★★★
“The original Barbie”
The subtitle is not a joke. Lilli began her life as a comic – just a single drawing, with a line of her saying something funny – in the German newspaper Bild. Drawn by German artist Reinhard Beuthien, it ran from 1952-1961. With her child-like face, perfect slim figure, and long blond hair that she carried as a ponytail, Lilli was an attractive young woman. Also, she was saucy, sexy, independent and single: not at all as you would imagine young women to be in 1950’s Germany. It’s unsurprising that “Bild-Lilli” had her fans, and that dolls in her image would be produced from 1955 on. Though these were originally meant not as toys, but for marketing purposes.
When Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler went to Germany on holiday in 1956, she discovered the dolls and wanted to bring them to the American market. She had her designers create a new doll based on Lilli, and released her under the name “Barbie” in 1959. It seems Handler was afraid of copyright claims by the original producers. For Wikipedia tells us: “Mattel acquired the rights to Lilli in 1964, and all the promotional and merchandising activities related to the character were discontinued after then.” So, yes: while Mattel changed details here and there, Barbie was originally indeed a German girl named Lilli. Though looking at the All-American girl Barbie embodies today (also her animated movies, as well as the recent live-action one), it’s hard to recognize Lilli in Barbie nowadays.
However, long before the sale of rights, in 1958, Lilli had her own live-action movie. [I wonder if Mattel buying Lilli is why I haven’t seen this movie on TV for 30 years or more. It has never been released on videotape, DVD or Blu-ray.] This starred Danish actress Ann Smyrner, who won the role in a contest. Smyrner spoke only a little German, so was dubbed by German voice actress Margot Leonard. She would go on to fame for also dubbing Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, Honor Blackman and Diana Rigg – basically, everyone young, female and sexy in 1950s and 60s cinema. I mention her especially, because I think that without her voice, Lilli might not have worked so well as a film character.
In this story, Lilli works as a reporter for a newspaper. Her introduction is already notable, driving an elegant sports car at high speed into a parked vehicle. When a policeman tries to fine her, she flatters and confuses him, kisses him on the cheek and leaves. In the newspaper office, she resists the flirtation of her boss with a move – is it early martial arts? – that leaves him on the ground. Really, we had not seen a female character like that in a German movie. It might have been slightly different in America, with some female characters in westerns and swashbucklers, but here, this was new. Although things were about to change, as I remember Lieselotte Pulver, whose Spessart Inn series of films began the same year.
Lilli is sent to report on a missionary congress in Sicily, getting there by ship. Honestly, I sincerely doubt this movie was filmed there, because we hardly see any Italian landscapes here. You see signs in Italian painted on walls indicating this is a hotel, a restaurant and so on. It’s meant to convince you that you are there because… well… it’s written in Italian language, so it must be Italy, right? Most of the scenes are inside on sets, and all of these might well have been in a German film studio. Also, some characters speak German with a fake Italian accent. It might have been convincing for a German audience in the 50s, but these feel kind of hilarious nowadays. (Although we still get German actors playing Italian characters, at least they leave out the fake accents now!) The opening credits say “Produced in the Arca studios, Berlin”, a facility which also produced a movie set partly in Africa!
But let’s be fair. For a 50s movie, Lilli’s adventure is quite exciting. She meets an old man (Siegfried Schürenberg) onboard the ship, who asks her for a favor and soon turns up dead in his cabin. She finds money printing plates in her room. Her investigations in Sicily lead her to a car garage where a traitor from a gang (Friedrich Joloff) is killed. As one of the murderers tries to abuse Lilli, he accidentally tears off her dress, leading to Lilli running away in her lingerie, causing a commotion in the streets until friendly sailors bring her back to the hotel.
