Batwoman‘s return from midseason hiatus and “Crisis on Infinite Earths” came with a major status quo change for Gotham’s hero. No, Kate Kane didn’t reveal her identity to the world, but Batwoman did come out as a lesbian in the episode after spending several days conflicted about the public’s perception of the hero as a straight woman. Batwoman coming out as part of a cover story in CatCo magazine was a major moment for the character and the series and according to showrunner Caroline Dries, it’s a moment that had series star Ruby Rose in tears when she read it.
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Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Dries revealed that Rose started crying when she read the script, but more than that she also made a change to the script, one that helped infuse the overall story with a bit more hope in a conversation Batwoman has with the young hacker Parker Torres after the girl revealed the hopelessness she felt after being outed to her family.
“She said she cried while she was reading it,” Dries said. “I know it meant a lot to her. Interestingly, there was a line [in the script] where Parker says, ‘It doesnt’ get better,’ and Kate says, ‘You know, you’re right Parker, it doesn’t get better.’ Ruby wrote to me and said, ‘You know, a lot of people look up to this character and watch this show and they don’t want to hear the lead character say, You’re right, it doens’t get better.’ So, we found a way to tweak it, so it could be like, it’s still hard out there, but you will get better if you start to love yourself more and embrace yourself. It was personal to both of us, so we wanted to make sure we got it right.”
Dries also told Autostraddle that having Batwoman come out to Gotham City and the world was an emotional arc for the character.
“When I first signed on to do Batwoman, I was thinking about how this is a show about a woman who is super strong, super confident, and very comfortable with who she is as a lesbian,” Dries explained. “She’s a badass and she can fight people and she’s tough and she’s vulnerable and has a big heart — and then she goes and puts on a costume and hides all of those characteristics. She becomes a different person, essentially, and it’s still strong and badass, but she has now hidden all of the things that make Kate Kate.”
“…That narrative doesn’t quite work for me, and so I thought, well, if it’s not working for me, maybe it’s not working for Kate either. Kate is comfortable with who she is, and when she’s suited up, all she does is lie all day. And she’s not a liar,” Dries continued. “She’s just been told [on “Crisis on Infinite Earths”] that she’s the Paragon of Courage; she just helped put all these universes back together. I think she’s thinking, “I feel like I should, as Batwoman, have the courage to be who I really am.” She might be putting her secret identity in jeopardy or possibly making people who don’t like gay people hate her, but she still feels pulled to do it.”
Now, with her truth revealed, Batwoman is not just a hero, but a role model as well.
Batwoman airs Sundays at 8/7c on The CW.
