Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

• The first scene, before the opening sequence, before anything, is a group of criminals unloading weapons from a boat.
  • Batman interrupts them.
  • “He’s alone, we can take him!” Thug #1 shouts to his friends.
  • When Thug #1 turns around, Batman has already disappeared, before reappearing again behind him.
  • Batman looms. “I don’t need anyone else to take you down.”
• Opening credits.

• The first scene of the show proper is at a Wayne Gala.
  • Dick Grayson (age seventeen) smiles at the reporters despite the flashing lights.
  • He poses for a photo, and escapes to the refreshment table. As soon as his face is hidden from the cameras, his jaw tightens.
  • “I see Brucie already gone tonight?” a socialite asks.
  • Dick’s smile returns instantly. “Yes, well, he had an urgent matter. A brunette, I believe.”
  • “But to leave you all alone, here with the sharks?” The socialite grins as she glances at the dancefloor. “He must really have faith in you.”
  • “Yeah, right,” Dick mutters bitterly. When the socialite glances back at him, he’s back to charming.
  • “If you’ll excuse me, I should check in on the catering.” Dick nods at the woman and slips off.
• Dick brushes past Barbara Gordon (age twenty-ish) and her father.
  • Babs is wearing a purple gown with a golden sash, subtle costuming with a very specific colour-scheme.
  • She’s chatting calmly with several policemen. Her head doesn’t turn as Dick walks past, but her eyes follow him.
• He slips out the hallway.
  • He ducks past the kitchen, sneaks into the library.
  • After checking the room is empty, he flicks open a wooden wall panel to reveal a screen and a keyboard. He taps in a five digit code, and scans his fingerprints.
  • A Robin R symbol comes up on the screen.
  • Robin presses on the wall, and it shifts slightly open.
  • “Weren’t you supposed to be minding the crowds tonight?”
  • Dick jumps, shutting the door again automatically. He turns around to see Babs grinning at him, and smiles back. “Thought I’d leave them in your capable hands.”
  • “Hey, I’m just here for the ridiculously fancy crab-cakes. Babysitting is the hosts’ duty.” Babs closes the library door. “I take it you’re planning to crash a different party?”
  • “I know one that seems more fun than this. Wanna tag along?”
  • “Like I need your permission.”
  • “Unlike some people, I like to extend invitations.”
  • Barbara’s grin is enough of an answer.
  • “Shall we get changed into something more practical?”
  • “Right behind you.”
• Barbara’s phone rings.
  • “Hey, Dad.”
  • “Where did you disappear?” Commissioner Gordon asks.
  • “Just the library. I needed some quiet, and Mr. Wayne said I was welcome anytime as thanks for helping Dick out with his math exam.”
  • Dick makes a face at her as she talks. Babs retorts with a tongue stuck out.
  • “Right. I need to go; do you want a lift home?”
  • “Wait, what? What happened?”
  • “Nothing bad,” Gordon assures her. “Batman just busted a crime ring and dropped the ringleaders off at the precinct. Apparently they’ve got leads to a drug-trafficking group that we’ve been searching for weeks, so I need to get down there now.”
  • “Oh. Right.” Barbara’s expression drops, but her voice doesn’t change. “Well, at least Batman winning is good news. Don’t worry, I’ll just bully Dick into driving me home or something.”
  • “Okay. Stay safe. I love you.”
  • “Love you too.” Babs hangs up and sighs. “B’s already done.”
  • Dick’s face is tight. “Of course he is.” It takes a moment for him to put on his smile. “Shall we return to the wolf pack?”
  • “As long as they’ve still got crab cakes.” Babs links elbows and the two walk back.
• Later, Dick finds Bruce patching himself up in the Batcave.
  • “You left me behind again.”
  • “Someone needed to be seen at the gala,” Bruce says dismissively.
  • Dick glares. “Why not you? You’re the one actually running the party.”
• When the first episode finishes, the final scene is Dick in his room.
  • He’s frowning at a map on the wall. Gotham is highlighted.
  • He draws his fingers along a road leading out. “One hour… two hours… two hours and a half… good enough.”
  • He picks up a pin and stabs it into the city of Bludhaven.

• This sets up the first season’s overarching plot of Dick’s growing desire for independence.
  • Dick is in his final year of high school, and is constantly arguing with Bruce.
  • He keeps trying to go off separately, which leads to Bruce trying to bench him, which only makes Dick react worse.
  • The arc word is ‘alone’. Normally used in the context of ‘I can do it alone!’ or ‘I alone can help Gotham,’ or the like. Occasionally ‘You’re going to end up all alone’.
  • There is at least one touching moment where Bruce holds Dick and informs him ‘You are not alone’, possibly as a flashback to a young, scared circus child.

• A lot of villains are introduced.
• Ra’s al Ghul, Talia, and Lazarus Pits are shown to exist fairly early on, for key plot points in Seasons Four and Five.
  • Ra’s al Ghul is shown to have glowing eyes whenever he gets annoyed.
  • “Detective.” Eyes glow green, highlighting his face in the shadows. Still speaking very calmly, if tightly. “You are beginning to try my patience.”
• Joker is also introduced, but he’s just part of the rogues gallery at this point.
  • There’s no indication of a specific nemesis until the second season.
• Maybe other heroes are mentioned, but if so they’re very much in the background.
  • “You mean like that guy in Metropolis?”
  • “He can stay in Metropolis for all I care.”

• Because obviously mainstream TV needs a romance arc, Dick and Babs get a continual will they, won’t they?
• Gotham Prep has the Senior Prom approaching.
  • “Okay, so the Maroni drug deal is going down next Saturday.” Dick taps at the report. “If you’re watching this exit, I can come in through the broken wall and—”
  • “You’re going to be there?”
  • Dick’s hackles rise immediately. “You’re not sidelining me again.”
  • “If you want to come, you may. I was under the impression that you intended to go to your prom.”
  • “Wait — that’s next Saturday?”
  • “Alfred has already arranged your suit.”
• The next day, Dick is putting his books away in his locker when a girl comes up to him.
  • She asks him if he’s going with anyone to the dance.
  • “Not yet.”
  • “Would you, um, like to go with me?”
  • Dick stiffens, as if it hadn’t even occurred to him that she was about to ask. “Oh, um, that’s… I… thanks, but—”
  • “Oh, okay.”
  • “It’s not against you, I swear, it’s nothing personal,” Dick blurts. “I just… I have someone I need to ask…”
  • The girl laughs, and takes it fairly well.
  • After she leaves, Dick leans against his locker and complains to no-one that he’s normally very good at being charming.
• Dick spends the episode subplot trying to work out a way to invite Barbara to the dance.
  • “So, um, BG. How’s… how’s college compared to high school?”
  • “So much better in every way. I don’t think I’d step foot there again if you paid me.”
  • “…Right.”
  • “Not that you should be discouraged, you’ve only got a few months before graduating.”
  • “Uh-huh. Thanks.”
• At the end, neither Dick or Barbara end up going to the prom.
  • Instead, Robin and Batgirl show up to stop the Maroni drug deal.
