Recasting Kate Kane helped Batwoman emerge as one of the strongest Arrowverse shows this season. Offscreen, Kate became the show's secret weapon, as her disappearance brought characters new and old into the spotlight, while also bringing viewers into different versions of Gotham. With Kate now reemerging, Batwoman can count her rebirth as one of the show's greatest successes.
Batwoman's first season was the show's quest for identity, following Kate Kane's journey to reach her long-lost sister, a journey in which Batwoman was only a supporting player. After donning the suit for its anonymity value, Kate kept the suit on as a symbol of hope and inspiration for Gotham. Her personal connection to the suit was tentative at best, and she spent less and less time wearing it as the first season ended. With the departure of the original Kate Kane, Ruby Rose, Batwoman got a chance to reinvent itself.
Kate Kane's temporary exit from the show opened the door for the new Batwoman, Ryan Wilder, whose approach to wearing the suit sets her apart from other Arrowverse heroes. With Ryan in the role, Batwoman has taken viewers into a Gotham rarely shown in adaptations, often literally putting a human face to the struggles of Gotham's citizens. Kate Kane's disappearance was one of the second season's most prominent stories, and the show used her absence to tell a powerful origin story for the new Batwoman. Bringing Ryan Wilder onto Batwoman allowed the show to see its own world and characters from a fresh perspective. With Ryan, beautifully portrayed by Javicia Leslie, such a perfect fit for Batwoman, it just remained to be seen what future Kate Kane had on the show.
Batwoman reintroduced Kate Kane with a hefty pairing of gruesome injuries and amnesia. She was snatched up by Roman Sionis, the leader of the False Face Society, who gave her his dead daughter Circe's name. However, Kate's encounters with Alice, who provided her sister a new face, resulted in reawakened memories. Kate's reunion with many of her friends and family in season 2, episode 16, "Rebirth", featuring excellent work from the new Kate Kane, Wallis Day, gave viewers a sampling of the emotional and narrative payoff for the creative risks Batwoman has taken this season.
Temporarily losing Kate Kane forced the show to analyze its other characters, to figure out how they could fit into a world like Gotham and what Batwoman would represent to them. Kate's disappearance allowed the characters in her orbit to explore their own stories instead of just helping to tell hers. Luke, Alice, Sophie, and even Jacob have all had compelling arcs in the second season that have moved the show's narrative forward. Luke is becoming Batwing, taking the character from being the Batcave's "man in a chair," the worried friend in the background, to being a proper leading character. Alice's search for her missing sister, with its many parallels to Kate's attempts to find Beth in Alice, has helped her reclaim her humanity. Sophie threw herself into finding Kate and eventually left the Crows after recognizing their dark side. Jacob sank to new personal lows after reckoning with failing both his daughters and his city but has started to recover after taking responsibility for his shortcomings.
Gotham has a new Batwoman, and now it has a new Kate Kane, one who is a force to be reckoned with in her own right. The Kate Kane that Batwoman has brought back, this grittier, more morally grey version, has all the makings of becoming an iconic character. Keeping Kate Kane around for more seasons is a savvy move for Batwoman to make because she has ties to literally every character on the board. Whether she rebuilds her love story with Sophie, rejoins Team Batwoman as a benefactor and occasional vigilante, or steps up to be Team Batwoman's double agent in high society or Gotham's underworld; Kate Kane's story is just beginning.