Episode 3 finds Batman going great lengths to protect a witness as loyalties are tested amidst a violent power grab. The episode sees the great detective ditch his cape to pursue answers deep undercover.

With Rupert Throne’s whereabouts unknown, his successor, Eddie Nygma, turns the normal crime spree into all out war. A simple robbery escalates to two lives lost, including an officer. Law enforcement is determined to break the case with detained suspect, Mark Desmond. But, the witness remains silent, vowing that he isn’t a rat.

While Dez is in Blackgate, Thorne’s henchmen question Eddie’s tactics, especially after one of their own becomes a casualty. However, Eddie requires absolute loyalty with any act of dissent is punishable by death. After silencing one concerned associate, his paranoia aims to end another placing a hit on his lifelong friend, Dez.

Batman disguises himself as a Blackgate inmate to protect Dez from the various assassins. Eventually, the two are regulated to solitary confinement, where Matches Malone, a Detroit hoodlum, gains Dez’s trust. The two escape the prison and prepare to reunite with Eddie. Nygma feigns happiness at Dez being free. But when Batman shows up unannounced at their next heist, Eddie shows his true colors.

Dismayed that Dez survived the bounty, Eddie rattles several bullets into his friend, assuming he squealed for protection. As he lay dying, Dez recognizes Matches behind Bruce’s mask. He’s astounded his best friend wasn’t the man he knew since juvie, but the Batman.

In the distance, a mysterious figure watches from the rooftop, keeping tabs on the hero’s every move.

“Deep Cover” uses Batman’s role as an expert detective, stripped of his gadgets and wealth, to great success. We see Bruce employ his wit and human interaction, something he isn’t privy to as the Bat. Whether part of his mask or not, its progress from the stoic prison he’s built around himself.

The episode also shines a light on the nature vs nurture argument, questioning what makes a person “bad.” We saw Barbara Gordon wrestle with this sentiment in season one, and it continues with the relationship between Bruce and Dez. If things were different, set on level plain, they could be friends. Honestly, any other child not named Wayne in that experience would have become a Dez or Eddie, processed through the system, left to wrestle against the school-to-prison pipeline. A tangible display that Batman’s true superpower is capitalism.

Overall “Deep Cover” is another amazing installment of the season, and rings as a shining moment for the series.

Rating: 9/10