The Season 3 Premiere Of ‘Batwoman’ Promises A Bigger World That Could Have Had Poison Ivy Weed – Review
Batwoman’s season three premiere promises a much bigger world than what we saw in last season.
A lot of last season was, understandably, a game of keep up. With Ruby Rose stepping down from the titular role, Javicia Leslie stepping up, and the cast and crew adapting to shooting in a pandemic, the chaos and uncertainty behind the camera often slipped into story. As messy as this all seems, the second season delivered an intriguing, focused narrative.
*Please note, Batwoman season two spoilers below.
This season wastes no time in getting the ball rolling and the plot lined out. Batman’s collection of whose-its and whats-its from his most infamous rogues—such as Poison Ivy, Mad Hatter, Bane, The Joker—is misplaced, spread out in the river after last season’s finale. This means that anybody can waltz up to the river, take one of these dangerous gadgets, and do whatever they want with them. As the trailer shows, this very thing happens. It’s not Gotham without an avoidable problem that only a bat can fix.
Cue in Ryan Wilder, Gotham’s new Batwoman! Ever since she was a wee bat, our heroine has proven herself again and again to be worthy of the batsuit. This episode’s no different. Geared up to the cowl with just the right amount of red, Ryan comes in swinging, starting the season off with a swift action scene to retrieve a sample of Poison Ivy’s vines that got into the wrong hands. And she’s not alone either. Luke is armored up right next to her in the suit his late father built. He hasn’t even picked a codename yet, but he fights alongside her like he’s been fighting Gotham’s worst with his fists instead of his mind this whole time. The vine sample is safely taken—from a cannabis greenhouse, no less. Imagine that strain.
But the duo’s victory is short-lived once they realize the Mad Hatter’s hat got in the wrong hands and onto an even wronger head. The havoc this Mad Hatter 2.0 wreaks on the city forces our heroes to think outside the box and address some things they’d rather leave in the last season. It’s never that easy.
Somewhat a trend in The CW shows, this episode struggles with pacing more than anything. Its demanding plot leaves little to no room to reflect on what happened last season in any meaningful way, and the convenient writing makes any of these instances when there is enough time to reflect feel inauthentic and rushed. The writing certainly raises the stakes for our characters, but it lowers them so quickly there’s no sense of reward or relief. Even Victoria Cartagena’s debut as Renee Montoya is overshadowed by everything going on around the character.
What the pacing does allow for, however, is more content. This is objectively crucial for any show that’s supposed to have around 23 hours of story per season. This season premiere works to set up the next handful of episodes to be villain-of-the-week showcases before the big bad makes their reveal. Poison Ivy (Bridget Regan) is suspected to take on this mantle, but if her vine sample is any indication, she’s still hiding behind the weeds.
All in all, judging from this episode alone, it’s safe to say the third season of Batwoman will have much more direct writing than the last one and be a treat for anybody interested in the wild characters Gotham fosters.
The third season of Batwoman premieres Wednesday, October 13.
