Batwoman season 1 episode 3 review: Taking up the mantle
We knew from the beginning that Kate Kane would be replacing Bruce Wayne as Gotham’s hero, but this week’s episode of Batwoman shows her finally coming to terms with it.
This post contains spoilers for The CW’s Batwoman.
The first two episodes of The CW’s Batwoman set up Kate Kane to replace Bruce Wayne as Batman — or, more accurately, Batwoman — but they didn’t show her coming to terms with the responsibility she was taking on. Truthfully, Kate’s first adventure in the batsuit was more an act of self-interest than one intended to give Gotham hope. But at the beginning of “Down Down Down,” she acknowledges what she’s started — and as the epsiode continues, she figures out what to do about it. (And we finally get the red wig!)
In “Down Down Down,” viewers finally begin to understand what’s going through Kate’s head when it comes to putting on the suit. She struggles with doubts about whether or not she can live up to Bruce Wayne’s legacy, admitting at the end of the episode that she’s afraid to disappoint him. And let’s be honest, it probably doesn’t help that he could technically still come back.
Luke, of course, wants her to continue playing Gotham’s vigilante, and we just want to see more of him. He doesn’t have many moments onscreen, but the ones he does have always result in a touching interaction between him and Kate. It’s a friendship that we can get behind.
As villains go, this episode focuses on more than just Alice (although Alice steals the show, as always). Tommy Elliot (known in the DC comics as Hush) comes to town in order to seek vengeance against Batman, and Kate needs to stop him from killing people to draw out a hero she knows isn’t showing up — because the Batman he’s been hearing about is actually her, not Bruce.
The two face off briefly, and he almost defeats Kate, too, but Alice saves her. Unfortunately, that’s about it for Alice’s acts of good will this episode. After saving her sister, she tells Kate that she intends to keep on killing people. And when Kate tells her that she won’t view her as her sister anymore, she insists that that’s the point. Ouch. Poor Kate is going to have plenty to work through on that front…
Thankfully, she’s beginning to work through her feelings for Sophie at least. While Kate’s at Tommy’s party, she meets a bartender who just might serve as a new love interest for her. And honestly, she’s got spunk and good instincts about people, so we can totally ship it. Kate also makes a snide comment to Sophie about how she was told to move on and makes it super obvious to Sophie’s husband that he should probably know who she is. Basically, Kate’s on fire this whole episode.
“Down Down Down” also shows lots of Kate’s former love interest traipsing around behind Mary, as Jacob made Sophie the girl’s security detail after Alice’s henchman attacked his step-daughter last episode. The attack has done nothing to dull Mary’s shine, though, and she has enough sass to keep the entire episode going on her own.
Mary’s mother also makes an appearance during one of the final scenes, and she’s pushing Jacob to forget Alice’s lies about being Beth. Jacob, to his credit, seems to be coming around — he’s realizing that Alice knows things that only Beth would, and that it’s possible the killer and his daughter are, in fact, one and the same. But why Catherine is so insistent on hiding Alice’s true identity remains a mystery. Could Gotham have a third villain on its hands?
Batwoman is still setting things up, but its plot is beginning to move along with each episode — and Kate’s finally starting to accept her role in this story. “Down Down Down” is still laying the groundwork, but it manages to keep things interesting while it does. And with new villains and mysteries popping up, the world is sure to be expanded upon even more next week.
Next. Batwoman season 1 episode 2 review: Turning up the emotions. dark