Monday, February 17, 2020

Batwoman - Take Your Choice


"Take Your Choice" offered a chance for a reset of sorts for The CW's most troubled super-hero show. While it wouldn't have solved all of the show's issues, bringing an end to Batwoman's failed big bad by replacing her with a sane version of the character from a parallel Earth could have been the first step to moving away from a storyline that has failed far more often than it has succeeded. "Take Your Choice" offers the appearance of change by allowing Kate (Ruby Rose) to save either Beth Kane (Rachel Skarsten) or Alice (Skarsten) as the dimension isn't large enough for both of them. I'll give the episode credit for waiting until the end to make its choice, although there is absolutely no surprise that the writers, cast, and crew doubled-down on giving disappointed viewers more of the same rather than embrace the necessity of change.

There are plenty bad decisions here, both by writers and characters. First, rather than keep Beth safe in the Batcave the entire episode, Team Batwoman continues to put her in harm's way in public including in the final moments (which make absolutely no sense whatsoever as the Crows never discovered the entrance to the Batcave). The show even chickens out of having Sophie (Meagan Tandy) pull the trigger that would have cost Kate her sister for a second time which at least would have added some legitimate turmoil to the proceedings rather than the window dressing we're given instead. If "Take Your Choice" is any indication, as everyone involved seems perfectly happy with the mediocre results so far, Batwoman isn't likely to get better any time soon.

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