Pennyworth Star Emma Paetz Explains the “Spiky Relationship” Between Thomas and Martha

Sunday night marks not only the third week of Epix’s new hit DC series Pennyworth, but it’s also set to be the debut of a major character on the show. The titular Alfred (Jack Bannon) has spent two episodes working closely with Thomas Wayne (Ben Aldridge), the man who goes on to become Batman’s father. On Sunday, it’s the young version of Bruce Wayne’s mother who will get the spotlight.

In the third episode of Pennyworth, actress Emma Paetz makes her debut as American spy Martha Kane. From here on out, Martha will play a major part in the story of the show, eventually leading to her romantic involvement with Thomas. However, that might take a little bit of time, as the duo don’t seem to be starting on the right foot.

ComicBook.com caught up with Paetz ahead of her arrival on Pennyworth this Sunday, and she told us that it takes a while for Thomas and Martha to actually find their groove.

“No, no, they’re not [on the same page] at all,” said Paetz. “Yeah, I think that that’s something that’s really interesting that [EP]Bruno [Heller]’s written, is that obviously people have an idea of what it will be like when Bruce Wayne’s parents meet, because we know they get together. But there’s no chemistry between them at first. They have a purely perfunctory relationship, and there’s not even a lot of words there. Through outside circumstances, they end up getting put together more and more, but it’s definitely a very spiky relationship for quite a while.”

Executive producer Danny Cannon had something very similar to say back in July when the cast and creators stopped by our studio at San Diego Comic-Con.

“Arguably Batman is a very schizophrenic messed up guy, but Martha and Thomas are both sides of him,” Cannon said. “The DNA is right there. the way that they clash together, the way the sparks fly, the way that they’re angry at each other sometimes. They have completely different ideals and different beliefs. But together, if those things merge, it could be really special.”

It took three episodes for Martha to make her way to Pennyworth and it’s exciting to finally have the chance to see Bruce Wayne’s parents develop their relationship. That said, it sounds like it will still be quite a long time before they’re fond of one another.

New episodes of Pennyworth arrive on Epix on Sunday night.