Fans of The CW's Batwoman have likely noticed the rather drastic changes between the still young series' first and second seasons, the most obvious being Javicia Leslie taking up the Batwoman cowl as new character Ryan Wilder. But even with the rest of the show's cast largely remaining consistent between seasons, there was an undeniable shift throughout season 2, including new storylines and themes. Now, it seems that shift has completed its endgame, ultimately ending with series regular Dougray Scott leaving for good.
Scott, who played Crows Commander and father to the previous Batwoman Jacob Kane, has officially (albeit quietly) left the series. His final appearance actually took place several episodes before this week's season finale, which saw a number of loose ends tied up. It appears that the decision to move on from his character largely stemmed from the changes that began taking place once Ruby Rose departed from her lead role as Kate Kane/Batwoman, a fact which showrunner Caroline Dries confirmed herself.
"The story was just lending itself of wrapping up the Crows because we took such a hard stance against police brutality this season and really used the Crows," Dries said when speaking with Entertainment Weekly. "Once we kind of made that decision — and obviously Kate isn't staying on the show — this character of Jacob had sort of run its course, for better or for worse, through that storyline." Scott's departure marks the end of several plotlines involving, among other issues, his search for his daughter Kate and the discussion of the Crows as an analog of real-world police brutality.
When Batwoman season 2 started with Kate going missing, it resulted in Scott's character spiraling into a frenzy looking for her. Throughout his efforts, he slowly began to realize that the Crows security organization that he led was contributing heavily to violence against Black and other marginalized communities, and eventually came to the conclusion that the only way to fix the corruption was by disbanding them. Soon after, Jacob was arrested due to a ploy by Roman Sionis/Black Mask (Peter Outerbridge) and ended the season behind bars. It may be a rather unceremonious way to leave the series, but sometimes change is messy.
It's yet another way to symbolize the metaphorical passing of the torch from the old guard to the new in Batwoman. Even though there have only been 2 seasons, the first established its world and characters well enough that major consideration had to be taken before properly making the shift to where it is now. Leslie's Batwoman spent the whole season unsure of herself and whether or not she deserved to be Gotham City's protector. But the season ended with the people of Gotham proving in no uncertain terms that they accept and support her. Not only that, but she received the blessing of Kate herself (now played by Wallis Day), just after the latter fully regained her identity and just before she set off to search for her cousin Bruce Wayne, also confirmed by Dries.
So Ryan Wilder was fully accepted as the new Batwoman while both Kate and Jacob have officially ended their stories in the series. If that isn't an indication that things have truly changed, then who knows what is. Going forward, Batwoman will now likely have more freedom to tell new stories untethered from its past, even if Alice will still likely be a presence on the show, from Arkham Asylum or otherwise. Luckily, fans won't have to wait too long to see how that turns out.
Batwoman season 3 premieres on October 13th, 2021, on The CW.
Source: Entertainment Weekly