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Warning: This article contains spoilers from Batwoman‘s Season 2 premiere. Read at your own risk!
Batwoman rang in its second season with an overarching mystery: What happened to Kate Kane? Sunday’s premiere episode began with Kate’s plane to National City crashing near the river and newcomer Ryan Wilder (played by Javicia Leslie) discovering the batsuit among the debris. Kate’s body has not been recovered, which gives hope to some — including Luke Fox and Kate’s father Jacob Kane — that she may still be alive. However, others like her twin sister Alice have given up on the idea that the former vigilante survived that fiery collision and is still out there somewhere.
With Kate missing in action, Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries says questions surrounding her disappearance aren’t going to let up anytime soon.
“It continues to be an ongoing story,” she tells TVLine. “I appreciate people saying, ‘Please don’t drag me through this. We know Ruby [Rose, who exited the series in May] is not on the show anymore.’ My desire is for it to feel incredibly satisfying, and it does take you through a rollercoaster. All the characters have a vested interest in finding Kate and have their own point of view on what happened to her. The journey to the end result, I think, will be worth going along for the ride.”
Kate’s absence means that Wilder steps in as the new Batwoman, and her ascension to superhero status will come with its own complications. During the Season 2 premiere, Tommy Elliot (who was wearing Bruce Wayne’s face) shot her with kryptonite, and remnants of the crystalline material remain in the wound. Dries says things will “only get worse” for Ryan after she neglected to tell the Bat Team the extent of her injury.
“It’s a metaphor for a lot of things, being shot with this kryptonite. Ryan has to be a hero and prove herself while she’s dealing with this huge issue of having kryptonite in her blood and keeping that a secret from the whole world,” Dries explains. “For me, as a writer, it’s sort of this metaphor of women and women of color, in particular, [who] need to go above and beyond to prove themselves and what they have to struggle with secretly just to be considered equal or accepted.”
The wound will be significant for Ryan, who will also be dealing with homelessness and unemployment in addition to her new Batwoman duties.
“If she were to admit something’s affecting her [like the kryptonite], she feels like she would she would be seen as weak, and that’s the one thing that she can’t afford to be seen as now. You’re going to watch her battle that throughout the season, and trusting Luke and Mary, whose main focus is finding Kate,” Leslie says. “Ryan knows that, and there’s this constant comparison to [Kate]. After a while, Ryan is like, ‘I’m here, and you guys don’t even see me.'”
According to Dries, Luke will be reluctant to accept Wilder as the new Batwoman since it would also mean accepting that Kate is dead. “He really struggles with that,” Dries adds. “Nothing against Ryan, it’s that he doesn’t want to say goodbye to Kate. As Ryan and Luke’s dynamic starts off with some friction, it will evolve into a real brother-sister dynamic. But ultimately, Ryan has to put her foot down to be like, ‘Look, I’m the one who wears the symbol. I’m the one who takes the bullets. I’m the one who’s putting herself literally in harm’s way, so I’m the leader here. I’m Batwoman.’ They become deferential to her, but there’s always that push and pull. Everyone has opinions in that batcave.”
What did you think of Batwoman‘s Season 2 premiere? Grade it in our poll, and sound off in the comments below.
Is not Bad but I miss Kate kane aka Rubi Rose
@ Natalia her name is RubY
If you miss Ruby, just get a block of wood and put it on the sofa next to you. Pretty much the same when it comes to acting and charisma.
The tradeoff was well executed. Caroline Dries came up with a convincing set up plot to change characters. I will watch episode 2. To me, Batwoman will continue to be Kate Kane, but I like the new actress and willing to see where it goes.
My biggest problem was the convenience that Ryan’s adoptive mother was killed by Alice’s Wonderland gang and then she happens to find sister Kate’s Batsuit. I had thought Scarecrow killed her mom from earlier reports. But, it could have been worse, just seemed a little sloppy/lazy creatively.
… on the plus side, I liked the various Supergirl tie in winks…
Was the plane crashing coincidentally by her to find the suit really convincing?
I was fine with it and if they stay with her snark to her criminals, they will actually have a more comic accurate Batwoman. I do, big picture, wonder if Kryptonite poisoning might actually be useful to us humans. But I still have this fun idea that they could keep Kate alive but she gets stuck on another Earth because she gets kidnapped from the plane by the same aliens who kidnapped Sara. They are supposed to be idiots. And it would provide a good big Arrowverse (I am not calling it the other thing) excuse to keep the multiverse a secret until they get their full calender settled.
Starting off really good can’t wait to see this season.
I didn’t get vibes that this was ongoing and Kate wasn’t dead, but that’s fine, I guess. They did a great job tying in Ryan’s story and relating her to other characters, especially Mary and both of their mothers dying in their arms. I hope Ryan learns to pull back a little! I’m excited to see her journey.
So it’s an ongoing mystery….
But Ruby Rose left the show, & they have given no indication she’s coming back in any capacity…
They aren’t killing her off according to Dries.