  • They stand in the middle of the warehouse, a dozen unconscious dealers lying around them.
  • Batman had been elsewhere to follow down the helicopter that took off, Maroni’s main buyer in it.
  • The two sidekicks are left behind.
  • “Sorry that you didn’t get a dance tonight,” Batgirl says finally, sitting down on one of the warehouse crates. “I know you were looking forward to it.”
  • “Oh. You knew about that?”
  • “Well, yeah.”
  • Robin shrugs. “It’s no big deal.”
  • “Hmm.” Batgirl glances around, smiles, and then walks up to him. She gives him her hand. “May I have this dance, Boy Wonder?”
  • Robin smiles, and allows her to lead him to the centre of the warehouse.
  • They don’t actually have any music, so instead Babs hums as they improvise a slow dance together.

• There are indications throughout the season that Dick’s planning to make a change.
  • In the opening episodes he’s looking up maps of the surrounding areas of Gotham, choosing another potential city to set up.
  • When Bruce walks into his room on one occasion, Dick hurriedly shoves his notebook into his desk drawers. There’s illustrations of what looks to be a new superhero costume that he quickly hides behind another book.
  • Another point, Alfred finds a sheet filled with random names.
  • Bluebird… Bluewing… Nightprowler… Nightwing… Nightbird… Nightstep…
  • ‘Nightwing’ is highlighted.
• Bruce tries to talk to Dick about it.
  • It doesn’t work well.
  • Dick gets defensive and insists nothing's wrong, it’s none of his business.
  • Bruce decides he doesn’t want to force another argument.

• Somebody tries to make a Batman play.
  • Obviously, the playwright has no idea of secret identities, or whether or not Batman has any superpowers, so they have to fill in the gaps themselves.
  • It is amazingly campy. High budget, with wires that send the actors soaring around the theatre, but campy.
  • From a meta perspective (because the in-story playwright has no idea), the play takes inspiration from the 60s TV show, along with various references to a dozen other versions.
  • During fight scenes, stage hands run out waving signs saying ‘Bang!’ ‘Pow!’ ‘Wham!’.
  • There’s even a Bruce Wayne character who gets kidnapped at some point. Not that they actually call him ‘Bruce Wayne’, but it’s clear who helpless-but-harmless-billionaire-playboy ‘Brett Lane’ is supposed to be.
  • Technically Brett Lane kinda helps save the day when he lends Batman his own personal jet in the climax.
• A supervillain decides to swing in and complain about their portrayal, so the Bats have to turn up to save the day.
  • Batgirl informs the Robin-actor that he’s pretty good, the ‘golly gee Batman!’ is completely accurate, but he should probably know that Robin’s also got this adorable catchphrase, which slightly changes in every context.
  • Holy Slander, Batman!
  • And yes, she does describe it as ‘adorable’.
  • Robin is less than impressed, and responds the only way he can. By spending the rest of the episode actually saying it, as liberally as possible when around Batgirl, complete with ‘golly gee’s.
  • Babs very quickly regrets saying anything.
  • At the end of the episode, there’s an implication that when Dick first started out as Robin, he really did used to say ‘Holy X, Batman!’, something that 17-year-old Dick is part embarrassed by, part nostalgic for.

• At some point Batman annoys Batgirl, in the way that he tends to do often.
• As Batgirl runs off over rooftops to patrol, she mutters under her breath about him.
  • It steadily gets louder.
  • She lands on a skyscraper’s balcony to rant, complaining about Batman for over a full minute as she paces.
  • Despite also having ears on her cowl, she sticks a finger up over each side of her head to mimic Batman’s ears whenever she quotes him.
• The next day, Dick congratulates her on the video.
  • Barbara is horrified.
  • As it turns out, the owner of the balcony had filmed the vigilante outside his living room.
  • Batgirl’s rant isn’t just online, it’s viral. She’s trending on no less than three different platforms.
  • Babs drops her head down to the table. “What am I going to do?”
  • “I vote you say it again to his face.”
  • “You are not helpful.”
  • “It’s not like you said anything that bad. Nothing mentions his secret identity or anything.”
  • “Batman can never know I told the internet his breath smells like pepperoni.”
  • “Yeah that was weird, he doesn’t normally go out with proof that he eats. He’s literally got Bat breath-mints for this purpose.”
  • “Dick.”
• Thus starts the episode subplot about Babs trying to ensure that Bruce does not see that video.
  • “You’re going to try and hide this from Bruce. The World’s Greatest Detective.”
  • “He’s not some omniscient oracle that knows everything that happens online.”
  • “Well, no, he’s not. But he can basically see a secret from ten miles away. If we try to hide something from him—”
  • “Are you going to help or not?”
  • “Of course I will.”
• Babs gets her first on-screen opportunity to really hack.
  • First she has to break into the Batcomputer.
  • Bruce has it set up to filter through every mention of the names Batman, Batgirl, and Robin, but considering the sheer volume of internet that includes, he doesn’t exactly check in regularly if it doesn’t cross-check other alerts. Babs manages to remove any reference from the computer.
  • Then she has to try and hide it from the internet.
  • She successfully deletes the original post and cheers.
  • “Congrats.” Dick hums, sitting on the desk beside her. “What about the reposts?”
  • Babs groans. “You couldn’t have let me have one minute to celebrate?” She starts up a search for the video elsewhere.
• Dick has to help her try to steal all of Bruce’s technology
  • Because while Batgirl is a decent hacker, she hasn’t honed that specific skill yet. She doesn’t have the ability to scrub all traces of a viral video from the internet.
  • What she can (probably) do is ensure that his phone will not play it.
• At the end of the episode, Batman informs her that of course he saw the video.
  • “Batgirl, make a detour to the docks.”
  • “On it.”
  • “And try not to become an internet sensation tonight.”
  • She freezes. “You, um, heard of that?”
  • “I noticed that you accessed my laptop, among other digital trails you left. It wasn’t difficult to trace what you changed.”
  • “So, uh, got any comments?”
  • Bruce watches her for a moment. “You have talent with computers, but you can’t rely on talent alone. Actively work on improving that.”
  • “Yes, sir.”

• One episode revolves around Dick Grayson, the billionaire ward of Bruce Wayne, getting kidnapped.
  • Bruce is going frantic.
  • He can’t even leave because he has a dozen police with him at all times. It’s clearly killing him that Batman can’t go.
  • Batgirl on the case, though.
  • Bruce is trying to whisper tips about the detective work into his phone without letting Detective Montoya see him. Batgirl grumbles that she knows what she’s doing.
• Dick, meanwhile, is very bored.
  • He’s tied up on a chair, trying to entertain himself by untangling the knots. Whenever the kidnappers glance at him, he goes still again, not letting them realise his hands are free.
  • He makes it into a game, waving and pulling faces whenever they look away.
  • They don’t catch him at this, but when moving him to a new location, they put a blindfold on.
  • Naturally, Dick takes this off as part of his game. Just slightly, only barely enough that he can peek.
  • It has the added bonus of letting him see the kidnapper’s faces once they remove their ski-masks.
  • Less of a bonus when one of them comes over and sees the hint of Dick’s iris peeking through a gap.