Another body appears, this time in her hotel room, and she gets friendly with potential love interest Mr. Morton (Hoven). He turns out to be up to no good, offering the gangsters a hand in getting the printing plates – most of these gangsters (including the gangster lady, below) are obviously not smart enough to deal with Lilli. When her little Italian friend is kidnapped, the big bad turns out to be the priest who accompanied her already on the ship (Peters). Lilli escapes, and has her sailor friends beat up the criminals in their own pub. The movie ends with the gangsters arrested, and Morton turns out to be Lieutenant Collins of Interpol, working undercover to help capture the villain. As Lilli already had Collins tied to a chair, she leaves her love interest struggling to free himself – a bit of revenge on her part.
Thinking about it, Lilli seems to spend most of the movie’s runtime escaping from some dangerous place or situation. She shoots with a gun at a vase, and engages in a – for the 50s – acceptable car chase. She even drives backwards, and fakes her own death by tossing the car down a slope, Dr. No style. Though probably not acceptable for today anymore, she does it all in high-heels. But that trope is ironically subverted, when after that big chase, one of her high-heels breaks. This seems to be a bigger nuisance for her than the chase! But I have to say: for a German production, in a time when there were virtually no local crime films and no one would have understood the meaning of an “action movie” here, this film is almost ground-breaking.
However, that doesn’t mean it is “good”. Lilli survives more due to luck than intelligence, and her enemies aren’t too bright either. Characters often don’t react as would be appropriate or logical. Why the chief of police (Rudolf Platte) feels the need to chase Lilli, because a body was found in her room, escapes me; she is hardly a danger to the public. Morton walking into the gangsters’ den and immediately being accepted by them is implausible. Lilli and Morton kissing, when they have barely met or exchanged more than three words, is even more so. The revelation of the priest being the villain has no punch at all, despite clearly being intended as a big twist. Another problem is dialogue which doesn’t give enough information for scenes to work or have impact. But then, this is close to the first attempt at a German crime movie after WWII, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Lilli is adequately sassy, some of the gangsters are quite simple minded, and everyone falls head over heels for Lilli, as if they had never seen a beautiful girl before.
The cast is almost a “Who’s Who” of German actors at the time. Schürenberg (the German dubbing voice of Clark Gable and Shere Khan in The Jungle Book) would become very well-known due to his “Sir John” character in the Edgar Wallace movies. They also often featured Peters prominently, who made a career out of playing secondary villains. He would later appear in Dario Argento’s first giallo and could be seen next to Sean Connery in A Fine Madness (1966). Platte was a very well-known actor who started in films in 1929 and would work into the 1970s. Joloff was part of SF-TV series Raumpatrouille Orion (“Space Command Orion“, 1966), a German equivalent to Star Trek, and the German voice of James Mason and Dr. No. The Austrian Hoven had a big run in 50s and 60s German genre cinema, then became a director of horror and erotic movies at the end of the sixties. But perhaps the biggest name appears at the end. Udo Jürgens was a huge star in the German music scene, with hit after hit until his death in 2014. Here, he sings the title and end songs, and plays one of the sailors.
After this movie Smyrner made a career in German and Italian movies of the Sixties, appearing in German krimis, romances, adventure movies, westerns and even the early wave of erotic comedies at the end of the decade. She could also be seen in two early American SF movies. According to another well-known actress, Smyrner was interested in both men and women, though struggled with her image as an early “sex bomb”. After she left the film scene, when German film production effectively stopped in the early 70s, she started to write articles for Danish newspapers, mostly about theological themes.
The Lilli movie, though almost forgotten today, paved the way for things to come. One year later, crime-comedy Nick Knatterton, based on another beloved comic strip, from magazine Quick, made it to the big screen with a similarly impressive cast. 1959 also saw the release of the first Edgar Wallace movie Der Frosch mit der Maske (“Face of the Frog”). That crime film focused more on horror, and was a major hit with audiences, leading to a series of 32 Edgar Wallace movies through 1972. Obviously, the less serious approach of Lilli, didn’t quite click with audiences at the time. But without this kind of pioneering work, would we have seen what came after? This little flick is amusing fluff, doesn’t harm anyone, and might have been a revelation for German girls in the 50s, with no other choices than becoming a house wife or a secretary! While the story is kind of a fantasy, Lilli shows there may be alternatives.
