Batwoman season 1, episode 3 review: Down Down Down
In “Down Down Down” with Alice still running amok, a new villain arrives in Gotham to hunt the bat, with help from an old foe and a dangerous weapon that can bring an untimely end to Batwoman’s vigilante career
Episode 3 of The CW’s Batwoman was both a step forward and a step back for the Bat-family show. But with teases of future storylines, new villains and references to old ones, there is a lot to unwrap so let’s get started!
The episode starts off with Alice waking from a nightmare (kudos to the show for actually showing a villain sleeping!). The dream seemingly shows the viewer a piece of the puzzle as to where Beth was being kept after surviving the car accident.
Locked in a basement, Beth finds what seems to be a face skin mask that apparently belongs to some kind of serial killer. It’s creepy but also leaves one not knowing how much is real and how much is in psychotic Beth’s mind. Rachel Skarsten continues to knock it out of the park as Alice, and like Daredevil season 1, it’s refreshing to see the show’s villain get a lot of screentime and development.
The villain of the Week
Villain of the week episodes are often vilified, however, they are important to a show’s narrative, as they force the heroes to face different situations and can develop said heroes in ways that the main story can not.
This episode the story follows a break-in at Wayne-Tech that sees a prototype rail gun stolen. The catch? This gun can pierce the Batsuit and kill Batman.
The thief in question is played by Gabriel Man who is none other than Tommy Elliot – a spoiled rich kid who hates Batman for saving his mother years before and preventing him from collecting his inheritance. Mann is not given much to do, but he is a catalyst for Kate to finally become Batwoman, as going up against The Dark Knight’s foe makes her realize that she needs to be her own hero. A delightful Easter Egg is revealed as Tommy states that he got the identity of Batman from a certain Riddler.
Relationships and wardrobes
Two problems with the show, in general, are on full display in “Down Down Down”. The CW is known for its cringey relationship triangles, and hammy dialogue related to them. Batwoman is no exception. The progression of the love triangle narrative between Kate, Sophie, and her husband falls victims to these trope because of the dialogue used to forward it. What could be an interesting story is reduced to jealous exes borderline-stalking each other, and painful stares across rooms.
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The next issue is the show’s wardrobe. The CW programs like Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl, for the most part, have decent to good costuming that it, at the very least, trendy. However Batwoman seemingly has no idea how to dress is characters. The suits are drab in color and look rather cheap (compared to Arrow which has excellent costuming) and the biggest victim of this is Ruby Rose as Kate Kane.
Now, Ruby Rose is known for her androgynous style, which could have been used to craft some inventive and really cool costumes. However the show seems to only dress her in nondescript sports jackets and, as seen in the latest episode, formal-wear that looked more at home in Victorian times.
In the Elseworlds crossover, Rose was dressed in an outfit that showcased her style well. Hopefully Batwoman goes back to this more inventive wardrobe.
The Batsuit
In the third act of “Down Down Down”, Kane realizes she can’t be Batman and must become a hero that better reflects her and allows her to be who she really is. Firstly the suit looks fantastic – it’s clearly high quality, and the cape and red wig look right at home in the Gotham half-light. Rose looks perfectly at home in it, and further shows that she was the right choice for the role of this new hero of Gotham.
Overall, this was still a strong episode that further expanded the world of Gotham and the Arrowverse as a whole. Its villains are strong and story mysterious, the villain of the week challenged Kate in ways that Alice had not yet, and showcased however the elite and wealthy of Gotham can still be insane.
6/10 Batarangs
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Batwoman airs on Sunday nights on The CW. What did you think of the third episode? Let us know in the comments below!