Watchtower 3.03 "Taken" Review
WOW...can i just say this was a great way to end this trilogy of Episodes. It was a great way to set up the status quo of how this Season was gunna go. And to be honest im already ready for episode 4 to hurry up and get here
Here's what i liked from this episode:
Aw thanks Karl. I feel like this was the perfect number of episodes to get the show back up and running, because there was so much to set up and get rolling, and now things can slow down and flow much better and adjust to everything. Thank you for reviewing all three episodes so quickly too, I really appreciate that!
"Helena being a BAMF." I really love writing Helena this season, especially because there's very few limitations on her shoulders; she can get in, get the job done, and get out.
"Zatanna." She will
definitely be a reoccurring character this season.
"Snarky Barbara." She's a favourite of mine to write too. I'm so glad you like her!!
"Kyle kicking ass." Originally he wasn't even a part of this episode. Was integrated in rewrites, so that's comforting hahaha
"Chloe back as WT" I love writing Watchtower!Chloe. I read fans' opinions on how they're upset that some people just see Chloe as "Watchtower" and forget that she was a reporter for seven seasons of Smallville, but for me I just think being WT pulls all the roles she's ever played into one, and solidifies her own role as a 'hero' in the process.
"Zatanna'a final scene" I'm really excited for her arc; writing that scene was a lot of fun.
"Lisa doing what she did." I was going to save that for "Bound", but thought because there would be a mini hiatus between it that I might as well pull it off in this episode.
"Vicki" Definitely LOVED writing her scenes with Batsy.
"The dream sequence" What I loved about writing this was that Talia was drawing from her mind to create one of the worst scenarios for her, and a culmination of her fears of being crazy, and being a toxic person for everyone around her was fun to write.
"Talia and Chloe fighting for control." So much had to be cut. Originally I had them facing off in the dream world post-Zatanna's spell, and ending on a bit of a "who survived, who didn't?" But I felt it distracted from the main plot of everything and wasn't completely necessary.
"Batman vs Huntress!!!" Probably the most fun I've had, hahaha. They're both sitting in that iconic mold at the moment and so having them pair off as more advanced versions of their characters... so fun.
"Perry being all conflicted" That whole "I have eight weeks left to live, what difference is it going to make" versus the whole right/wrong is a great internal conflict to write for Perry, especially because he's at that mindset where he wants to leave a legacy behind, and now that he doesn't have the chance to do that as Editor in Chief of the Daily Planet, he can see saving Gotham as something
possible. So joining Helena fits into that perspective, however, her actions and him helping her to go through with those actions creates a lot of internal conflict for him. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
"Helena in WT" In "Bound", the whole team will be back inside WT.
"Kyle and Chloe scenes" They're a lot of fun to write together. I hope to develop their friendship to an even closer bond over the course of the series.
"Bruce and Chloe scenes" Ugh, these whole first three episodes has been so Chloe/Bruce focused, its been a lot more fun than I thought. Especially for the "Chruce" shipper in me (even though, primarily, I don't see them getting together
ever, its more about pairing them up for awesome friendship moments.)
"Vicki is now Bruce's girl Friday." Can't wait to dig more into the iconic-ness of it all
"THAT ENDING THOUGH!!!!!" Hahahaha.
This episode definitely scratched the surface of what Chloe's been bottling up inside. She's incredibly torn, and incredibly distracted and what I wanted to show in this episode was when things started to slow down, and she wasn't smack-bang in the middle of everything, she started to feel it all coming on. Its been a hectic three weeks back from the dead for her; she's been kidnapped by the League of Shadows, fought against Ra's Al Ghul, been fighting a war with Talia in her dreams, and so as easy as it would have been to tackle the emotion from the get go and dig into that woe is me, everything is gone kind of outburst upon her return, I think its much more easier peeling back layers. Plus its not like Chloe to stop everything and breakdown. She lost Jimmy, her husband, and she fought on, so a lot of that emotion is going to take a while to come out even more, and I'm glad you noticed that in this episode specifically. This possession is the straw that breaks the camels back though, I will say that- "Bound" is the breaking point for her, and in fact the next block of episodes really slows down for Chloe as she focuses on pulling the pieces of her life back together (Kyle will help her in her search for Hope, and she'll look into what Oliver has been up to).