Dir: Hermann Leitner
Star: Ann Smyrner, Adrian Hoven, Claude Farell, Werner Peters
a.k.a. Lilli – ein Mädchen aus der Großstadt
Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002) was an acclaimed Swedish author of children books, probably best known for her Pippi Longstocking books (1945-48). It’s heroine was a “break all the rules” child character, behaving in a way seen as both unthinkable and inacceptable in the 1940s. They were possibly influenced by the earlier Anne of Green Gables books by L.M. Montgomery, but also by the little girls Lindgren knew, as well as her own childhood memories. It is interesting to note that the character was often used by early feminists as a role model – and still is today, by those who are critical of the system. Indeed, it is said that Stieg Larsson’s dark anti-heroine Lisbeth Salander was inspired by Pippi.
In her later life, Lindgren’s novels became more grown-up, though still being written for children, and definitely took on a darker tone. In 1973’s The Brothers Lionheart, she dealt with heavy subjects like suicide, mortality and the trauma of losing a beloved one. It was much discussed at the time of publication, though can with good conscience still be called a fantasy book. Her final, and maybe best, novel was Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter (original title: Ronja rövardotter). This is a return into the Swedish woods Lindgren loved so much. She had to leave her home-town in the province of Småland, after becoming pregnant as a single young woman. She re-located to Stockholm, married and had a second child but never returned. Many of her books play out in small towns, on islands or in fantasy countries, and deal with the loneliness of young children, as well as their friendships and adventures with each other.
But while the movie was beloved, I had problems with it, despite my young age. First of all, the characters looked different from the book illustrations. Ronia, who had dark curls in the book, had long flowing hair; Birk, whose hair was like a copper helmet, had curls. I also found issue with the child actors, in particular, that they seemed much too young. Based on the illustrations and what went on in the story, I always figured Ronia and Birk to be in their early teens: here the actors were 11 years old, and didn’t fit my own inner image of them. The special effects… alright, while you wouldn’t expect something on the level of George Lucas and ILM, I found them unsatisfying, especially the harpies. They were so intimidating and loaded with a frightening, sadistic aura in the book. Here? Actresses in costumes in front of a badly lit green-screen.
Since I always loved the book, through multiple re-readings, I always wished for a better adaptation. Who would have thought that it would come in the form of Japanese anime? Goro Miyazaki, the son of the great Hayao Miyazaki, turned the children classic into a 26-episode series, original running from October 2014 to March 2015. It was a co-production between Dwango, NHK, NHK Enterprises, Polygon Pictures and Studio Ghibli. I believe it is the only TV series Ghibli ever produced, though they did some TV movies. It has to be said – and it’s my one big complaint – that this is not really animated, in the sense of hand-drawn, but is CGI-animated,, and it… uhm… shows. So do not expect the greatness of a typical Studio Ghibli movie, and less still the overwhelming greatness of a Hayao Miyazaki movie. What was not acceptable for a long time, was that it was only available in the West in over-priced DVD volumes, and not everyone is willing to lay out 120 Euro or more. But now, you can get the whole collection for a fraction of that price – or just stream it online.
Inspired by Jim’s impressive research and writing on 
But to discuss Calamity Jane, played by blonde Jean Arthur: while she looks cool in the male Western garb Jane traditionally wears (except when, as so often – here, too – there is a scene where she is convinced to put on a dress), she didn’t quite convince me. Hickok is not on good terms with her here, it being suggested she slept with almost every assistant and post station manager. Honestly, this was not very believable when watching petite, childlike Arthur, who doesn’t seem to be the promiscuous type. Wild Bill is hurt by this, and when the movie is not showing us native Americans, treacherous weapon suppliers or exploring the friendship between the two Bills, she seems to be running constantly behind him like a lovesick teen girl. There’s no denial; this portrayal of Jane feels a bit of a fake.
