Pennyworth season 3 is finally out on HBO Max, and it's a brave new world filled with science.
As Pennyworth season 3 opens, it has been five years since the Civil War between the Raven Society and the No-Name League, and life is back to normal. Well, as 'normal' as it can get in a world occupied with enhanced individuals.
Alfred Pennyworth (Jack Bannon) is running a pub called the Queen Anne's Revenge and works with Bet Sykes (Paloma Faith) and Daveboy (Ryan Fletcher) to help bring in enhanced individuals. This puts them in constant contact with Martha Wayne (Emma Paetz) and Lucious Fox (Simon Manyonda) who both now work for the government cleaning up all of these science experiments gone wrong.
Meanwhile, Thomas Wayne (Ben Aldridge) is now fully in his medical career, while Mary Pennyworth (Dorothy Atkinson) serves as the nanny to Wayne's daughter, Samantha.
Where season 2 went grander in its storytelling, season 3 brings us back to a more intimate story. The season is broken into smaller stories of varying lengths, all the while having an overall arc as well. Compared to the past two seasons, however, the big threat doesn't really feel all that menacing. It still needs to be taken care of, but it never feels like the world will come to a complete end if it isn't.
And honestly, that's where this show should be. The biggest strength from the beginning has been Bannon's performance as Alfie. Every moment he's on the screen you're happy, and every moment he isn't, you're still enjoying it, but wanting to get back to him as soon as possible.
Faith's Bet Sykes has a reduced role this season, but is still a presence in every scene she's in. If you aren't seeing Bannon, you're wanting to know what insane plan Bet is next on to.
And then there is the Bruce-shaped hole in the series. As mentioned earlier, Alfie's mom, Mary, has taken on the role of nanny for little Samantha Wayne. While Samantha is in no way annoying, you are constantly wondering where and when Bruce is going to come into play. With the title of the series having been lengthened to Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman's Butler, you know he has to come into play at some point.
There are some definite nods to the greater Batman universe this season with Lucious showing love for inventing gadgets that may someday reside on a particular utility belt. There's an Alice in Wonderland-themed tea party at one point that makes you chuckle a bit. And one scene, in particular, makes you think Samantha may be a bit more perceptive than your typical 5-year-old. Perhaps it runs in the family. And, as per usual, the Wayne Corporation may be involved in something nefarious, but what do you expect from that darn company?
If you've enjoyed the previous seasons of Pennyworth, you'll more than likely be satisfied with this one as well. And seeing as it definitely opens some doors for season 4, we're hopeful it won't be our last outing with these characters.
The first three episodes of Pennyworth season 3 are now showing on HBO Max.
DISCLAIMER: HBO Max provided Batman News with the entirety of Pennyworth season 3 for the purposes of this review. We watched all 10 episodes prior to beginning this review.
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