Batwoman 1x1 : Pilot review

Be warned there will be *SPOILERS* involved in this review. With that being said let's get into it. 

A new era of the Arrowverse is almost upon us so it only seems fitting that we'd get a new hero and it just show happens to be in the form of Kate Kane (Batwoman) played by Ruby Rose Kate's journey begins with flashbacks to a day in her life that changed everything. While out driving her mom is seemingly pursued by someone in a school bus. The bus crashes into the back of their car leading to a crash. In the back seat sits a young Kate and her sister Beth. With her mom unresponsive Batman shows up and hook shots the car onto the other side of the bridge in an attempt to pull it back before it falls off the bridge. This doesn't work however and as a young Kate attempts to get her sister out before the car falls off and plummets to the river below. She isn't successful though and has to watch as her sister and mom fall to their deaths seemingly. Flash forward to a grown up Kate who we see training in a freezing area filled with nothing in sight expect her and her trainer. Back in Gotham and we learn that The Batman has been gone for over 3 years. We of course know this thanks to last year's Elseworld's crossover but the extent of The Dark Knight's absence is a lot more than expected. At a gathering to turn off the Bat-Signal we meet Kate Kane's dad, her ex girlfriend and her step sister. Her dad is the head of an organization known as The Crows. They are basically a group of military operatives who are in control of protecting the city. Sophie Moore who is basically second in command to Kate's dad is her ex lover like I mentioned. While patrolling the surrounding area we're introduced to who I can only presume will be the big bad of at least the first half of this season. Her name is Alice and she is extremely like The Mad Hatter. She even uses rhymes, Alice In Wonderland dialogue and much more. Her goons even wear Rabbit masks much like the ones in the Arkham City video game. She and her crew end up kidnapping Sophie which in turn leads to the return of the prodigal daughter in Kate Kane who gets a call from her step sister telling her that her ex lover had been kidnapped. 

Kate Kane makes her return to Gotham after a long time away. Why was she away?? well turns out her dad sent her away so that she could train to become a part of The Crows. Their entire relationship was a big highlight for me throughout this episode as it genuinely felt real enough to the point where it wasn't overly dramatic. Speaking of her dad he tells Kate that she cannot be a part of what he's doing in this city even though she is clearly ready. He forbids her from getting involved which of course only drives her even more to help. She ends up going to Wayne Enterprises and runs into Luke Fox. Who just so happens to be the son of Lucius Fox..yes that Lucius. Turns out he too was working for Bruce Wayne before he up and vanished. Kate tries to convince him that she is Bruce's cousin but at first he was having none of it. He even handcuffs her but Kate turns the tide and has him bound inside of the security room in the Wayne building. She gets some footage from the security cameras which aren't connected to The Crows network which helps in finding just who took Sophie and what happened. Back at her dad's office and Kate shows him what she's found and it turns out one of the bats used to knock out Sophie has a name on it. Burnside Orphanage. Kate embracing her inner Batwoman already goes to investigate on her own. Inside she is confronted by more of Alice's goons in what was a truly epic fight sequence. She gets outnumbered eventually however and the next time we see her she is tied up and in front of Alice. The actress who plays Alice really knocks it out of the park in her role. Every scene she is in is just great. Special mention must go to the ''Twinkle, Twinkle little bat'' writing on the wall in Alice's lair. Kate gets dumped off but is found and healed up by her step sister Mary who just so happens to run a clinic as her own little side gig. Back at Wayne Enterprises and Kate notices her Aunt Martha's pearl necklace isn't in the same position it used to be when she was a kid. She moves it into place and a secret door opens which of course leads to the batcave. Inside she is astounded to learn that her cousin Bruce Wayne was indeed Batman. We even learn that Bruce up until vanishing was haunted by what happened to Kate's mother and sister. He never stopped looking for Beth but never found her. He even tried to find out how the hook shot snapped leading to the car falling off the bridge. Soon after this Kate finally begins to understand her new purpose. If she can't help her dad by being a part of The Crows she will do it by becoming something else. She asks Luke to retool Batman's suit so it fits a woman. 

The episode draws to a close at Gotham City park where they are showing Zorro on a giant screen which was incredibly fitting in my opinion. With the entire area under control one member of The Crow's we learn is a traitor and is working with Alice. Alice rings up Kate's dad and says she has a bomb on the ground and a little bird up high (Sophie) what Alice doesn't expect however is Batman (she presumes) to show up and save the day. And that's exactly what Kate does as she saves Sophie and the city in the process. Speaking of Sophie I mentioned earlier how her and Kate are ex lovers. Well in some more flashbacks we learn that they were both in the cadets. Very much in love with one another they are forced apart by the cadets when they learn of their relationship. Kate suggests that they up and run away together but Sophie says no that she needs her place in the cadets and that maybe they should take some time apart. The look on Kate's face is painful as she says this. But speaking of present day the episode draws to a close back at The Crows main building as after rescuing Sophie Kate learns that she is married to a fellow co worker. Again the look on Kate's face here is of pure pain as she clearly still loves her. Kate has one final scene with her dad before the episode ends where he welcomes her into the fold finally. But it doesn't end there not at all. It ends at the batcave where we see Kate writing notes and letters for Bruce. Earlier Kate had picked up the weapon used by Alice and brought it back to investigate. In the weapon is a ruby which is so much like Kate's very own ruby that she wears as a necklace. Kate puts two and two together and before the episode truly ends we see Alice looking at a photo of her and Kate when they were young. The photo is actually taken seconds before the car crash that took place on the bridge where Kate's mom was killed but it Beth escaped as she is Alice and the yin to Kate's yan. And that was that. Overall I really enjoyed this. First impressions are a big deal and what I will take away from this pilot of Batwoman is mainly Ruby Rose's performance. She is fantastic in the role. She carries herself insanely well. Alice is an interesting villain and her being Kate's sister will only add more to the whole narrative. One of my few complaints here is that the setup to Kate getting in the batsuit felt a bit rushed. I think this could've benefited from this pilot being a two parter. Some parts felt rushed but it didn't take away from the overall enjoyment. Batwoman didn't start off perfectly but it does have tons of potential that's for sure. Roll on next week!

★★★