  • The one that finds it curses violently, and tries to pull it back to where it should be.
  • “Just take the whole thing off; it’s not worth it if he’s already seen our faces.”
• The kidnappers call Bruce.
  • He’s sitting in the police precinct, waiting impatiently and frustrated that he can’t do anything.
  • When he realises who it is he waves over Gordon, putting it on speaker phone.
  • “I’m here. Where’s Dick — is he okay?” Bruce asks, an odd mix of frantic and controlled.
  • “He’s fine. Have you got our money?”
  • Gordon cuts in. “We want proof of life, first.”
  • “Alright, fine.”
  • Back in the warehouse, the phone is jammed to Dick’s ear. “Hi, Bruce.”
  • “Dick! Are you okay? Have they hurt you?”
  • “I’m fine.” Dick glares at the kidnappers.
  • “For the time being,” the lead kidnapper corrects, taking the phone back. “Have you got our money, Mr. Wayne?”
  • “Yes, yes,” Bruce’s voice comes over the phone. “I’ll send it now; just don’t hurt Dick.”
  • The kidnappers wait until their laptop announces that money has been paid into the account. The one sitting on the laptop nods at the one with the phone, while the third waits in the corner.
  • “Well, it looks like that’s all come through,” the lead kidnapper says. “Which means I’m actually really sorry about this, Mr. Wayne.”
  • Dick immediately stiffens. The boredom vanishes from his face.
  • “See, if all had gone according to the plan, we would have handed him over now. But unfortunately, someone put the blindfold on him wrong, and he saw our faces.”
  • Dick’s eyes widen as the man takes out a gun and hefts it at him. “Wait—”
  • “Please understand, this is just protocol.”
• The scene switches back to the precinct as a gunshot echoes.
  • BANG!
  • “No!” Bruce jumps to his feet, so hard that he nearly overturns the table.
  • Gordon goes white, and the rest of the police listening in look alarmed.
  • The phone keeps playing, sound of something crashing, a fight going on off-screen.
• Shot changes back to the warehouse.
  • A bullet is embedded in the wall.
  • Dick is standing in the middle of three unconscious men, breathing heavily. “Please understand, this was just protocol,” he mutters venomously.
  • He picks up the gun, unloading it before placing it safely on the table. Then he turns around to focus on the squawking phone.
  • “Richard, are you there?”
  • “Dick, Dick, talk to me!”
  • “What is happening?”
  • He almost takes it, before he pulls back, glances at the unconscious men around him.
• Bruce at the precinct is still looking sick before a new voice hits the speakerphone.
  • “Batman, the phone’s still going.” The voice sounds muffled, as if whoever’s speaking is halfway across the room. “Could you maybe get it… nope, heaven forbid you ever talk to anyone. Fine, I’ll do it.” The voice clears up as the phone is picked up. “Heya, this is Robin. Yes, that Robin. Don’t worry, Grayson’s safe.”
  • Bruce lets out a long slow breath, and needs to clutch at the desk to remain standing. Colour begins to return to his face.
  • Gordon takes the phone. “Hi, Robin. Gordon here. Can we talk to Richard?”
  • Camera changes back to Dick, holding the phone.
  • “Heya, Commish!” ‘Robin’ says it cheerier than would be natural, his voice slightly higher than usual. “Sure thing, just give me a second. The kid’s, um, throwing up. But you know the first attempted murder’s always the hardest.”
  • “No rush,” Gordon says in the precinct, checking with his eyes if Bruce is okay with that. “Can you tell me what happened?”
  • “Nothing special, really,” Robin says, grimacing despite his cheery tone.
    “Batman and I tracked down these guys, and right on time. Stepped in before it could get ugly. We’ll leave them tied up for you at the scene.”
  • He reaches for his belt, realises he’s not wearing it, and goes for the rope that had attached him to the chair.
  • “ Where are you?” Gordon’s voice is mildly scratchy — the signal isn’t great.
  • The question makes Dick freeze. He glances at the window, and can only see that they’re several storeys above the ground.
  • The shot changes back to the station as ‘Robin’ stumbles for an answer. “We are… hold on, one second I’m talking … just a minute… okay, fine, here.” There’s a stumble of movement as if the phone was being passed from hand to hand, and then a new voice comes on.
  • “Bruce?” The ‘Dick Grayson’ voice is quieter than ‘Robin’, soft and very shaken and not as high pitched. “Are you there?”
  • “I’m here, Dickie,” Bruce says immediately. “Are you okay?”
  • “I’m — I’m fine. Robin and Batman got here just in time.” Dick’s voice hesitates. In the warehouse, he’s struggling to tie up one of the men who’s semi-conscious. “Robin was so cool when he broke in, he just took the guy out like that!”
  • In the precinct, Bruce can’t help but roll his eyes. But he’s smiling nonetheless.
  • Dick moves onto tying up next kidnapper, holding the phone at arm’s length. “You weren’t too bad yourself with that flip out of the way, kid,” he says as Robin. “Where did you learn to do that?”
  • Switches back to ‘Dick’. “The circus.’
  • ‘Robin’: “Well, nothing beats Bat training, but that was pretty cool.”
• Batgirl bursts in through the window.
  • She lands on the ground in a perfect spring, and then pauses to notice the unconscious men.
  • “Di—”
  • Dick shakes his head frantically, striking one hand across his throat. “Hey, Batgirl!” he says gleefully, his voice contrasting with his expression. “Sorry, I can’t talk right now. I’m on the phone with the Commish, talking about how me and Batman saved Grayson.”
  • “Right.” Batgirl nods once, relaxing against the wall. “Sorry I’m late.”
  • “No sweat. Batman and Robin are capable of doing this ourselves.” He winces when Batgirl raises an eyebrow. “Sorry Commish, gotta go, we’ll drop the Grayson kid off for you on the ground.”
  • He hangs up.
  • “ ‘Batman and Robin are capable of doing this ourselves’?”
  • “I know, I know, don’t mock me.” Dick rubs his hand over his forehead. “It was the first thing I thought of.”
• They decide Batgirl should deliver Dick back to safety.
  • Batgirl takes the phone back, texts an address to the precinct, and hangs up.
  • They finish locking up the criminals, and then wait at the window until they see a patrol car approaching.
  • “Alright. Let’s go.” Batgirl opens the window and holds out her arms to Dick.
  • “What – what are you doing?”
  • “Well, you can’t exactly swing down yourself, Boy Wonder.”
  • “Oh. Right.”
  • Dick is awkward about pressing himself so close into Batgirl, wrapping his arms around her neck securely. “Is this okay? Am I hurting you?”
  • Batgirl doesn’t even answer, just wraps one arm around his back and then other to her grappling hook.
  • They swing out the window. Dick gasps and clutches tighter without entirely meaning to.
  • They land behind the police car.
  • “Wow, that is terrifying when it’s not your line,” Dick whispers in her ear.
  • “Go.” Batgirl pushes him forward to the police rushing towards them.
  • Dick obligingly untangles himself from her and sprints towards them, collapsing theatrically to whimper when he reaches the patrol.
