TV Review: Batwoman Is Here To Save Gotham
Batwoman’s pilot was solid enough to want her return. Admittedly, pilots are always difficult. In the same way you give New York 3 years before you decide to move away, I think you should give a show 3 episodes before you decide to leave it. Luckily, the CW has created a series that makes you want to stay and see Kate Kane’s journey.
With successes like The Flash and Arrow, I expected Batwoman to fit into those worlds, which introduced her, aesthetically. Yet, I kept on getting Smallville vibes. It was as if Gotham was the gritty, grunge version of the Kansas small town. It could be because of its intriguing flashbacks, which reveal Kate Kane has suffered LOSS, or because Ruby Rose taps into Tom Welling’s ability to be eagerly noble. From her years of searching to become the best warrior to her own family tragedy, like most comic book heroes, we find Kate Kane at a time in her life where she has to confront her abandonment issues while becoming a pillar of support for a city about to go over-drive on crime.
Batwoman (The CW) Premiere Trailer HD – Ruby Rose superhero series
What I love about superheroes is that their spiritual journeys are more of a focus than their physical ones. They already have the ripped bodies and superpowers needed to save the world, but they need the mind and soul. From its pilot, we see Kate Kane’s mind is on how her sister and mother were tragically “killed.” (I put that in quotes because no one ever says dead in the comic world) Moreover, the episode’s ending was SUCH A GOOD TWIST that the plot’s intrigue grew tenfold. Did Kate Kane really lose her family? Is her dad just a jerk or a menace? While Dougray Scott blends sweetness into Colonel Jacob Kane, as the leader of The Crows, he has openly disrupted Kate’s dreams and love life.
CW is coming for heads when it comes to passive-aggressively commenting on cruel politics like, forbidding work to LGBTQIIA members. If Roswell challenged how we treat immigrants, Batwoman has and will challenge how we treat the LGBTQIIA members of our society, including the military. From forbidding work or service, Kate Kane’s relationship with Meagan Tandy’s Sophie Moore humanizes the new caped crusader and allows Ruby Rose to step up her acting chops. Her quiet emotionality helps her in scenes confronting her fathers rejection and feeling lighter around humorous characters such as, Camrus Johnson’s Luke Fox and her step-sister, Nicole Kang’s Mary.
DCTV Elseworlds Crossover – Ruby Rose as Batwoman (HD)
All in all, Batwoman’s pilot episode achieved its goal, it made me want to tune in Sundays at 8 to The CW to see why Batman disappeared and how Kate Kane will fill his shoes. The fact that The Bat is going is fascinating, and makes me hope to see the CW’s rendition of The Caped Crusader. An older, wiser Batman is always a welcome to the screen, but, for now, its enough to see Batwoman become her own wisdom. #fierce
