REVIEW: ‘Batwoman’ Season 2, Episode 1 – “Whatever Happened to Kate Kane?”

After months of waiting, the second season of Batwoman has finally come. Season 2, episode one of Batwoman, “Whatever Happened to Kate Kane?” is set to air on January 17th on the CW Network. In the season premiere, Gotham struggles to find hope after Batwoman (Ruby Rose) goes missing. Since Kate is also Batwoman, her family and friends are desperate to know where she is. Viewers are also introduced to Ryan Wilder (Javicia Leslie), a troubled youth from Gotham City who lives in her van. By mistake, Ryan finds Kate Kane’s Batwoman suit. Having personal reasons for wanting justice against those who wronged her, Ryan decides to wear the suit. However, she quickly finds out that being Batwoman won’t be easy since her first real task is taking on Tommy Elliot (Warren Christie), who has been transformed into Bruce Wayne.

Before going into anything else, it’s important to talk about Leslie, who is taking over as lead in Batwoman. The announcement of Ruby Rose stepping down as Batwoman was quite a shock. However, I was completely blown away by Leslie and the traits her character was given. One scene that stood out the most was her inner debate as to whether or not she was worthy of wearing the suit. Though it would get rather bland if this inner struggle recurs throughout the whole season, it would be great if this came up from time to time. Not only would it strengthen her character, but it would act as a way for audiences to root for her.

Leslie isn’t the only newest addition to Batwoman, as it was teased in the season one finale that Alice (Rachel Skarsten) had given Elliot a new face. With his obsession of Bruce Wayne, Elliot was given Wayne’s face. As the most recent introduction of Bruce Wayne into a series, it was exciting to see how this would come about. Even if it’s Elliot masquerading as Bruce, it gives me hope that the real Bruce Wayne might be making an appearance in future episodes. However, by the end of the episode, I wasn’t truly convinced that bringing in Hush so early on was a good idea. Batwoman could have brought on a better way to bring in Wayne. It would’ve been much more enjoyable had the real Bruce Wayne been established in the show before deciding to do more with Hush. I just wasn’t totally convinced by Christie’s performance as Hush, but was intrigued by the few scenes in which he was Bruce. I do hope to see Christie make a few appearances as Bruce in future episodes.

Having watched the entire first season of Batwoman a few weeks ago in preparation for the second season premiere, it was easy to spot the many improvements that were made. One major improvement was the fight choreography and how fluid the fight scenes look. Seeing that improvement, especially after watching most of the Arrowverse shows since their inception, is incredible. It gives me hope that the fight scenes can only get better from here. On top of this, the writing has also been improved exponentially. Looking back at those first episodes of season one and comparing them to the season 2 premiere, the writing isn’t as lackluster. There’s a scene where Ryan describes the reasons she’s worthy of the suit to both Luke (Camrus Johnson) and Mary (Nicole Kang). A lot of that dialogue is something that fans will be surprised by.

Overall, I was highly impressed by the Batwoman season 2 premiere and really enjoyed watching the episode. Fans should be excited to see a new, yet different, Batwoman on their screens. Leslie’s portrayal of Ryan is both genuine and different from that of Kate Kane. The fight choreography and dialogue have improved exponentially and make this episode shine. While a new version of Bruce Wayne was introduced to the show, it did feel rather disappointing that it was because of Hush. It feels rather soon and without any real significant build-up. However, this does mean that the real Bruce Wayne could make an appearance in the future, which is something very exciting.

The Batwoman Season 2 premiere will air on January 17th on the CW Network.