“Down, Down, Down”
Writers: Holly Henderson and Don Whitehead
Director: Dermott Daniel Downs
Starring: Ruby Rose, Rachel Skarsten, Gabriel Mann, Meagan Tandy, Nicole Kang, Camrus Johnson, Elizabeth Anweis, Dougray Scott and Rachel Maddow
Review by Steve J. Ray
Batwoman episode 3, “Down, Down, Down” has been the strongest chapter so far. We see the culmination of Kate Kane’s journey to becoming something new, and not just someone pretending to be Batman. Lines are drawn that will determine her relationship with Alice/Beth moving forward, while others are crossed completely between Kate’s twin and their father.
Once again I have to acknowledge just how great Rachel Skarsten is as Alice. The subtleties in her facial expressions, her mannerisms and emotional range really sell the fact that the character is a damaged and dangerous individual… but that’s not all she is. There are moments in the episode where you can almost see child-like innocence, and vulnerability. There’s a scene where Alice finds a box containing items from her childhood, and when she discovers the map that Kate used in the search for her missing sister, real emotion floods through. Her sense of conflict, and genuine love for her twin really shines bright for a few seconds, before the curtain of hatred ices over the warmth in her eyes, and her desire for revenge makes them cold and dead once more. You can feel her fighting back a smile, and tears of emotion, before her visage once again turns to stone and her evil, mirthless smile returns.
Hush, Little Baby…
Alice isn’t the only villain gracing this episode, as the wonderful Gabriel Mann (Nolan in Revenge) makes a welcome appearance as Bruce Wayne’s oldest “friend” Tommy Elliot. Comics fans obviously also know this character by his nom-de-villain, Hush.
Mann is great in the role. No, we don’t see him in a trench-coat with his face bandaged up, but he’s every bit the cold, calculating, master-planner that we love to hate from the comics. He proves to be a worthy foe this week and I hope that this isn’t the last we see of him.
I really want to know what the deal is with Kate’s step-mother, Catherine, and am rapidly becoming the biggest Mary Hamilton fan ever! Kate’s step-sister is played brilliantly by Nicole Kang. Mary is as great a hero as Kate could ever hope to be, and is leading a double-life as complicated as that of any comic-book vigilante. The way she pretends to a socialite, while she’s actually running a free clinic in the rough part of town, makes her a young Leslie Thompkins in my eyes.
I love this new character and am really enjoying Nicole’s portrayal.
Conclusion
Batwoman episode 3 was really enjoyable. Ruby Rose is starting to relax into the role, and finally seeing her embrace the red and black Batwoman costume, that the character’s famous for in the comics, made me very happy. She has finally stepped out of her cousin’s shadow and is ready to face whatever Gotham City throws at her.
While it’s taken three episodes for this show to find its rhythm, I’m now fully invested and looking forward to seeing what comes next.
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