Tuesday TC Touchbase: Batwoman

 

Last season Andrea and I invested ourselves in the world of Batwoman for an entire season. It was not an easy season to get through.   

I felt the first 2 or 3 episodes were a bit lackluster, taking too long to get to the point: Kate Kane is the Bat that Gotham needs right now. 

The series pushed hard on gruesome violence and graphic scenes of assault and torture. I know it creeped Andrea out and I was bit uncomfortable with the levels of both physical and psychological torture.  

Still, as the series progressed, Kate Kane began to feel more fleshed out beyond kick ass lesbian. Ruby Rose was even allowing for the occasional flash of humor in Kate's demeanor.

And the compelling near Shakespearean levels of family tragedy that drove the series could not be denied.  

Then Ruby Rose announced she was leaving and the producers of the show announced Kate Kane would not be re-cast. That someone completely new would be taking up the mantle of Batwoman. 

I understand the arguments against doing a recast. The audience is expected to believe a completely different actor is the same character. I get that going for recasting Kate Kane is a cliche but...

Family was at the core of this Batwoman's saga. 

Kate's sister Beth is the mad Alice, Batwoman's arch nemesis.

Kate's step sister Mary Hamilton is part of Batwoman's support team. 

Kate's father Jacob Kane is who is determined to use his private security agency to bring down Batwoman. 

Kate Kane is the cousin of Bruce Wayne whose absence from Gotham City creates the void that Kate must fill as an entrepreneur and as Batwoman.  

Familial connections link Kate Kane and Batwoman into a complex narrative. 

If the woman who replaces Kate as Batwoman lacks that familial connection, then what is the point? 

Why did Andrea and I invest a year in the Kane family drama if the next Batwoman will have no connection to the Kane family drama? 

I know doing a recast can be a cliche but sometimes cliches work. 

Way back in the day, my mother was a big fan of the drama series Dallas. Then they wiped out a whole season of shows she watched because it turned out the entire season was a dream. My mom's interest in Dallas significantly waned. 

Taking away the central the character from the family dynamics that informed all of season 1 led to Andrea and I losing our interest as well in Batwoman. 

I'm not saying the current Batwoman season 2 can't be good. I've heard some good things about season 2.

I'm not saying that Javicia Leslie doesn't look wicked awesome in the Batwoman suit. The clips I've seen suggest she makes a fierce Batwoman.  

I have been dutifully recording Batwoman season 2 and I've mentioned to Andrea that maybe we should give this a go after all. 

We watched the series premiere and we both enjoyed this new take on Batwoman more than we anticipated. Ryan Wilder is a complex and fascinating character, a woman who has been through some serious shit but hasn't quite given up on life, even if she is living in a van. 

And we find out that Ryan has her connection to Alice and her Wonderland goons who killed her adoptive mother. 

And as for what happened to Kate Kane, she has disappeared in the wake of a plane crash. The assumption in Gotham is that she's dead even as her body remains lost. 

But what has years of reading comics taught me? Ain't no body, they ain't dead.

And just as Andrea and I decided to give Batwoman season 2 a try, the word has come down that Kate Kane is alive with a new actress in the role. 

But Kate's return does not mean Ryan Wilder is done as Batwoman.  Reports are that Javicia Leslie's Batwoman will continue as the first Black woman to wear the mantle of the Bat.

Which is a good thing. Despite our trepidation surrounding the changes in season 2, Ryan Wilder is a kick ass Batwoman and we're enjoying this ride.  

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Last night was the finale of season 2 of Snowpiercer. Once I've made time to see it, I will post my thoughts on that in next week's Tuesday TC Touchbase.  

Until next time, remember to be good to one another and to keep it down will ya? I'm trying to watch TV over here!