Batman may not have given viewers much encouragement to watch early, but the series is slowly but surely now coming into its own and seems to be getting its grooves in Episode 6. Not only is this episode more harmonious in its approach and its ability to balance the ensemble cast, but it also manages to counter one of the most common flaws in Arrowverse.
I'm certainly not the only one disappointed the series doesn't stay close to comics in terms of the Kate / Jacob dynamic. It's hard not to pine for a leaner, more efficient series that only focuses on Kate's traveling soldier and Jake-wise's handler. For better or worse, this is not what we are getting with the show. But at least this episode makes some significant progress with the two characters and their strained relationship. Crossing the initial hurdle of Jacob facing the truth about Bec / Alice, this episode is free to detect the fallout and the true reason behind Jacob's hating everything. All pays off well in Kate and Jacob's emotional cohesion scene.
The episode is cleverly structured in the way it follows parallel investigations conducted by Batman and the Crows. It helps to highlight the central theme of law and order versus vigilantism and the professional and personal dislike for Battomon is equal parts of Jacob. In another nice touch, it's fun to see how the Crows are with the GCPD officials. Apart from all the usual friction, you would expect a group of cops to have their beat taken by highly paid mercenaries, you have a group that completely opposes the idea of Batwoman and another who gives her Considers something in between as necessary. Evil and a city mascot. Hopefully, the series can continue to play with that split between the city's blue-collar police force and their high-tech replacement.
Even the series seems to be making some headlines with Alice, easily the show's biggest weak point. Adding Sam Littlefield's mouse to the mix seems to have helped a lot on that front. This helps Alice move away from being a precise villain and antagonist who is only struggling to overcome the lost sense of family and belonging. Alice does a better job during those emotional moments when the real Beth breaks through a half wonderland mask, so this episode plays into that strength. Unpredictability is also welcomed in this regard, with this episode making it clear that Alice cannot be in total control of her adopted brother/partner in crime.
On the villain front, Episode 6 finds that the biggest agonizing point is often with the most frequent showers. Often, petty villains are treated like an end or a plot device, with little regard for fleshing them out or giving them explicit motivation. Jim Perry executives are welcome. For once, the characters' motivations are the whole point. Granted, the ax-kicking vigilante from the jailhouse executioner (is this even a real job?) Is a kind of melodramatic shift, but it is Arrowverse, after all. Such a minor villain is well developed and understandable. That the story of Executioner matches very well with Kate and Jacob's shared conflict which makes it much better. Law and order are all well and good, but Gotham is a city where you can never trust the system.
Even Luke gets a little bit of a flashing-out this week, as we learn a little about his backstory and the tragic fate of Lucius Fox. The idea of a heroic character being inspired by the death of a loved one is as trope-y as it gets, but anything is better than Luke being a snarky tech dude only week and week. At least he has a deep reason for wanting to help Kate.
Nor is Lucius the only major Batman character whose fate has been revealed this week. Both Joker and Penguin are nominated at different points. I don't expect or necessarily expect major Batman villains to come to play in this series (better Kate develop her own, unique rogue gallery), but accepting the city's long, troubled history with these characters is at least. that's good. The thing that comes out most about these references is how inspired the show is to pay homage to the films of Tim Burton Batman. Between The Joker serving Jack Napier's identity and Penguin serving a short stint as mayor, one might assume that the series is the sequel to those films. It can almost work if you ignore the changes in the city's architecture and pretend that Joker Batman didn't die in '89 ...
Decision
Batwoman is finally building some momentum for herself after the first month. Episode 6 helps build the important father/daughter dynamic between Jacob and Kate and moves Alice in a better direction. It also proves that not all small Arrowverse villains need to behave like disposable plot devices. Lucius Fox and some Poetry Cameo and this episode is easily the best date of the series.
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| Batwoman: I'll Be Judge, I'll Be Jury - Review |
I'm certainly not the only one disappointed the series doesn't stay close to comics in terms of the Kate / Jacob dynamic. It's hard not to pine for a leaner, more efficient series that only focuses on Kate's traveling soldier and Jake-wise's handler. For better or worse, this is not what we are getting with the show. But at least this episode makes some significant progress with the two characters and their strained relationship. Crossing the initial hurdle of Jacob facing the truth about Bec / Alice, this episode is free to detect the fallout and the true reason behind Jacob's hating everything. All pays off well in Kate and Jacob's emotional cohesion scene.
The episode is cleverly structured in the way it follows parallel investigations conducted by Batman and the Crows. It helps to highlight the central theme of law and order versus vigilantism and the professional and personal dislike for Battomon is equal parts of Jacob. In another nice touch, it's fun to see how the Crows are with the GCPD officials. Apart from all the usual friction, you would expect a group of cops to have their beat taken by highly paid mercenaries, you have a group that completely opposes the idea of Batwoman and another who gives her Considers something in between as necessary. Evil and a city mascot. Hopefully, the series can continue to play with that split between the city's blue-collar police force and their high-tech replacement.
 |
| Batwoman: I'll Be Judge, I'll Be Jury - Review |
Even the series seems to be making some headlines with Alice, easily the show's biggest weak point. Adding Sam Littlefield's mouse to the mix seems to have helped a lot on that front. This helps Alice move away from being a precise villain and antagonist who is only struggling to overcome the lost sense of family and belonging. Alice does a better job during those emotional moments when the real Beth breaks through a half wonderland mask, so this episode plays into that strength. Unpredictability is also welcomed in this regard, with this episode making it clear that Alice cannot be in total control of her adopted brother/partner in crime.
On the villain front, Episode 6 finds that the biggest agonizing point is often with the most frequent showers. Often, petty villains are treated like an end or a plot device, with little regard for fleshing them out or giving them explicit motivation. Jim Perry executives are welcome. For once, the characters' motivations are the whole point. Granted, the ax-kicking vigilante from the jailhouse executioner (is this even a real job?) Is a kind of melodramatic shift, but it is Arrowverse, after all. Such a minor villain is well developed and understandable. That the story of Executioner matches very well with Kate and Jacob's shared conflict which makes it much better. Law and order are all well and good, but Gotham is a city where you can never trust the system.
Even Luke gets a little bit of a flashing-out this week, as we learn a little about his backstory and the tragic fate of Lucius Fox. The idea of a heroic character being inspired by the death of a loved one is as trope-y as it gets, but anything is better than Luke being a snarky tech dude only week and week. At least he has a deep reason for wanting to help Kate.
 |
| Batwoman: I'll Be Judge, I'll Be Jury - Review |
Nor is Lucius the only major Batman character whose fate has been revealed this week. Both Joker and Penguin are nominated at different points. I don't expect or necessarily expect major Batman villains to come to play in this series (better Kate develop her own, unique rogue gallery), but accepting the city's long, troubled history with these characters is at least. that's good. The thing that comes out most about these references is how inspired the show is to pay homage to the films of Tim Burton Batman. Between The Joker serving Jack Napier's identity and Penguin serving a short stint as mayor, one might assume that the series is the sequel to those films. It can almost work if you ignore the changes in the city's architecture and pretend that Joker Batman didn't die in '89 ...
Decision
Batwoman is finally building some momentum for herself after the first month. Episode 6 helps build the important father/daughter dynamic between Jacob and Kate and moves Alice in a better direction. It also proves that not all small Arrowverse villains need to behave like disposable plot devices. Lucius Fox and some Poetry Cameo and this episode is easily the best date of the series.
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