In “I’ll Be Judge, I’ll Be Jury," Kate Kane rescues Batwoman from its villain problem
TV Reviews Recap
Coming off the high of last week’s episode, “I’ll Be Judge, I’ll Be Jury” has a lot to live up to, but unfortunately chooses to offer a lackluster look at how the Crows and Jacob Kane are dealing with Batwoman. The show also introduces viewers to a new, one-episode villain with a noble, yet still malevolent, mission, while reducing Alice’s contribution. Overall, the episode falls flat, but at least it gives Ruby Rose a chance to shine as Kate Kane and show more of her emotional range.
The Executioner is the baddie this week, and we get an interesting take on the comic book character. Instead of releasing inmates for personal gain, this version is on the side of these prisoners. The guilt of his government-issued killings creates the man (villain) we meet this episode. Even though The Executioner is killing people in gruesome ways, there’s a part of me that felt for him. Working in a hierarchy of corrupt judges and lawyers, he’s near the bottom but he thought he was doing the right thing for society, keeping killers off the street. But to learn he was killing minorities because they were the easiest scapegoats? His aggressive reaction seems almost justified. Of course, he was still killing people (prisoners) beforehand, so the viewer’s response to him depends on your thoughts on capital punishment, to begin with. It’s an intriguing commentary on the real-life reality of an unjust justice system that has sent innocent people to their death or, more often, prosecutes certain sects of people harsher than others.
There’s a bit of foreshadowing intertwined throughout the episode when it comes to the tension surrounding Jacob Kane. Alice is completely off the deep end when it comes to her hate for him; her relationship with Jacob doesn’t seem salvageable at this point. And Kate has been falling into this trap too, as she becomes increasingly frustrated with Jacob. Of course, Kate’s blame towards her father, for dropping the search for Beth, was parallel to his blame on Batman for his family’s death, to begin with. Both characters placed accountability elsewhere because they didn’t want to turn it on themselves. Kate snaps out of this by the end and has a tender moment with her father. However, this is the second week in a row that Jacob has gotten injured or attacked. His time—and luck—might be running out.
A question I keep asking each week is, “Where does Sophie fit into all of this?” Yes, she’s vital to Kate’s backstory, and Kate may or may not still have feelings for Sophie. However, right now, Sophie is the weakest character. It’s not that she’s underdeveloped, but her characterization is very vain. Her selfish ploys to get closer to Kate or get into her business just muddles things and makes her look bad. That’s probably the point (hopefully), but Sophie won’t leave her alone. Kate’s out here trying to save Gotham in a leather cape and wig, and she has a married ex that just won’t quit.
Sophie is clearly confused at her remaining feelings for Kate, and she carries her hurt around with her. As Mary points out, she inflicts that pain onto others in an attempt to stay on top or keep people safe. She’s borderline insufferable, but at least we get to see a protective Mary. This is, of course, one of the best versions of Mary, high up there with drunk Mary.
Alice and Mouse’s relationship opens up more for the audience in this episode, and it’s just as sadistic as ever. Mouse is even more unhinged than Alice, which you could see when Beth was held captive. Alice fused to Mouse’s presence despite that traumatic “upbringing” in his father’s household. Mouse is the only person whose insanity matches Alice’s, the only person that can elicit fear from her with his threats and voice impressions. Again, this episode ends with eerie words from these two: “We’ll be sharing her,” in reference to Kate.
Alice has her moments but she’s mostly on the sidelines this episode, which is one of the reasons “I’ll Be Judge, I’ll Be Jury” falls short of last week’s heights. “Mine Is A Long And Sad Tale” had such dynamic performances by Ruby Rose, Rachel Skarsten, and company. The writing fails to compensate for the loss of Alice in this episode. The fact that her absence is so keenly felt this time puts into perspective how much power Skarsten’s presence has on the show, just like Alice has in the city of Gotham.
On top of that, it’s worrisome because she won’t be a villain forever. The show is hurtling towards some sort of resolution. Alice might die in a heartwrenching end that brings Beth back once more before she succumbs to death in poetic, CW fashion. Or she is significantly deterred and has to flee Gotham, leaving the door open for a future return. But there doesn’t seem to be a way for her to continue as a regular or consistent guest forever, unfortunately. There could be some type of reconciliation, but that would require a 180° from Alice’s character and current trajectory. Right now, it’s hard not to think that there will be a sharp decline in storytelling if and when Alice does leave, as there are currently no antagonists who can live up to her.