Ah, you see what I'm doing here hahaha. No getting past you. I love the role reversal because it clearly highlights how far Bruce has come, and how far Helena has descended into darkness, and as you have gathered, thats very much their storylines this season. Bruce is transcending into the iconic hero from the comic books and really solidifying his destiny as 'Batman' and Helena has veered off course (although, in the comics, she is very much this persona, she does not have a death wish for herself). The thing that distinguishes this though is grief. I mean, look at Bruce in Season One, still heated over his parents' death to the point where he wanted Chloe to help him find and murder his parents' killer. Helena this season believes that as a result from PRETENDING to be someone she wasn't (a normal girl) she couldn't save her father or protect him, and so she's sworn to protect the city and fix it as Huntress, with no limitations what so ever, to see that through. So there's definitely that interesting role reversal to play, and I think Bruce, and even Chloe, can help Helena back onto the right path but it will take a loooooong time.
As I said last week, Helena is one of my favourites to write this season, and her storyline is probably one of my favourites from the series so far. And I'll say it right now, this whole descent into darkness, and being trapped there, and crossing lines, and low point of Helena's life is going to last right up until the finale, and its something that has its ups and downs, and certain things shift her perspective, and there
are happier moments, however a lot of it is just really, really dark. I'm so glad you're enjoying it so far, and it means a lot. Writing that Batman/Huntress face-off scene where it ends with her saying "forgive me" and killing that innocent man to get to Two-Face was probably my favourite scene to write in the episode.
Aw, I'm really stoked you're enjoying Perry's final arc on the series as much as you are. I get messages on youtube and things like that and he's very much been pinpointed as a character with
the
least amount of 'favouritism' and is either a "not the biggest fan" or just people don't care as much about him, so I'm really trying to make a storyline work for his send off that can maybe even bring those fans of Watchtower into a little state of sadness over his departure, and care how his story ends. The wheelchair is something that I opted to keep because the way it happened was just such a powerful moment and I'm always going to remember that episode, and the suspense involved, and the chaos in that hospital and what happened to Perry in those final three episodes of season two was just more than anyone could handle I think. It as well, like you said, enhances the despair of his situation, and highlights how rough he's had it lately. I think a reunion with Chloe is just what he needs to get out of it though, don't you think? Hahaha.
I
love writing for Talia. I love it. I can't wait to write "Bound" because she's a major player in it. I still haven't figured out how I'm going to write the episode though. Will it be listed as "CHLOE" or "TALIA". Part of me thinks I should just keep it the same because technically she looks like Chloe still, and yadda yadda. But definitely, next episode is Talia's episode.
There's an episode towards the end of the season that puts these two in the ringer again. My second favourite scene from this episode to write was the Gordon/Barbara final scene where she has to sleep in his room because of everything that went down. I think you might be right, and adding a family scene back into the series is really nice. Gordon this season is really about the blurred lines between his role as a cop and his role as a father, and when they cross things just go terribly, terribly wrong. He's trying to juggle it all, and he doesn't want them merging into ONE life, he wants them separate, and things won't obviously stay that way.
Bruce and Vicki really had their moment last week where they were at each others' heads, and they were both very justified in their treatment of one another, and a lot of that final scene between them in THIS episode was Bruce's way of putting it aside, and realising that he knows how she feels, and wants to give her that spark back because she's clearly very depressed, and grieving, and if no one is looking after her, or making sure she's going to be okay, then she could spiral and nobody wants that. Plus, they're just the perfect pair to write I think, now that Chloe is no longer a reporter. Having that team-up, and knowing how in the comics Vicki is very much going to be a Batman groupie, I can't wait to have them team up more. This, though, gives Vicki a lot more control as she's moving away from that 'damsel in distress' vibe from last season- I mean HELL she survived all the stuff Hush did to her. Sheeesh.
