2x05 Old Wounds

[8.5/10] I appreciate the complexity of the relationship between Bruce and Dick that this one explores. Doing things in flashback helps, because it adds weight to Nightwing’s willingness to reunite with Batman at the end of the episode, but it also just helps convey the sense that Dick was genuinely upset to the point that a significant amount of time has passed since they last really spoke.

Granted, there’s some continuity snarls at play here. For one thing, Dick showed up at the end of Tim’s introduction episode, which makes it seem like he’s on decent enough terms with Bruce. For another, it felt like Batigrl’s identity wasn’t such a big secret in prior episodes, but at least there the show kept it ambiguous enough for this to work.

Still, despite that, I really like the different layers “Old Wounds” shows in the wedge between Batman and his first Robin. For one thing there’s the friction from the fact that Batman always puts the job first, whereas Dick is a young man who wants to have a life. For another, Dick simply wants to be “his own man,” who’s not seen as “sponging” off of his wealthy benefactor. For a third, he's aghast at Batman roughing up a low-level goon hired by the Joker in front of the man’s own wife and child. (By the way, it’s really jarring hearing Pamela Hayden, who also voices Milhouse on The Simpsons, play both the wife and kid.)

Those are all strong, philosophical differences between the two of them that would inevitably cause some interpersonal tension. But I really like that the real breaking point for their relationship is that (1.) he let Barbara, whom Dick cares about, participate in their caped adventuring; (2.) he knew her true identity and didn’t tell Dick, and (3.) he feels like Bruce manipulated her into it.

There’s a lot of rich material there, first and foremost that Dick is projecting his own sense of being manipulated by his father figure into this dangerous and potentially damaging life. He’s not only upset that Batman is allowing someone he cares deeply for to be at risk, but he feels like Batman just finds ways to get what he wants, making his wards think it was their own idea, and he resents Batman using that persuasion on him as much as he resents it vis-a-vis Barbara.

“Old Wounds” also nicely sets up a conflict to draw all of this out. Mark Hamill’s Joker will never not be a delight, and his radar-scrambling ransom scheme from the top of the Chrysler building both makes for some fun quips for the Clown Prince of Crime and a quality set piece. The explosions on the roof, death defying swings, and comic Joker bits all click beautifully in the red-and-black shadowed aesthetic the episode deploys.

The performances are also very strong. Loren Lester absolutely sells the anger and disgust in Robin’s reactions, making his departure from the bat family (with a punch for good measure) feel as meaningful as it should. And Kevin Conroy, whose character grew more laconic in the new series, freights his brief utterances with the gravity they need.

I particularly like the payoff to all of this, where Dick discovers that the goon who Batman roughed up that night was given a job by Bruce Wayne and that the incident set him on the right path. Whether that was always the plan or Dick’s disgust led him down that road, it’s proof that Batman has a heart and can change and do the right thing. The way that, combined with Tim’s urging, prompts Dick to reconcile with his adoptive father, is really well done.

Overall, this is a great episode that builds on the rich history fans have seen between Batman and Robin, finds a plausible reason for their bad blood, and manages to assuage it in a fashion that’s both gratifying and satisfying.