In the first season of Batwoman, Bruce Wayne’s rebellious cousin Kate Kane (Ruby Rose) returned to Gotham City, where crime was running rampant ever since the Dark Knight abandoned the city. She donned her own cowl as Batwoman, and with the help of tech wizard Luke Fox (Camrus Johnson), stepsister Mary (Nicole Kang), and former SSR agent Julia Pennyworth (Christina Wolfe), she started to once again take down some of Gotham’s villains. Her main foe was long-lost twin sister Beth, who had become psychopath Alice (Rachel Skarsten), head of the Wonderland Gang. Alice had learned that it was Kate behind the mask, and wanted to get revenge on the family that had abandoned her as a child. She planned to obtain a piece of kryptonite—the only thing that could pierce the Batsuit—and trick her father, Jacob (Dougray Scott), into using it to kill Batwoman, so that she could reveal to him that he had killed his own daughter. As the season came to an end, Alice used her skills as a master of disguise to change the face of fellow Arkham escapee Tommy Elliot (Warren Christie) to look like that of Bruce Wayne, so he could return to Gotham, infiltrate the Batcave, and become Batman.

However, as the second season opens, it looks like Alice’s plans are somewhat in vain, as Kate Kane has gone missing and is presumed to be dead when her plane crashes. 25-year-old Ryan Wilder (Javicia Leslie) recently got paroled after serving 18 months in prison on a false drug charge, thanks to some corrupt members of the Crows. She has been unable to find an apartment or job due to her record, and lives in a van by the river. Ryan’s mother died in childbirth, but she was eventually adopted, only to have her adoptive mother murdered in their apartment by members of Alice’s Wonderland gang. She is tired of being a victim, so when she happens to witnesses Kate’s plane crash and discovers the Batsuit in the rubble, she decides to don it to get her own revenge in the streets of Gotham, looking for those who had wronged her in the past, including Jacob and his corrupt Crows and and Alice and her Wonderland Gang. Luke and Mary don’t want to accept the idea that Kate could be dead, and continue to look for their friend. They are initially upset that this stranger has taken over the role of Batwoman, but they quickly discover that Ryan has the martial arts training and skills to handle the job and fill in for Kate, and Gotham desperately needs its hero back on the streets.

One of my complaints about the first season was how drawn out the Alice storyline was. She was this supervillain who Jacob, Batwoman and the others all had ample opportunities to kill or get rid of, but always failed to even take the shot. I was hoping that with Kate gone from the series, the show would finally move on from Alice. However, she is once again back and a major part of the second season. The show has doubled-down on this Harley Quinn like character, delving even deeper into her background, trying to make the audience more sympathetic to the Alice due to her troubled past, despite the fact that she’s a psychopath and a murderer. This starts with the introduction of a new villain, Safiyah (Shivaani Ghai), the queen of her own island, and the woman who rescued and trained Beth, turning her into the Alice she is today. Safiyah tells Alice that she is responsible for Kate’s plane going down, but claims Kate is still alive, promising to reveal her sister’s whereabouts if Alice carries out some tasks for her. But is Safiyah telling the truth?! As the season progresses, Alice finds herself having to choose between her thirst for revenge and her growing desire for love—the latter was something she didn’t even know she was capable of.

Safiyah is not the only new villain this season. Black Mask (Peter Outerbridge), the mysterious leader of a new criminal organization called the False Face Society has been making waves across Gotham. He ultimately wants to burn the city to the ground, making intuitions like the GCPD implode from the inside, and this starts by marketing and distributing a highly-addictive new drug called Snakebite across the city. Batwoman and her crew deal with all kinds of new threats coming from False Face, including hypnotist Dr. Evelyn Rhyme aka Enigma (Laura Mennell), hit man Victor Zsasz (Alex Morf), Cluemaster Athur Brown (Rick Miller)—one of Sophie’s (Meagan Tandy) first arrests whoe escapes prison looking for revenge—and more. When they’re not fighting off some new enemy, our group of heroes are also trying to deal with the (potential?) loss of Kate, Alice’s latest antics, issues from their past that have resurfaced, or personal relationship problems. Ryan also has to deal with the fact that she’s effectively on parole but working as a vigilante. She can’t really tell her parole officer she found a job as Batwoman! There are also some new relationships and love interests this season. Other recurring characters this season include Angelique (Bevin Bru), Ryan’s ex-lover turned burglar, and Ocean (Nathan Owens), a man Alice is sent to find, but with whom she forms a connection. Meanwhile, Sophie and Jacob are dealing with the loss of Kate, and the shocking realization that she had been behind the mask. Jacob is still in denial about Kate’s fate, and puts his full resources into finding her, but his grief will lead him down a dark path.

I was a little afraid for the series when Ruby Rose announced shorty after the first season ended that she would not be returning to the show. How could you have a “Batwoman” series without Batwoman?! However, I was pleasantly surprised with how the show has managed to reinvent itself in this second season. The writers have given Ryan an interesting backstory that lends itself to a lot of storylines and connections to the dark elements of Gotham, including Alice and her Wonderland Gang, even if it is a bit convoluted. Ryan has a very different background and upbringing than Kate, but she’s also a lesbian and has some mad fighting skills, which helps to keep the character of Batwoman somewhat familiar, though she does have a new wig to go along with the suit. The series still feels very much the same despite this major change, and is still as action-packed as ever.

