infected with the toxin and Batman has to save the day, but she still gets some cool fight moments when she subdeues the goons in the alley as Selina Kyle, and gives them the business just as well in the lab as Catwoman.
The show also maintains the “Bruce loves Selina, Catwoman loves Batman” dynamic that still works well, and the pair’s banter still clicks with me. I also got a big kick out of Alfred’s dry wit reaction to this news, “Oh these modern romances are so complicated.”
Still, where this one shines is in the animation, design, and score. All of the animals look and move distintively, both on and off the toxin. The sequences where Batman races away from an infected hound through the snow is riveting. And while the set piece on the ice is a little silly, the editing and framing of the struggle help preserve the tension while Shirley Jackson’s stellar score does the rest.
Of course, everything gets wrapped up nicely in the end, but for the fact that it’s never really clear how Batman’s stopped Dagget for good. But whatever. The goons are thwarted, and I’d be lying if I said I was anything but endeared and a little touched when Selina and Isis were reunited, and that’s enough (I say as I write this with a cat curled up next to me.)
Overall, the animation and music carry the day on this one, bolstered by a villain plot that’s compelling once it comes into full view, and a Bruce/Selina pairing that still works well.