Showrunner clears up rumors, says Batwoman won’t indulge in “Bury Your Gays” trope

It’s been a crazy time at the Batwoman offices recently. After airing a pretty successful first season on The CW, albeit one cut a little short because of the coronavirus, star Ruby Rose announced that she wouldn’t be returning as main character Kate Kane.

But the show had already been renewed for a second season, so things had to keep moving. Rather than recasting Kate Kane with a new actor, Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries and her team opted to bring in an entirely new character named Ryan Wilder, who may be an original creation or may be a code name for someone from DC Comics; it’s too early to tell.

But that left the question: if we’re getting an all-new Batwoman, what happens to the old one? Just the other day, a rumor picked up steam that the show was going to kill off Kate Kane, making way for Ryan Wilder to take her place. But was it true?

Thankfully, it doesn’t sound like it. Dries recently came out with a statement that should calm some nerves out there:

"As a lesbian who’s been working as a writer for the past fifteen years, I’m well aware of the “Bury Your Gays” trope and I have no interest in participating in it. That’s why it’s important to me as the showrunner to clarify any misinformation out there about Kate Kane and recasting Batwoman. Like you, I love Kate Kane—she’s the reason I wanted to do the show. We’ll never erase her. In fact, her disappearance will be one of the mysteries of season two. I don’t want to give away any of our surprises, but to all our devoted fans, please know that LGBTQ+ justice is at the very core of what Batwoman is and we have no intention of abandoning that."

Okay, so Kate will just be “missing” in season 2, which may still mean dead but after this statement I doubt it. Reportedly, Ruby Rose didn’t want to play Kate Kane anymore because of the long hours involved, but maybe she’d be up for returning for a cameo or two to resolve this particular plotline when the time comes.

As for the “Bury Your Gays” trope, it refers to a practice in fiction where creators kill off gay characters as a way to generate drama, which sends the message that gay lives are more expendable than other lives. The CW itself has come under fire for this trope for storylines on The 100 and Arrow, and there are plenty more examples. Batwoman is the rare mainstream show with a lesbian lead, and probably the only superhero show with one, so it would indeed feel inappropriate for the series to go down that path.

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h/t The A.V. Club