Batwoman is Really Dead, Aussie Actor Ruby Rose quits CW’s ‘Batwoman’ after only one season, constant criticism of the dire show’s writing, and the tanking in the ratings shows that forcing an LGBT agenda with an anti heterosexual subtext down people’s throats doesn’t attract a popular fan base, CW however green lights season 2 of a show that needs to be killed off

Dear All

I wanted to start this post by using the immortal line; ‘Thank fuck this shit is over’ but it is not.

If you happened to love comics, action and Sci fi you would have seen plenty of movies and tv shows over the last decade to keep you more than happy. But ever show which has potential doesn’t always make it. As some examples, two series spring to mind immediately to me, The Brave, starring Anne Heche, well made, engaging actors, decent plots, and Pitch, the story of a female black baseball star. Pitch was also well made with good production values and like the Brave, a decent cast. In the world of Tv, what is important is ratings, because ratings is what drives the industry.  

High ratings means big brands will want to place their products within the show or during the breaks where you watch adverts. To add to the cash pot, great shows have spin offs and others merchandise like toys, books and even movies to keep the money rolling in. Find the right show and you can become a major star, become wealthy and use it as a launch pad for other projects.

Casting the right lead in a TV show or Movie is critical, a lot rides on picking the right person, pick the wrong one, and the show will tank, pick the wrong writers and even a great actor, male or female will not save it. CW makes many shows, Supergirl, Arrow, The Flash and the ill fated Batwoman. In Batwoman, the producers wanted Ruby Rose, actor and model who has some decent movies in her CV such as John Wick 2 and Resident Evil, the Final Chapter. In John Wick 2, Ruby Rose played a bodyguard to a Mafia figure who yearns to sit at ‘the High Table’ of organised crime. Although Ruby Rose didn’t speak, it was a great part for her playing an action character.

After John Wick 2 under her belt, it would seem obvious that someone would take a chance on her and give her something better which led her to becoming Kate Kane, aka Batwoman. The supporting cast was a mixed bag of talent featuring, the ever good Dougray Scott, alongside other actors like Rachel Skarsten, Meagan Tandy, Camrus Johnson and Nicola Kang. Skarsten stole the show with her portrayal as Batwoman’s mad killer sister, which was the only saving grace for this show.

So, what was Batwoman’s problem?

The producers decided to write Batwoman as Bat-lesbian, having a lesbian lead however that wasn’t the problem; it was the forcing down people’s throats of an LGBT agenda. People thought they were getting a crime fighting show but in reality they were getting fed a lesbian show sprinkled with a few approved heterosexuals to pad it out.  The subtext which ran through the show was that heterosexuals were bad, they were the enemy. In a crossover with other CW shows, Crisis on Infinite Earth, Ruby Rose’s character is one of the special people who are needed to save our world. Batwoman was written as the paragon of courage, this is despite not having done anything really to merit this title. At this point of the first season, who had she really saved? And also where was her courage as her mass murdering homicidal sister killed her way across the city using her butterfly knife? Where was Batwoman, the “paragon of courage” and defender of the truth, well she was sitting about being an unhappy lesbian with angst. She was upset that an ex girlfriend was getting pumped senseless by a heterosexual called her husband. Oh, and as the “paragon of courage” and defender of the truth, you get special rights to break up a happy home being a LGBT hero. Contrast this with Superman Returns; Superman comes back to earth after 5 years, Lois Lane has a kid and living with another guy, does Superman attempt to break up a happy home? Funnily enough, he doesn’t. In the lore of the Superhero, sacrifice is a burden not shunned but to be carried, except in Batwoman.

As Batwoman continued through-out the first season, another incident which caught my eye left me baffled, it was what people call a WTF moment. Batwoman and the ex girlfriend are in a high end restaurant working their way through their angst of feelings. A waiter pops up and what must be the most contrived piece of anti heterosexual writing objects to them holding hands. If you saw a woman crying and another woman holding her hands would your first thought that they must be a pair of lesbians? I doubt it. What makes this scene so interesting is that Batwoman says to the waiter, she is Kate Kane and one of her relatives is an online critic with millions of followers and she will have the restaurant boycotted.

So basically, Batwoman, the “paragon of courage” is willing to have a restaurant boycotted leading to its closure which could put what 30 innocent people out of their jobs? Does that sound like a superhero to you? Does that sound like someone who is the paragon of courage? In total, the sum of this show is so bad from a writing standpoint it was little wonder that people turned away from it almost immediately. Warner Bros. TV, the CW, and Berlanti Productions tried to sell the public a crime fighting show that was not a crime fighting show. The public felt cheated, and felt their disapproval had to be heard which prompted a backlash from the LGBT community who decided that labeling everyone who complained as homophobe was a good way to plaster over dissent.  

Despite the show tanking in the ratings and Ruby Rose getting the bulk of the blame, incredibly the producers decided to green light a second series. But in season 2, we will not be seeing Ruby Rose as Batwoman, Rose said that:

'This was not a decision I made lightly'.

So, what does she see that the producers don’t? Well I would suggest she sees that the first season has so badly damaged any chance of this being turned around that the only sensible option is to scrap it. Rose added:

"I have the utmost respect for the cast, crew and everyone involved with the show in both Vancouver and in Los Angeles. I am beyond appreciative to Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Caroline Dries for not only giving me this incredible opportunity, but for welcoming me into the DC universe they have so beautifully created. Thank you Peter Roth and Mark Pedowitz and the teams at Warner Bros. and The CW who put so much into the show and always believed in me. Thank you to everyone who made season one a success — I am truly grateful."

And with that Ruby Rose is hanging up the cowl way sooner than anyone expected because to continue would completely damage her career. Having made one mistake, the producers seem to be hell bent on repeating this by not addressing the issue of why the show was so bad, they even released a statement promising to cast an LGBTQ actress in the titular role for season 2. If you had to sum up in one sentence what Batwoman is, I would suspect that many people would venture this, ‘Batwoman is Bat-Lesbian using an established franchise in an attempt to hijack loyalty to cherished comic characters for ratings to justify their existence  with an underlining subtext that heterosexuals are bad and oppressors.

Finally, LGBT characters aren’t new in Tv shows, in the show, Fear The Walking Dead, a lead character in the show is called Victor Strand, he is played by a black actor called Colman Domingo who also happens to be gay. He called the show’s handling of Victor Strand’s sexuality “brave” and “courageous,” and “very normal.” The character’s main angst is like everyone else’s, to keep living, sexuality plays a back seat just as it does with the straight actors. Batwoman was all about forcing an LGBT agenda with an anti heterosexual subtext down people’s throats, and the public reaction was all too obvious and predictable. Something that major brands will take note of when they book time slots for their adverts further down the line. Batwoman as a series is completely ruined which is why Ruby Rose was smart to leave and the public won’t support it when it returns for a second series.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University