BATWOMAN
The pride of Gotham
Was our two-star review the real reason Ruby Rose bailed?
US The CW, finished
UK E4, finished
Showrunner Caroline Dries
Cast Ruby Rose, Rachel Skarsten,
Meagan Tandy, Nicole Kang
So, you go onto Rotten Tomatoes and you see the audience score: 13%. “Ah, right,” you think. “Review bombing.” After all, this is a show bound to inspire organised outrage from those opposed to so-called social justice warriors. Then you watch it, and begin to wonder if that’s the only reason…
Batwoman is the worst Arrowverse show by some margin. The one thing most people know about it is that Ruby Rose “quit” the lead role after one season, and a lot of the blame for the show’s savage reception has been placed on her shoulders, which is a little unfair. There’s little arguing that she looks uncomfortable throughout, playing Kate Kane/ Batwoman as a frown in human form, punctuated by occasional moments of humour that Rose delivers like she’s learned the lines phonetically. But she’s far from the show’s only problem. And your heart goes out to her when she struggles with lines like “His betrayal hurt, a million times more than any of those bullets.”
The series admirably tries to bring some diversity cred to the table. This Batwoman, you see, is gay, both behind the mask in the form of Kate Kane and in her caped capacity; the Scarlet Knight comes out publicly a third of the way into the season. This should be a real strength, especially in a franchise that has handled Sara Lance’s sexuality with a refreshingly unselfconscious “take it or leave it” attitude. The show also has far more female characters in lead roles than men, and colourblind casting. The villains are mostly women, and the main villain is Kate’s sister, Beth.
All of which is great. Or would be, if the characters weren’t all tropes on legs and the dialogue so preachy. While Black Lightning tackled black issues with a surprising degree of subtlety and imagination, Batwoman might as well be a troupe of cheerleaders chanting “L-E-S-B-I-A-N!” to the tune of “Respect”.