I found the second season to be quite enjoyable overall, keeping the same look and feel of the first season, despite the major change. Javicia Leslie is a nice addition to the series, and does an excellent job both with the action sequences and Ryan’s more dramatic storylines. She also has excellent chemistry with the rest of the cast.
The writers do a nice job of quickly introducing this new character, giving some info about her background and getting her into the suit, all in the very first episode of the season. The season also introduces some fun and interesting new villains—I particularly enjoyed the Cluemaster episode. If I had one main complaint about this season and series in general it’s that the writers seem way too afraid to actually definitively kill off characters, which sets the actual stakes pretty low at times. This second season also spends way too much time on the Where is Kate? storyline, stretching it out almost the entire season. This also leads to a bit of a wishy-washy arc near the end of the season. While I think they did a better job of integrating Alice this season, I still don’t understand how “the good guys” just let her roam around and do her own thing—even if she was once Beth, she’s still an unpredictable psychopath who should either be locked up, or at least put on more of a leash if she’s going to be working with them! That said, the season ends with some hints at what villains may show up in Gotham next season, which left me pretty excited to see what happens next.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds amazing. The picture is pretty immaculate, with rich colors and details, looking excellent in both lighter and darker scenes (the latter of which there are many for this series). The audio track provides clear dialogue and makes nice use of the stereo and surround channels to bring the viewer into the action and provide an immersive viewing experience, as well as showcasing the show’s fantastic score. The episodes are spread across 3 discs, which are packed in a standard multi-disc HD keepcase with a cardboard slipcover, along with an insert containing instructions for redeeming a digital copy of the episodes on Vudu. The bonus material, which primarily resides on the third disc, consists of 10 minutes of deleted scenes, a 16-minute look at the season’s villains, an 8-minute gag reel, and 21-minute look at DC sidekicks from across the Arrowverse.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (12:41:28)

Blu-ray:
• All 18 episodes of the second season:
  Disc 1: “Whatever Happened to Kate Kane?”, “Prior Criminal History”, “Bat Girl Magic!”, “Fair Skin, Blue Eyes”, “Gore on Canvas”, “Do Not Resuscitate”
  Disc 2: “It’s Best You Stop Digging”, “Survived Much Worse”, “Rule #1”, “Time Off for Good Behavior”, “Arrive Alive”, “Initiate Self Destruct”
  Disc 3: “I’ll Give You a Clue”, “…And Justice For All”, “Armed and Dangerous”, “Rebirth”, “Kane, Kate”, “Power”
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH​

Digital: (expires 9/30/2022)

• Digital HD copy of the season redeemable via Vudu.

Extras:

• Deleted Scenes (10:17)
  Collection of 12 deleted scenes across 9 episodes, which reside on the discs with their respective episodes. There is a Play All option for each disc’s episodes. Some of these are very short and don’t really add a lot, but it’s nice to see them included.
  • Whatever Happened to Kate Kane? (:47) – 1 scene
  • Bat Girl Magic! (2:36) – 1 scene
  • Gore on Canvas (:31) – 2 scenes
  • Rule #1 (1:11) – 2 scenes
  • Arrive Alive (:38) – 1 scene
  • I’ll Give You a Clue (:27) – 1 scene
  • …And Justice For All (2:28) – 2 scenes
  • Rebirth (:37) – 1 scene
  • Power (1:02) – 1 scene
• Villains Analyzed (15:45)
  The cast and filmmakers discuss what makes a good villain, and talk about some of the characters who show up in Gotham in the second season, such as psychotic Alice, queen Safiyah, crime boss Black Mask, and mind-controller Enigma, all of whom are motivated by revenge. Includes clips, comics footage, and interviews with executive producers James Stoteraux, Chad Fiveash & Caroline Dries, and stars Peter Outerbridge (“Roman Sionis/Black Mask”), Javicia Leslie (“Ryan Wilder/Batwoman”), Rachel Skarsten (“Alice/Beth Kane”), Meagan Tandy (“Sophie Moore”), Camrus Johnson (“Luke Fox”), Shivaani Ghai (“Safiyah”) & Nicole Kang (“Mary Hamilton”).
• Never Alone: Heroes and Allies (20:48)
  The cast and producers discuss the history and changing role of the sidekick in the DC Comics universe, how the sidekicks are heroes in their own right, and some of the sidekicks that appear in the various Arrowverse TV shows. Includes clips, comics footage, and interviews with Stargirl executive producer/creator Geoff Johns, Batwoman executive producer Caroline Dries, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow executive producer Phil Klemmer, Superman & Lois executive producer Todd Helbing, The Flash executive producer/showrunner Eric Wallace, and actors Danielle Panabaker (“Caitlin Snow/Frost”), Camrus Johnson (“Luke Fox”) & Javicia Leslie (“Ryan Wilder/Batwoman”). This featurette will likely be included on all of this year’s Arrowverse disc releases.
• Gag Reel (7:49)
  Fun with the cast and crew as they miss their marks, flub their lines, and have fun on set.

Final Thoughts:

The writers of Batwoman were thrown a bit of a curve ball when Ruby Rose announced that she wouldn’t be returning to the series after the first season. However, I think they really stepped up to the plate and were able to make the best out of the situation. They have managed to keep the look and feel of the series the same while also giving Gotham a new Batwoman with her own interesting backstory and motivations. Javicia Leslie does a nice job of stepping into the costume and quickly becoming an integral part of the series. Warner Bros Blu-ray release looks and sounds amazing, and includes a small-but-solid selection of bonus material. The release comes recommended for fans of the series or of these DC superhero shows in general.