[8.1/10] “His Silicon Soul” is both very luddite and very (ironically?) humane in its exploration of artificial life. It has characters making Star Trek: The Original Series-esque statements about robots only being able to possess information, not experiences or qualia, and only process data, rather than emotion or compassion. But it also makes Bat-Bot a tragic character, one who believes himself to be a human, resists his takeover by HARDAC, and ultimately dies rather than violate the moral code that his creator unwittingly instilled within him when he tried to replicate Batman.
It’s an occasionally outmoded road to reach the conclusion, and there’s some cheesy pronouncements along the way, but in the end, as episode’s title portends, B:TAS suggests that the Bat-Bot does have a soul, and vindicates it in his choices. That’s more than worth a bit of a silly third act.
Still, the first two acts are superb. Even though the Cybertron warehouse hints at what’s to come, it’s still a neat way to pull the rug out from under the audience by having Batman waste some of the usual robbers, only to reveal that this isn’t the usual Batman. I was a little leery of the show doing a sequel to “Heart of Steel”, but this episode does a nice job of both filling the audience in on what happened there, and advancing the ideas that the prior duology suggested.
From a pure plot standpoint, that means disillusionment from Carl Rossum and a failsafe plan from HARDAC, and both are compelling. I like the image of Rossum turning to farming, one of the oldest productive jobs in human history, as a sort of revolt against how his automated life went too far. But I also like the fact that he still has robotic farm equipment, that’s reflected in the design of his new home, that represents the part of him that can’t quite break old habits.
I also like that HARDAC had a backup plan. The retcon that HARDAC made a Batman duplicate just before he exploded, one that managed to survive the fireworks of “Heart of Steel” no less, is a bit of a stretch. But the notion that HARDAC still aims to replace humanity with duplicants, and left plans for his robotic children to revive him and carry on his legacy if he were thwarted, tracks with HARDAC’s other grand schemes. There’s something legitimately scary about the world that the HARDAC-possessed Bat-Bot conjures to Alfred, of humanity under the threat of annihilation being made slaves to make their replacement.
But “His Silicon Soul” also advances the broader ideas from the prior installment, mostly by personalizing them through the Bat-Bot. The show engages deeply with the existential terror this mechanical being experiences, realizing that he is a copy, and that the life he thought was his was fabricated for him in ones and zeroes. The show does a nice job of grappling with the emotional hardship with that, and even uses it as an opportunity to take the Bat-Bot to places the normally stoic real Batman doesn't usually go. The anger and distress that the Bat-Bot experiences is palpable and at times scary.
The episode also lets us enjoy the raw coolness of seeing a Batman vs. Batman battle. The simple idea of Batman fighting a robo-replicant of himself is the stuff childhood action figure fights are made of. The show takes full advantage, giving the real Batman the cleverness to know how to evade some of his attacker’s moves, but giving Bat-Bot the mechanical strength and durability that gives him an advantage.
This is also a great episode visually and sonically. The repeated iconography that Bat-Bot sees of HARDAC’s symbol is a nice way to convey his continued efforts to grasp at those straws. And the design of the malformed Bat-Bot is cool at all stages, from his wiry exposed abdomen, to his Terminator-esque face. At the same time, the episode does a great job with music and sound design. The Bat-Bot has a neat variation on the main B:TAS theme, one that’s slower and more rhythmic, communicating the ways in which Bat-Bot is a robotic equivalent to our hero. And the sluicing sound when Bat-Bot removes or replaces his face is gross in the best way.
But the piece de resistance is the ultimate conclusion to his journey here. As Captain Kirk can tell you, it’s nothing so original to thwart a killer A.I. by poking at the paradoxes in its programming. And Batman’s corny declarations and a silly swordfight take some of the oomph out of their confrontation. Still, there’s something touching about how, in the end, what neutralizes the Bat Bot is his connection to who Batman really is, his code of non-lethal force, his duty to Gotham and to humanity generally, that causes him to sacrifice himself rather than live with his own misdeeds or allow HARDAC’s extermination to come to pass.
