Batwoman is a 2019 superhero television series developed by Caroline Dries, starring Ruby Rose, Rachel Skarsten, Meagan Tandy, Nicole Kang, Camrus Johnson, Dougray Scott, and Javicia Leslie. Based on the DC Comics character of the same name, the series follows Kate Kane (Rose), the cousin of vigilante Bruce Wayne, who becomes Batwoman in his absence.
Seasons: Season 1, Season 2, Season 3
For some reason, most Batman live action adaptations for TV are just trash. Think about the show Birds of Prey, and how ripping off established characters while omitting most of the others, the lackluster plot, and the obvious catering to feminists. And with it being set in the Arrowverse, Batwoman had the potential to explore an obscure character and give us a fresh take on the Batman methodology. Boy was I wrong. The story is what you’d expect. Kate Kane puts on the suit becoming the protector of Gotham due to the sudden disappearance of Batman. This is a great opportunity to explore Gotham through the eyes of a newer character. The stories are mediocre at best. Nothing gives the viewer the appropriate payoff, most buildups are anti-climactic, many of the subplots don’t make sense, don’t go anywhere, or add nothing to the overall plot or character development. Character development be damned. Season one probably is the best in terms of overarching story but it gets so frustrating as it progresses. Even the story of the missing Bruce Wayne is talked about but never addressed or resolved. (1 out of 5)
Most of the characters are a joke. I was thoroughly surprised at how badly there were written, acted, and portrayed. Most lack substance and only hide themselves behind the tropes that they represent. Kate Kane (who is the titular character) is one of the worst characters I’ve ever seen. She’s selfish, divisive, dismissive, stubborn, neglectful, narcissistic, stupid, and, quite frankly, a garbage character. She always thinks she’s right despite the mountains of evidence to the contrary, makes decisions that hurt people or get them killed with no remorse, and spouts victimhood and woke BS to any and everyone.
Most of the supporting characters big her up even when she doesn’t deserve it. And even her replacement, Ryan Wilder, does the same thing. She’s a bit deeper as a character but she makes the same mistakes and decisions and the only difference between the two is that Wilder is black, so she spouts black victimhood along with being gay and female. The other characters aren’t worth a nickel. The only decent character that remains entertaining is probably Alice, who has the biggest and probably the only developing arc in the entire show. And not to mention I still don’t understand why this is Gotham City and also none of Batman’s rogue’s gallery or supporting cast make an appearance. (1 out of 5)
The show’s about 50/50 in terms of the visual, special, make-up effects and costume designs. The suit itself isn’t bad and looks like it provides protection while not affecting mobility. Which is weird because with the second and third seasons it just looks cheaper (to the point where the insignia is popping off). The action itself is piss poor, with no energy, no momentum. Nearly every fight scene is poorly choreographed (more like lazy) for the exception of only one fight scene (in the entire series) in episode eight season one. And the costume designs and make-up effects are just laughable. There’s an arc where Mary becomes Poison Ivy and she comes off looking more like a pornstar. (2 out of 5)
The music is okay, it’s definitely not memorable. If you go back and check out the late 90s, early 2000s tv shows with the campy music and themes, you’ll find it here. Even the intro music seems less energetic and more mediocre. I know nothing of Sherri Chung but I’ve heard some of Blake Neely’s music and I gotta admit that I’m a bit confused. Mostly because he’s worked on some pretty big projects such as Pirates of the Caribbean, The Last Samurai, The Island, and King Kong. But he’s had a hand in other Arrowverse shows and you can definitely tell that any inspiration he’s had went to those other shows. (1 out of 5)
The acting is less than subpar and it’s shocking considering the talent itself. The main lead starts off with Ruby Rose and she’s not the best. Nothing against her but she just doesn’t have the range for it. And because the character is so poorly written it makes it stand out even more. That’s pretty much the problem with most of the cast. For those who do a decent job their character is trash and makes the most outlandish decisions. Honestly, the best performance is from Skarsten and she’s over-the-top but that works to her character. (2 out of 5)
The writing…is absolute trash and the mind must wonder how in the hell these people got jobs. When we look at quality writing, shows like Netflix’s Daredevil, CW’s Smallville, Amazon’s The Boys, or DC Universe’s Titans come to mind. But nearly every aspect of the show’s writing is garbage. The dialogue is absolute garbage, the characterization is piss poor, a crap ton of plotholes to drive the Batmobile through, storylines are brought up but go nowhere, are drug out, or are horribly mishandled.
Another factor is the heavy-handed approach to the show’s Wokeness. Batwoman is portrayed as a cold-hearted feminist who hates men and nearly all the women within the show are shown to be victims despite some being villainous, and nearly all the men are depicted as incompetent, lazy, oversexualized, racist, manipulative, or villainous. And I mean all the men. It’s not one male character that’s not affected by this. Men (and the audience for that matter) are beat over the head constantly about strong women, gayness (I guess) or the LGBT agenda, and eventually black lives matter (thanks to Ryan Wilder). The writing and direction focus solely on its message and not one ounce of it went to the quality. There are so many inconsistencies it’s not even funny. (1 out of 5)
The Verdict: In the end, Batwoman is one of the worst shows ever and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why. When you have a show that pushes its message first and everything else second, you know it’s trash. Nearly everything about this show is garbage. The characters suck, the acting sucks, the story sucks, the fights suck, the direction sucks, the music sucks, and the writing is so bad that none of the writers on the show deserve another writing job. Caroline Dries you have destroyed Batwoman and the only thing I can say is that Batwoman deserves 1 out of 5.
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