Batwoman Episode 4 Review: Is This the Batwoman We've Been Waiting For?

"Batwoman" is the newest superhero show to hit CW. It exists in the same Arrowverse as the other CW shows-- "Arrow", "Flash", "Supergirl", "Legends Of Tomorrow". We are currently four episodes in.

In this version of the story, Batman abandoned Gotham City three years ago (for unknown reasons). Kate Kane returns to town. She has a troubled relationship with her father Jacob. He is the head of the crime fighting security agency known as the "Crows". Kate's mother and twin daughter Beth drowned in a car accident. Batman is blamed for not rescuing them. Beth's body was never recovered. Jacob stopped looking for her after skull bone fragments were found. Kate has never forgiven him for this.

Sophie (previous love interest of Kate) joined the Crows... while Kate was expelled from the academy. Kate then wandered around the for five years honing her fighting skills (and getting over Sophie). .

Katie discovers cousin Bruce Wayne's underground lair and his secret identity as Batman. Luke Fox (son of Lucius Fox) safe guards Wayne Enterprises. He is Kate's "in" to the Batman. He knows almost all of Batman's secrets (and is a tech whiz).

Just as the town is about to retire the bat signal, the Alice and Wonderland gang attack. They kill a few people and kidnap Sophie. She is of course rescued by Batwoman. They obviously still have feeling for each other but Sophie tells Kate to move on. Sophie has been married for three years.

Batwoman thinks Alice is Beth but her father doesnt believe her. Alice is played by Rachel Skarsten from "Lost Girl". She is always delightfully crazy in everything she does. Why is Beth out to destroy her father? Because he gave up looking for her? It's all a bit flimsy.

Gotham needs someone to believe in so Kate reluctantly dons the bat suit (which Luke retrofitted for her). Keeping this secret puts a major hamper on her love life.

I do like the addition of Mary as Kate's half sister. Her mother Catherine is now married to Jacob Kane. Mary is a chatty young doctor who is running a secret underground medical clinic. More of her please. And Catherine has her own secrets. We're not really sure what they are yet but looks like she's a baddie. Who knows what she's done as a defense contractor. Catherine admits in episode 4 that she lied to Jacob about recovering his daughter's remains. She says she did this out of love but it will obviously create a huge rift between them.

Grade: 4 Monsters (out of 5) So is this the "Batwoman" we've been waiting for? The jury is still out for me. There are both parts I like and dislike about the show.

In the LIKE column, there's Rachel Skarsten as Alice and Nicole Kang as Mary. They are tons of fun. I like that Kate is depicted as an out lesbian (and not some straight girl who is experimenting). I also like the comedy elements (like Batwoman accidentally sneezing during a tense moment and nearly getting blow to Smithson's). Kudos to Ruby Rose for doing her own stunts as well.

In the dislike column, we have the bat suit. I know why she has red hair but the look just doesnt work for me.She needs a do over. There's also the flat accent that Ruby Rose is using. It makes her sound emotionless. I'd have been happier if they kept her Australian accent instead. Some of the dialogue is cringe worthy and pacing seems off. Why would they reveal secrets about Alice and Kathryn so early in the season? Keep up this pace and you'll run out of material. And lastly, the voice over on the show (done by Rachel Maddow) is just plain irritating. Do they really need that?

Still, there is enough here to keep me coming back. Hopefully they will course correct along the way. And dont believe all the terrible reviews that have been posed on Rotten Tomatoes etc. It always amazes me how much crap gets thrown at female lead shows when we've watched plenty of terrible shows starring guys before. Approach "Batwoman" with an open mind and see what you think.