Batwoman Ratings Drop To Season Low With Recent LGBT Episode

The ratings of Batwoman have taken a nosedive, with the latest episode hitting a season low by a significant margin.

“How Queer Everything Is Today!”, featuring Kate investigating a hacker holding Gotham City to ransom, pulled in just 780,000 viewers, a drop from the 1.01 million of “A Mad Tea-Party” (“Crisis On Infinite Earths,” as a separate entity, shouldn’t really be taken into account when postulating on viewing preferences) and the steepest percentage fall since the pilot. It’s worth noting that these are only live figures, which are steadily decreasing in relevance as increasing numbers of people watch TV through DVR.

While Batwoman’s viewing figures have been steadily declining as the season has progressed, this is a frequent trend for any TV show, and even though they so far haven’t been exactly stellar, the series has actually been outperforming the latest seasons of both Supergirl and Arrow, and in its first two episodes, The Flash. Any decline in viewership won’t be an issue for a while, either, as the show has already been renewed for a second season, but it’s something that those at higher levels of network control might take note of.

It’s also worth noting that it’s unlikely to be a coincidence that the ratings slump occurred concurrently with an episode title referencing Kate’s sexuality. Detractors have been critical of this part of her character since day one, although they’re quick to point out that their criticisms are due to their perceived quality of the show and not specifically their issues with ‘being woke,’ ‘the gay agenda’, the existence of LGBT people being ‘shoved down their throats’ or other such telltale phrases that highlight their being perfectly happy to accept the fact that Kate is a lesbian, just so long as nobody brings it up. Such attitudes are even referenced in the episode itself, with radio presenter Vesper Fairchild using all-too-familiar lines like “not that there’s anything wrong with that” or “politics staying out of our superheroes.”

While the subplot of Kate addressing people’s presumption of Batwoman being straight was an important aspect of the episode, it in no way dominated it, and when it did occur it was as part of her questioning whether she can truly consider herself to be the Paragon of Courage if she feels unable to live her own truth in all aspects of her life. Additionally, through her brief interactions with teenage hacker Parker, she realized that having someone to look up to with whom you can identify makes people feel less alone, especially if, like many gay people, they feel marginalized. This isn’t politics, it’s people’s lives, and if certain viewers of Batwoman can’t accept that, then maybe they shouldn’t be watching it.