This issue starts with Bruce and the batfamily dedicating a children's hospital in Alfred's honor. "The Alfred J. Pennyworth's children's hospital will save the lives of Gotham's lost children". This is the first time the family has all been together since before Alfred died.
Alfred's final wish was for his family to be together, so after the dedication ceremony, the family meets at a decrepit bar Tim has found in a seedy neighborhood; while Catwoman, Batwoman, Orphan and Signal patrol the city. Things quickly go downhill as everyone begins playing the blame game, with Bruce being too ill-equipped to handle the situation.
After they finally stop arguing, they each take turns toasting to Alfred, and they tell a personal anecdote starting with Damian. Damian is so distraught after his story, he leaves an emotional wreck. Barbara tells Bruce to go after him, but he's to wrapped up in his own emotions to check on Damian. After they each tell their story, they leave with parting advice for Bruce.
It's not lost on me that they speak in the reverse order of when they entered Bruce's life. The last person to speak to Bruce is Dick Ric. Due to his memory loss, Bruce tells Ric a personal story that Dick had with Alfred. After hearing the story, Ric seems to finally break thru to Bruce and leaves with the following words to Bruce:
Ric leaves Bruce with a parting gift
Right now Bruce is lost, but so are his kids. While I understand that Bruce has lost a parent, he came across as very self-absorbed in this issue, especially when it comes to Damian, who blames himself for Alfred's death (even though it was Bruce's plan). Tim and Babs were literally begging Bruce to step up. This issue highlighted how fractured the family truly is right now and how much maturing Bruce needs to do. It also showed how much this family desperately needs each other, but they don't know how to get there. It'll be interesting to see if and when Bruce finally steps up and fills the big shoes Alfred left behind.
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