• Bruce arrives later in Gordon’s car.
  • Dick is sitting in the patrol vehicle, a shock blanket draped around his shoulders when he sees his guardian.
  • He jumps up and runs forward, hugging Bruce.
  • Bruce hugs him back.
• Later, they’re driving back home.
  • It’s the first time the two have been alone since Dick got kidnapped.
  • “In all honesty. Are you okay?”
  • “Yeah, sure. I’m fine,” Dick says dismissively. There’s no sign of the fact he’d been crying moments before he got into the seat.
  • “Good. I’m glad.” Bruce hesitates. “I was… worried, when I heard that gun go off.”
  • “Didn’t think I could handle it?” Dick challenges.
  • “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
  • Dick’s jaw tenses, but he relaxes into the chair, finally safe. “Yeah. I know.”

• There should be a flashback episode.
  • Because if the show starts when Dick is already established as Robin, he needs a backstory.
• Episode begins eight years earlier.
  • A tiny Dick, bouncing around the rink with his parents in rehearsal.
  • His parents call him ‘Robin’ as an affectionate nickname that makes him groan.
  • When his mother calls a break and he leaves to find a bathroom, he overhears the Circus Ringmaster Haley in an argument.
  • “I will not be threatened in my own office, Mr. Zucco! We do not need your protection.”
  • Tiny Dick sees a tall man storm out of the room, fury radiating off his frame. “Believe me, Mr. Haley. You’ll regret this.”
• Flicks back to the future.
  • “You are going to regret this,” Bruce vows in Dick’s earbud as the teenager speeds his motorbike through traffic. “Keeping your education up to date has always been part of your deal.”
  • “Yeah, yeah, heard that before.”
  • “Your final exams start next week.”
  • “And I know everything they could possibly ask me.”
  • “Including if they ask why you’re not in school right now?” Dick rolls his eyes, saying nothing. “I can handle this alone. Go back to class.”
  • “No.”
• Because while the point of the episode might be the flashback, it still needs something to tie it to the place where it’s actually set.
  • Dick is heading to a husk that Firefly recently burnt. He easily ducks around the bored policeman guarding the crime scene.
  • As he steps through the door, the world shifts.
• One step is Dick heading into a ruin, the next is a younger Bruce stepping into a circus tent.
  • Everyone is celebrating. There is laughter and dancing and young Bruce is very notably not smiling.
  • Instead, he’s complaining to on the phone that Alfred, he has work to do, this is a waste of time, he doesn’t even like the circus (said with a suspicious look at a clown).
  • “Well if you took more breaks of your own accord, I wouldn’t be forced to decide for you.”
  • “You’re welcome to have a night off without exiling me from my work.”
  • The lights dim and Ringmaster Haley steps into the spotlight. Bruce mutters that he has to go and reluctantly hangs up.
  • The circus begins. It’s a quick montage of acts, enough to suggest that there were clowns and trick riders and an elephant. Each performance Bruce slumps deeper.
  • “And for our next act—” the spotlight moves up to the roof of the tent, “—the Flying Graysons! Performing, as ever, without the safety of a net!”
  • It’s an impressive show, for the few minutes it goes on, with red uniforms and yellow sequins flying through the air.
  • And then, just as Dick swings up on the platform as another part of the dance, there’s an ominous creak.
  • The wires snap.
  • Tiny Dick screams.
• Older Dick forces himself back into the present, and returns to analysing the crime-scene.
  • He works out what the starter fuel Firefly was using this time.
  • He steps wrong on his way, causing the policeman to hear him. There’s a minor chase scene as an unmasked Robin has to escape notice.
  • He slips out by a hair’s breadth, zooming away on his bike, and goes back to the house.
  • Dick and Bruce argue about him skipping class.
  • It gets to the point that Dick, always expressive in his gestures, accidentally knocks an empty beaker off the table. It shatters on the ground.
  • Not an inherent problem, but the flashback takes the echo and uses it as another transition.
• Glass shattering turns into a repeat of the wires snapping, and the circus audience screaming.
  • Dick is still curled up on the edge of the platform, but this time the camera is from Bruce’s perspective in the stands.
  • People are panicking; some of the audience only just realising this isn’t part of the show. Sirens are heard in the distance.
  • And no-one else seems to have remembered the child on top of the ring.
  • Bruce jumps into the ring. He’s oddly unnoticed as he ducks past a panicked clown and starts to climb.
  • Dick’s curled up into a ball, but he stirs when a weight arrives.
  • “Hello. It’s Dickie, right?”
  • He sits up and nods. Tears are streaking his face, and he’s breathing heavily, but for the moment he isn’t hyperventilating.
  • “My name’s Bruce.” Bruce shrugs off his jacket, wraps it around Dick. “Do you think you can climb off this tower?”
  • Dick curls up smaller, already dwarfed by the jacket, and stares at him.
  • “That’s okay. You don’t have to. Do you mind if I carry you?”
  • Dick shakes his head.
  • Bruce climbs down one-handed, a small ten year old clutching his chest as he whispers soft words.
  • He never says anything not true. Bruce doesn’t promise that everything is alright, he never says that it’s okay. All he murmurs is a gentle reassurance. “I’ve got you.”
  • As soon as they reach the ground several other circus people bustle Dick away. They’re the ones who whisper that “it’s okay, it’s okay, it’s all going to be okay”, making sure to keep his head away from the corpses as he gets taken out of the tent.
  • Bruce watches him go.
• In the present, Bruce is still watching Dick go, but this time he’s storming off.
  • He turns back to the Batcomputer and starts researching potential locations for Firefly to burn.
  • Dick meanwhile turns to studying.
  • It’s perfectly ordinary class work studying, not even particularly advanced for a high school senior.
  • His flashcards are hurried but detailed, every hint of white covered in blue pen.
• Dinner that night is slightly awkward.
  • Bruce is coerced to the table by Alfred.
  • He ends up quizzing Dick, who answers everything easily. “If you’re going to ask me to write a practise essay, I will ask for a full hour and a piece of paper.”
  • Bruce looks to be considering it, and Dick throws his breadroll at him. “I was kidding.”
  • Bruce actually laughs, and the tension starts to ease.
  • Of course, it doesn’t last long and the argument starts to simmer again.
• Bruce heads up to his office to remove himself from the situation.
  • He glances at a framed photograph of him and Dick, and suddenly he’s back another eight years, still in his home office.
  • “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that circus kid,” young Bruce confesses.
  • Alfred continues puffing up the pillows on the office couch, mostly to avoid looking at him. “I suspect you see an awful amount of similarities between the two of you.”
  • “Do you think he’s alright?”
  • “Three weeks is a short time to expect that type of scar to heal; you know that better than anyone. But I’m sure he’s being well cared for.”
  • “Yeah. Right.” Bruce bites his lip, and brings up a new window on his computer.
  • Articles about the young Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson having to leave the circus come up. “He’s… in a group home.”
  • Another article, stating that he accused Tony Zucco but no charges were able to be filed — mostly because the crime boss wasn’t found yet — pops up after it.
  • Alfred looks up slowly. “I believe those are an even split between comfortable and not.”
