Hi all,
A number of comments have come through highlighting the latest Batwoman news. I've been sitting with them and mulling over recent updates and comments by the writer and producer, Caroline Dries regarding Kate Kane's exit from the show. A big part of me is conflicted about how to react. On one hand, I don't like jumping to conclusions, and I'm willing to give things a good hard look and listen. That said, I have yet to get excited about this new direction, and it's been a huge distraction for me the last few days to a point where writing it out was the only way to get it out of my head (and onto more chapters).
It's strange to think that the internet is full of opinions, and yet it didn't seem right to post this word salad anywhere but here where a collective of people gather to celebrate and extend the story of Kate Kane's universe. As with anything on the internet, take this evaluation with a grain of salt. I'm sure by February 2021 I will be eating my own words out of sheer excitement for the new direction Batwoman is going, but for now, I'm not thrilled. For many of you, this will be an entirely unsolicited open-letter of nonsense, and you'll be wondering why it's not a new Point Rock chapter. For that, I apologize and promise new bits very, very soon.
The soap opera version*
Caroline Dries recently spoke about her/CW's decision to remove Kate Kane:
"To be honest with you, I did consider the soap opera version for a hot minute, selfishly, because we had a couple episodes already written, and transition-wise, it would be seamless [since] we already started breaking season 2.
"But upon further reflection, and [executive producer] Greg [Berlanti] helped me make this call - and he's way smarter than me about this sort of stuff - he's like, 'You know, I think we should just reboot the character in terms of reboot Batwoman as a different character'.
Just to also respect everything that Ruby put into the Kate Kane character."
I have so many words about all of this, but I'll focus on the big one: For me, the 'soap opera' bit feels like a cheap excuse. First, this isn't some daytime show where characters are plucked from thin air and their backstory is written through post-rationalized muddling to build out two evil twin brothers, a rich uncle who tried to kill your step-sister-turned-cousin, and a father you thought was your lover. This is a character with fourteen years of development and backstory to tap into from some of the best minds DC has to offer.
Second, they didn't throw out James Bond when Sean Connery stopped playing him. Superman has never undergone a brand new identity throughout his history. Batman has been played by more people than I care to name. In all of the Spiderman reboots of the last two decades, Spiderman has never not been Peter Parker. In all of these instances, it's always been understood that the character is bigger than the actor.
It does a disservice to the years of Kate Kane's character history and relevance to the DC Universe to suggest that one year of an actor playing the role merits her retirement from a show entirely. Batwoman isn't the bigger character here: Kate Kane is. Somehow that's been forgotten. While I commend the work and effort Ruby Rose put into the part, Kate Kane is so much bigger than this hiccup, and the decision to abandon this storyline is frustrating as both a fan of the show and a fan of the character.
This would be like if Daniel Radcliffe had called it quits after Prisoner of Azkaban and Warner Bros decided to reboot the rest of the Harry Potter movies with a completely different character. Crazy talk you say? Well that's exactly the same amount of sense this move to bench Kate Kane makes.
The elephant in the room*
Another quote from Dries:
"I just think it helps the audience a little bit, too, that we're not asking them to not address the elephant in the room. I'm inventing a whole new character. In her past, she was inspired by Batwoman."
This generalization assumes the audience can't, with nine months until the next season, deal with the elephant in the room on their own. It's faulty and mildly insulting to feel like I'm not trusted enough to suspend my own disbelief for a minute to imagine that Kate Kane could be embodied by anyone other than Ruby Rose. In case CW is looking for evidence that this is in fact possible, see above re: James Bond, Superman, Batman, Spiderman.
But can we talk about the other elephant*
Am I alone in thinking that removing Kate Kane altogether doesn't actually address the elephant in the room? Not only is the CW team not addressing the original elephant, they've gone ahead and given the elephant a friend; her name is Ryan Wilder. This is one too many elephants for my 'elephant in the room' quota. Just give me the Kate-Kane-is-being-played-by-someone-else elephant and trust that the fan base can deal with that one without thrusting us all into a shake-up.
The token L-word*
All of this started when a leaked casting call circulated around Reddit. This was quickly picked up by mainstream media who gave the story more attention. According to the casting call, this is the new Batwoman:
"With no one in her life to keep her on track, Ryan spent years as a drug-runner, dodging the GCPD and masking her pain with bad habits. A girl who would steal milk for an alley cat could also kill you with her bare hands, Ryan is the most dangerous type of fighter: highly skilled and wildly undisciplined. An out lesbian. Athletic. Raw. Passionate. Fallible. And very much not your stereotypical All-American hero."
