‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ Ending Explained: Is This the Joker We Really Want to See?

Batman: Caped Crusader has experienced a complex production journey. Initially set to air on Max, the series was rejected by HBO, appearing to be canceled. However, Amazon later acquired the rights, and the first 10-episode season premiered on August 1, 2024, on their streaming service.

At Fiction Horizon, we had the chance to watch the entire season in advance. We’ve already shared our honest review of the series, which enables us to now explain what transpires in the final moments of this new animated series.

If you’ve read our series review, you might recall our critique of its lack of narrative focus. The show struggles to decide whether it wants to be an anthology or a series with an overarching narrative arc. This indecision creates a problematic overall narrative structure, which is a significant drawback for a project with so much potential.

Despite this issue, the final two episodes form a two-part story that sets up the possibility for another season, should Amazon choose to continue the series. If you haven’t watched all the episodes yet, be aware that spoilers follow. Proceed with caution.

The final two episodes conclude the Harvey Dent arc, which had been sporadically presented in earlier episodes. While Dent was always a presence, the show mainly depicted him as a mayoral candidate advocating for fairness, yet also a shady district attorney. This dichotomy was another major narrative flaw of the series.

Fans anticipated what would happen next, and indeed, Dent was attacked with acid on Rupert Thorne’s orders—a significant deviation from canon—resulting in the creation of Two-Face. While we expected a lot from this development, we only got half an episode’s worth of decent Two-Face content. This wasted potential is another major issue, as highlighted in our review.

At the end of Episode 10, Two-Face is killed, meaning one of Batman’s major villains won’t return in the series. This decision only makes sense if the series is limited to two seasons, but if they plan for 30+ episodes, wasting Harvey Dent was a seriously poor choice.

On the other hand, the series concludes with a somewhat predictable cameo and foreshadowing. We see a shack in a shady part of Gotham filled with corpses bearing rictus grins. In the final scene, the Joker is revealed, satisfied with his bizarre experiments, hinting at the appearance of Batman’s biggest foe in a potential second season.

This nod to Batman: Year One and The Man Who Laughs—two major comics with similar narratives—falls flat. Caped Crusader fails as an alternative take on Year One, and it’s uncertain if it will succeed in adapting The Man Who Laughs.

This encapsulates the ending of Caped Crusader, but given the numerous issues in its first season, we must ask ourselves: is this really the Joker we want to see?

Have any thoughts to share? Let us know in the comments below!

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