I promise eventually there'll be a time when he gets that codename hahaha
Originally in the episode, Kyle called Chloe after seeing the news report featuring both Gordon and Barbara, and said that he wanted to do something, that he could just teleport in and out and save everyone, and Chloe was very adamant on him staying out of it, claiming that the world isn't ready to know someone like him exists, that he needs to have faith that The Dark Knight would come back, and all of that. But then when the stakes rose, he was conflicted even more and eventually teleported in and broke up the conflict between The Dark Knight/Huntress (thus having their first encounter). Instead, after I wrote in the fact that Huntress shot Two-Face off the building, I was like "whoa, no. Jack. He can't die." HAHA. And then it all clicked that Kyle would have teleported in and saved him from the fall, and brought him to the hospital. So it was a nice coming together that I'm glad worked itself out. I think going from him not being in this episode at all, to
this, has made me quite happy and I'm glad you liked it, minus him not having a suit/codename. But HEY, HEY, there have been times Oliver was called Oliver on missions and not Green Arrow, so the codename still exists. #ECHOLIVESON hahaha.
Thanks! I was trying to think of what Alfred would have been doing this whole time, and I think it made sense that he would be keeping the legacy alive. Obviously he was making the suit for someone else to take over, who, we don't know- we don't even know if there was someone in the works, which I can say is not something I was considering, BUT, its interesting how the tables have turned and Alfred believes in this symbol Bruce has created so much now. He's really Bruce's rock this season, and his voice of reason.
That scene was a lot of fun. Originally she was very "ahh, help, I'm scared, let me go" kind of thing, but then when I was doing rewrites I was going over her responses to Two-Face and just thinking it was so bland, and didn't have that Barbara vibe, that "snark" and "sass" you keep referring to. Then I thought, she's the Commissioner's daughter. She's not some helpless victim. She knows how criminals work, and she's really smart and composed so I wanted her to have this kind of banter with Two-Face and this attitude instead of just a helplessness. I'm really glad you enjoyed that as well, because I was really excited that I changed it in time and picked up on it in time that it needed to be changed to what you ended up reading. Thanks man!
I wanted this episode to really prove Lisa was actually worth devoting screentime to, so to speak. So far we've seen her lock heads with Helena, disagree with the list, the whole "Huntress" persona, and we haven't really dug into who she is outside of this relationship, what she's capable of, etc. So in having her willingly take down two innocent cops for the woman she loves, it starts to scratch the surface of who she is. In the coming episodes we'll learn more about her past, not just with Helena and how they met, but in terms of her childhood, what happened in her life, etc. The fallout for her actions in this episode are so huge, I can't wait to explore them in "Bound". What's interesting is that by doing this she has to end up on Helena's list, and Helena becomes infuriated with Lisa because she's treating it as though its just another step in their relationship, like a "marriage" or something, in life or death, when really Lisa is just doing everything she can to save Helena, and it hasn't been the first time *cue flashback to how they met* HAHAHA. But yes, more on her and her relationship with Helena.
Two-Face, for this episode, was about continuing that vendetta he had for Bruce, and so it makes sense when its been a FULL YEAR later and we haven't heard of him in the past since Arkham was infiltrated by The Joker and everyone was released- its because his whole reason for existing as a villain surrounds his hatred for Bruce. So Zatanna wiping his memories allows for me to explore a NEW, more "true" to the comics origin that will secure the Batman/Two-Face confrontations known in the mythology. He'll definitely be back, otherwise I would have killed him tbh HAHAHA.
