Batwoman Review: Fair Skin, Blue Eyes (Season 2 Episode 4)

The case of a missing child forces Ryan to revisit a traumatic event from her past on Batwoman Season 2 Episode 4, “Fair Skin, Blue Eyes.”

After all the years we’ve spent obsessing over Bat stories, it’s hard to be surprised by how terrible Gotham is, but Batwoman manages to do just that.

When a young Black boy from the worst part of Gotham goes missing, it brings back memories of when Ryan was kidnapped by the same woman.

She takes kids the police and media don’t care about, so no one will notice they’re missing. Then she brainwashes them into joining the False Face Society.

As if that wasn’t horrible enough, the show uses her actions to tell a powerful story about race.

Since she looks like an everyday middle-aged, white soccer mom, no one suspects her. Her point is made when a search team shows up looking for a girl with “fair skin, blue eyes” (Beth Kane), not young Ryan. The whole city didn’t shut down to search for a missing Black girl.

The way Batwoman uses Ryan’s life to tell racially driven stories is so fresh to Batman mythology, that it’s carving a path completely separate from anything that’s come before it.

When a show is based on material with a history like Batman, there are certain characters and story beats we expect to see. However, we also want to see the show create its own universe within the established one.

This is something all the Arrowverse series have been very good at, and Batwoman is no exception.

Now that we’ve reached Episode 4, Ryan is settling into her role as Batwoman, and her confidence is infectious. It’s always difficult for fans to accept when a hero passes the mantle to someone new, but when the new hero believes it, we believe it.

And yes, it’s even more crucial when it’s a Black hero taking over for a white hero. The way she owns her Blackness and uses it to help those routinely ignored by cops and heroes, makes her influence instantly compelling.

In Ryan’s case, this is extra important, as Kate’s shadow still looms large over everything.

The episode opens with Jacob offering a $1 million reward for information about Kate’s disappearance, so everyone is all-in on the fact that Safiyah is holding her captive.

We’re not 100 percent sold on this idea, as she could just be manipulating Alice for her own purposes. We’ve only had one episode with Safiyah, and though she seems like an honest villain, she’s also smart enough to take advantage of a situation.

Either way, it’s imperative that we get definitive closure on Kate’s storyline before midseason. The limbo that her being alive, but maybe not, keeps her family and friends in, makes their characters unable to be really involved in other storylines.

We like the friendship developing between Mary and Ryan, but it feels like Mary can’t fully move on with her life until everything with Kate is settled, and that does her a disservice.

We’re not saying she shouldn’t care about losing her sister, because that’s unrealistic. Just let her and everyone else, especially Luke get answers.

Luke, more than anyone, really needs answers. His devotion to the Bat legacy has made Kate’s disappearance particularly difficult. He obviously feels like working with Ryan is betraying not just Kate, but Bruce as well.

He keeps saying he hasn’t lost hope they will find Kate, but the way he says it to Mary is snarky and judgy. She’s not grieving by his standards, so he’s lashing out. He’s also taking it out on Ryan, openly treating her like a temp, and constantly criticizing everything she does.

He’s frozen in his denial, which is making his character unlikeable at times. Whether she’s alive or dead, if he knew for sure, he could truly begin grieving, allowing the brilliantly funny, loyal friend we know and love to act like himself again.

Despite the seriousness of the episode, there were a few laughs to be found in Alice becoming Sophie’s wacky roommate for the day.

As they work to find Ocean for Safiyah, so she will free Kate, the pair hilariously volley between trying to kill each other and explain their motives.

Honestly, we’ve never been very interested in Sophie. Her character hasn’t been given much to do outside of pining for Kate and harassing Ryan. Her scenes with Alice, both on Safiyah’s island and here in her apartment, showed layers to her character that we would have never guessed were there.

For the entirety of Season 1, Sophie’s only purpose was to be Kate’s ex. Now without Kate, she has nothing to do.

As the show examines Ryan’s life as a Black woman on the streets and in prison, perhaps it could also highlight how tough it’s been for Sophie to rise through the ranks in the military and the Crows because she’s definitely had to just suck it up and take so much crap.

“Fair Skin, Blue Eyes” tells a complicated story of foster children falling through the cracks and racial disparities in who the world cares about, while also revealing a little more of Ryan’s past.

The show has figured out that under the cover of superhero fantasy, you can tackle deep, complex issues. And it’s doing it beautifully.

This season has seen Batwoman explore new stories, highlight what worked in Season 1, and fix what didn’t. When a show evolves the way it has, the anticipation for each episode grows every week.

What did you think of this episode of Batwoman? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

Batwoman airs Sunday at 8/7c on The CW.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

Top 15 Moments from Bridgerton Season 1