Young Bill Hickok is a relatively short (just over 50 minutes) early Western, with Roy Rogers. And, yes: he does sing. If the story is nothing extraordinary I felt adequately entertained, considering how old the movie is. In the Civil War, the North wants the war to end, therefore a special gold delivery has to be brought to… ah… some place… I guess? Young Bill Hickok is given the confidence to carry out the dangerous task, with a gang called “the Overland Riders” likely to rob the transport. He sets his transport up as a decoy, while in reality the gold is transported by close friends Gabby Whitaker (George “Gabby” Hayes, an absolute regular in many classic Westerns) and Calamity Jane (Sally Payne). Unfortunately for all, Hickok’s fiance, Louise (Julie Bishop) confides that secret to the villain of the piece, Towers. He then robs the right transport, and frames Hickok, who has to flee and prove his innocence.
So what we have here is a morality tale: don’t gamble, folks, and earn your living by hard work. More interesting for the Calamity Jane fan here, is Hollywood actress Yvonne de Carlo who could be found in a number of historical movies around the time. Her brunette Jane has very little similarity to the way the character is usually depicted. She is no criminal – well, not in the beginning, the sympathetic character of Sam drags everyone down with him – but a successful horse racer. As Sam helps her in the beginning she is attracted to him, just like Katherine. Sam is depicted as a victim of circumstances, but I’m not quite on his side. He must take some responsibility for the tragedy he experiences, since not only is he naive, but thinks the fact others don’t play by the rules, gives him permission to do so, too.
The Texan Meets Calamity Jane (1950)
Ten years after the Doris Day-movie, CBS produced this remake, a TV movie which can be watched 
This was definitely made for a middling budget, and with underwhelming camerawork and staging: the camera positions and actors often appear fixed and immobile, unless they are riding on their horses. But it is a good, original story and provides a satisfying Western. To a large degree, this is due to the interaction and chemistry between the aforementioned actors. The friendship between Hickok and Cody works especially well, with Cody on the side of the raiders while Hickok is bound by his obligations to the military. In the end, they are able to prevent an escalation between the stubborn generals on both sides.
This movie is confusing, a typical German-Italian-Spanish co-production of the mid-60s, and stylistically is best described as a below-average, third-class, German western of that time. Originally titled Aventuras del Oeste (Adventures of the West), in Germany it went under two different titles: The Last Bullet Hits the Best and more prominently as Buffalo Bill – His Greatest Adventure. The IMDb speaks of Buffalo Bill and Wild Bill Hickok, but they can’t be found in the German dub. Buffalo Bill here goes by Bill Hogan, called “the quick knife” by the Comanche, and is played under an alias (Clyde Rogers) by Rik van Nutter, better known as Felix Leiter in Thunderball. Wild Bill is named here Gunn Barrett, and played by Austrian actor Adrian Hoven. He had quite a run of German movies in the 50s and 60s, until he became a director focusing on horror and erotic movies. It’s strange to hear Wild Bill speak with an Austrian accent. But then I’m forgetting that Schwarzenegger would become an American action hero icon!
This TV movie has Jane Alexander, who also co-produced the film, in the main role. While it again has the likely fictional love story between Calamity and Hickok (Frederick Forrest), it is a much more realistic portrayal of Jane, as well as her relationship, then we have seen before. Calamity is saved by Hickok, they begin an affair after she has nursed him and are married by two drunk priests in the desert. They separate as Hickok doesn’t want Calamity “drawn along with him” when going to work in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. She bears his child which is adopted by a British couple, the O’Neills (David Hemmings plays Colonel O’Neill). She hears that Hickok has married, but he is shot before she can speak to him, although his murder is barely a sideline here. Later she meets her daughter again, though does not reveal her relationship. 
I don’t like this movie at all, and I think 2 stars is very generous. It has nothing to do with the fact there are a number of Walter Hill films I don’t like, or that Calamity Jane is hardly in the movie. I simply think this movie is not well-told, and is boring. It doesn’t work for me either as a Western, a biopic or a good movie in general. It’s not the fault of the movie stars who are all well-known for their competence. I mean, we have Jeff Bridges as Wild Bill Hickok, plus Ellen Barkin, Diane Lane, John Hurt, Keith Carradine, Bruce Dern, David Arquette and Christina Applegate. I also found the production design very fitting. So, who is responsible for the mess?
