Ryan’s new double life proves a challenge in more ways than one. A terrifying killer is loose on the streets of Gotham. Alice confronts Safiyah.

It took nearly three whole episodes for the writers to finally take the obvious path of having Javicia Leslie make the show her own by literally having her character make the suit her own. Sure, it’s a little on the nose, but it’s the first time the show has felt a little like Leslie is leading the show for real and not just standing in for a bit, just like it’s the first glimmer of Ryan actually feeling like she’s going to be given a shot. Then again, elsewhere, the show just can’t seem to quit Kate Kane…

Thank goodness then, for Alex Morf, having the time of his life here as perennial Batman rogue Victor Zsasz. Here, Victor is a rather dapper, well-spoken and quietly confident killer, which makes the way in which he takes out his targets even more horrifying. He’s basically amused when first confronted with the city’s new Batwoman, and there’s never one scene where he doesn’t feel as if he’s enjoying himself. It raises the level of the episode considerably and I hope we get to see more of him as the show progresses.

Meanwhile, Gotham’s usual Queen of Terror is otherwise engaged, stuck on Safiyah’s island home with every intention of murdering the mysterious assassin for having apparently killed her sister. What follows is some fairly run-of-the mill exposition about how Alice was once essentially ‘apprenticed’ to Safiyah and so on and so forth, and then the show just goes a little bit sideways and basically implies that Kate Kane may well not be dead after all – cue dun dun dun shocked faces all around….

I loved Ruby Rose in the role of Kate Kane and inarguably she was a huge part of what made the first season of the show such a success. I get also that her character had made a journey, forged strong relationships and become a figure of good and righteousness in Gotham City. I just wish that, having cast a new lead, the show could let her actually get on with it, instead of continually feeling not only as if she’s standing in her predecessor’s shadow, but also like her predecessor might suddenly come back at any moment.

For Ryan’s part, she’s somewhat struggling to balance life as a vigilante and as a parolee, but manages to convince Mary to give her a job (thus revealing that Mary inherited The Hold Up) and it’s nice to see that Mary at least is up for giving the new girl a chance and accepting that her sister is gone. Maybe at some point the rest of Gotham, and the Batwoman writers’ room, will catch up with her.

Verdict: Three episodes done, and the show still feels like it’s half-treating its new lead as a stand-in. Please let the new Batsuit be a sign that they’re done now. One extra point awarded for a great villain of the week who I hope we see again. 7/10

Greg D. Smith