‘Batwoman’ Finally Became the Show It Was Meant to Be

What’s that old expression? Batwoman does the same thing Arrow did in four seasons, except backwards, and in three episodes? Doesn’t sounds exactly right, but it’s true: as of this week’s episode “Down, Down, Down,” The CW’s new hit superhero series is the show it was always meant to be, and it’s a beautiful thing to behold.

Spoilers for Batwoman Season 1, Episode 3, “Down, Down, Down” past this point.

Part of that, of course, is by design. In the series premiere, Kate Kane (Ruby Rose) semi-accidentally became a bat-themed superhero. While trying to save her ex-girlfriend Sophie (Meagan Tandy) from Alice (Rachel Skarsten), the psychotic Gotham City killer who later turned out to be Kate’s long-lost sister, Beth, Kate discovered her cousin Bruce Wayne was Batman, and stole one of his costumes. Gotham thought she was Batman — who has, in the continuity of the show, been missing for three years — and subsequently put too much pressure on Kate to fill his Bat-shoes.

So episode two (again, clearly by design) spent a lot of time with Kate refusing the call, in classic Joseph Campbell fashion. Instead, she tried to connect with Beth/Alice, semi-successfully, in an attempt to turn her sister back to the side of good. At the same time, Kate only briefly donned the Bat-suit, meaning we got nearly a full hour of The Kate Kane Adventures. Happily, Ruby Rose is a ridiculously magnetic lead, so that helped; but still, it was frustrating to tune in and not get the iconic Batwoman show we were promised.

That’s where “Down, Down, Down” comes in, as Kate wrestles with the increased frustration of Gotham City that their savior, Batman, seems to have left them once again. What showrunner Caroline Dries seemingly structured here was putting us, the viewers, in the same spot as the Gothamites. They want Batman. We want Batman. And when Kate finally accepts her destiny by the end of the episode, augmenting the Bat-suit with a red emblem, lipstick and wig to become Batwoman, the moment is a joyous release. No shame here: I clapped and cheered at the eventual reveal of Kate in full Batwoman regalia, and a large part of that is the building pressure, holding it back until we got that big release in episode three.

I mentioned Arrow above, and part of the frustration (that is now clearly purposeful) is based on the knowledge that it took fellow CW superhero Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) four seasons to call himself the Green Arrow. The Flash and Supergirl both were ready to go after episode one, but they’re lighter superheroes than the grim defenders of Star City and Gotham. So though we had seen Kate in the costume back in last year’s “Elseworlds” crossover (which ran through The Flash, Arrow, and Supergirl), when she wore a proto-suit in the pilot, it was a bit of a bummer.

Then there’s the Batman of it all. I lamented back when the pilot aired that my one big qualm with the show was that they seemed beholden to their “missing Batman mystery.” That’s still present, and will need to be dealt with going forward — Bruce Wayne doesn’t just disappear for no reason — but “Down, Down, Down” addressed this point in the form of Bruce’s nemesis, Tommy Elliot (guest star Gabriel Mann).

Elliot is also known as the villain Hush in the comics, a childhood friend of Bruce’s who was always jealous of what the Wayne boy had — including sympathy for two dead parents. He’s the perfect foil to mirror the audience’s obsession with both Batman and the missing Bruce Wayne, and the vehicle to drive Kate to seek her own identity. Instead of sort of looking like a less thicc Batman, she becomes something that radio host Vesper Fairchild (Rachel Maddow) calls, “curvier” and “sexier.” She’s also intimidating with her fire-red wig and bright lipstick in a way Batman could only dream of. She owns her flamboyance, her power, and it channels Rose’s passionate charm in a way that just doesn’t work in all black.

It’s not all about the suit, though. The other part of it is Kate Kane, openly lesbian superhero lead, and there’s a scene late in the episode that starkly underlined the difference between Batwoman and every other superhero show. After dealing with Elliot, Kate — sans Bat-suit — is outside the building it all went down in, when Reagan (Brianne Howey), a bartender at the party Elliot threatened, walks up to her and asks her out. That’s all fine and good, but the scene also features Mary (Nicole Kang), Kate’s friend and the woman who she was raised with proudly looking on; while Sophie, who is now closeted and married, watches conflicted. That’s four women, all with different characters and motivations, silently expressing their feelings through glances; no men present.

That’s why I say this is what the series was meant to be… Not just on the superhero level, but on the interpersonal level presenting women with complex inner lives — some of whom are superheroes, some who are villains, some who are neither — interacting, caring about each other, or clashing with each other. It only took three episodes, but Batwoman is finally out and swinging with the confidence of its main character. She may not be the hero Gotham expected, but she’s the hero TV needs right now. Bring it on, Kate.

Batwoman airs Sundays at 8/7c on The CW.

Where to watch Batwoman