The story for this animated film is an interesting one: In 1863, the Cannary family – the father, his daughter Martha Jane (voiced by Salomé Boulven) and two smaller children – are part of a convoy to Oregon. Martha gets into a feud with young boy Ethan, but when one of the wheels of their cart breaks, and her father is hurt by a horse, Ethan has to take over driving. Humiliated by this, she tries to learn things outside what young girls are not supposed to know – throwing lassos, horse-riding and driving the cart. When the settlers meet a soldier named Samson, they realize they have gone the wrong way. She befriends the soldier, until he vanishes with some items stolen from the settlers. Martha leaves to retrieve the items and find the truth about Samson, which is the beginning of an exciting and dangerous adventure.
Introduced by Western movie star Robert Taylor, this “true story of the West” tells how Calamity Jane joins the Wild West show of… Wild Bill Hickok? I can only presume the screenwriter got Wild Bill and Buffalo Bill mixed up. It’s not a positive outlook on their relationship, Wild Bill taking strong issue with Jane’s behavior and shouting. He also tells her if she is a woman she should dress like one, or she will never appeal to a man. Her straight answer is, she always has hated men. When she tells their mutual friend Charlie about Bill’s complaints, he decides sharply that she must have fallen in love with Bill. 
Having seen only season one of the three, I can judge just it. This highly praised HBO show recounts the beginnings of notorious Wild West city Deadwood, before the territory came under the guidance of the government in Washington, and how “problems” were solved there before there was official law. Calamity Jane is clearly not a main character, though has a not unimportant supporting role. The show mainly focuses on saloon and bordello owner Al Swearengen (Ian McShane), a character who really lived and – at least in the show – was responsible for many crimes, murders and shady dealings in that city. There’s also Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) who became the first sheriff there.
This 80-minute French documentary from 2014 ran on the Franco-German culture channel ARTE, a channel well-known for quality docs. I recommend this one, though there may be others from the US I don’t know about, which are just as good. Old photographs, footage from old Westerns, newly directed scenes and interviews with historians and biographers of the old West (among them Richard Etulain, see below), form a vivid, realistic picture of the conditions in that era and life at that time.
Biographies
Calamity became a famous character in print, when she was made a supporting character in the Deadwood Dick dime novels of the 1870s. Since she first captured the attention of an audience there, a slew of books featuring her have come out, ranging from a realistic portrayal to utter fantasy. The classic quality novel might be Larry McMurtry’s Buffalo Girls, whose movie adaptation was covered earlier. 
So, we come to the end of this little overview on Calamity Jane-related Westerns. I learned a lot over the course of it. For example, the majority of film-makers can’t resist inventing a love story between her and Wild Bill, or dressing her up in a skirt, at least for a couple of scenes. Obviously, the latter is to calm audiences and let them know she would be a good housewife if circumstances only would let her. For, you see, she wears male attire only because she has to work in a man’s world, and has no husband yet. Or that for whatever reason, she has been played by an astonishing number of blonde actresses, despite the real Calamity being a brunette. Or that those who play her on the screen have typically been young, very attractive and even sexy while the real person… Well, if you see any photos of the original, such as the one here, you might spot a difference or two!
★★★★
Murder by the Lake is a TV crime series co-producted between the second public German TV channel ZDF and the public TV channel of Austria ORF. It started in 2014 with a 90-minute long TV movie, followed by a further movie each year until 2017, when the yearly output was doubled. Since 2024, there have been three movies each year. So far, 22 episodes have come out, with #23 scheduled for later this year. The German title Die Toten vom Bodensee translates as “The Dead of Lake Constance” – “Bodensee” is literally “Ground Sea”, but is called Lake Constance in English. When I saw the first movie I was struck by its surprising quality. If you have read my reviews here, you know I usually don’t think much of the quality of German film productions. This is different: not only is it a show that I always watched, but one where I bought the DVDs. 
