There is an upside to planning out a series in advance and giving it underpinning themes. It can impart a coherent tone and message compared to a more anthological approach. But the downside is that underpinnings can leave you stuck in place, unable to spread your wings. This episode is proof of that.
Several characters are remade here to fit the running theme of class conflict and the arrogant disdain of the wealthy for the underclass. The Gentlemen Ghost is cast as a spectral elitist and Brit sympathizer during the Revolution, a foe of democracy. Harvey Dent is shown as a child of wealth, who has relied on his society connections to get ahead, and has trouble in the polls because he's not viewed as a Man Of The People. Lucius Fox chastises Bruce Waynes for "not treating the help like people".
At this point in the show, I'm actively peeved at the showrunners acting as if Bruce uses Alfred for batarang target practice or demeaningly calls him "Fattypants" or something.
 |
| I don't suppose there ARE non-demeaning ways to call someone "Fattypants". |
He is certainly colder toward Alfred than we are accustomed to, but it's not cruel or dehumanizing. It's a pretty normal reaction to having lost those closest to him as a child. It is, after all, traditional to call butlers by their last name. Alfred is the ONLY butler I have seen in any fiction anywhere who is NOT called by his last name.
Perhaps it's the times we live in or the showrunners' need to exonerate Bruce Wayne from the "crime" of being a one-percenters. But after six episodes, the execution of this theme is feeling pretty heavy-handed.
This is also the episode where Batman learns, to his surprise, that the supernatural is real. Alfred, being a Brit, is naturally spooky and already knows. To his credit, Bruce adapts to this knowledge extremely quickly and gets some help from discount Baron Sunday. Give the ongoing presence of Detective Jim Corrigan among the Gotham City's Good Cop Brigade, one could be forgiven for wondering they might be setting up for the Spectre at some point.
The "Pennyworth" thing has always made me curious, too, has "Master Bruce," which is how he would refer to a child. At a certain point, he would have become "Mr. Wayne." (Dick, Tim, Damien, and Jason would all be "Masters" until they turned 18.)
ReplyDeleteI suppose that it's an indication of their long-term relationship, but doesn't it go back to Alfred's introduction in the 40s, before the "lifelong servant of the Waynes" thing was canonized?
I assume that to some degree this (and many things) can be explain by the fact that the audience of Golden Age comics is children (something we tend to forget). They wanted a more familiar feel among the characters, and have them all used their first names simply fit the bill more easily in a may accessible to children.
DeleteI'm not entirely sure about the etiquette, but is master/mister really like miss/misses and one only becomes Mister upon marriage? So it is entirely appropriate for Bruce Wayne to call Alfred "Pennyworth" (no "mister" even), who should in turn call him Mister Wayne.
ReplyDeleteIn the golden age, Alfred didn't really have experience as a butler, though between his British-ness and his acting, he might have picked up a few things.
Does anyone else think golden age Alfred just lied about being Jarvis's son, a la Uncle Dudley, so he could get a job until his detective agency took off?
Having been a Wodehouse reader since I was seven, I spent years as a kid quite reasonably assuming Alfred was his last name. Bertie doesn't call his man Reginald now, does he? Even have Mandela Effect memories of the character being called John Alfred at one point.
ReplyDeleteThe Pennyworth thing was a real surprise to me when I finally found out. I wasn't a huge Batman reader back then (or now) and it wasn't like it was mentioned very often in the dark days before the internet made all trivia effortless to find.
It takes less time to say "Alfred" than to say "Pennyworth." Also, the former is easier for new acquaintances to remember. :-)
ReplyDeleteIn real life, do servants actually refer to young people as "Master" and "Mistress" in the first place? I've managed to go over half a century without encountering an actual butler, maid, chauffeur, et cetera.