They aren’t recasting, as if they do that, it would invalidate all their reasoning for not doing it in the first place.
I want to be supportive, but doesn’t that just put a giant anchor around a new character & direction? And a new character coming in & telling everyone she’s Batwoman now & expecting them to fall in line… I’m wary of these choices
The episode was clunky as hell full of exposition (I guess to be expected)….I was pleasantly surprised how they were able to make Ryan’s story weave in with a couple of the existing characters….I enjoy Javicia Leslie, she did great (except for that tunnel scene)….Kate Kane will always be Batwoman to me — I’m that annoying comic book fan who enjoys seeing canon on-screen & I do not appreciate this “Kate is dead but no she isn’t, where is she??”…if they have no intention of bringing Ruby back for a 1 episode guest spot to tie up her character alla Dark Knight Rises (OH LOOK SHE’S DRINKING TEA WITH KARA IN PARIS!), then I don’t know why they’re stringing us along in this way, there is no payoff on earth that’ll be worth it in my opinion & it creates this weird feeling where I’m not fully buying in to Ryan’s Batwoman.
Alice (Rachel Skarsten) is the only reason I’ll keep watching (& the possibility of Camrus getting to play Batwing eventually).
The whole thing was some really…curious…choices. Recasting seemed so much easier. Not like Ruby was beloved.
I also don’t get other than supposedly making fanboys go “oohhhh” what the point of a kryptonite bullet is. Now that it doesn’t seem like a big Supergirl crossover is likely, why kryptonite? Because it’s radioactivity poisons humans….like every other radioactive substance in the world? If anything it annoys the fanboy in me because it should be more rare and using it just to make a normal human sick is just…strange, and unnecessary.
Great episode just finished watching
I think how they dealing with Kate disappearance and well how it’s relevant to Ryan becoming Batwoman
Love that Batmobile is a car not a tank
So poetic that it was Alice who inform Kane about Kate
I wonder what that kryptonite is going to do Ryan
I do think this should be Alice last season because having her run around make them look incompetent
Although I like Ruby I think Javicia is a better actress
I still think they should have gave Ryan a sibling
False Face Society! Hope they get someone good to play Black Mask. I’d be in favor getting a name CW actor considering this is the first big Batman villain they are getting to use.
mary, luke and ryan working together to fight villains in gotham and having that connection of having all lost a parent(s) hits different but overall i’m here for it.
Wishful Casting
Yusuf Gatewood
Daniel Gillies
Ian Somerhalder
Joseph Morgan
Paul Wesley
Jensen Ackles
Hush was a “name Batman villain”
I’m all here for the new direction. Ruby rose didn’t care enough so just like she dropped us we can just drop her and keep the show moving with Javica
I completely agree. Out with the old, in with the new!
wow, Hush turn Ryan into a human kryptonite by shooting her and she punched his ‘Bruce Wayne’ face mask off his face after he tried to knock her out with her plant. For now, they are even and I’m secretly hoping for round 2 between them during the rest of the season sometime.
Much better than I hoped. Liked the throw away visit to Supergirl in National City even if we didn’t see a crossover. Still not convinced that the mystery of Kate’s disappearance can have a satisfactory explanation. First Bruce and now Kate have “vanished”. While Ruby isn’t likely to come back I hope they come up with a believable reason aside from killing both characters.
As for the rest of the cast I’m really fed up with Sofie and her weeping over the woman she betrayed years ago. If she were portrayed as bi-sexual and actually cared for the husband she also dumped I might have more sympathy. Then she takes up with Julia Pennyworth only to give her the cold shoulder over “presumed dead” Kate. Spare me. I do hope Julia sticks around as part of the team though.
Watching the season premiere of “Batwoman” felt like watching the very first episode of a brand-new show. I can’t wait to see how this season plays out. Now that the show has become more unpredictable, it’s more entertaining. Definitely, sticking around to watch. Love that the new lead is totally different than Kate. She’s more interesting as a character in the fact she has no relation to Bruce or Kate. It shows that anyone can carry the mantle of the Bat & be a hero.
Lololol ok
I loved this premiere! The show is totally reinvigorated to me. A couple thoughts though. 1, I had no idea kryptonite was harmful (or deadly) to humans, so this should be interesting. 2, I really wish Ruby Rose at least did the voiceover when Sophie was reading the note from Kate. Historically, whenever someone reads a letter and theres a voiceover that voice is teh person that wrote the letter. Ruby could have easily recorded it on the phone or something then in post they could have fixed the sound. But NBD.
Either way I loved this episode and already feel like it’s better than the first season.
Much better actress than Ruby. Had my doubts how it was going to go, but think I will stick around to see what happens.
I haven’t watched the episode yet so I can’t comment about the quality of it, but I do have a question: with the mystery of “What happened to Kate Kane?” taking up a lot of real estate, will the show ever get back around to the “Whatever happened to Bruce Wayne?” mystery that was set up and helped to drive Season 1? Or, without Kate herself being the driving force of the show, will that just be discarded?