  • “Right. I should… I should probably donate something to that. I’ll make Gotham foster care my next project.”
  • He leans back in his chair, swallows, and then stands up. “Alfred, I’m going to take a trip. Be back soon.”
• Episode moves back to the future for appropriate pacing reasons.
  • Future Bruce is also about to head out, for patrol instead of foster visits.
  • It’s routine and there’s no leads on Firefly yet, so Dick doesn’t actively fight the order to stay behind. “I’ll go through the files, but once I find a lead, I’m going.”
  • “You are absolutely not to go on your own—”
  • Dick’s glare isn’t intimidating, but Bruce takes the hint and stops arguing.
• Part of Batman’s patrol involves soaring over a particular house.
  • He glances down, and suddenly it’s a birds eye view of the younger Bruce Wayne parking his car on the same street in broad daylight. The sign on the door declares it to be a halfway house.
  • Inside tiny Dick is sitting with a Rubik’s cube, more for distraction than enjoyment. It’s a relatively clean room, nice and tidy, but the dark colours very much indicate his mood. The curtains aren’t opened.
  • “Richard?” the door opens and one of the social workers steps in. “Someone’s here to see you.”
  • “Oh?” Dick looks up as Bruce is let in. The door is closed again behind him.
  • “Hi, Dick.” Bruce takes a seat on one of the other beds. “Do you remember me?”
  • It takes a moment, but Dick nods. “Yeah.”
  • “How have you been?”
  • “You came here to ask how I am?”
  • “Yes. No. That’s a stupid question, I’m sorry. I know you’re not fine.”
  • “You don’t know anything,” Dick mumbles, drawing his knees up to his face.
  • “I really do.” Bruce moves to sit on the same bed, careful to keep a distance. “My parents died when I was about your age. I know how it feels. Like the sun is never going to come out again.”
  • “…Yeah.” Dick’s still curled up. “That’s about right.” He’s silent for a second. “Does it ever go away?”
  • “No. But… you learn how to survive in the night.”
• The flashback doesn’t end, but the scene changes to Bruce outside the room, phone to his ear.
  • “Alfred? I was thinking… how would you feel if I gave him a home?” He peers back through the door, where Dick is listlessly fiddling with his cube. “No, not like donating to the system, although that’s still on my to-do list. I mean, taking Dick home. Back to the Manor.” He’s silent for a moment as Alfred speaks. “No, I’m not sure I’ve thought this through. But he needs… I had you when my parents died. He’s alone.”
• That’s where the flashback ends.
  • Transition between Tiny Dick hunched over his Rubik’s cube to older Dick hunched over his reports on Firefly.
  • Batman, meanwhile, is getting information in a more direct way.
  • The woman who sold Firefly the very specific fire starter is dangled out a window by her ankle until Batman gets his information.
  • When Dick calls with a lead, Batman is already on his way to the exact same location.
  • “I can be there in half an hour.”
  • “And I’ll already be done.”
  • Dick rolls his eyes and hangs up. He doesn’t go for his uniform.
• He heads upstairs. And suddenly it’s a much younger Dick in the same hallway.
  • Tiny Dick is wearing much nicer clothes than he had in the group home, but he’s not smiling any brighter.
  • He runs into Alfred and tells him he’s exploring.
  • “One would think you’ve explored every nook and cranny in the past four months.”
  • “Yeah, but I keep finding cool stuff. Last week I’m pretty sure there was a secret passageway behind one of the fireplaces, but I can’t work out how I’m supposed to open it.”
  • “Well, perhaps it’s best not to play near open fire, Master Dick.” Alfred smiles. “But assuming you keep to all proper precautions, I see no reason to interrupt your study. Dinner will be in two hours.”
  • “Is Bruce going to be there?”
  • Alfred’s smile falters. “I do apologise, Master Dick, but Master Bruce is busy again tonight.”
  • “He’s always busy,” Dick mumbles.
  • “CEO is a rather demanding position,” Alfred says delicately. “And right now, Master Bruce is working on a particular project, one he is determined to solve as soon as possible. I’m sure he’ll be willing to spend more time with you then. And in the meanwhile, I hope I can make for passable company.”
  • “I love spending time with you!” Dick says, startled Alfred could think otherwise. “It’s just… this place is so quiet.”
• And then it’s back to older Dick in the hallway, as alone as ever.
• Batman is still searching.
  • He breaks into an old building, abandoned, and discovers burn marks on the walls.
  • “Could be squatters,” he theorises, before tripping a trap.
  • Flame nearly engulfs him before he dodges. It takes a few tense moments and a well thrown batarang to break the automated flame-thrower before he’s safe.
  • “Or not.”
  • Batman starts proceeding with more caution, checking every part of the wall. He finds a secret entrance to a downstairs basement and smiles.
• The shot parallels to a Tiny Dick, also examining a wall.
  • He’s playing around in the empty fireplace, fiddling with the edges. “I know I saw this open…”
  • His eyes widen and he scrambles out of the fireplace, running to the bookshelf and starting to tug on the books. It takes some searching, but eventually he hits a lever.
  • The fireplace doesn’t open. It’s the wall beside it that swings into a set of stairs.
  • “Awesome!”
  • Bruce is typing on the computer, his cowl off and suit on, researching Tony Zucco. He pauses when he hears footsteps, turns around to see Dick gaping.
  • In the past, the Batcave was rather empty, having conspicuously blank spaces where souvenirs will one day be set up. But just the Batmobile is enough to make it recognisable, let alone the suits.
  • “You’re… you’re Batman.”
  • “Dick.”
• The next flashback is of Dick sitting in the Batcave, Alfred and Bruce in front of him.
  • “You can’t tell anyone about this.”
  • “I won’t, I swear.” Dick crosses his heart. “You’re going after Zucco, aren’t you?”
  • It doesn’t really need an answer. The files are still open on the computer, displayed for all the world.
  • “I want to help you find him.”
  • “What? No.”
  • “Please.” Dick stands up. “He killed my parents. He has to pay.”
  • “And he will.” Bruce kneels to place a hand on his shoulder. “And you can be there at the trial when he goes to jail. But you can’t come with me.”
  • “You can’t do this alone.”
  • “I have for almost two years now. I’m quite good at it.”
  • “But—”
  • “No, Dick.” Bruce squeezes his shoulder and stands up again. “And that’s final.”
• Back to Batman in the firebug’s lair.
  • It’s empty, filled with papers and plans dotting the walls.
  • “No, Robin, and that’s final.”
  • “If he’s not there yet then you’re going to need someone to help track the—”
  • “I don’t. Need. You.” Batman growls.
  • Dick goes silent over the comms.
  • Batman picks up blueprints for another building and sweeps out of the room.
• Dick is furious back at the Manor.
  • He tosses his communicator at his bed, storming out of his room. “Well, I don’t need you either.” He heads down to the Cave. “And I certainly don’t need your permission.”
  • He reaches the downstairs closet and glares at his uniform.
• The flashback returns.
  • Tiny Dick is sitting in his bedroom, his Flying Grayson costume draped over his lap.
