That was just a doggone good episode—no two ways about it.

Dini provides his first script to the series since who-knows-when, and he doesn’t disappoint. I knew from the start this was gonna be one cool show, with the opening scene (which I, being a fan of both Broadway-style musicals and just general silliness, found absolutely rotf funny). Bruce’s “You hate me, don’t you?” and his mocking Terry’s use of the word “schway” were perfectly delivered. Back in the Batcave, the shots of the various gals in his life were a nice touch (and if ROTJ had been released this upcoming Tuesday as planned, the photos of he & Barbara in today’s episode would have been a really cool buildup).

Terry takes back seat yet again (something he’s gotten used to by now this season, I guess). His rather juvenile behavior at times was amusing (I was lol when he walked into the Batcave singing that godawful musical number in a shaky falsetto, and then nearly popped his eyes out of his head when he caught sight of “Talia”).

Bruce was excellent. The mental anguish he goes through early in the show is velly nice. Didn’t quite get why they bothered with the “Bruce-attacking-Terry” bit after he comes out of the Pit when they didn’t pursue it any further…but ah well.

The voice work was supoib. Conroy gives one of his greatest performances on this series, and the subtle changes made to the voice when Bruce was “young” (relatively speaking) were perfect. There was some very strong chemistry between Terry & Brucey here, and seeing the two fight together was wonderful (the “techno” version of the old theme song was an exceptional touch that really gave the whole scene a neat “generation-meets-generation” feel). The “after you” exchange was a great lead-in.

The Rha’s Al Ghul revelation was unexpected for me (but then, I’m usually pretty slow at picking up on that kinda thing). But it’s always great to hear David Warner, and he gives the usual devilish reading for the character. Talia’s sacrificing herself to give her father life would, I guess, be another take on the “parent-child” theme for Belchie to chalk up. Just goes to show how dedicated the poor girl really was…

The animation was also very nice—not necessarily for character movements or anything (actually, the proportions seemed rather off at times throughout the episode), but for the expressions. Some of the best use of facial expressions I’ve seen in awhile (esp. with some of the close-ups on Bruce at various times throughout the episode, where his look just perfectly conveyed what he was feeling).

The final exchange between Bruce and Rha’s was, um…(running out positive adjectives here ;). It had Dini’s mark all over it, with lines like “You don’t laugh at death…you wimper at it,” as well as Bruce’s admittance that for a few moments, he’d been as desperate as Rha’s. Also some of Dini’s usual silly one-liners (like “I’m not gonna wear the Robin suit” and “She *KISSED* me…”) adding a touch of fun to the episode.

Heartwrenching ending, to boot.

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