Ruby Rose’s performance saves the episode for me. I know there’s some concern that her portrayal of Kate has been “bland,” but this episode pushes back against that. She ensures Kate’s resolve is felt throughout the episode. Kate isn’t some lovey-dovey individual; she doesn’t wear her emotions on her sleeves. When Kate sets out to do something, she’s all business. Her past trauma and heartbreak —with Sophie and with the loss of her mom and Beth—have made Kate guarded. Rose’s performance is a very internalized one because that’s Kate’s personality. This week, it’s the saving grace in an episode that struggles to show a way forward for its darker forces.
Stray Observations:
- “Jack Napier” is the name they use for the Joker in the newscast. As most of you probably know, the insane villain doesn’t usually get a name or backstory, except for recently. So it’s interesting that they put in that little detail from Tim Burton’s Batman.
- Mad Hatter should be an obvious tie-in at some point, but it doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen on the CW show. The best bet would have been for the writers to make Beth’s captor, Mr. Cartwright, Jervis Tech aka the Mad Hatter. This would really tie it all together and allow another Alice In Wonderland-obsessed villain onto the scene. But as we saw last week, Alice’s affinity for the Lewis Carroll character is thanks to Mouse.
- Kate really needs to tell Mary her identity soon. For one, can you imagine that girl’s heartbreak when she finds out Alice and Sophie knew she was Batwoman first? Plus, it would allow Mary to have a bit more of a heads up before Kate just dumps another injured body on her again.
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Speaking of Burton references, there was also the Mayor Cobblepot shoutout. I enjoyed how the Executioner was radicalized, but I highly question the physics of that death trap.Also, RIP Lucius Fox.
Oh gosh, yes. I figured Lucius was dead, but it was sad to have it confirmed
So I guess the reveals about Mayor Cobblepot and the Jack Napier Joker mean Batwoman is in the same continuity as the Tim Burton Batman movies, as some of the Crisis casting announcements have also suggested?Please tell me there is a chance that means Michelle Pfeiffer could turn up as Catwoman either in the crossover or just on this show at some point
Catching up on this during quarantine-times… if they keep Batwoman (and by extension, the Arrowverse) in Tim Burton continuity, that saves them from ever having to bring in famous Bat-villains. It’s not like Jim Carrey, Tommy Lee Jones, or Uma Thurman are interested in doing a guest spot on the CW. Danny DeVito might do it for laughs…
I think I know what’s bothering me about this show and that it’s moving way too fast. The show has spent so much time moving its central and hasn’t spent a whole lot of time developing most of its characters. The biggest offender of course being Katherine because right now all we’ve seen of her is conspiracy stuff. We know nothing about her as a person, what she wants, why she wants Batman (And probably by extension Batwoman) dead, or what her relationship with the rest of the family is. Like we haven’t even seen the fallout to Kate learning about Katherine’s deception.But there’s other stuff like “What is Jacob and Mary’s relationship?” “Does Kate actually care about Mary?” “What is Luke’s deal?”. Also that they broke up Regan and Kate in under the span of an episode. Oh and that this shows world building has mostly been “You recognize this Batman characters namedrop right?”
As for this episode itself, they should have know that a man named “The Fist” wouldn’t have killed someone with a gun. Oh and I still don’t care about Sophie and Kate’s relationship.
I would like for some backstory to get filled in, especially for Catherine, but generally I like the accelerated nature of the plotting so far. Agree that Sophie-Kate’s relationship is not interesting or dynamic enough to bear the story weight it is carrying right now. Kate needs to move on & the show needs this to happen too. Mouse is creepy, obviously, and also complicit in Beth’s abuse in a way that I find unforgivable & I have to think eventually Alice will want payback from him once he has served her purposes.
Sophie is the worst and I hope the show recognizes that and banishes her to the same island Maxwell Lord and Lucy Lane are living on.
Alas I don’t think the National City Miss Person Black Hole is going to suck up this one. We may be stuck with her in the long haul.
Sophie joins the ranks of failed season 1 love interests on the ArrowVerse shows, along with Laurel on Arrow and James on Supergirl. Iris on Flash sort of fit this but they fixed her & Barry in later seasons. I am not optimistic that will be possible here.