This is maybe the most bogus part of the whole bit: it is a crazy thing to me that the show thinks fan outrage will be quelled by making the next Batwoman a lesbian, too. This rings with such emptiness that I have been struggling to describe my annoyance. I'll let a brief history that I've summarized from Eriz Diaz's article over at Nerdist and some high-level Wikipedia for added fact(-ish) checking make clear why this is so absurd:
The original Batwoman was Kathy Kane, a circus performer who was written into the DCU as a way to squash rumors that Batman and Robin were secretly lovers. These allegations date back to a 1954 publication that accused Batman and Robin of planting "unwholesome thinking" into America's youth. Kathy Kane dubbed the cowl for a number of years until 1964 when, after criticism that the stories had become too silly, Batwoman was removed from future books. Three years later in 1967 Batgirl came into creation as a female counterpart to Batman. This was the extent (to my limited DCU knowledge) of female roles in the Bat family until 2006 when DC returned with a reboot to Batwoman.
It was at this time that Kate Kane took up the throne. Batwoman was originally created to remove any doubts of homosexual tendency between two superheroes and was retired after fulfilling on that task. With her 2006 reboot, she was rewritten to directly challenge the antiquated thinking that created her in the first place. She is now an out, strong, independent, badass chick. You literally couldn't write a better reboot if you tried, and since then there have been fourteen years of character development to tap into. Kate Kane is a literal symbol for social growth, and I'm dumbfounded by any willingness to cheapen it the way CW has in excusing a complete reboot with a passing "but don't worry, the new one will still be a lesbian." (this is not a direct quote)
By giving me a token lesbian, CW is effectively saying that's all the boxes they need to check. As though the audience's attachment to the show is based entirely on this single component: a token lesbian could obviously carry the mantle and keep the audience happy.** The beauty of Kate Kane is that she represents so much more than this both for her historic reboot and as a character heavily ingrained in the DC Universe. Perhaps Ryan Wilder is meant to embody how that representation can be translated beyond any one person, but that doesn't mean I'm ready to give up on a Kate Kane Batwoman after a single season.
**I know: this is both hyperbolic and oversimplification all rolled into one.
Reviews *new*
This is an added bit following a few comments I've received since posting this 'Intermission' chapter. The basis of them being that the CW chose to reboot Batwoman as a result of poor ratings, and letting Ruby Rose out of her contract was the best way to push this agenda and keep the show alive. This is entirely possible. Why not - crazier things have happened. I think a big part of me wants to reject this because I can't imagine early reviews have that much impact on such a blatant switch-up; if memory serves me right, Arrow's early reviews weren't the greatest. The biggest factor against this is that end-of-season reviews were buzzing over the show's improvement and potential. I genuinely hope the show-runners didn't let early feedback sway their decision making and planning; if they did, I'm sure they're getting ready to eat some Crow (pun intended) given the approval of end-of-season story and performances.
What's the point*
The point is that I disagree with Caroline Dries and the rest of the executive team pushing for the removal of Kate Kane. It's such a strangely short-sighted solution that, for me, feels like a selfish opportunity to pave their own attempt at a superhero origin story on the back of a historically significant character who has been taken out of the game and deserves the kind of attention characters like Oliver Queen, Barry Allen, and Kara Danvers receive.
In conclusion*
This is where I would try to conclude with some clever quip that nails my argument home. Unfortunately, I usually write myself onto the other side of the argument in these instances. This waffling is primarily why I decided not to become a lawyer.
Everyone can have bad ideas. It's totally allowed. I have them all the damn time. This whole 'letter' could be a terrible idea. But so could taking Kate Kane out of Batwoman. The second season has been pushed to January 2021, so there's still a chance. I have next to no hope Dries and company will change course, but the small bit that remains would be blown away with excitement if they did.
It may also seem like I'm picking on Dries. That is not my intention by any means; I just haven't seen or read anything from the show's other king or queenmakers to reference. I also have no reference for the full context of Dries' comments, so my generalizations could be off-mark. I do not doubt that she is sincere in her efforts; I can't imagine the amount of work, sweat, blood, and tears she put into the first season, and I'm sure my ramblings as a third-party observer have nothing on the amount of stress and strain she's undergone in the last month. She's doing an amazing job, and I want to make it clear that, while I'm salty about the decision, I don't question her motives for a second. I just wish they aligned with my own.
If you've made it this far, thanks for giving it a read. Like a chump, I've been revamping the last part of the main storyline and that has me delaying its post. Regardless of the direction CW takes with Batwoman, it is my intention to continue this story for as long as I have ideas and you dear readers enjoy them.
My sincerest thanks,
EQT.95
*I love being wrong (almost as much as I love being right), and I know I'm bound to have misquoted or misstated or missed any number of things. If I have, please call me out for it. I promise to review and revise/edit/correct any errors.