  • “But I can help,” he mutters sullenly to no-one. He tugs the sequined shirt up and pulls it against his chest. “I’ve got to help.”
  • He’s silent for a long moment, hugging himself, before he gently places the suit down.
  • Dick checks where Alfred is, confirming that he’s cleaning in the library, before sneaking back to the one passage he’d found to the Batcave.
  • He steals a utility belt. He looks through Bruce’s costumes and finds a cape that actually might fit him. A domino mask is pulled off a mannequin.
  • His haul tucked under one arm, he heads back to his room and picks up his costume.
• Match cut to future Dick grabbing his own costume.
• Meanwhile, future Batman is swinging to a Gotham account building.
  • It’s owned by Wayne Enterprises.
  • Bruce Wayne has some of the finest fire protection measures in Gotham, designed to keep his employees safe. It was never meant to be a challenge.
  • It’s an office at night; most of the staff have gone home. There are still janitors and security guards, thus explaining why Batman swings into the lobby.
  • “Have this building evacuated,” he orders the guard by the reception.
• While the skeleton staff streams out, Batman hurtles in.
  • He finds Firefly.
  • A fight quickly breaks out.
  • Flames soar at him, which he has to duck behind his cape to avoid.
• The battle makes for an excellent excuse for another cut to the past.
  • This time it’s a younger Bruce (in a different variation of the suit — longer cowl ears, shorter cape, the armour is a little more grey) fighting Zucco’s men.
  • He’s outnumbered, although still handling himself very well.
  • Bullets are flying, as are batarangs. The light is flickering, and he’s ducking between every punch.
  • But he’s inexperienced. At some point Batman gets pinned.
  • An enforcer is hefting a gun at his face when a streak of red and black swoops down.
  • Grappling hook attached in the ceiling, a small child swings from the roof and kicks the enforcer in the face, soaring back up to land on the rooftop rafters.
  • The audience gets a clear look at his costume. Surprisingly, Dick’s uniform isn’t actually awful. The sequins are mostly hidden by the cape, his hair is pulled differently, and the shadows on his face mean that the mask seems to glow.
  • “Is that a kid?!”
  • Batman’s already taken advantage of the distraction to break free.
  • Someone tries to shoot Dick, who runs for cover. Batman has their gun removed in moments, continuing the fight.
  • After a minute or so Batman gets a gap long enough to grapple to the roof. “What are you doing here?”
  • “I can help!”
  • “No. Find someplace to hide, and stay out safe. I’ll find you when I’m done.” Batman swoops down to rejoin the fight.
• Back in the future, Batman and Firefly are fighting.
  • Nothing happens when a batarang hits the sprinkler alert. Firefly laughs. “Did you really think that wouldn’t be the first thing I—”
  • His boasting is cut short by another batarang thrown at him, which he has to scramble to avoid.
  • The battle goes on.
  • At some point, with a bit of luck, Firefly gets the upper hand, and is about to set Batman on fire.
• Robin sprays him with a fire extinguisher.
  • Neither Firefly nor the audience knew he was there beforehand. He just turns up, fire extinguisher in hand, and sprays.
  • Once the cannister is empty Robin slams it into his stomach as hard as he can manage, throwing the rogue to the side.
  • “I had him,” Batman says, getting to his feet.
  • “Yeah, sure you did.” Robin pulls a batarang out of his utility belt. “Of course it would kill you to say ‘thank you’ for once.”
  • “You disobeyed my orders to stay home.”
  • “And otherwise you’d be barbequeued.”
  • Firefly is already getting up, and the Dynamic Duo turn their attention back on him.
• The Firefly fight is intercut with the past, showing the Zucco fight as well.
  • Whereas the rest of the episode had been long stretches of history, this is cutting back and forth.
  • The two fights are objectively different, one being against a pyromaniac with a jetpack and the other being against a crime family. But there are parallels.
  • Present!Batman does an Indiana-Jones slide under a spray of fire, blurs into a shot of Past!Batman sliding beneath a Zucco goon.
  • Tiny, not-even-named-as-a-hero-yet Dick does a backspring and lands on a thug’s shoulders, pushing him into the ground. Robin does the same move, only he has to leap higher to get onto Firefly’s back.
• Eventually, both fights are won.
• The episode resumes in the flashback.
  • Batman and the small child are sitting on the top of the Zucco hideout, watching the police drag everyone away.
  • “So Zucco’s arrested?”
  • “He is,” Batman affirms. “What were you thinking?”
  • “I was thinking that I can help.”
  • “Di — it’s not safe.”
  • “Nothing is safe!” Dick says, almost angry. “Maybe tomorrow the car will crash! Maybe the house will burn down! Maybe I’ll trip on the sidewalk! I can’t just hide from everything.”
  • “There’s a difference between existing in this world and putting yourself in front of bullets.”
  • “Then teach me. I can do this, you know I can. I was pretty amazing just then.” Dick pulls off his mask, the better to puppy-dog eyes his guardian. “And I want to… I want to make sure that this never happens to anyone else. I want to make sure people like Zucco don’t get away with it.”
  • Batman watches him for a long moment.
  • “You’re going to need a better uniform. Something with armour, and much less distinctive.”
  • Dick sits up straighter. “Okay.”
  • “And you’re still going to need to go to school.”
  • “Absolutely.”
  • “And you’ll have to promise to listen to everything I say. Everything I tell you do.”
  • “Yes, sir!”
  • Batman’s lips twitch in a smile. “And a name. You’re going to need a name.”
  • Dick beams. “Robin. I want to be ‘Robin’.”
  • Batman considers that for a moment, debating whether to ask, before he nods. “Batman and Robin. I like the sound of that.”
• Then it’s back to them older, Batman and Robin as an established dynamic.
  • And whereas before it had been triumphant victory, now the two of them are just tired.
  • “Don’t,” Robin says, before Batman does anything. “I’ve heard it all before. You don’t want me, you don’t need me, I shouldn’t be here.”
  • He leaves without another word.

• The season finale takes place at Dick’s high school graduation.
• The episode starts with Dick and Bruce arguing.
  • It’s the same argument it’s been all season, wrapped up in a slightly different style.
  • They’re not getting along, and it’s coming through on everything.
• Alfred is done with trying to play peacekeeper.
  • Well, he hasn’t exactly given up on a peaceful household.
  • Instead, he’s decided that the best way of attempting this should be to act as if nothing is happening.
  • Calmly shepherds Dick out of the fight, not to separate the two, but because it’s time for Dick’s fitting for his graduation gown.
• Dick finally admits that he’s planning on leaving Gotham.
  • Bruce is blindsided.
  • “Alright. Where to?”
  • “Anywhere where I don’t have to be in your shadow,” Dick spits. “It’s Batman and Robin. Robin, the Boy Wonder, the kid sidekick, that brightly coloured performer who’s nothing more than the warning that the real danger is coming in a few minutes.”
  • “You want to go out as a vigilante alone?”
  • “See? This is exactly my point! You don’t think I can do this, but I can! I’m—” The anger fades out of Dick abruptly. He sighs, his shoulders relaxing. “Bruce, I’m not the scared ten year old you picked up from the circus anymore. But you’re never going to see me as anything other than that little kid.”
