During a stake-out at a construction site, Batman and Robin catch a gang of mobsters trying to sabotage it, as the wealthy architect refused to be extorted by them.

Following Batman's departure, Robin and Alfred Pennyworth use the Batcave's criminal database to determine the real identity of the crime boss.

Robin discovers that Marin is really an alias for Tony Zucco, someone he crossed paths with nine years ago in an event which changed his life.

While performing at a Wayne charity convention in Gotham City, Dick overhears Zucco threaten the ringmaster, Mr. Haley, telling him that if he doesn't pay money for "protection", accidents will happen.

Haley, who takes pride in running an honest business, violently refuses, and in response, Zucco partially saws through a trapeze rope to be used in the Graysons' act.

As Batman returns to the Batcave, Alfred reminds him that Dick is feeling unloved and scared, which prompts Bruce to realize he must spend more time with him.

Alfred then tells Bruce that Jim Gordon is convinced that Zucco might soon try to flee from Gotham, prompting Dick to take matters into his own hands.

At the last moment, Robin crashes through the fence while riding his motorcycle, drives straight at Zucco and, grabbing him by the collar, drags him to the end of a pier.

In a rare moment of vulnerability, Batman explains that he distanced Robin from the investigation because he feared his partner would be killed.

"Robin's Reckoning" has received a great deal of praise from both critics and fans of Batman: The Animated Series, often cited among the show's best episodes.

Club state that the episode's direction "handles energetic action sequences and heavy emotional moments with equal aplomb", and that the script has "philosophical and psychological depth".

[3] Batman On Film states that "there's little debate about 'Robin's Reckoning' being two of the best episodes in the entire run of [the series]", praising the emotional depth and power of the events depicted.