| Review For most cartoons, when a great episode airs, it’s able to blend in with the
rest, becoming part of a stronger unit. After a series of mediocre episodes, the
series returns to the quality of the first season finale with “Meltdown.” Not
surprisingly, both the writer and major themes from those two episodes are
revisited here. Ethan Bennett has undergone extensive rehabilitation (including some with a surprise
appearance by Arkham’s head psychiatrist, Dr. Hugo Strange) to cure his “Clayface”
affliction. As strong as he’d like to think he is, he has a small weakness that
is exploited, causing him to catapult back into a life encased in clay. The
weakness? Revenge against the man who’s responsible for his condition. That’s
right; the Joker is on the loose with both The Batman and Ex-Detective Bennett
hot on his stilt-enhanced heels. One thing I try to do when watching this series is forget that Batman: The
Animated Series came before it, and watch it as its own series…which it
actually is. I know that’s difficult, given the immense legacy that Bruce Timm’s
classic vision has given us, but I try to be fair to Jeff Matsuda’s rendition
of The Dark Knight. In all honesty, while the show isn’t as flawless and amazing
as some websites and fans would leave us to believe, there are some great things
hidden under all those shiny Bat-gadgets. This is one of those great things. Scratch that. Until now…this is the greatest thing that The Batman has
produced so far. This episode had me riveted, from the brilliant opening teaser, to the
heart-breaking finale. This episode isn’t wrapped up with a lame joke about a
“sidekick,” or Bruce’s awkward smile. This ends with no happy sign-off. Not
every fight can be won, and not everyone is as strong as they wish they could
be. Yes, The Joker is still lacking a shade, but writer Greg Weisman
is able to make him watchable, stilt-shoes and all. The core of this episode is
the internal struggle of Bennett. This episode is focused entirely on him, and
The Joker and The Batman are the visualizations of his internal struggle. This
is great stuff, folks. Writer Greg Weisman wraps up all the remaining loose ends from the two-part
finale, and he does it masterfully. He even goes so far as to follow-up on
dialogue and comments made in the finale. Weisman has crafted Clayface into his
own character, and hopefully he’ll be able to revisit him again in the future. It feels good to gush about an episode of The Batman. This series has
gotten hit pretty hard by fans, and rightfully so some of the times. But, this episode is
the show’s start for redemption. I know the possibility of the show getting this
good again is rare, probably slim. But this episode almost makes every terrible
episode, every poorly written character worth it. On a final note, I know hyping the episode this much will only lead to
disappointment, but “Meltdown” is a great episode. It will surely remain a
landmark to this series when the Bat-wave has been shut down. | 
