It feels like only yesterday we got our first taste of Telltale’s bold, inventive take on the Batman legend. Shocking and mature in all the right ways, it's still a breath of fresh air, especially when you consider the level of catastrophic, brand-killing damage that's currently being inflicted on DC by the likes of Zack Snyder and other miscreants. Batman: The Telltale Series is simply further proof that the only worthwhile post-Nolan DC adaptations are on the small screen. Now, we’re five episodes in, with one season snugly in the can. I don’t think I can call Telltale’s latest series an unqualified success, but I can confidently argue that it’s among their best work to date. Batman: The Telltale Series: Episode 5 – City of Light is a satisfying conclusion to what has largely been a thrilling debut season.

Batman: The Telltale Series: Episode 5 – City of Light begins with the messiest, most technically embarrassing action sequence I’ve ever seen in a Telltale game – and I’ve seen quite a few of those over the last decade. It’s a shame, too: it’s an incredibly dramatic scene, rife with fatalistic dread and tension (akin to watching the events that lead to tragedies such as the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne or the disfigurement of Harvey Dent). But in all Batman stories, certain characters have to get to certain places. This scene would work if it wasn’t as completely broken as it is. The framerate went into single digits more times than I could count, and cuts between shots were frequently broken up by freezes that lasted five seconds or more. This kind of stuff has been creeping into Telltale’s games for years now, and it’s totally unacceptable. Thankfully, the drama that follows makes up for this episode’s abysmal first impression.

Episode 4 – Guardian of Gotham ended with Batman/Bruce Wayne taking down either Wayne Enterprises usurper/terrorist Oswald Cobblepot or mad Gotham City Mayor Harvey Dent, depending on the player’s choice. Once the introductory action sequence is out of the way, it’s time to take down the other one. Considering how truly awful both Oswald and Harvey have been to Bruce (and Gotham City as a whole) over the last five episodes, you’re guaranteed a tremendously cathartic couple of chapters that allow Bruce/Batman to finally put them in their respective places.

The conclusion of the Selina Kyle arc is perhaps City of Light’s biggest misfire. It hints at bigger and better things to come for the beleaguered sort-of-couple, but it’s poorly timed and breaks the pace of what’s supposed to be a race against the clock.

Though Cobblepot and Dent ultimately end up in cells at Blackgate Penitentiary or Arkham Asylum, the Dark Knight’s work isn’t done yet; after all, the de facto Big Bad of the season is the straight-out-of-left-field Lady Arkham, the villainous true self of Gotham Gazette reporter Vicki Vale. She and her Children of Arkham certainly have a plan, and with Batman’s WayneTech utilities on the fritz (either from Penguin’s hacking efforts or a setback incurred during the introductory fight sequence), he has to pool his resources in an effort to not only figure out what they plan to do, but to stop it. And time quickly becomes a hot commodity when Bruce’s most valuable asset is spirited away…

The final confrontation between Batman and Lady Arkham is prefaced with a final series of crime scenes, both of which are engaging on a basic level without being particularly impressive. If we are due for a second season (and I very much think that we are), I would like to see Telltale do more with the detective mechanics. While they don’t generally "do" gameplay, this is the closest I’ve seen them get to it, and I honestly think they could do great things with it if they tried.

When our main players finally get down to brass tacks, things go pretty much where they should. It works on its most obvious level, with Arkham questioning Batman’s identity and motives, which is the real mask, etc. What doesn’t work is what didn’t work regarding Harvey Dent’s transformation. We’ve seen Vicki Vale and Harvey Dent as level-headed human beings. Like Dent’s post-debate/election collapse, Arkham’s is too radical and too absolute to believe. At this point, she’s completely insane and unwilling to listen to reason. On a structural level, this works because it ultimately validates the choices I made during the final confrontation. But as far as human behavior goes, it’s unbelievable. Overall, it’s a solid but flawed conclusion to the primary arc.

Batman: The Telltale Series: Episode 5 – City of Light ends with a clumsy stinger that is clearly intended to tease a second season. It’s unnecessary because a second season has already been more than justified over the last five episodes. And it’s a little disappointing; I’d much rather go into the next season blind, ready to be surprised by the next riveting development, the next unexpected diversion.

If Telltale can keep its version of Batman canon airtight and build upon the excellent foundation it’s laid for itself, this could rank among the most fascinating interpretations of a timeless character we’ve seen in years.