It’s an operatic end to a mind-expanding story, about a new form of life taking its first mechnical steps, and finding that the moral footing is hard to keep. As always, B:TAS is at its best when it shows empathy for all its characters, and even allows them to take the spotlight from Batman, whether they’re cops, robbers, or just androids clinging to their silicon souls.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2020-01-15T02:32:23Z
[8.1/10] “His Silicon Soul” is both very luddite and very (ironically?) humane in its exploration of artificial life. It has characters making Star Trek: The Original Series-esque statements about robots only being able to possess information, not experiences or qualia, and only process data, rather than emotion or compassion. But it also makes Bat-Bot a tragic character, one who believes himself to be a human, resists his takeover by HARDAC, and ultimately dies rather than violate the moral code that his creator unwittingly instilled within him when he tried to replicate Batman.
It’s an occasionally outmoded road to reach the conclusion, and there’s some cheesy pronouncements along the way, but in the end, as episode’s title portends, B:TAS suggests that the Bat-Bot does have a soul, and vindicates it in his choices. That’s more than worth a bit of a silly third act.
Still, the first two acts are superb. Even though the Cybertron warehouse hints at what’s to come, it’s still a neat way to pull the rug out from under the audience by having Batman waste some of the usual robbers, only to reveal that this isn’t the usual Batman. I was a little leery of the show doing a sequel to “Heart of Steel”, but this episode does a nice job of both filling the audience in on what happened there, and advancing the ideas that the prior duology suggested.
From a pure plot standpoint, that means disillusionment from Carl Rossum and a failsafe plan from HARDAC, and both are compelling. I like the image of Rossum turning to farming, one of the oldest productive jobs in human history, as a sort of revolt against how his automated life went too far. But I also like the fact that he still has robotic farm equipment, that’s reflected in the design of his new home, that represents the part of him that can’t quite break old habits.
I also like that HARDAC had a backup plan. The retcon that HARDAC made a Batman duplicate just before he exploded, one that managed to survive the fireworks of “Heart of Steel” no less, is a bit of a stretch. But the notion that HARDAC still aims to replace humanity with duplicants, and left plans for his robotic children to revive him and carry on his legacy if he were thwarted, tracks with HARDAC’s other grand schemes. There’s something legitimately scary about the world that the HARDAC-possessed Bat-Bot conjures to Alfred, of humanity under the threat of annihilation being made slaves to make their replacement.
But “His Silicon Soul” also advances the broader ideas from the prior installment, mostly by personalizing them through the Bat-Bot. The show engages deeply with the existential terror this mechanical being experiences, realizing that he is a copy, and that the life he thought was his was fabricated for him in ones and zeroes. The show does a nice job of grappling with the emotional hardship with that, and even uses it as an opportunity to take the Bat-Bot to places the normally stoic real Batman doesn't usually go. The anger and distress that the Bat-Bot experiences is palpable and at times scary.
The episode also lets us enjoy the raw coolness of seeing a Batman vs. Batman battle. The simple idea of Batman fighting a robo-replicant of himself is the stuff childhood action figure fights are made of. The show takes full advantage, giving the real Batman the cleverness to know how to evade some of his attacker’s moves, but giving Bat-Bot the mechanical strength and durability that gives him an advantage.
This is also a great episode visually and sonically. The repeated iconography that Bat-Bot sees of HARDAC’s symbol is a nice way to convey his continued efforts to grasp at those straws. And the design of the malformed Bat-Bot is cool at all stages, from his wiry exposed abdomen, to his Terminator-esque face. At the same time, the episode does a great job with music and sound design. The Bat-Bot has a neat variation on the main B:TAS theme, one that’s slower and more rhythmic, communicating the ways in which Bat-Bot is a robotic equivalent to our hero. And the sluicing sound when Bat-Bot removes or replaces his face is gross in the best way.
But the piece de resistance is the ultimate conclusion to his journey here. As Captain Kirk can tell you, it’s nothing so original to thwart a killer A.I. by poking at the paradoxes in its programming. And Batman’s corny declarations and a silly swordfight take some of the oomph out of their confrontation. Still, there’s something touching about how, in the end, what neutralizes the Bat Bot is his connection to who Batman really is, his code of non-lethal force, his duty to Gotham and to humanity generally, that causes him to sacrifice himself rather than live with his own misdeeds or allow HARDAC’s extermination to come to pass.
It’s an operatic end to a mind-expanding story, about a new form of life taking its first mechnical steps, and finding that the moral footing is hard to keep. As always, B:TAS is at its best when it shows empathy for all its characters, and even allows them to take the spotlight from Batman, whether they’re cops, robbers, or just androids clinging to their silicon souls.