  • “I don’t—”
  • “Don’t even try to deny it. And it’s not that I don’t understand, because I do. I get it, you saw me grow up, it’s hard to see me as an adult.”
  • “Dick, being eighteen does not make you an adult.”
  • “You’re right. Being independent does. Actually getting a chance to take care of myself does.” Dick spreads his arms. “Bruce. I need to do this.”
  • “I… I see.”
  • “Yeah? Good. Cause I don’t need your permission.”
• The day of the graduation, everything is still tense.
  • Barbara comes along. She sits besides Bruce and Alfred to wave at Dick.
  • “Did you know he was planning to move to Bludhaven?” Bruce whispers at her.
  • Barbara’s silent for a moment, watching Bruce out of the corner of her eye. “Yeah, I did.”
• Of course, it wouldn’t been an episode of a superhero show, let alone the season finale, without some actual action.
  • Two-Face breaks onto the scene.
  • The screaming starts immediately.
  • Gotham Academy is the most prestigious and expensive school in Gotham — meaning that the graduation is a day filled with rich parents collected in one room.
  • Two-Face sends goons around the seats, each shaking a bucket. The parents drop in their wallets, their jewellery, their watches, all the while their eyes on the guns.
  • The graduates themselves are crouching, terrified. Dick ducks down with them, but doesn’t bother to mould his face into anything but calculating.
• Two-Face himself is carrying one of the buckets.
  • Naturally, he’s the one who reaches Bruce.
  • Bruce’s face is stony as the rogue pushes the bucket at him, but he unbuckles his watch before Two-Face says a word. Keeping eye-contact, he drops his possessions in and is passed over.
  • A few people down, Two-Face pauses at a woman after she drops her necklace in. “I don’t think that’s everything you have of value, Miss Karami.”
  • “Please, I—”
  • Two-Face slips the bucket into the hand holding the gun, to be able to hold up his coin. “Do you want to see if chance is on your side today?”
  • “No, no, here!” She pulls out a keycard.
  • Two-Face takes it and slips it into his pocket, not bothering with the bucket. Then he moves on to the next audience member.
• The heist doesn’t take long.
  • In minutes Two-Face and his even number of thugs have vanished.
  • When the cowering graduates stand up, Dick makes eye-contact with Bruce. Bruce nods.
  • It takes a while for them to be able to leave inconspicuously. The police are called — Commissioner Gordon heads straight for Babs, checking she’s alright — and statements must be taken.
  • While sitting in the back and fiddling with his graduation hat, Dick notices Miss Karami on her phone. “He got my card, I’m sorry, you’re going to need to change the passwords, set up lockdown — anything.”
  • Finally, one of the rich women says that it’s been a terrifying day, and she just wants to go home.
  • Bruce is quick to side with her, vocally agreeing that he just wants this to be done with, and the crowd starts to leave.
• Finally, Batman and Robin can be on the case.
  • Batgirl takes a little bit longer to arrive. Gordon isn’t an unreasonably overprotective dad, but he doesn’t like letting his daughter leave his sight when a few hours earlier a supervillain put a gun in her face.
  • By the time Barbara’s able to excuse herself to bed and sneak out the window, Batman and Robin are already on-route to Miss Karami’s workplace at STAR Labs.
  • Well, Batman is. There are two separate STAR Labs facilities in Gotham. Miss Karami works in the smaller, more specialised one that seems more likely to have Two-Face’s arrival.
  • Robin — and Batgirl — are sent as a precaution to the other one.
• The laboratories are already in lock down.
  • Robin and Batgirl have to break in.
  • It’s easier than expected. Mostly because they find the guards are already unconscious.
  • “I guess Two-Face is here,” Robin says, checking the pulse of a guard. “That or we have someone else worth dealing with.”
  • “Nope.” Batgirl’s kneeling to inspect an empty gas cannister lying in the middle of the room. She lifts it up gingerly with two fingers. Half of it has been painted black, half white. “Definitely him.”
• When they move in from the lobby, they trigger a trap.
  • They notice the first tripwire, and carefully disarm it. They find that it leads to a matching gas cannister, and Robin puts it on the security desk for the paramedics to find.
  • But when they continue walking, Batgirl’s foot catches on a second tripwire. “Robin, move!”
  • Both Bats leap to the side, out of the way of the explosion.
  • After a moment they’re able to sit up again, panicked that the other might be hurt and relieved to find they’re not.
  • Very relieved.
• The ‘will-they, won’t they’ romance arc of the first season is concluded when Batgirl kisses Robin.
  • Robin immediately melts into it, his arms coming up to hug her shoulders.
  • After a moment or two they break apart, still wrapped around each other.
  • “This is probably a bad time, isn’t it?” Robin murmurs, leaning his head against her forehead.
  • “Absolutely,” Batgirl agrees, noticeably not pulling away. “That bomb was probably just as much an alarm as it was a trap.”
  • “They know we’re here.”
  • “Yes.”
  • “We should do something about that.”
  • “Yep.”
  • “And we need to have a real talk.”
  • “But later.”
  • “Later.”
• They move on, sprinting as soon as they let go.
  • The STAR Labs has different levels of security. They reached the lobby, but Two-Face upped the tech once he heard the explosion.
  • The next section of the building is being blocked by the new tech.
• Robin goes on ahead.
  • He darts forward, handspringing over the lasers trip wires that are setting themselves up, and slides like Indiana Jones under the dropping door.
  • Batgirl is left a step behind, already turning and heading in another direction for a new entrance.
  • When Robin tries his comm., it’s to find that it’s been jammed.
  • Finally, he’s working solo.

• Two-Face breaks Robin’s leg.
  • It’s not directly, or even intentional. Two-Face had no idea he was there.
  • Robin slipped into the room Two-Face was in to spy on him. He hid himself behind a giant filing cabinet, the opposite end of the room to where the criminal crew was congregating, and listened.
  • As it turned out there was a reason why everyone was congregating around the other end of the room. The explosives they had placed on the wall was a good reason to stay away.
  • Robin can’t help the startled yelp when it starts going off, causing the criminals to tense.
• When the debris clears, no-one can see him.
  • Robin is lying very very still.
  • His leg is trapped under the giant filing cabinet. From his expression, it is very painful. Yet he doesn’t make a single noise.
  • Silently, he starts trying to extract himself. He bites his lip hard enough that he starts bleeding by the time he’s pulled his broken leg free.
  • But he’s out, and he starts crawling away.
• Meanwhile, Batman is trying to find a way to get in there.
  • He’s come over from the other facility, bringing with him exposition.
  • Apparently Two-Face is looking for new STAR Labs tech that could be used as a weapon. Miss Karami might have been based at the other facility, but her work often needed her to consult on other projects. Her clearance could easily gain access to the weapon’s vault, without tipping anyone off that he was coming here.
  • More frustratingly, Batman can’t get in. One of Two-Face’s thugs is in the control room, activating the measures that hadn’t been on when Batgirl/Robin broke in.
• Currently, there are three levels of separated vigilantes.