I think this one may be worse because on top of the lack of chemistry actually dislike the character quite a bit, more than Laurel ever got.
The all-time worst ArrowVerse s1 love interest is probably Kendra/ Hawkgirl on LoT. While Sophie is not a good character or love interest she still isn’t THAT bad. (Give her time though I guess)
Has Sophie ever been a barista?
That’s why she needed to graduate from the academy so badly… so that she didn’t have to go back to being a barista.
You’d think the fact that this was a pattern would tell the writers something, but they just keep making the same mistakes over and over again. At least the Superman and Lois show won’t have this problem.
Oh I don’t think them being married and having a kid will stop that, look at Black Lightning.
Are you talking about relationship drama or chemistry? Because Lynn and Jefferson have great chemistry. But yes, they still have relationship drama, though I don’t think it’s that bad compared to most Arrowverse shows.
Drama of course.
At least the Superman and Lois show won’t have this problem.I wouldn’t be too sure. It’s still a CW show.
I was fine with the pace until it turned out to be at the expense of development.And yes, they keep writing writing Sophie in ways that just make me not want her and Kate to hook up.And yes, Mouse is a creeper (Not the Creeper though) and probably going to play a role in Beth’s potential Face Turn.
While they haven’t developed some of the relationships much, do remember that this is still only the sixth episode.
So? I’ve seen many other shows develop their characters in less time. And with 22 episodes they don’t need to be rushing the story.
I don’t feel that they are rushing the story. What they’re doing instead is not draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawing it out until you’re ready to burst a blood vessel in your head from screaming in frustration like every other show these days.
It feels like it’s going too fast though and not taking its time to develop things. Let me put out an example: What are we supposed to think of Katherine at the moment?
I’m frustrated that the cw STILL hasn’t worked out how to handle plot arcs yet.It’s very simple:
– you don’t want to make everything move unsustainably fast, so you string out the main plot across the 22 episodes at a reasonable pace
– you don’t want people to get impatient with the main plot, so you distract them with smaller arcs and occasional standalones from week to week.Instead, they seem to hate the idea of any arc other than the main plot, so every week is half main plot, half standalone, which means every standalone feels half-baked. The villains of the week are barely introduced before they’re disposed of, so we don’t have time to care about them, like them, hate them, or fear them… and because they’re so disposable and their harebrained schemes so immediately baffled, there’s never the slightest impression that the protagonists might be in the slightest danger. It’s like the writers are TRYING to avoid there being any stakes or investment.And as for the main plot… in batwoman’s case, we’re six episodes in, the villain has been introduced, their identity has been revealed, to us and to all the protagonists one by one, their entire (well, sufficient) backstory has been explained and dramatised, their plots have been foiled several times, they’ve already been captured TWICE, and escaped TWICE, and held the heroine captive for good measure. In six episodes. At this rate, the protagonists will incompetently allow Alice to escape about six times every season… and of couse, every plot twist spikes interest in the moment, but undermines every future plot twist, because when you know that this stuff will happen every episode, who cares? It’s like the writers are TRYING to avoid there being any stakes or investment…
To be fair, they have to cover a lot of time in 8 episodes. I’m not sure how long the time span was for the first few episodes, but episode 5 took place sometime around December 2019 and the show has to be caught up to the present by the crossover in episode 9.
So here’s the thing, it is apparently already caught up. It was caught up last week when they referenced the prison break at Arkham. They are apparently lined up with the other Arrowverse shows now.
No, the Arkham breakout was in last year’s crossover, Elseworlds, when we first met Batwoman. Batwoman is now still a year behind the other Arrowverse shows.
Nope, the breakout that Mouse escaped in was the same one that was in Elseworlds apparently. She’s all caught up.
Yes, the breakout was in Elseworlds, which aired in December 2018. She is caught up to Elseworlds now, which means that it is still 2018 in this show, not 2019.
Yeah and then sprung past it so that it would be in line with the other shows.
I agree that I really want more time spent with Catherine and better understanding her motives. At this point in the season, I’m okay if they string some of it out. But I would like to see her get more screentime.Does anyone like the Sophie-Kate relationship?
The writers?Not know her motives wouldn’t bother as much if we knew anything about her. As it is she shows up once in an episode and then is gone and basically unmentioned the rest of the time.
