The Clock Tower: Most Of The Arrowverse Concludes For The Season As 'Batwoman' Loses Ruby Rose

(Welcome to The Clock Tower, where we'll break down the goings on of the The CW network's Arrowverse. We'll touch on things like themes, cultural impact, lead-ins to major events, ships, and more every week! Warning: this Clock Tower is filled with spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.)And then there was one! The Flash, Batwoman, and Supergirl have all wrapped up their seasons this week to varying degrees of success. If this is your first time tuning in, all three shows had their production cut short by COVID-19. Black Lightning wrapped up weeks ago, and Legends of Tomorrow has a shorter season. Meaning DCTV's "stepchildren" both got a chance to finish their seasons while the remaining big three ended before they could even reach what had been intended as their penultimate episodes. It's unprecedented times all around, but let's take a look at what happened as the seasons closed. 

I've made it no secret that the latter half of The Flash's season just hasn't really worked for me. There have been aspects that shone through, like the exceptional Sue Dearbon and the relationship between Nash Wells and Allegra. As for the major mirror universe plot? Kind of exhausting. While Iris West Allen is a fan favorite, there just wasn't a lot to keep us engaged with whether or not she was going to make it out of the mirror. Now, due to the season having to wrap earlier than intended, fans will have to wait to find out if she does. There were some surprising moments with Mirror Singh, and there is some intrigue over Sue being framed, but this unintended finale was a miss. To be clear, that miss is by no real fault of the team involved. Episode nineteen of a twenty-one-episode arc is supposed to ramp up the suspense. It's supposed to get you engaged with all the potential action that's coming your way in the penultimate and the finale. In that sense, it did exactly what it was supposed to. I'm sorry you were robbed, Team Flash. We'll see you next season though. 

Supergirl's "finale" had a bit more success than The Flash, if only because it was able to make it an episode further into its arc. While that's not saying much, we did at least get to see a few very Supergirl things before the show goes on hiatus until 2021. What could be more Kara Zor El than being multiplied and giving individualized speeches about believing in people to an entire virtual world?The episode's biggest win is Kara and Lena finally burying the hatchet. May we never play the "is Lena actually evil" game again forever and ever, and ever, and ever, amen. The two's bickering did lead to some solid heart-wrenching drama. Unfortunately, that was months ago. The two will now team up to take on Lex as their biggest villain yet. Though, as mentioned, we're not finding out how that's going to play out for a while. Speaking of frustrating arcs coming to a close – Brainy finally betrayed Lex and did what he could to save his friends despite the fatal potential. Because it's Lex Luthor, he ultimately showed up and thanked Brainy for what he had done, but the little buddy tried! 

He dead! That's right. Batwoman closes out with Alice straight up murdering Mouse and giving ol' Hush a shiny new Bruce face. That sentence really buries the lede, as Batwoman was really the only of the three episodes to truly nail what it was going for. That's probably a good thing, too. As the youngest series, the show had the most to lose out of a wishy-washy finale, even if it was due to extenuating circumstances. Thankfully, that's not a conversation we have to have. The Team behind the Scarlet Knight delivered the best of the three finales, managing to deliver big surprises in a way that could suitably end its freshman season. The team behind the show did lament that they were unable to bring the big surprises they had planned to the table for the finale, but they think they'll work just as well as a premiere for next Spring. 

By now, you may have read about Ruby Rose's sudden departure from Batwoman. As is customary with this kind of news, there's a lot of speculation as to "why". I'm sure we'll find out the details from Rose herself as time goes on, and don't really love the idea of wild speculation in the face of what I'm sure was a very difficult decision on her part. If you follow her on social, it was always incredibly evident that she was proud of the show and loved her cast.The bottom line is this: the show will go on. The role will be recast, new chemistries will form, and the world Berlanti and company built will keep on spinnin'. It sucks that it will be without Rose, but the casting teams behind the Arrowverse haven't failed us yet. I have plenty of confidence that whoever they bring into the fold will be exceptional. 

That's a wrap on most of the Arrowverse. The "finales" aired to varying degrees of success but, again, even the worst of them wasn't by any fault of the creative teams. Everyone's been stuck in an unwinnable situation. While it didn't have the worst of finales, I feel the most bad over Supergirl. The show won't be back until 2021 to allow for Superman and Lois, and Benoist's maternity leave. All the same, the world continues on! Don't forget that we still have Legends of Tomorrow every week until their finale on June 2. Stay safe out there.