The weird version of Gotham with elements drawn from many different incarnations is the setting for Gotham Knights. The group that’s being forced to work together is starting to gel, and while I don’t think they’ll be a team for any of the usual reasons, survival is a good motivator. With most of the city turned against them, the gang really is “Under Pressure.”

The episode starts with Robin taking on the leader of the Mutant gang. It’s a brief, vicious fight that shows how determined and clever this Robin is. She slips away just before the police arrive, as so many of the Bat-clan are wont to do. When she gets back to the loft where the fugitives are hiding, she and Turner talk about Robin’s connection to the gang leader, Turner’s attempts to make sense out of Bruce Wayne’s diary, and get pestered by Duela being her abrasive and annoying self.

At a press conference, the mayor goes on about the capture of the Mutant leader, who is apparently named Wagner, and takes as much credit for it as he can, also going on about the Founders’ Gala which is coming up. The mayor and Dent clash about Dent’s forthcoming run for the Mayor’s job, and Mayor Hill ends up sounding like even more of a jerk than usual. In the morning, the non-fugitive part of the crew end up crossing paths, as Stephanie and Carrie/Robin have a chat, and then Brody pops up again. Personally, I’m not enjoying the Stephanie/Brody pairing, but the writers seem determined to make it happen. They end up with a date for the Founders’ Gala.

Stephanie touches base with Turner later, and apparently he’s enjoying the idea of Steph and Brody together about as much as I am. Duela ends up agreeing with Stephanie, leading to probably my favorite line of the episode. In what seems like a stretch of logic, the group decides that if they can’t get anywhere with Bruce Wayne’s death, they’ll work on his ancestor’s murder, also supposedly by the Court of Owls, and a very complicated plan gets slowly put together. In a surprise development, one of the GCPD blimps is finally something more than an atmospheric set piece, and the stakes for some of what Gotham City is facing get raised.

While Carrie has a crisis of conscience and has to get talked down by Turner, Cullen goes off in his part of the plan. It’s simple, but actually makes a lot of sense, and I could see it working. Harper isn’t happy about this, but Duela unexpectedly backs Cullen, and more plans are set in motion. The night of the Gala arrives, and Stephanie meets up with the March family. Lincoln March, Brody’s father, is clearly a dick.

Robin is off on her own mission, and finds out her refusal of Turner’s offer to help didn’t take. They argue for a bit, then end up talking about what some of Bruce’s plans were for Turner. They realize that the Mutants have been a lot more clever and subtle than anyone realized. At the Gala, Stephanie has a run-in with Dent, and we see that Mr. March doesn’t limit who he’s being a jerk to. There is also at least one more secret in the March family. Cullen, on his own, starts trying to accomplish his own tasks.

Robin and Turner come back with some clues from their outing, and Harper shows her brilliance while Duela seems utterly bored. As the others try and puzzle some things out, Duela ends up making a very insightful comment that helps out a lot, pretty much in spite of herself. Stephanie and Brody get another scene together before Turner calls with a warning. The group is still behind and not managing to catch up that well as the Mutants launch the next phase of their plan, taking everyone else by surprise.

The dysfunctional group lurches unsteadily into action, after having to persuade a few members to come along. This really is not a team. Cullen’s plan was going well but gets caught up in unexpected events, forcing him to improvise. The rest of the group finally gets going, linking up with Stephanie and finding a big problem right off the bat. The Mutants make assorted demands, and Dent and Hill clash again over what the best response is. Harper and Stephanie bicker over how to defuse the situation they find themselves in, while Duela makes a discovery and grudgingly finds herself admiring parts of the Mutants’ plan. Turner makes a desperate move to try and help some people, taking a risk and making an ally, at least for now.

Harper and Stephanie go on bickering, which isn’t really helping anything, while Robin and Duela go off to play to their own strengths. Part of Turner’s evolving plan unfortunately relies on Mayor Hill seeing reason, so you can imagine how well that goes. The Mutants try and enact the last part of their plan, which doesn’t work, and Hills’ refusal to cooperate ends up making Dent look like a hero.

Despite some degree of success, Harper and Stephanie keep arguing about how they got there. I don’t think these two are going to end up being friends. The news makes Dent look even better, although he’s worried that something important has gone missing. The group meets up back at their hideout, and a petty thievery act of Duela’s ends up giving them a big and disturbing clue. While they try and figure out what this means, Cullen finally makes his way back, having eventually been successful with his tasks.

Carrie is working off some frustration on a heavy bag when Turner finds her. They end up talking a lot about Bruce and the different sides of him they variously saw and didn’t get to see. They are clearly envious of each other, which will either be the foundation of a great friendship, a love affair, or eventually a rivalry. This being a CW show, I’m going for all three at various times.

We start wrapping things up with a few quick scenes. Duela and Cullen share a secret they’re keeping from everyone else. Harper and Cullen have an emotional scene that works pretty well. Harvey Dent makes a major announcement about his future, not really surprising anyone. Mayor Hill goes off to sulk, instead getting a nasty surprise that hints that either there’s a link between the Mutants and the Court of Owls or that the Mutants are a lot more complicated than it seems. Dent’s voiceover playing as the Mayor suffers is an interesting and well-executed dynamic to close out the episode.

What I Liked: This show is so much better than the initial trailers made it look. This episode had some good action, let everyone shine, and there were some great lines and exchanges. The amusing sociopath has almost become a trope of action shows, but Duela, played by Olivia Rose Keegan, is doing really well with it. The Court is a subtle and dangerous enemy, and even the Mutants have some good plans. Dent is at least willing to listen to reason, and not some obsessive Javert-like figure.

What I Didn’t: I could do without the entire March family. I don’t like any of them. The mother seemed ok in this episode, but you just know the secret that was hinted at is going to cause a big problem down the road. I also hope they manage to tone down the bickering within the group. It’s both going to either prevent them from getting anywhere, and/or get tiresome over time.

This series is impressing me, making the announcement that it’s only getting the one season even more disappointing. I’ll give this episode a 4 out of 5. We’ll see how the rest of the battles play out over the remaining episodes, and hope they don’t end on a never-to-be-resolved cliffhanger.