I honestly don’t think the writers care about this relationship. If they did we’d be getting Sophie’s point of view. Right now all we know is she broke up with Kate so that she wouldn’t get kicked out of military school, which is understandable IMO. But there’s a reason why she stayed in the closet and why she put herself back in Kate’s orbit. But Sophie never confides in anyone, so we don’t know why. All we’ve heard for 6 episodes is how Sophie hurt Kate. I don’t know how the writers can expect people to support a relationship where one person is constantly hurting the other with no reasonable explanation.They’ve given Alice, the psycho serial killer, a sympathetic backstory, so even though she’s evil, you know where she’s coming from. But Sophie? Nothing. She’s just a cold blooded bitch who dumped Kate. By the time the writers get around to giving some info on Sophie, no one will care. How many people care now? It’s frustrating.
That’s a very good question but for now it seems that Kate & Sophie is the end game.
With the way things are going I feel like this time next year Sophie will be replaced Laurel-style, by some pretty, young white girl. We’ll see.
Well I would hope that they would have learned their lesson from Supergirl: Going from Jimmy to Mon-El.
As for this episode itself, they should have know that a man named “The Fist” wouldn’t have killed someone with a gun.I figured “The Fist” was his ring name before he went to prison. Also the point is that he was being railroaded because he was black so no one cared if it even made sense for him to use a gun.
Well yeah that’s what I mean, he’s The Fist, why would he murder someone with a gun? Clearly a frame job.
His nick name isn’t proof of innocence. He was an ex-boxer but that doesn’t prove he wasn’t guilty of shooting someone.
I was making a joke.
I think the reason it’s pacing is so fast is because they have a benchmark of where they want to be by the time Crisis arrives, and it does indeed feel rushed because of 2 reasons stemming from that: 1) The only part of Batwoman developed at all before the series was Kate herself in the previous crossover, then to make that worse the series itself doesn’t even get to that point in the timeline until 4 episodes in. In comparison 3 of The Flash main characters were introduced in Arrow before The Flash started, which were also chronologically before, and Legends of Tomorrow’s entire main cast except Rip Hunter had already been introduced in Arrow and The Flash beforehand, most of which were at least recurring characters. And, 2) Batwoman is launching into a full crossover (with four other series) at episode 8 of it’s first season, unlike every other Arrowverse show so far. Arrow obviously had no crossovers until The Flash, then when it came time for a crossover in season 1 of The Flash it was only with one other show. Legends didn’t have a proper crossover at all in season 1 though there were many smaller crossovers from supporting characters and a future version of Oliver. Supergirl’s only crossover was having Barry in one episode late in the first season.So basically they had 7 episodes to set up the whole show and presumably somewhat Crisis itself before derailing it with their biggest crossover ever (so far), and spent 4/7 of those episodes playing catch up for the only element they had already introduced.
Well like here’s the thing, I kind of doubt that Crisis is going to effect this show anyway, how could it when its barely been around? That and I’m pretty sure Kate’s going to be the only one there from this show.So wherever this show drops off when it hits Crisis time is probably going to be where it picks back up its over. So it doesn’t need to rush.
– If you see a guy like that in Gotham, and you just stand there like a dumbass, you get what’s coming to you.
– Alice is twisted in the most delightful way.
– Looks like they’re clearing the board. Explaining why both Gordon and Lucius aren’t there.
– First death by electricity, next by firing squad.
– I really like how they do the Dark Detective parts. They actually use intelligent methods to profile and track their prey. It was one of the things that I also like most about “The Dark Knight”.
– Yeah, Luke. Your dad was black, but he was also rich. That tends to affect justice…especially in Gotham.
– Class warfare is the major theme of “Batwoman”. It’s great how week after week they find new ways to depict it.
– Did Ruby change her hair?
– See, now that scene between Kate and her father I found moving.
– I’ve talked about how the theme of “Batwoman” is class warfare, but this episode made me realize that it’s also about family.
Or run at the fence the water is heading towards instead of something else.
Ruby just had her hair spiked in this episode. I have short hair like hers and style it both ways.
i think ruby did change her hairand ruby is hott
I completely missed the mention of Gordon. What was it?
I didn’t catch a mention of Gordon, but they did say someone not named Gordon was the commissioner.
