Like I really want to like Batwoman which is why I watch it every week and I do like some parts of it. Kate Kane is an awesome character and I’m glad she’s getting a TV show.
My thoughts below the cut
Disclaimer: I haven’t read Elegy partially because I don’t have time but also if this season is based on/an adaptation of the story line it still needs to stand on its own. Basically: I don’t know how Elegy goes but if it is anything like the TV arc I’d have chucked the book out the window in frustration.
I’d like it a bit more if some of these characters actually acted like human beings though? Like the writing and the acting to me just feel ... off (and honestly it’s probably mostly the writing, it comes off as stilted and weird and off kilter).
Like I do like some plot lines where you scream at the character through your screen for acting like an idiot but I feel there’s no emotion behind it. Kate is just going through the motions of telling Alice to cut it out and let her help her. She doesn’t seem to be actually emoting though - and it could partially be due to Ruby Rose’s acting, I don’t know enough about her other acting roles to really make a judgment on writing vs acting because as I said: I dislike the writing on this show. She could be an excellent actor with just some really shitty dialogue and she can’t make it work. I mostly say this because there are some genuinely good acting moments in this series from Ruby Rose so it can’t just be her skill, it’s got to be the writing. Also it’s a CW show and I know that writing on many of these shows isn’t the strongest because ~~~~~*LOOK AT THE DRAMAAAAAAAA*~~~~~~~~~~.
But back to the screaming: “Why are you being an idiot” at my computer while watching this.
I don’t know what direction they’re trying to head with Kate and Alice. Is this a situation where Alice is blatantly manipulating Kate and her survivor’s guilt over the car accident by giving her little snippets of Beth being “still in there somewhere”? Or does Alice truly have a “good side” or at least a “Beth side” in there? I mean she probably does need help I’ll give you that but Kate has had multiple chances to bring her sister to justice and she’s failed in every single one of them.
It’s not bad per se, people are allowed to not be perfect and act against literally everyone’s interests. But every episode seems to have the same “Kate emotionlessly stares at Alice as she chews the scenery for a bit, tells Kate what a shitty sister she was for being like 12 and not going to the ends of the earth to find her because she had to have known she was alive through their ‘twin connection’, and Kate’s like ‘noooo, Alice you need to come back. Let me get you help’. And then Alice kills someone and is like, ‘whoops dear sister isn’t going to like that’ and Kate is like, ‘stop killing people Alice/Beth’.”
Like I feel like after the first or second senseless murder I’d have just completely lost all faith in my sister to act like a decent fucking human being (sorry sis, I’m sure and I’d hope you’d do the same for me though - please for the love of god and the safety of everyone in whatever city I end up in do the same for me). Survivor’s guilt or no. Because it turns out - having a shitty back story does not give you a free pass on murdering people.
Like Alice poisoned Mary’s mom which okay, sure she was the CEO/founder/head of a defense company that arguably did some very shitty and shady things including lying to Kate and her dad about the skull fragments and covering it up by attempting to murder Alice with the bomb - still not a free pass for murder. Sorry, I’ll go lick a boot now Tumblr. But apparently she also poisoned Mary who had fuck all to do with that and was just guilty by association (and also I guess Alice was jealous that Kate had a step-sister even though Kate seems to not give much of a shit about Mary ... another problem I have with this show - Kate is kind of a dick to her and I’m not entirely sure if it’s being framed like it’s bad). Even if it was “accidental” (”Oh you drank the champagne too?”) there was always that possibility. Not sure it was accidental though, pretty sure it wasn’t accidental. idk, I’m not about to wade through CW’s 5,000,000 ads on their video player to rewatch that scene.
And then there’s the Sophie/Tyler/Kate forced drama shit which seems to be mostly Kate trying to move on, Sophie being a little hung up on the fact that her ex is now back in town, and Tyler being like, “You used to like girls?!” and seemingly not understanding that yes, bi people exist. Again because of the writing or the acting I really can’t tell if Sophie loves Tyler or Kate or if either of them really love or have feelings for Sophie? It feels forced, like CW was like, “NO THERE MUST BE A LOVE TRIANGLE BECAUSE ~~~~~*LOOK AT THE DRAMAAAAAAAA*~~~~~~~~~~” or something. But being someone who really doesn’t like romantic drama in their media I can’t comment more on that tbh aside from: Tyler... I feel there’s a time and a place to discuss your marital issues with your wife and it’s not at work while trying to prove your boss didn’t just murder his wife. Like home, you guys do have a home and don’t live in the Crows headquarters yes? (fun fact: accidentally spelled that Crowes and just had a mental image of a thousand Russell Crowes running around Gotham beating up bad guys)
I guess to wrap this up:
- writing is still iffy and honestly bad
- I really do want to like this show and I’m hoping the writing improves
- Oh god I forgot other DC shows existed and when that stinger for Crisis on Infinite Earths popped up I was like, “W a t ... wait isn’t that that dude from that show?”
- Kate I’m glad you finally realized you really need to stop giving your sister a free pass but it’s kind of late for that
- tbh the best dialog writing continues to belong to Alice and Mary because they seem to both just take the shitty dialog and run with it and it’s probably because Alice is written to be an over-the-top Joker-esque villain and Mary to be the fun younger sister with some depth to her character other than “fun younger sister Gotham socialite Instagram celeb”, she runs a damn medical clinic which ... just give her her damn MD already because I don’t see anyone else (doctors or nurses) helping her with that and somehow she’s like Meredith Grey on steroids.
