Batwoman‘s Wallis Day Teases a More Sadistic and Brutal Kate Kane: ‘She’s Out for Revenge’ in Gotham
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.”
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!
That was actually awesome. Easily the best episode of the season.
Okay, this may not be pertaining to discussion of the episode, but why is the closed-captioning for Batwoman entirely in all-capitals? I thought ALL U.S. broadcast scripted TV shows’ CC had to be in mixed-case. Plus, I thought we were done with all-capitals CC. I mean, it is so ’90s! Criminal Minds, Arrow, and The 100 were similar. Since it depends on the provider, I may need to know who these shows’ closed-captioning provider is. It could be the National Captioning Institute, it could be anyone. Don’t know why a show could still be using all-caps CC in 2021.
All of the shows that I’ve been watching with the CC on have all capital letters. I have Xfinity as my provider.
I’m sorry; it’s just… I’ve gotten so used to mixed-case closed captioning in recent years that I am just irked to see scripted TV shows and movies produced after 2018 to have their CC in all-capitals. Logically, only news, sports, and live events should continue to use all-caps CC. If I want to get into a TV show or movie, and that TV show or movie uses all-caps CC, the CC on my TV gets turned OFF. All-caps CC is expensive, and just ruins a show for me, personally.
I hope Batwoman switches to mixed-case CC next season; It’s CC provider sucks.
This was a dark episode. And it was also the best of the season as it featured the return of Kate Kane. Hopefully, she will regain her memories back before the end of the season.
This episode really made me dislike Batwoman. Her actions at the end was very unflattering. Leaving Alice to die after Alice saved her was a pretty weak move.
and you do know that kate did the same thing last year with alice, as she wanted the earth 99 version of her sister
Great episode. And I hate that Ryan left Alice too, but I get it. But it just sucks to see because Alice isn’t outright evil. Plus the actress that plays Alice is just fantastic in the role.
Alice is the only reason I stuck with season 1 and gave season 2 a chance. She makes me laugh so much. The actress is wonderful at capturing the antics without going too far over the top.
I like the actress who plays Alice as well,. She’s a scene stealer. Actually, I’m enjoying this season way more than season 1.
I hated that scene too. The writers could have done a better job. Batwoman is the heroine, not the villain and that was a villainous move. Not even Batman would do that.
I agree give Kate back the cowl. Ryan does not deserve it
Where’s Batman???!
Not surprised she was able to kick the imposter’s ass. Even without a suit she’s clearly better than Random Wilder. #KateKaneIsBatwoman
I know the face is messed up and behind a mask, but the hair would make me do a double take. It is pretty distinctly Kate Kane’s hairdo. But I suppose that is to help us make the transition to the new actress. But Alice might recognize the hair… and the eyes if they get close enough.
I like that they added some original elements to Ryan’s story to help make her stand out from the comics. But between Ryan and Alice, I think Alice is better of the two, and she may even be the best part of the show since Ruby left, so I’d hate to lose her, although do I wish they would have her stop killing if she doesn’t need to.
I was really excited for Ryan’s Batwoman to debut on the show, however I’ve grown to dislike her for a few episodes now. I don’t think she’s a good Batwoman, at least in the sense of what she defines as what justice is. I know certain situations might justify an eye for an eye, and I know Alice may be responsible for her mother’s death, but the very definition of Batwoman is that she’s not a proponent of killing (please correct me if I am wrong here). I know Kate did something similar to Alice last season, but I hate the way that they portrayed it for Ryan, leaving Alice to die, by the hands of Kate no less.
Gonna quote TFS for this one “I hope someone answers the phone… because I freaking called it.” They telegraphed the brainwashed Kate like 5 episodes ago. Worse still they are totally gonna the predictable route and have Alice/Beth save her. Then of course Kate will need atonement for her crimes while brainwashed and leave the cowl and the city in Ryan’s capable hands. I hope they aren’t that transparent, but time will tell.
I still wont see back with Sophie