Kate really needs to tell Mary her identity soon. For one, can you imagine that girl’s heartbreak when she finds out Alice and Sophie knew she was Batwoman first?100%. confide in the person who actually has your back, Kate.-Mouse’s new facemask is a nice way to wriggle themselves out of complicated makeup requirements. His voice in general is creepy as hell.-Kate mentions her club soccer past as I second-screen the USWNT friendly.-Kate is a very decent human not to respond to Sophie knowing her identity as Batwoman by threatening mutually assured destruction.
The Executioner reminds me a lot of this guy, but in a more sympathetic fashion:
Mary is so much The Best it’s becoming embarrassing. I hope they focus in on the Kate and Mary dynamic sooner rather than later so Kate can pay her back for being such a good sister (especially where Sophie is concerned).I like the Rogues Gallery they’re building up here. I’m coming at this as a novice, so I know nothing about the comics, but they’ve already got a solid lineup of villains for her to deal with on a weekly basis.I agree with the reviewer that Rose is doing a great job. Especially in her scenes with her father. And hey, she has one up on Oliver Queen now. Sure, his mother shot him after he threatened her. But she and her father actually got into a physical confrontation.I tried to think of something nice to say about Sophie but nothing’s coming to mind. Even being around Mary couldn’t make her better by association. It doesn’t help that she’s now looking to tell Kane about his daughter being Batwoman. Why, Sophie? I mean that in every way possible. Just…why?
I feel like at some point in her conversation with Sophie, Mary sold of implicitly realized how one-sided it was that she was just crushing Sophie for how horrible she was & her many betrayals of Kate & now Batwoman, and she kind of eased up, like, I am going to just go back to being The Best now & you can have fun being The Worst.
I tried to think of something nice to say about Sophie but nothing’s coming to mind. Even being around Mary couldn’t make her better by association. It doesn’t help that she’s now looking to tell Kane about his daughter being Batwoman. Why, Sophie? I mean that in every way possible. Just…why?Did you see her abs? Cause they were nice.The sense I got is that Sophie wants Kate to stop being Batwoman because it’s too dangerous. The only way that’ll happen is if Jacob puts a stop to it. But when Sophie saw Kate and Jacob hug at the end I guess she changed her mind. Who knows, because she never tells anyone what she’s thinking. BTW, was I not paying attention, or did the show not bother explaining why no one came looking for Sophie when she disappeared for a day or two?
She asked for permission to go off on a special assignment to track down Batwoman at the top of the episode so that would explain why nobody was worried that she wasn’t around.
If her husband actually existed as a character, he’d be so angry at Batwoman now – his wife disappears to hunt Batwoman and comes back a few days later with a serious gunshot wound? But since he only exists to make Sophie even more despicable (look, she’s not just messing with Kate’s head for her own enjoyment, she’s also emotionally cheating on her husband to do it!), I doubt he’ll have any opinion on this.
[I’m not normally keen on terms like ‘emotional cheating’, which often seem like a way to reinforce unhealthy, jealous and controlling styles of relationship. However, “gaslighting your ex-girlfriend by acting like you’re still going out with her, jealously trying to control both her love life and her chosen career, while lying to your husband (who now knows your ex) and not even telling him that you ever had a girlfriend, let alone one he’s actually met, let alone that you won’t leave her alone” surely has to qualify if anything does. At minimum, Sophie needs to either completely accept that Kate isn’t her girlfriend any more, or tell her husband about her. I mean, ideally both, but I get that these things can be complicated – but carrying on her weird stalker-relationship with Kate AND lying to her husband about both her past and her present affections is just way beyond the pale, imo.]
Hmmm how to redeem Sophie? Have her become Kate’s sparring partner? Echo the Ollie and Diggle relationship but with sexual tension? She may (erroneously) think Kate was partying (instead of training) while away. So this may become Sophie’s way o fprotecting here. We can get the convo, sweat, grunt, bonding, sex-tense, Sophie’s POV, army nostalgia, and all that other stuff fanfics are made of.
I think she was only missing for a few hours.
ik did u see the look in ruby’s eyes BTW i cried when she did
The actor playing Mary is so damn good.
amen to that why sophie why
Is it just me, or does the wig look different from the one used in Elseworlds? The previous wig had long bangs that looked cool hanging on the side of her face, the current one’s bangs just look weird.
Aw, they almost made it through an entire episode without a bad Kate voice over.