I don’t know. They could go back to the mystery of Bruce Wayne. I hope you get to watch the season premiere. It was surprisingly good.
I’m planning on watching it tomorrow on HBO Max. I don’t have cable and the CW apps are just too janky for me.
The Bruce mystery imo wasn’t really touched on or a big thing /deal in s1
Enjoyed the episode but I have a big problem with that Batmobile. It should be almost a character in itself, not a corvette with a rocket launcher.
I agree, The Batmobile should not be just a car.
Oooooooooooof. Just as terrible as I thought it would be.
I’ll have to go back and catch the first 30 minutes or so but that being said I was impressed by the bottom half. You know of course Luke and Marion everybody isn’t going to want Ryan to be that woman it would be like admitting that Kate was easily replaceable.
But I think they’re going to come to see that they will need Ryan but it’ll be in a different way. I hope Mary continues to grow as a character because I’ll be honest it was her relationship with Kate that made me like season 1 as well as I did so I hope it’s Kate not here we don’t lose all that progress.
The switch was handled well, and I’m willing to give it some more time. Considering I was about ready to ditch it last season, that’s saying something, but we’ll see if I make it all the way through the season.
Honestly I’m not sure yet.
I’m going to need more Alice going forward.
I feel like they did us a solid by ending the Bruce/Tommy impersonation so soon. I feel like that would’ve eaten up six to eight episodes if Ruby was still around. Seeing everyone deal with Kate’s presumed death was interesting. I really hope they have the guts to kill her character off just for the sake of us constantly wondering if she’s going to pop up as a recast down the line. Ruby kept me away from season one (I binged the show last week to get ready for the premiere), but I like this new direction. Javicia can grow into this role and I think the show will be better for it. I like Alice and the chaos she brings, but I feel like she needs to go away to Arkham at the end of the season.
It appears that I’m “feeling” quite a bit about this episode. ;)
I feel like the reason they didn’t recast Kate was they wanted to leave the door open in case they convinced RR to return to the show. Unlikely in the extreme sure but if they felt like it was in anyway possible it could explain it. If they did maybe it could be to have her in a supervisory role rather than as the main character. Have her be injured so she can’t take to the rooftops but she could become a mentor to the new Batwoman ala Overwatch in Arrow or Birds of Prey. It would be a lot less screen time for Rose and wouldn’t put her in a position to reinjure herself. Probably not, but I suppose it’s possible.
See, they did a ‘sheridan’ and it’s working.
If you’re referring to B5, are you aware that the reason for bringing in Sheridan was that Michael O’Hare suffered from severe mental problems and couldn’t go on? It’s kind of a tragic story but as far as the show it worked out.
He was removed because Warner did not believe he could get ratings as lead for the show.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_O%27Hare
Under “illness and death”
Check out his wikipedia page under “illness and death” or google Michael O’Hare mental illness
Like I said, a tragic story. Sweet though how Michael G. kept his secret until after his death as he promised him he would.
Meant J Michael Straczynski. Michael G? where did that come from?
That was a rumor at the time. The real reason – that his schizophrenia went out of control – was revealed after his death, for his request. He spent several of his last years in a supervised living facility for the chronically mentally ill. That was why he vanished. Straczynski talks about him in an EmmyTV interview, you can find the video on youtube,
He was still able to return in three eps to wrap up his character’s arc
Yes. But he already had tardive dyskinesia, a serious side effect of antisychotics. It is a movement disorder. Most obvious in WWE part 1, and on convention videos. It causes uncontrollable shakes, blinking, and the face turns similar to what’s called a ‘parkinsonian mask’. He must have been on a very high dose of drugs to develop TD so fast and apparently, he never got 100% even on meds and was barely able to make those final episodes as well. The severity of his illness ended his career.
Mission Impossible also change their main lead.. Peter Graves started in season 2
I liked it. I think it’s a good way to bring Ryan in by having her reveal this connection to the Alice in Wonderland gang. I liked the actress in God Friended Me. I think she’ll be a good Batwoman when she takes up the mantle.
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I’m here for the new Batwoman. Kate’s presence is still being felt. Ryan has big shoes to fill just as Kate had to do with Bruce/Batman…Though now there are two MIA heroes. Did they write themselves into a corner? How do they explain both Kate and the real Bruce’s disappearances in way that will move the story forward without them?
–
Anyway, I thought they were able to incorporate Ryan in a convincing way by linking her with Wonderland Gang. It’s going to take time for her accept the mantle and it’s going to take everyone else time to accept her as the new Batwoman.
The sequence of events seemed believable enough.
Although sometime before the series ends Kate has to show up not dead.
Not sure if John Diggle can make a visit to Gotham. He can explain to Luke how he helped to keep the Arrow alive while waiting for Oliver to return.