Warning: This post contains spoilers for Sunday’s episode of Batwoman. Read at your own risk.
Say goodbye to Kate Kane… and hello to Black Mask’s bloodthirsty daughter!
This week’s Batwoman introduced a new villain in Kate, who’s been totally brainwashed into believing she’s Roman Sionis’ daughter, Circe.
The episode saw her don a new mask and go toe-to-toe with both Batwoman and Alice in a brutal (and super cool!!!) throwdown while carrying out Black Mask’s bidding. Although Kate doesn’t have any recollection of her past right now, it looks like she’ll soon be faced with a Bourne Identity-like personal crisis.
“She doesn’t remember anything. She full-on believes that she’s Circe for now,” Wallis Day, who plays Kate Kane/Circe, tells TVLine. “As the arc continues, you’ll see fragments of Kate’s memory starting to come back.”
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With Alice now in close proximity — Circe took her captive at the end of the episode — it’s only a matter of time before the cracks start to show in Black Mask’s elaborate brainwashing of his faux daughter. “Alice is the first character that I interact with, and there’s so much tension between them but I don’t think that Alice can quite put her finger on what it is,” Day explains. “There’s moments you’ll see where you think, ‘Hold on, is Kate there? Does she recognize Alice?’
“Alice is lot smarter than we give her credit for, and she senses that something isn’t quite right. I think she recognizes something,” she adds.
Kate’s barbarous demeanor is a stark contrast to the heroic vigilante we knew in Season 1. The edge and the grit displayed by this new Kate, aka Circe, is the result of conversations between Day and showrunner Caroline Dries about how to approach this new, more conflicted version of the character.
“Kate has been through so much more now than she had in Season 1 so she’s a lot deeper,” Day shares. “Caroline said that she wanted me to play my version of Kate and not try and replicate anything that had been done in Season 1.”
New Kate has a bone to pick with quite a few people in Gotham so everyone should be on high alert. As she carries out her vengeance, you’re going to see “the war that’s going on in her head with Kate, who is obviously a hero, and then with Circe, who wants to do villainous things,” Day says.
Day remains tight-lipped about who exactly Circe will go after in Gotham, but she did tease that the masked villain will “encounter Batwoman” at some point.
Kate might not remember who she is, but her body still remembers the extensive military and combat training she’s undergone over the years, making her a huge threat to anyone she’ll soon encounter.
“All of Kate’s attributes and skills are now intertwined with this villain so we kind of see them used in a totally different way,” Day notes. “She’s out for revenge and she’s got this chance that she never thought she would get. She’s going to take it, and she’s going to do what she needs to do.”
How do you feel about the new Kate Kane? Sound off in the comments!