Firing squads? We all know Mayor Cobblepot was more of a guillotine guy. In most Batman stories, only the GCPD have to be incompetent law enforcement. Batwoman is adding a double layer of incompetence via Crows. Why is a private security firm doing pro bono police work?
We just had a Batman-killing gun. How does Catherine know her gun would penetrate his suit anyway?
The Crows are under contract with the city so they are making money off of this.
Even if Gothamites are paying taxes to both GCPD & Crows, they said these crimes were outside Crows’ district.
Yeah, but I guess that if you have an entire paramilitary mercenary force sitting around the city taking protection money, the cost of sending them on one mission just outside city limits is pretty small compared to your annual overheads. It’s the sort of pro bono work that the accountants could easily justify as good PR. Maybe the residents of West Harlow will see how great a job they did and lobby their own council to hire the Crows next year!
I guess the prosecutor dude was outside Gotham when he died.
I hope the Batman-lethal gun points to Catherine knowing Batman’s secret identity. It would be a perfect way to get Jacob to not trust her anymore. First Beth, now Bruce. Hope she has a divorce lawyer ready.
good question
I know she can’t be invincible, but I’m finding it hard to buy Kate as a badass when in this episode she a.) gets hit by a truck (that she could totally hear coming) and, b.) struggles to fight a man with no combat training.
Also at this point it seems like the Batsuit is just gonna be this show’s version of the Speed Force in the Flash, where it just does whatever is convenient for the plot. Like, getting license plate numbers from getting hit? For real? Come on, show.
I did buy it either, but then I actually pressed on old licence plate unto a foam memory pillow thingee and there was definitely an imprint left. *but* I guess we lucked out that license plate was on the FRONT of the car.
Mary needs a better sister. 10 minutes after Sophie discover her secret she just blows Mary’s. Her clinic is there to help people in need dammit. Don’t blow that because or your personal shenanigans. Not everyone can offer the fancy hospital like you and Sophie, Kate.
Right now, it’s hard not to think that there will be a sharp decline in storytelling if and when Alice does leave, as there are currently no antagonists who can live up to her. This is my concern also. The Berlantiverse has never been good at coming up with strong villains. Alice is the most interesting one we’ve seen in a while, and if they turn out to be stupid enough to kill her off…..we’re in for a lethargic, weak Season 2.Which would put Batwoman in the same pattern as every other DC-W series except for Legends.
Arrow sure didn’t have a weak season two…
But it did have a very weak seasons 3 and 4, which isn’t ideal either…
I think we’re geared up for either Catherine to become the villain in some fashion or moving on to Hush in season two.
So wouldn’t that explosion that destroyed the hydrogen have also consumed all the oxygen in the room?
Oh probably, they really should have had Luke hack the building’s HVAC system and evacuate the cyanide gas that way. It would have kept the “death bed” confession that was so important to the scene, but wouldn’t have been quite as ridiculous.
I actually really liked this episode, it did something other than Kate trying in vain again to reach Alice/Beth. Not that I dislike Alice but the Kate needs a roster of villains. They can’t rely on Alice forever. So a non-Alice baddy episode is a nice change of pace. Its interesting as usually villain of the week episodes are Arrow-verse weaker links but also how they ease their hero into the game but Batwoman went straight toward a big bad early and hasn’t looked back. So this was good and let the cast do something other than just chase after Beth for an hour.
Mary needs more to do in this show though, I like her but the longer the show tries to keep her in the dark the more dumb its going to make her look. Like Iris West, ace reporter that couldn’t figure out her best friend was the Flash or ubergenius Lena Luthor that couldn’t figure out her best friend was Supergirl. I’m hoping that she learned the identity soon so Mary can teach Kate about dual-identities. I’m thinking that is where they are going with the thing about Mary telling Sophie about her social media presence looking like she is in the club but really helping the uninsured and poor of Gotham that can’t afford health care.
Ruby really brought something to Kate this episode, I’ve never been a fan of how stiff she has been in the previous episodes but this one was better, not a huge shift but enough to make Kate interesting. Its like she is starting to understand the character.
Sophie continues to be the worst but I find it strangely entertaining.
Get Alice off the screen. For a while. For the love of god.