But most interesting is her behavior. When she first appears, she is strictly business. She says hardly a word otherwise, with no interest in getting to know the wife and daughter of her new colleague. She lets no one in emotionally, and shows an aversion to personal connection. Her behavior feels awkward, even upsetting, until you get used to it. Some watchers complained she mumbled her lines, but then, most characters here speak with an Austrian accent which can be a bit difficult to understand for Germans. It might also have something to do with the idea of a character who only slowly reveals her secrets to the audience. Because what I realized after a while, was that Hannah Zeiler is actually a more clinical, streamlined and slightly tamer Austrian version of Lisbeth Salander. Or at least her distant relative.
Broken Oath follows the story beats of Lady Snowblood quite closely – until it slowly becomes its own thing. It’s comparable to how 
For example, Ah Shu seemed to be built up as a love interest. But he is killed off in a way, as well as the heroine’s reaction to it, which is so casual I wondered why he was even in the story. There is another character supposedly killed – silly me, believing that – who is suddenly back there to support the combatants in their fight again. The whole “she is poisoned and has to be cured” episode feels like a pointless story element, with no good reason except for extending the movie’s run time (admittedly I saw the theatrical version at 98 minutes; there is an extended version around 5 minutes longer), and giving Mao the chance to lay down and take a short break.
★★★★
For perhaps the first occasion, the suffering of the family members left behind after a beloved person dies, is shown in what feels like almost real-time. That’s remarkable, as in almost any crime story I have ever seen, these feelings are usually only vocalized in one or two sentences. Just recently, I watched an old Italian giallo and it felt almost ridiculous how the main character seemed hardly moved at all, as her entire family was exterminated, one by one. Is such behavior normal? Normal people mourn their beloved ones. Maybe some do it more quietly than others, but most movies or series leave this, very important, aspect out, with it usually secondary to finding the perpetrator. The Killing takes that time, showing us the after-effects on a family barely able to go on, needing psychological help, and taking pointless, misguided revenge, with acts that can’t bring back what has been lost.
Season 1. The father of the murdered girl kills the murderer, and will most likely go into prison for that. Season 2. The minister of justice uncovers the corruption of the ruling government, but can’t do anything against it, as 
★★★½
Though woke? Is it woke? Well… not in the sense I normally understand the word. For me, it means an agenda is being pushed. I can’t really say I see this here, unless the agenda is to stress that people exist who are not hetero-normative. Which… is true? The focus is on the story; we don’t get characters demonstrating against being sexually or politically repressed by the evil patriarchy, or talking about the problems of their gender orientation in modern society. This is no more woke than The Dragon Prince, another popular Netflix show. Part of the attention is probably due to creator ND Stevenson, who has stated he is – according to Wikipedia – “nonbinary, transmasculine and bigender,” as well as having bipolar disorder and ADHD. Well, whatever it is, is reflected in Stevenson’s work, in She-Ra as well as Netflix animated movie 
On the other hand, it’s clear this new spin on an old title has split fandom – or, rather, created a second fandom. This is not necessarily a good thing. It can result in embittered online wars and open hostility between members of different fan groups, both claiming ownership of “their story” and how it should be portrayed or interpreted. It’s not the only case. See franchises like Star Wars (George Lucas’ or the Disney version?) and Star Trek (“old Trek” vs. “new Trek”?). If you are as old as I am, you may even remember a time, long before Internet and personal computer communication existed, when people argued over if Kirk or Picard was the better captain, or Sean or Roger the better Bond. Change, it seems, always creates controversies. Therefore, the new show – as good as it is – has created a problem for the franchise that won’t be solved in a foreseeable future.
Martha Jane Cannary Burke, a.k.a. “Calamity Jane” (1852-1903) was a lot of things. But most of all she was the inventor of her own legend. By the end of the 19th century, dime novels based off her alleged adventures already sold very well. Unfortunately, the foul-mouthed and constantly drunk former frontier woman could never benefit financially from her reputation, with which others earned good money. She died early, though already perceived as a legend of the “old West”. To divide which of the many stories told about her are true, and which are not, is a job for the historians, not mine. For a character who definitely provided a “fill in the gaps” hero’s template, it’s no surprise Calamity Jane soon became a mythic legend of the “Wild West”, combined with other illustrious characters of that time such as “Wild Bill” Hickok, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Billy the Kid and many others.
