Post — Aaron Ngo

Major Spoilers are included in this episode review. Please read with caution.

The second episode picked up where the “Pilot” left off, dealing with Kate’s accurate theory about Alice being Beth Kane, her long-lost twin. This episode stepped away from the fast exposition dump to get the Batwoman origin story rolling, and took a closer look at the sisters at play here: Kate, Alice, and Mary. Luckily, I said these characters were the most interesting, and the show realized this fairly early on.

However, the vibe in this episode was incredibly Arrow that it was hard for me to dissimilar myself from it. The stepmother might be evil and wants Beth not to reveal herself as being alive (Moira Queen’s season one story), Kate’s primary focus on her personal goals using the suit and not protecting the city (Oliver’s season one arc with The List and not being a hero), and then Mary’s whole sister role is similar to Thea’s when it comes to not getting the sisterly attention she deserves.

Of course, I expected similarities to happen as both shows are grounded and deal with street fighting as opposed to alien / meta-human / supernatural threats, but this is a little too much.

The family dynamics took center stage in this episode. The side-characters like Luke Fox and Sophie seem to revolve around them right now, but I’m hoping they get more develop later on… Luke has potential to be something, but Sophie isn’t coming off likable. I’m sure there’s more to their military training flashback, and their breakup, but I’m still not attached to them as a couple or former couple.

Mary has the greatest potential. Her character is more fleshed-out in this episode as we learn she’s a med student who’s running an underground clinic for Gotham’s poverty. We get a better idea of the sister bond between Kate and Mary too, which is distant. I think Mary is going to be my favorite character to follow.

Overall, the second episode was a step in the right direction to finding its place and identity. The show is following Kate’s character journey as she is also trying to figure out her Batwoman persona and what she wants to do moving forward. Once she dons the pink wig, the series will take off, I’m certain of it.

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