The following contains spoilers for Gotham Knights Season 1, Episode 11, "Daddy Issues," which debuted June 6 on The CW.
As Season 1 of Gotham Knights continues, the young heroes have faced hurdle after hurdle. For every step forward they make regarding the insidious Court of Owls, they quickly regress. That's because the Owls' power, influence and money are just too much, making them brilliant puppet masters.
To make it worse, Harvey Dent has his Two-Face problems, so he can't help out much. It's why the Knights rely on Turner Hayes as Bruce Wayne's son to step up. Unfortunately, Episode 11 confirms Turner isn't a good leader -- he's a liability and someone who puts them at risk.
Gotham Knights Has Turner Hayes Making a Big Mistake
Turner and Duela finally hook up, opting to have some fun on the town after. However, Turner doesn't trust his teammates to let them know his half-cocked plan because he can tell Harper and Cullen will shoot it down. They're fugitives, plastered all over Gotham's news, so while this kind of behavior fits Duela, more is expected of Turner. After ignoring his peers and the bevy of cops hunting them, he gets betrayed by Duela's mom, Jane.
Luckily, when the police arrive, it's a Cullen in disguise who saves Turner, assuring he doesn't land in jail and no bounty goes to Jane. It's very petulant of Turner, which is why Cullen chews him out for being irresponsible, corruptible and simply, not a Bruce Wayne 2.0. He's in disbelief at how Turner could jeopardize their mission so easily. However, it does fit the tone of the entire season where the smart choices have been made by everyone else. Harper and Stephanie run point on strategy, while Cullen and Carrie Kelley as Robin plot field missions. Turner ends up hugging Cullen, affirming he's afraid and thankful, but the point remains: he's not the leader Cullen hoped for.
Gotham Knights Is Better Due to Turner's Incompetence
It's worth noting Turner is undergoing a crisis after learning Bruce killed Turner's parents and then adopted him. Still, even before that, Turner's been indecisive, which may be due to the pressure and fright of living in the shadow of the cape and cowl. That said, the series deviating from the typical gimmick of Bruce's son being the key does work for the other members. It lets Cullen keep shining and has Carrie desperate to stay on despite revealing her Robin identity to her mom.
The episode also has Harper rescuing Stephanie from her abusive mom, being the best friend Turner should be. This allows Harper and Stephanie's romance to finally pop off with a kiss. It adds humanity to Harper and reminds Stephanie there's something special in the vigilante unit. Plus, with Stephanie leaving her dad in jail after the Owls tried to blackmail her to sell out the Knights, the heroes need strong leadership.
The Owls are playing dirty, and because they know Turner's every move, they're exploiting it. They've been manipulating him the whole time with info on The Dark Knight and his parents, so it's best to let the other unpredictable Knights lead. As such, this gives Turner a cerebral fight, as opposed to the physical one fans would expect a Batman Jr. to endure. Ultimately, this sets Turner up to defy expectations and rise up so that when he does get his heroic moment, it's earned and magnified due to him setting such a low bar.
Gotham Knights returns June 20 at 9 pm ET/PT on the CW.