What They Say:
Harvey Dent has a secret second personality who is a gangster named Big Bad Harv.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
One of the villains that I really enjoy in the Batman universe is that of Harvey Dent/Two-Face. The character has had a difficult time in being brought to the big screen with a more comical approach in live-action in the ‘90s before a more serious one with the Nolan trilogy. Both worked in their own way but they didn’t, for me, capture what makes the character so fascinating in the comics. There’s so many things that have been explored in long form about the character, personality, and more with him, especially in contrast to Batman and in a complementing kind of way, that it’s rich and ripe for more interpretation. This series didn’t go as deep as the comics but it handled the psychological strain and issues much better.
We’ve had a little time with D.A. Harvey Dent previously in the series but the cold open here shows that he’s got some issues he’s struggling with as we see in his dreams/nightmares. That’s pushed to the side for him to join up with Gordon on a raid going on but that gets cut short by Batman stepping in, which helped considering the weaponry this gang had acquired. The gang, according to Dent, is backed by notorious criminal Rupert Thorne but it’s not unexpected for a D.A. to make enemies. The problem is that Harvey almost has a switch in him with his personality as when one of the thugs taunts him, he goes all out in striking out at him physically – all in front of the cameras. That should be career ending but Gotham does operate in its own kind of dynamic. It’s the kind of place where some strongarm pushback against the criminal element can earn you a good reputation and a lot of votes.
The problem for Thorne is that from all appearances, Dent is pretty clean and that makes it impossible for Dent to “own” him so that his operations can continue. The reality, however, is that he really is struggling with something that he’s working through with his psychologist. The Big Bad Harv personality that resides in him is essentially the dark Two-Face side and it plays well here in a controlled way when the doc gets Harv to come out and talk. The problem is that when this does happen, one of Thorne’s group is listening outside and ready to use that for blackmail. Being strong armed by Thorne is exactly the kind of thing that will force Big Bad Harv out more as all Harvey does is react. That does catch Bruce’s eye at least and puts Batman on the prowl to find out what’s really going on.
The downside is that it’s only going to make things worse and make Harvey a complicated and complex enemy of his for years to come. One that wants help but struggles with that duality in a big way. Harvey and Thorne’s meeting is definitely fun to watch play out as Thorne believes he has the upper hand with all of it, and Batman does have Harvey’s back even if he’s unaware, but it all turns dark fast with Big Bad Harv coming out. While stories like this and in entertainment in general rarely handle split personalities well and it can create a stigma, the plain and basic duality here works well as it turns into a big rumble, one with Batman is trying to protect both Thorne and his goons as well as Harvey. But it turns into another situation where Batman creates his opponent, accidentally, with the birth of Two-Face in that factory.
In Summary:
As an origin story, the first part of the Two-Face storyline works well. Batman’s involvement is plain though kept to the side as the real focus is exploring who Harvey Dent is. We get nods to his youth and where the split came from, though it’s likely seeded beyond that, and there are so many flashpoints in his life in the present that we see before that which makes it clear he’s been struggling his whole life. Gotham brings out so many different things in people and a complex personality like Harvey Dent is deeply affected by it. I like that the focus was kept on Harvey more than anything else as it dug into his supporting cast a touch as well as Thorne. Richard Moll did a great job with the character previously and as he gets to expand on it here as Two-Face it’s even better.
Grade: B+