TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Batwoman Season 2 Episode 8: Survived Much Worse

So…that happened. In fact, lots of things happened. By the time this review is going up you no doubt have heard the news that Wallis Day (whom you might know as Nyssa Vex from the Krypton series that was canceled WAY too soon) is now official the recast and “altered” version of Kate Kane. Which raises so many questions and problems that honestly boil done to one philosophical question: Why didn’t they just do the recast in the first place????

Remember, when Ruby Rose bowed out, there were MANY epic women (including Wallis Day) who jumped at the chance to go and be the recast Kate Kane. The fans wanted a recast, they BEGGED for a recast and even the showrunner felt that it was the best idea until she was “guided” to “disappear” Kate and bring in a brand new character in Ryan Wilder. They said they would have a “Mystery about Kate’s disappearance” and that has now gone on for eight episodes and now after finding out “she’s dead”, she’s not. She’s just alive, “badly damaged” will be “altered” to look like Wallis Day and will now exist alongside Ryan Wilder eventually.

…that’s not complicated at all.

And the worst part is that they had the best chance to go and have Ryan die a heroic death in “Survived Much Worse” and setup the return of Kate…but instead…they did the literal cheapest way of keeping her alive and literally burned a lot of bridges in the process.

“Survived Much Worse” was anything but simple, and anything but straightforward. Which was sad because it had the potential to do a lot of good in many characters’ arcs. Yes, even Ryan’s in a non-death way.

All points were heading to the island in order to see where Kate was, whether they’d be able to save Ryan, stop Alice from killing Kate, and so on. Alice was again the MVP here as her roller coaster of emotions and moves in order to get to her “final destination” was compelling…to a point. Her killing Ocean? Nice. Her realizing that she didn’t want to kill Kate? Nice. The reaction to Kate not being there? Also nice. The reason for it all? …not so nice.

So Safaiyah never had Kate, was manipulating Alice in the hopes of getting revenge on her and Ocean, but not actually on Ocean as she just wanted to “make him learn a lesson” after “almost dying” and then being ok with Tatiana setting this all in motion, but not being ok with it and then stabbing her until she decides to “resurrect her”…? Oh my head.

Also, can we talk about how Safaiyah thought that only TWO of her guards would be able to handle an unrestrained and conscious Alice? Did she REALLY think that the monster “she created” wouldn’t look for an opening and fight back? That’s not smart for someone who just played a perfect game up until that point.

This brings us to the situation with Ryan. I’m seriously wanting to know why the showrunners did certain things like they did. From the “I learned this from Youtube!” line, to her questioning her place if Kate returns WHILE SHE IS DYING to the infinitely cringe airplane sequence (how did Luke not tell her the plan beforehand?) and then the final matter of the Desert Rose being the flower that Ryan had the whole time. How exactly is that logical? Because presumably that would mean that her mother had been to the island, right? And the only reason they found out about it was because the plant got knocked over. That’s not just Deus Ex Machina, that’s DUMB Deus Ex Machina.

Furthermore, Julia suddenly coming back (where was she exactly before this?) and revealing that Kate IS dead…only for the “shocking reveal” to be that she’s NOT dead was not only rushed but…kind of sad.

And again, they setup a perfect heroic death for Ryan. She fought to the end, she played her cards right to get Alice to realize the truth about Kate, it fell apart, she made peace with Sophie…and now it just so HAPPENS that she had the Desert Rose all along. Really?

Oh, and can we talk about how one of Safaiyah’s trained assassin’s was able to be taken down by Mary? Just saying.

In the end, “Survived Much Worse” kept amplifying the problems this season has been having. Lack of dedication, lack of consistency, Deus Ex Machina’s, and more.