Distributor: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Episodes: 20
Duration: 42 min (per episode)
Batwoman: Season 2 (Blu-ray) – Series Review
When the actual protagonist of a show is no longer on board, it should come as no surprise that a series stops. For some reason, however, the creative minds behind Batwoman decided that this would be a great opportunity to still press forward and continue the story, even with the extreme awkwardness that would ensue. Now, this second season has been released on Blu-ray, and we were given the chance to take a closer look for our review. Even though we witnessed a few decent moments, this series should have been buried six feet under after its initial lead was fired.
Batwoman starts with a twist, Kate Kane’s (Ruby Rose) plane crashes, and the Batwoman suit conveniently ends up with Ryan Wilder (Javicia Leslie), who happens to be close enough to witness the crash. From here on out, the plot is actually very simple to describe. The rest of ‘team Batwoman’ starts a search, hoping to find Kate, while Ryan ends up donning the masked vigilante’s suit. While Ryan is still learning the ropes, a new drug is flooding the streets of Gotham, and the one supplying it is an extremely cruel and brutal criminal mastermind. This simple premise is actually more than enough to get into what is happening if it was not for the extremely poor writing that went into this.
Like the other series in this specific DC universe, there’s a red thread that runs through the entire season, while also presenting the viewer with separate cases that need to be tackled. We get to see a few reimaginings of popular DC villains and even underneath the entire political mess that is season 2 of Batwoman, we do get to see a few glimpses of what this series could have been. Throughout the 18 episodes of this season, you will have to go through a lot of useless drama, a lot of awful stereotyping, and plot choices that do not make any sense at all. It’s silly to talk about racism all the time when the cast is so diverse that the opposing party could not really be considered racist. It’s absolutely ridiculous how certain issues are presented to the viewer in such an almost comical fashion that it would create an even bigger gap between certain groups in our society. We respect bringing up topical political issues, but when it becomes ever-present and a caricature of the actual thing, you’ll lose more viewers than actually deliver an important message. We have seen so many inclusive series and movies lately that truly make you think, sadly Batwoman tries so hard to overdo it that it just becomes gratingly annoying. We were utterly disappointed by a lot of the choices that were made for the second season, as this series had a proper start to shine a light on serious topics, only for the writers to completely ruin it.
As a whole, the acting performances in the second season are not bad, given the material the cast members had to work with. The characters are complete stereotypes with absolutely no character development over the course of these 18 episodes. The only evolution we see is Javicia Leslie’s character, Ryan Wilder, becoming more and more of a bully, forgetting her own principles and rules. It’s absurd that this character has a vendetta against one character that is proven to be brainwashed, to then save the other brainwashed character that is also performing horrible deeds for no reason at all. We do see a bit of character development when it comes to Rachel Skarsten’s character, Alice, who is slowly becoming more human.
The extras you’ll get when buying a Blu-ray copy of the second season of Batwoman are actually quite interesting. You’ll get to see a bonus feature that revolves around the main villains of the second season, but also an extra that delves into the presence of ‘sidekicks’ and partners in the DC universe. This second bonus feature does not limit itself to the Batwoman series but also talks about The Flash, Stargirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and so on. Other than that, you’ll also get a lengthy gag reel and many deleted scenes to wade through.
Conclusion
As a whole, Batwoman: Season 2 is an utterly disappointing continuation of the series. While we applaud bringing certain issues to light about our modern-day society, it gets ridiculous when every action has a political message, especially if the casting doesn’t make sense to convey the message the series wants to give to the viewer. It’s hard to talk about racism in every possible scene, to then see the same people earlier described as racists as people of color as well. This isn’t a show that lets you relax, as it only sends out the message of black vs white from start to finish. We love a diverse cast, we respect bringing up certain political issues, and we love strong female lead characters, but when a show about superheroes feels like a political debate with fight scenes, then you know things are off track.
Batwoman: Season 2 (Blu-ray) – Series Review,
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