Spoilers below for anyone who hasn't yet watched Batwoman's Season 2 finale, so be warned!
Batwoman's hyped-up Season 2 finale not only fully introduced Camrus Johnson's Luke Fox as Batwing, while possibly teasing Poison Ivy's arrival, but it also confirmed the exit of yet another major character in Dougray Scott's Jacob Kane. Having portrayed the founder of The Crows, Scott departed the CW series after two seasons, but surprisingly before the finale arrived, meaning the sixteenth episode of the season featured his final appearance. Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries spoke out about the shocking exit and offered an explanation for why it went down like that.
Dougray Scott was completely absent from the final two episodes of Season 2 of Batwoman after the events that took place in Episode 16, titled “Rebirth.” In the episode, which was Scott’s swan song as Kate Kane's father, Jacob had disbanded the Crows, got arrested for aiding his villainous daughter Alice, and was then being transferred to Metropolis to await trial, which was where fans left him. Talking with Entertainment Weekly, Caroline Dries expressed her feelings about Dougray Scott’s exit and her hope for future episodes:
Having Dougray Scott as Jacob Kane on Batwoman was incredibly special for all of us. An actor with his pedigree and reputation elevates any project, and he had great chemistry with his castmates. We loved telling Commander Kane's story for the last two seasons, and we will always leave the door open to have him return. We wish him the very best!
It would appear that everything was amicable behind the scenes regarding Dougray Scott's exit, and his story as Jacob Kane did come to an interesting end with the second season's close. After the Crows were disbanded, it would make sense that Jacob Kane facing justice for his crimes is where his story would conclude, as that is all he knew. Following Ruby Rose’s exit ahead of Season 2, Javicia Leslie took over the vigilante mantle, with a new Kate Kane coming in midway through the season, shocking both fans and Rose herself. Though Jacob was starting to accept that his daughter was gone, he found hope again after discovering that she was back, though not exactly the same person physically and mentally.
While it might have made sense in another context to keep the Crows around as villains for the future, Caroline Dries explained why this isn't happening on Batwoman, saying:
The story was just lending itself of wrapping up the Crows because we took such a hard stance against police brutality this season and really used the Crows to represent the metaphor of that. For us, the story could really only end to Ryan's satisfaction [if the Crows were] shut down completely. To us, there was no version of the Crows that could exist that felt okay; that felt like a compromise. Once we kind of made that decision - and obviously Kate isn't staying on the show - this character of Jacob had sort of run its course, for better or for worse, through that story line. So it worked out that it was mutual [with Scott]. We ended up being able to really write to a good ending for Jacob, just kind of knowing in advance that's what we were going to do.
With Jacob Kane and the Crows now out of the picture, it will be interesting to see what lies ahead for Gotham City. Since it looks like the (cell) door is always open for Dougray Scott to return, perhaps we’ll hear about what happens to him in Metropolis, or maybe he’ll return down the line to check up on Gotham's post-Crows existence. It does raise the question on who could replace him, assuming someone will, since Gotham is certainly going to need someone taking the reins and helping out, especially after that Season 2 finale cliffhanger.
How Season 3 of Batwoman will look like following yet another cast change will be something to look forward to, as well as seeing how Gotham City works without the Crows. However, since Batwoman has a new partner now, the city is still in pretty good hands, as is your 2021 Summer TV viewing.