Zatanna can kind of be a risky character to have for a lot of reasons, but mostly because of the boundaries that disappear because of magic. So I don't like to have her around too much or it could be a kind of deus ex machina thing going on where she'll have the answer to everything in her spellbook (hell, she can grant everyone's one wish of what they desire most). She's POWERFUL. So having this storyline gives her more of a purpose to be on the show, other than to come in and try to resurrect Chloe, or try to provide a magical solution to this, and digging more into her motivations, as you said, will be a lot of fun this season. Chloe will eventually find out, and when it happens its going to hit so close to home because of what happened to Oliver, and... I just can't wait to have everything connect and be revealed
Questions:
1. Why did you pick Two-face as the villian of the episode?Two-Face oddly enough has a vendetta with Bruce, and was introduced as one of Bruce's old friends who eventually grew to hate him over the course of that episode ("Trial"). Now that Bruce had it in his head that he was this "white knight" for Gotham, and didn't need to be Batman, Two-Face was the perfect choice to bring in and remind him that he can't do it all as one man. There wasn't another villain that would be so adamant about tarnishing Wayne's name, and so it just made sense.
2. When will it be explained why Zatanna did what she did to Harvey?Her arc will develop more and more over the course of this first half, and so an explanation will be on its way in the next slot of episodes, for sure.
3. What exactly did Zatanna erase from his memories?I didn't think about it too much, but I'd assume close to
everything. Zatanna's reasoning for it is to obviously prevent more criminal activity, and to solve these problems in her own way, thus erasing Dent's memories. What it also does is allows us to, when we revisit the character, have him solidify this vendetta with Batman as opposed to Bruce Wayne, and this helps achieve that as he'll have no memory of Bruce, the conflict that started everything, etc.
4. Will Barbara be scarred by her run-in with Two-face?Not really. Barbara is a survivor and what I wanted to show in that final scene was that she and her father are so close that they are able to move on from tragedy so fast, and become stronger for it. I think had Barbara not had her father there with her, it might be a different story, but the fact is she did, so this particular case with Two-Face won't "scar" her.
5. Is Helena's identity exposed to the world yet again? Or did they just capture Huntress before they had a chance to figure out who she was?Yeah, Lisa got there in time to prevent that from happening. Helena was revealed to those two cops, who were effectively killed.
6. Why didnt you have Kyle in an awesome costume 
?!This episode takes place a week after "Echo" and its very much the early stages of everything. I think that, and a persona such as being called "Echo" in the field, is something that can happen later on, but at the moment, a week after his introduction... I don't know, felt a bit too soon to pull that off.
7. Will Chloe ditch the brunette wig now?Yes.
8. How come Helena and Kyle werent able to meet in this episode?!In rewrites several storylines changed. Originally, the run-in with Two-Face at the beginning of the episode with Bruce/Chloe was caught on film, and aired in a news report. Helena caught it, and new straight away it was Chloe. Went to the apartment and had an awkward encounter with Kyle. Things changed, the episode became a lot darker and finding out Chloe was alive was shifted for another episode.
9. Will we get to see the ramifications of Chloe/Talia sleeping with Bruce in later episodes?! Will it affect there friendship?!You'll have to stay tuned
10.Why did you let Vicki coin the phrase "Batman"?!I think she was the only character that could really do it, other than Bruce, of course. I think Bruce isn't too into "titles" and is more about the symbol he's creating, and the legacy he's leaving behind, whereas with Vicki, the person who is obviously going to be writing articles and stories about him, needs a name. "The Dark Knight" was what Bruce was called at a time where he had pushed the boundaries a little too far and so he didn't want to be associated with that, and so Vicki and Alfred kind of pulled through with the solution, one of which involves a new name in Vicki's eyes. She'll be the one writing the articles, and they now share this bond so it felt right for her.
11.Why did you decide to make Chloe and Zatanna invisible to Perry and Helena?!A few reasons. One being that so much was going on in this episode that if we had Helena/Perry finding out Chloe was alive then it just would have gone on for another 10-15 pages. Also, I think it builds the suspense, and cracks into the emotional aspect of Chloe not seeing her friends, and them not seeing her. She was able to witness how much help they really needed and so it kind of opens her eyes to the fact that they need her, maybe not consciously aware of how much they do (in regards to Helena, not Perry), but subconsciously need her voice of reason back in their lives.
