DISCLAIMER: this will include full spoilers from Batwoman season one, episode one, so read at your own risk if you haven’t seen it.
With TV season into full swing, The CW’s Arrowverse has just expanded once again with the arrival of the new series Batwoman, starring Ruby Rose in the role of the titular character. After making her debut in the Elseworlds crossover last year, Rose is now headlining her own series as the iconic Bat-heroine. This marks as the sixth DC TV series for The CW, joining Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and Black Lightning. The pilot takes place prior to the events of Elseworlds in order to allow Kate to have her origin story of how she became Gotham City’s new protector.
The series premiere sets up this version of Gotham City, following the mysterious disappearance of both Bruce Wayne and Batman. With so much happening in the pilot of Batwoman, we’re going to breakdown the five best moments from the premiere as well as five questions that it raised throughout the hour.
BEST MOMENT: First Clash with Wonderland Gang
With a show centered on a Bat-hero, you know there will be a ton of action and the premiere definitely delivers on that. Even before she has suited up, we see Kate going after Alice (Rachel Skarsten) who has kidnapped Sophie Moore (Meagan Tandy.) When she gets to the villain’s hideout, she is confronted by several members of the Wonderland Gang and it is one heck of a showdown. While Kate does get defeated at the end, our hero definitely puts up a good fight.
QUESTION: What's the Bat-Family's Current Status?
While it has been fully established that Bruce/Batman will remain MIA for the majority of the series, where is the rest of the Bat-family? On Earth-1, do characters like Nightwing, Red Hood, Batgirl, Red Robin, Spoiler, and others even exist at this point? Or was Batman perhaps the only vigilante that operated in Gotham City on Earth-1 before he disappeared for mysterious reasons?
It would be perfectly fine if Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Barbara Gordon, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown among others never became their heroic comic counterparts, as long as the series makes a clear establishment of that without having to feature them.
BEST MOMENT: Discovering Bruce's Secret
Despite being family, it appears that Bruce never told Kate about his big secret before he left Gotham City. Throughout the pilot, despite Luke Fox (Camrus Johnson) begging her not to, Kate eventually discovers the Batcave underneath Bruce’s office, finding out that her cousin is the legendary Dark Knight. Anyone’s first time in the Batcave should always include a swarm of bats “welcoming” said new person, if you ask us. We can’t forget the awesome reveal of Bruce’s Batman suit, which is a big deal for the Arrowverse, along with the rest of the Batcave set.
QUESTION: Is Catherine Involved With Batman's Disappearance?
One of the new main characters we meet in the pilot is Catherine Hamilton-Kane (Elizabeth Anweis), Jacob Kane’s (Dougray Scott) second wife and mother of Mary Hamilton (Nicole Kang.) At a few points in the premiere, you get the vibe that perhaps Catherine isn’t the biggest fan of the famous vigilante detective. When we get deeper into the second half of the pilot, she sees that people are now wondering if Batman is really back or not. Naturally, you would be excited if a superhero has returned to protect this dangerous city, but Catherine doesn’t seem really happy about it.
Even though we know it is Kate in the mask, was Catherine possibly involved with why Batman left in the first place? Either way, it does seem like Mrs. Hamilton-Kane is hiding something regarding the famous Bat.
BEST MOMENT: Suiting Up For The First Time
After her first meeting with Alice, Kate realizes she may need to find a different way of saving Sophie. That’s what leads her to get Luke to modify Bruce’s costume so she can suit up and save her old flame. While we’ll see her costume evolve into what we saw in Elseworlds, Kate’s first time as Batwoman leads people to think that Batman has returned. Throughout her showdown with Alice, we see her still having to figure this thing out while also holding her own against the villain. While the fight ends with her saving Sophie, we look forward to more action sequences with our hero.
QUESTION: Is Lucius Fox Alive?
Luke is essentially the first member of Team Batwoman as he agrees to help her in saving Sophie from Alice. In the comics, Luke is famous for operating as Batwing, one of the many heroes in the Bat-family. But he is also the son of Lucius Fox who is one of Bruce’s closest allies. However, we never find out in the pilot what has happened to Lucius in this version of the Bat-mythology.
Has he retired and is living happily ever after somewhere or is Lucius possibly dead? Luke will play a similar role to his father throughout the series, with some significant differences as well. But will the show ever address if his famous father is still alive or is Luke now continuing Lucius’ legacy because he has passed away?
BEST MOMENT: Healing a Father/Daughter Relationship
One of the big aspects of the pilot is the complicated father-daughter relationship between Jacob and Kate. Following the death of his first wife and his other daughter Beth, Jacob didn’t exactly deal with that pain in the proper way which resulted in him, unintentionally, pushing Kate away. However, the two Kanes do share a powerful moment towards the end of the pilot. Jacob finally agrees to let Kate work with him at the Crows, not knowing that she is also operating as Gotham’s new guardian angel. While their relationship has a long journey coming up, it was good to see the two get to have a moment of healing.
QUESTION: Are There More Double-Agents Within The Crows?
There are a number of twists and turns in the pilot and one of them comes from the inside of the Crows. At first, it appeared as if Agent Dodgson (Brendon Zub) was one of the good guys, but Sophie is surprised when she discovers that he was working with Alice and her gang this whole time. It even appears that he and Alice have a romance going on, as they share a kiss during his big reveal. The big question now is what are the chances of more Crows agents secretly working for Alice?
BEST MOMENT: Alice's Secret Revealed
Following the comics, the pilot comes with a big surprise for viewers who aren’t familiar with the Batwoman mythology. As Kate looks more into Alice’s knife that she left behind, it’s decorated with the same necklace that she and Beth wore the day of the car accident. It’s in this moment when she realizes that Alice is actually Beth, somehow having survived all those years ago. We cut to the other sister monologue that together, they’ll rule Gotham before the pilot comes to an end.
QUESTION: How Did Alice Come To Be?
Following the pilot’s big twist ending, the biggest question that we’ll hopefully get answers to is how did Beth become Alice? What happened that day after the car accident that led Beth down such a dark path? Seeing as Alice will be the big bad in the first season, it will definitely make things personal for Kate as she protects the streets of Gotham. Just as this season will focus on Kate’s first year as Batwoman, we hope to see the journey of how Beth was basically reborn as Alice.