The problem with having this multi-episode villain that is deeply, intrinsically connected to the hero on a biological level is that there has to be a serious gravitas and compelling performance.Look at the Dark Archer from Arrow S1. First and foremost, we don’t see him for ages. Second, we see him in bursts. He’s mysterious. He’s suddenly there, and suddenly gone – and he can physically go toe to toe with the hero. The reveal is important, and his identity may not be a huge shocker, but his full-tilt into complete insanity when his son questions his decision is.. rather incredible. Reverse-Flash, S1 Flash, holy shit. Great performance, a nuanced performance for much of the season – with this post-credits stingers that simultaneously make you suspect and nearly exonerate the villain regularly.
Rachel Skarsten, I’m sure, is a gifted actress, or at least one who works hard. But this material does 0 favors. It’s the repetitive “I’m so crazy, I keep referencing a story!” crap that made the Riddler a punchline until probably early 2000s range. Alice isn’t compelling, she isn’t interesting – she’s a huge slowdown on the story, and so much of the season depends on her being compelling that it hurts. Make Alice go away for a while. Bring her back post-crisis. Every episode with her as the story driver—we’re on episode five of this!—is just pain.
Exposition dump this in an episode, have Alice seemingly die to protect her sister, bring her back after a great deal of time to reflect, make her far more chaotic-neutral character.Also, Luke fucking Fox is Batwing. He’s MMA-trained, and works with Batman and Batgirl on the reg. He’s a crappy version of Brainiac and Felicity now? He’s a hero in his own right, but it’s easier to make him a big dork? Formulas aren’t a terrible thing, except every Arrowverse show is nearly identical now.I’d really like a Batwoman show that’s about Batwoman.
It’s something that falls into the “comic book show, don’t worry about it” arena, but I still find it funny. The blackout eye-makeup that magically disappears when the mask comes off has been a staple since at least Tim Burton’s Batman, but I find it pretty funny that in Batwoman it extends to the bright red lipstick. Mask on: bright red lipstick. Mask off: lipstick goes away.
Nora West-Allen clearly brought her magic lipstick technology back from the future – she used it a number of times on the last season of The Flash. Mask on, purple lipstick. Mask off, neutral rose shade.
Rachel is such a powerhouse actor and fun fact, she got her start on the PAX TV show Little Men (that deviated from Louisa May Alcott’s book a little bit). It’s on Amazon Prime and she’s great in that role.
I very much enjoy Ruby Rose when she’s in the suit and in action. The scenes where she’s face to face with her dad are still tough to watch because yes, she may be a very internal person, but she could still reveal…something…in her face.
Does Mary continue to be the best? Yes. Therefor a decent episode at the least. And, yes, get Mary in the know and on the team ASAP.I hate the trope of ‘plastic surgery or face mask suddenly makes the person look 100% like their target’ since real life it hits uncanny valley at best and rarely even that but it’s a world of weird science and magic so I guess I’ll give it a begrudging pass. Despite being against capital punishment period I definitely do feel a little for the Executioner. No matter how you justified your killings to yourself before, finding out they were completely baseless murder has to be incredibly jarring and traumatic.
On the “face mask is totally convincing” thing: jeez, that guy had really weird teeth. Just pasting a new face on wouldn’t replicate that. And yet!
My problem with the show in general? I’ve seen nothing from the Kate Kane/Batwoman character that show she’s more skilled than the average run of the mill thugs she encounters. You REALLY have to make me believe she can kick the shit out of 99% of Gotham’s bad asses. Cuz I don’t see it.
RIP Lucious Fox. Smh
A couple of days late on watching this week’s episode, but…. you guys. Did you catch the architectural joke in the episode?
At the end of the episode, when Beth and Mouse are talking out on the street… do you know what Chicago building they are right out in front of?
The Rookery. In a show about a bunch of crows, they were in front of a building whose long-standing name has been The Rookery. I don’t even know if anyone on the show meant it as a little wink and nod, like I’m taking it to be… all I know is I laughed.
(That location is also the same general area where The Dark Knight’ outside police parade-fight-thingy happened, where Joker was disguised as a officer.)
I just can’t anymore. Ruby Rose is the main reason. The supporting characters are fun, but she is as wooden as an actor can be. Even her tears at the end whilst hugging her dad seemed forced. I’ve tried my best, but just cannot get into Batwoman. Stagnant is the key word. By this time in Arrow, it got a hell of a lot better. IMHO, this show just can’t get going. Looking forward to the Canaries show!