[8.6/10] A really cool and unnerving episode. I love the central conceit of it -- who would Batman be without fear? On the one hand, it sounds like not a big concern, right? Batman already seems to act without fear most of the time. He’s a capable, billionaire, gadgeted-up, martial arts badass. It seems like he’s not afraid of anything anyway other than the welfare of those he cares about, so how much could Scarecrow’s fear gas change him.
But that’s the cinch of this one. The thing Batman is canonically afraid of is going too far, of allowing himself to kill another human being and have it blacken his heart until he’s unredeemable. Take away Batman’s fear and you’ve taken away his fear to kill. What’s left when that’s removed, when his unwillingness to use lethal force is erased, is frightening in its own right.
It’s Rorschach. It’s Lock-Up. Hell, it’s basically The Terminator. Batman is essentially unstoppable, and so when he puts his skills of intimidation and stealth and combat into effect without restraint, you fear for the brutality he’s going to unleash. There’s genuine scariness when he dangles the corrupt self-help speaker over the side of the building, or when he marches down the long corridor of a train, ready to destroy anyone in his way and choke the life out of Scarecrow. A Batman without self-control is a force of sheer, indiscriminate destruction, maybe even a villain.
The episode sets it up nicely. The prelude of the man dangling from a rope, floating through Times Square (or whatever its Gotham equivalent is), not only helps set up the concept of the episode, but makes for a cool set piece as Batman and Robin have to not only prevent some debris from hitting the pedestrians below, but catch the fearless guinea pig from splatting himself in his recklessness. The formerly meek, suddenly bold Wayne Foundation employee is a nice touch too.
I also love the reimagined Scarecrow. For one thing, Jeffrey Combs is one hell of an actor, and lending his unnerving gravitas to Crane is a hell of a choice. At the same time, the character’s redesign is disturbing in its own right, with a grim reaper motif that draws a sharp contrast to the cartoonier look of the character in B:TAS. (He always kind of reminded me of Dr. Scratchansniff.) His plot here is much more clever and cerebral than some of the good doctor’s plots in the prior series to boot.
But I think my favorite part of this one is Tim Drake. It’s funny, I remember liking this Robin when I was a kid, and on rewatch wondering why, since he’s often pretty annoying. I think it comes down to this episode. His willingness to stand up to Batman, to save him from himself, and even avoid being manipulated by a supposedly calm and collected Bruce Wayne, with the rhythms of an abusive relationship, proves him to be made of some pretty strong stuff. He’s the one who truly saves the day, by stopping Batman from giving into his unrestrained impulses, and the attaboy he gets at the end if heartwarming in that terse, Batman way.
It’s worth noting that this is also a virtuoso performance from Kevin Conroy as Batman. Just his shifts in vocal tone, hsi eerie calmness, sell the transformation that Batman has undergone here. He’s frightening in a way that Batman rarely is to the viewer, and much of that stems from how Conroy delivers those lines. The exchange with Tim in particular, where Batman is pretending to be under control to try to be set free, has layers in the delivery that are masterful.
Overall, this is a great concept for an episode executed very well, very memorably, and in a very scary fashion, as befits its villain.
Shout by SoNickBlockedParent2022-02-11T05:49:13Z
I really wanted to like this one, but something held it back for me. I wish I could place my finger in what it was, as on paper this sounds like an amazing episode