The show itself takes place around 1876 and is great fun. Calamity Jane is an adult, red-haired and green-eyed woman, with a whip that regularly comes in handy for dangerous situations. She is serious-minded and on the side of the law, meaning whenever help is needed, she will be there. She has a horse called Dakota and drinks milk (hey, what do you expect – it’s made for kids!). Always on her side is old Joe Presto (Welker) who can best be described as her comic sidekick, though sometimes comes across a bit simple-minded. Also, I sometimes had problems understanding his mumbling, though you get used to it. Of course, when you tell the story of Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok is never far away. In real life she claimed that they were a couple in Deadwood. though according to historians, this could easily be another made-up story, as she was famous for doing. In this show, he helps her from time to time and is voiced by Clancy Brown (the Kurgan from Highlander).
★★
What sounds as if it could be an interesting story, turned out to be a very disappointing movie. I had to watch it twice because even though the film is a short 78 minutes, I almost fell asleep. The introduction to the story feels clumsily handled, scenes are overlong, and after we know where the story wants to go, the movie basically is a constant follow-up of fight scenes of Catwoman and Batwoman against a range of well-known and lesser known DC villains. These include Cheshire, Nosferata (one I had never heard of before, and I used to read DC comics quite regularly in my youth), Solomon Grundy and the Cheetah herself, Barbara Minerva who is Leviathan’s chairwoman, though Talia al Gul is managing everything from the shadows.
Another ill-fitting decision is the score by Yutaka Yamada. Don’t get me wrong. His music will probably please you if you like jazz, but for a DC action movie it’s just the wrong choice. What almost – but only almost – saves the movie is the final chase when Barbara Minerva turns into an oversized version of her Cheetah personality and goes after Catwoman. For the first time in this movie you have the feeling Catwoman is in real danger. But this is too little too late. It can’t compensate for all the mistakes that had been made in the movie before.
★★★
For this show, it means what would be enough for your average action movie or TV series, is just the beginning. It’s what I think makes the series above average in general. It always gives more than you asked for, and at the same time surprises you with sudden twists, unexpected developments, plus nuanced characterizations and relationships that escape standard black-and-white. Well, at least the 
Why should the council accept Caitlyn as a new member, given she is only the daughter of Cassandra? Are political positions inherited in Piltover? If so, I’m not astonished the twin cities are having so many problems. Ambessa makes Caitlyn de facto commanding officer of the city and Caitlyn takes that position, only to backpedal an episode later. Why? If you want to tell an Emperor Anakin story, do so. But then go the full mile and 
Disappointingly, the expected big final fight between Vi and Jinx is not to be found here: instead, they get along again after a bit of a brawl. Jinx the psycho? She seems quite normal again, after playing surrogate mother to the mute Isha for a couple of episodes. That’s far from any normal psychological reality. The screenwriters aren’t even above shamelessly milking nostalgia by giving us a flashback to Vander, Silco and the mother of Vi and Jinx sitting in “The Last Draw” – in a way it’s even repeated later again. Cheap, cheap, cheap!
But there are also psychological and social themes of conflict: emotion versus intellect, safety versus liberty, preservation of the status quo versus progress by destruction of the existing system. These are best represented in sisters, Jinx and Vi, whose already shaky patchwork family has been torn into pieces by these battles. Yet it also shaped them, and put them on a collision course against each other. Or so it seemed, since the final confrontation is between Jayce and Viktor, while Jinx is given an unnecessarily bland, sacrificial death to save her sister – although the creators hint at the end that she may have survived. You could argue the character’s potential has been entirely wasted in the attempt to reshape her into a more positive protagonist in season two. I repeat: it feels absolutely weird. Looking at the titles of the first season I always expected the final fight to be between Jinx and Vi, and it feels like another broken storytelling promise.