RACHEL SKARSTEN TALKS BATWOMAN SEASON 2
The second Season of CW’s Batwoman has already been a rollercoaster. Kate Kane’s disappearance has cast a shadow on Gotham, but Ryan Wilder (Javicia Leslie) has taken the Batwoman mantle and is making the cowl her own. Although she has yet to find out, Kate’s sister Beth, aka Alice, is the sole reason that Ryan puts on the suit. Played by the effervescent Rachel Skarsten (Birds of Prey, Lost Girl), Alice is dealing with the loss of her sister/ obsession as well as the unlikely appearance of a new Batwoman. Rather than a reboot, or recast, season two of Batwoman so far feels a seamless continuation of the story. Rachel took time out from terrorizing Gotham to chat with me on behalf of Bleeding Cool and tease what the future holds for Alice.
POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD FOR SEASON 2 OF BATWOMAN
Rachel begins by sharing with me that as a child growing up in Toronto she loved to watch I Love Lucy reruns and Adam West on the 1966 Batman TV show. It was the star of the former that she became obsessed with and would help inspire her career. The first lady of television, Lucielle Ball.
“I admire the boundaries that she broke down for women on television. Before her they never really dealt with women being pregnant on television. How she had creative control of that show and her character I think is really quite miraculous. I really appreciated, and still do, the way in which she approached her physicality and specifically for her, comedy. I really try in all of my characters, specifically with Alice to develop the physicality of that character, because so much of our communications as humans is non verbal, I think sometimes actors forget that you physicality is as important as the words coming out of your mouth.”
You are no stranger to playing in the superhero sandbox. Formerly as Dinah Lance/ Black Canary on Birds of Prey, and now Elizabeth Marie (Beth) Kane/ Alice on CW’s Batwoman, what is it like to put your stamp on a DC character, especially Alice, and bring yourself into the world of comic fans and conventions?
Rachel Skarsten: “I was a huge fan of Batman when I was a little girl, it was really cool for me to be in that universe but I didn’t really understand the weight of it the way I do now, as an adult. I think when I initially was trying to develop what my take on Alice was going to be I was acutely aware of the responsibility to all of the comic fans that all had, you know, perhaps grown up with this character with part of the mythology they read and felt like they knew her. So I always understand when people are more critical of actors’ takes on characters because that character is their friend, you know? So I was actually really nervous to take on Alice and I wasn’t sure how the reception would be of her. Also because she is a villain so I was, I think, really pleasantly surprised by how people embraced Alice. I got to get into that whole Comic Con world with another project that I did, Lost Girl. It’s been so fun for me seeing little kids and adults alike dress up as Alice and post on social media. I love to see that. I get the biggest kick out of that.”
Which side of the coin do you prefer? The good girl/ hero, or is it more satisfying to play the villain?
RS: “Oh definitely the villain. I feel like the superhero, at the end of the day, has to be likeable and has to be good. And while that's wonderful, and you need to see that (sic) you always get the great one liners, and it’s so much more delicious to be bad. I think I much prefer playing more to the side of the bad, however with the ability of redemption for good. My mom actually told me a couple of years ago that I play the redeemable bitch pretty well.”
Throughout season one Alice mostly existed to arch her sister Kate and now she is missing, possibly dead. Can you recall your reaction when you first read the script and realized that Alice, unbeknownst to her, would be responsible for creating another Batwoman and essentially replacing the bane of her existence?
RS: “I think in a way she is proud of that because she is probably a bit of a narcissus, But I think in another way it really sheds light on the fact that would even need to be a hero like that to counter the negative that Alice is putting out. I think that the weight of that kind of hits Alice. I was happy that they gave the responsibility of creating a new balance, however I think that Ryan (Javicia Leslie) had all the qualities and was Batwoman, in many ways, before she even put on the suit. But I was happy they gave that to Alice because in the first season I really loved the connection that Alice had with Batwoman.”
At this time it doesn’t appear that she was responsible for the plane crash that causes Kate to go missing. How does Alice deal with the disappearance of her sister?
RS: “I ‘m actually super pissed off about that. Because I spent an entire season trying to kill her and Alice is very angry that it was in fact not her that killed Kate Kane, but I actually think that it’s just a cover for this tremendous sense of grief she has for losing her sister. I don’t think that even though she believes she wanted to kill Kate I don’t think that she would have actually gone through with it.”
I am told that episode two of this season will really be a big episode for Alice/ Beth. What can you tease about the upcoming episode?
RS: “Last season we teased it a little bit, this character Safiyah. Alice was always very afraid when the name Safiyah was mentioned, and we knew she (Alice) had some connection to Coryana. It was actually always the creator’s intention to fill in the blanks of what happened to Alice after she left Cartwright palace to present day Alice. How she became leader of the Wonderland Gang and learned how to fight, and all of those things. And so we are going to delve, actually, quite deeply into that storyline which I am really happy about because it not only presents all these new characters for Alice to interact with but also Safiyah, in and of herself, is such an epic character in the comic books. I’m really happy that they brought her in.”
Batwoman is the very first prime time show to feature a lesbian superhero as the lead. Rachel discusses the responsibties of being a part of a show that spotlights a gay superhero, who is arguably a lesbian icon.
RS: “I don’t think the responsibility falls on me anymore more that it should fall on anyone in the entertainment business. It’s really important to have those characters and not have them be just token characters, to tell their stories. That something I’ve actually really believed in throughout my career. In fact on Birds of Prey, had it not been cancelled, there was talk of making Dinah a queer character. I played a queer character on Lost Girl. I was so happy to be a part of this show having a queer main character superhero, and now of course it being a woman of color. Yeah, I just think those stories need to be told and they need to be uplifted because television/ art should always be a reflection of the world and I think up until very recently it wasn’t doing a very good job of that… Hopefully some of my responsibility is already done being on the show and showing that’s what I want to be a part of. Yes, of course I think to continue to talk about it you know, lift it, that is my continued responsibility.
Batwoman airs Sunday night 8pm EST on the CW and will be available to stream on The CW App and CWTV.com the day after broadcast.