  • There’s Batman trapped on the outside of the building entirely, Batgirl caught in level one security, and Robin heading deeper into the building.
  • Two-Face has no idea that the Boy Wonder is approaching — mostly because Batgirl, unable to get further in or even make an exit, has decided to make a nuisance of herself and gets herself seen on camera.
  • No-one has any idea that Robin’s hurt.
• Robin finds himself a secluded little space.
  • It’s a janitor’s closet. He has to lunge to open the door, his broken leg still trailing behind him, but he hides successfully.
  • Once he’s in, he takes a moment to breathe. He removes his mask for just long enough to wipe away his tears, before replacing it. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Come on, Robin. You can do this.”
  • He has to set his own leg, using the materials he has available. He’s able to pull a roll of bandages out from his utility belt, but has to snap a plastic broom in two and use both halves to create the splint. Robin stuffs his mouth with paper towels before trying to set his leg, which successfully muffles his shriek.
  • When he’s done, he improves a crutch out of a mop, and heads off in the direction Two-Face was last seen going.
• Robin’s fighting solo and injured, and has to get creative.
  • He doesn’t fight the criminals as a whole, making sure that they’re split up into groups of two at most.
  • He tosses a smoke bomb into one room while someone is patrolling, and swings in to slap her with an escrima stick before she can call for backup.
  • Throwing an old brick at the side of the wall lures another guard in to investigate. Robin leaps onto his back like a violent koala, gagging the guard with his gloved hand as he wraps the man into a chokehold.
  • When another criminal goes to open a door, he’s completely caught off-guard to find a brightly dressed Boy Wonder standing at the doorframe waiting for him — far too off-guard to react before a green fist punches him in the face.
  • Eventually, Robin cuts down the crew.
• He makes sure that Two-Face is alone before confronting the rogue personally.
  • It’s the kind of climatic battle scene expected from a superhero show season finale, even if the core of the episode is Bruce and Dick’s frayed relationship.
  • Robin’s struggling on a fractured leg, which doesn’t take Two-Face long to realise and start aiming his attacks on the Boy Wonder’s lessened mobility.
  • But it’s a superhero show. The hero wins.
  • Exhausted, and bloodily, and potentially with a new bullet embedded in his armour when he leapt down on Two-Face from above, managing to land on and thereby tackle the villain down.
  • But Robin wins, single-handedly and with a broken leg, proving to himself that he’s capable.
• And Batman doesn’t seem at all impressed.
  • It’s an anger born of worry. “You went in alone, without recon. You got hurt—”
  • “Who cares if I got hurt?” Robin snaps. He’s standing up unsteadily, glaring at Batman through his mask.
  • The cops around them are somewhat uncomfortable by the two vigilantes seeming to get into a family argument, and studiously avoid looking at the Bats. Batgirl has a similar ‘I’m-staying-out-of-this’ stance.
  • Batman is more willing to glance at the uniforms around him, before scowling at Robin. “We’ll discuss this later. Get in the car.”
  • Robin’s jaw jumps, but he’s aware of the audience too. “Fine.” He rebuffs Batman’s arm, a silent offer to help, and limps into the Batmobile.
• When they get back to the Cave, the situation isn’t much better.
  • The only difference is that it’s not Batman and Robin arguing, it’s Bruce and Dick.
  • “I gave you a direct order to wait for me.”
  • “Then I guess it’s a good thing I’m not Robin anymore.” Dick pulls his utility belt off and tosses it aside, as symbolic as he can get considering the mask is already off and he can’t dramatically remove his armour. He starts stripping the green gloves nonetheless. “Nightwing doesn’t have to take your orders.”
  • He turns around and starts to limp off.
  • “You’re going to Bludhaven on a broken leg?”
  • “If I have to,” Dick grumbles, gripping the doorframe to hold himself steady. Then some of the tension leaves as he sighs. He doesn’t turn back to face Bruce. “I’ll stay long enough to make a cover story. Have Nightwing be already established in Bludhaven before Dick Grayson officially moves or something. But Robin is done.”
  • On that pronouncement, he leaves the room.

• The episode flashes forward several weeks.
  • After Dick leaves the Cave, the screen fades to black for a longer time than is traditional for an ordinary scene change.
  • After a few seconds, it brightens again to show a Wayne Manor sunrise, with golden light creeping over the house.
  • When it touches on Dick’s bedroom, it’s to reveal that most of his possessions are boxed up.
  • Dick’s not in bed. Instead, he’s pulling sit-ups on his doorframe.
  • He drops down onto the ground, winces slightly at putting pressure on his leg, before walking off.
• It’s the day he’s leaving.
  • There’s some indication that ‘Dick Grayson’ has injuries quite apart from Robin’s — a broken arm as well as a fractured leg, a busted nose — to throw off the press.
  • Plus, no-one but Two-Face ever really found out that Robin was hurt.
• Barbara comes to the Manor to see him off.
  • They mention their kiss at STAR, making it clear that’s the only time this has happened.
  • They’re not a couple, and the fact that Dick is leaving means that they agree it would be a bad idea to try.
  • “Are you sure you want to stay in Gotham? Bludhaven has plenty of space for Batgirl.”
  • “I’m sure.”
  • “But we’re good?”
  • Babs smiles. “We’re good.”
  • They go for a handshake which turns into a tight hug.
  • “Call me when you get there, okay, Boy Wonder?”
  • “Promise,” Dick murmurs, holding her back.
• He also says goodbye to Alfred.
  • “Make sure you keep your helmet on for the entirety of your trip. Quite apart from any safety reasons, Dick Grayson is still supposed to be recovering from that car crash and will be doing so for the next several weeks.”
  • “I know, Alfie.”
  • “I’ve sent your essential baggage ahead to your temporary accommodation. We’ll send the rest once we can announce your Gotham exit without connecting your arrival to ‘Nightwing’.”
  • Dick hugs the old butler.
  • Alfred rests a hand on his back carefully, his voice somewhat choked. “Should you ever get into any trouble, any problems at all, I want you to call immediately. You should not be left to fight alone.”
  • “I know,” Dick whispers, trying not to nuzzle his face into Alfred’s shoulder. “I know, Alfie. Don’t worry.”
  • “Of course I’m going to worry about you, Master Dick. Always.”
• Season one finishes with Dick leaving Gotham.
  • It’s already been mentioned that his luggage will be sent via truck.
  • Dick rides out of the house on his motorbike, blue helmet matching with his black jacket.
  • Alfred is standing at the door, having a warm farewell and making Dick promise to stay in contact.
  • Bruce watches from his office.
  • Dick takes a glance up to the window, but can’t see his father-figure through the tinted glass.
  • He rides off.

• Roll credits.
  • After the credits finish, there’s another scene.
  • The camera is watching a mirror, of someone in tight black boots.
  • The view scrolls up, showing black tights to a blue streak across the chest. The blue traces down the arms to fingerstripes.
  • Dick adjusts his new uniform, frowning thoughtfully.
  • Gunshots come from outside the window.
  • Nightwing grins, grabbing his grappling hook and mask from the bed. “Just like home.”