12.What was your thought process on why you picked Babs to get kidnapped?It just all connected. Barbara gets kidnapped to link to Gordon delivering the Dark Knight to Two-Face, and preying on their connection. Once Gordon is kidnapped, it heightens the stakes for Bruce, and yeah, it just connected. Plus, if it was Chloe that was kidnapped it would have been a repeat of last week.
13.Will a certain Archer, learn about Perry's illness?! And before you ask not Oliver!!!Now that you mention it, I really hope somewhere in the notes it can take place before he's a goner.
14.Why did you decide to have Helena kill the cop?I think it just made sense and proved how important saving Gotham was to her. She felt guilty about it afterwards, and even turned herself in, but at that point in time all that seemed important was ticking another name off the list, saving Gordon/Barbara, and protecting the city from any more harm. This whole season for Helena is about going way past the point of no return and seeing the repercussions of that and whether or not she can come back from it all. This progressed that a little further now that innocents died because of it.
15.Did you plan on this episode being so fraking awesome?!To be honest, I am always so nervous when it comes to airing episodes. I'll be writing it and finally when I finish it and edit it to a point where I'm happy, but then when it comes to airing every single scene, piece of dialogue, EVERYTHING just becomes a "oh god, what if it doesn't sit right, or its not as good as I hope or think, etc." So I'm never planning on things being awesome or expect them to be, I have a lot of hope you guys will like it and then just wait for reactions hahaha.
16.Since these three episodes have aired, Who are you shipping right now?!I'm looking forward to the day when I can ship Helena/Lisa. They're difficult for me at the moment because there's so much history to dig into, and so much conflict to resolve, but they're definitely a "complex" ship that is interesting to write. They're not the kind of "ermergerd, endgame for Lisa/Helena, I love them" for me right now, so I don't expect others to be shipping them either. I did love Vicki/Mitchell though, but I digress. Umm.... ships I'm shipping right now? Honestly, I'm still in "Chlollie" and "Brelina" mode a little bit, and its hard. I do like writing Talia/Bruce, and the friendship between Chloe/Bruce. Other than that, I'm shipping two people really, really hard and the relationship hasn't even been introduced yet. So there's that. Hahaha.
17.When will Kyle and Bruce cross paths?!Everyone will meet Kyle in "Bound". Well, that's the plan. Could change.
18.Did Bruce ever learn of Chloe's little visit from the League of Shadows last episode?!I assume so, especially considering the fact that Bruce is really the only person Chloe has to talk to. Well, other than Kyle, but they're not exactly
close.
19.Who else will find the new WT?People who will have stepped foot inside Watchtower by "Bound" is: Chloe. Bruce. Helena. Vicki. Kyle. Perry. Talia.
20.What can we expect from the next set of episodes of Season 3?Hmm... Talia. The Joker. Mirror worlds. Nightwing. Black Canary. Hope Sullivan. Doomsday. Love triangles. And some more first-time confrontations with Hush, including a Chloe and Hush face-off. What what hahaha. I'm bad at teasing so hopefully that gets you excited for the next block of episodes (specifically referring to episodes 4-8).
Seriously man, thank you so much for all the feedback. I really, REALLY appreciate all of the time you've put into reading and reviewing, and leaving questions for me because questions are so fun and ugh. Thank you!
. I honestly was at work counting down the minutes till this could appear. I kept refreshing the page and waiting and waiting and finally it has appeared and I am LITERALLY balling right now. This episode was another good milestone because it had death, an apperance by one of the new Main Cast Members and alot of suspense. Let me list what I loved about this episode:
. But whatever. I am loving the fact that she has some secret connection to Kyle and NOW its my life mission to figure it out before you reveal it to everyone. Im also loving how that she is once again stepping back into her role as WT and getting back into naming our new hero's 
. She just wanted to get the scoop and help the people of the city without superpowers. Meanwhile, Gordon and Bruce teaming up better be a recurring thing 
. This dude is a BAMF. The fact that he has killed pretty much WAY to many characters and scores of others makes me want to find out who the man behind the mask is. Which you must realize Jack that I WILL FIND OUT who it is 
