Batwoman: Season 1 (Blu-ray) – Series Review
Follow Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime
Distributor: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Episodes: 20
Duration: 42 min (per episode)

Batwoman: Season 1 (Blu-ray) – Series Review

Site Score
7.0
Good: Concept, Sometimes the same atmosphere as the Gotham series
Bad: Long-winded, Not always really coherent
User Score
5.5
(2 votes)
Click to vote
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Rating: 5.5/10 (2 votes cast)

With the (upcoming) end of series such as Arrow and Supergirl, it was only a matter of time before several new series would take their place. We now have Batwoman picking up the role as the caped crusader, but also a new series revolving around Superman. Batwoman, however, has already been met with a lot of controversies, especially with its lead actress leaving the production. The series was renewed, but with a new Batwoman once again. That being said, we are first taking a look at the first season, which was actually not half bad.

As we are diving back into Gotham City, things need to have a dramatic introduction, otherwise it wouldn’t feel like the grim and dark hellhole we have come to know. We get to meet Kate Kane (Ruby Rose) at the beginning of the series, who has left Gotham for many years to undergo strict private training. She is seemingly content with this life, until her step-sister, Mary (Nicole Kang), calls her to say that Kate’s ex, Sophie (Meagan Tandy), has gone missing. Kate, clearly still in love with Sophie, returns to Gotham to find her. Gotham is now in its worst state ever, since Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. Batman, vanished many years ago. Kate, clearly somewhat related to Bruce, visits his old building, finding his secret Batcave in the process. She then ‘borrows’ his suit to save Sophie, of which we now know has been kidnapped by Alice (Rachel Skarsten) and her minions of the Wonderland Gang. This all happens under the watchful eye of Jacob Kane (Dougray Scott), Kate’s father, who is also the leader of the Crows, the current private organization protecting the city. While still wanting the best for Gotham, he also doesn’t want a new caped crusader, undermining the traditional justice system. That being said, things soon turn into a weird triangle, where Jacob, Alice and Kate are constantly pulling punches.

The flow is somewhat the same as the other DC series, where one case is tackled at a time, all while the main story continues as well. We found a lot less filler content in Batwoman, than for example in The Flash, Arrow or Supergirl. At times, we even found the brutality that was common in the Gotham series surface here as well, making this a fairly dark and grim series. The series doesn’t shy away from showing a bit of gore and violence, making it somewhat more adult. While the pilot episode actually put us on the track of thinking this would also be heavy social justice warrior material, it actually evens things out from the second episode onwards. The inclusion factor, as well as the topical points of view, are properly embedded into the series, making them feel natural and relatable, which will result in a viewer base that will actually understand these matters a lot better. Kudos for taking this approach, even though at times it’s laid on a bit too thick, we still liked the overall build-up.

Acting performances are somewhat on par with the other DC series. While Ruby Rose may not look like the traditional female lead to play a superhero, she actually pulls off a great job. Again, we want to stress that the pilot episode doesn’t do the cast members any justice, as the source material for said episode clearly was rubbish. That said, the other cast members also pull off believable performances, some better than others, but as a whole things come nicely together. Rachel Skarsten, who plays the main villain, does so with a certain grace that you actually end up sympathizing with her.

We reckon it’s because of the ongoing pandemic that the special features for all DC releases have been somewhat neglected. The Blu-ray edition of Batwoman comes with standard deleted scenes and the best of the 2019 Comic-Con Panels. We have seen this specific extra on several releases already, and it’s quite sad that there is nothing else to explore.

Conclusion

Batwoman: Season 1 started off with a horrible pilot episode, only to find its footing after a few more episodes, turning into something quite pleasant and appealing. While a lot of aspects from series such as Supergirl shine through, we also saw brutal segments as we have come to love from the more serious Gotham series. While it’s unclear as to how the second season will turn out, we did quite enjoy this female power-trip to Gotham.

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Rating: 5.5/10 (2 votes cast)
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Rating: -1 (from 1 vote)
Batwoman: Season 1 (Blu-ray) – Series Review, 5.5 out of 10 based on 2 ratings
Ibuki


Aspiring ninja.

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