Batwoman premiere review: This series is the female-led superhero show we need
The Batwoman season premiere already proves one thing about the series: This is the female-led superhero story we’ve been waiting for.
This weekend, The CW’s Batwoman premiered to 1.8 million viewers — a record number for The CW, looking back at its premieres over the past couple of years. And the highly anticipated series lived up to the hype Sunday night, presenting a solid beginning to a female-led superhero story that we’ve been waiting for for… well, a long time.
The show wastes no time jumping into the action, showing viewers the fallout of Batman’s disappearance from Gotham. While we have no idea what happened to Bruce Wayne, it’s clear that there’s plenty of unrest in his absence. And the villainous attack on the “Crows,” Gotham’s police force, early on in the episode makes it obvious just how poorly the city is doing now that criminals have no one to fear.
The first attack on Gotham that we witness results in Agent Moore being kidnapped by villains, and this is exactly what brings Kate Kane back to Gotham in the first place. Their romance underlines the pilot episode, and despite Moore’s marriage reveal at the end, it seems like the women’s feelings for one another will fuel much of the action this season. After all, Kate’s love for her former girlfriend already got her into the Batsuit — and, by the way, that line about how Batman’s suit will be perfect “when it fits a woman” is top notch.
The pilot also introduces the villain of the first season, hitting viewers with quite the plot twist at the end of the episode. Alice clearly has an issue with Kate’s father, as well as some complicated feelings toward Kate, but the discovery that she’s actually Kate’s sister — who was presumed dead years ago — is sure to create some deliciously tense moments going forward. We love seeing two powerful and complicated women facing off with one another, and Batwoman is going to provide on that count.
All in all, the pilot episode of Batwoman set fans up for a dark and emotional series — one that could eventually become as big as Arrow or The Flash. There were a few awkward moments or lulls that can be expected from a series still trying to find its footing. But for a first episode, this one was promising — and it offered hope for what’s to come.
Before Batwoman: Looking at LGBTQ+ in the Arrowverse. dark. Next