In honor of Valentine’s Day, I have decided to finally write about my namesake Catwoman, aka Selina Kyle, and her famously tumultuous relationship with Batman, aka Bruce Wayne, as portrayed on Fox’s Gotham.
As a prequel to the traditional Dark Knight saga, the show has the characters meet as teens prior to assuming their alter egos, unlike in the comics. This week, I will explore their relationship in seasons one and two. (WARNING: Spoilers)
Season One
Thirteen-year-old Selina (Camren Bicondova) grew up on the streets after being abandoned by her mother as a small child. She survived by learning to rely only on herself and be pragmatic.
By chance, she is sole witness, aside from 12-year-old Bruce (David Mazouz), to the murder of his parents. On the brink of being sent to juvie for living on the streets, Selina falsely claims to have seen the face of the murderer before he put a ski mask on.
She is sent to live at Wayne Manor for protection, and Bruce is instantly rather enamored of her. She appears to represent everything he wishes he could be: cool, free and fearless. Selina is amused by his crush and yet, despite herself, develops one of her own.
When assassins come to the Manor, Selina realizes they are after her, but not wanting Bruce to abandon her, claims that he is the target and promises to protect him as they flee to downtown Gotham.
Her care for him propels her to come clean, though, despite it not being in her best interest. She tells him to return home, but to her surprise, he refuses to leave her side until the threat passes. Later that night, Selina kisses Bruce good-bye and returns to living on her own.
Bruce soon begins to miss her and asks her to return to the Manor on the condition of helping him search for his parents’ killer. Guilt-ridden and overwhelmed by being missed by someone for the first time, Selina admits that she lied about seeing the killer’s face and runs away before Bruce can reply.
To Bruce’s credit, he doesn’t hold a grudge and the two reconnect when his life is put in danger by an old friend of his butler Alfred (Sean Pertwee). Selina forces the man to admit that he is part of a larger conspiracy and, realizing he will tip off his partners, reluctantly pushes the man out of a window in order to protect Bruce.
Bruce is horrified and angered by her extreme measures while Selina is frustrated that he isn’t grateful. Nonetheless, she continues to help Bruce get to the bottom of the mystery.
Season Two
Selina becomes protective Bruce’s again when she senses that Bruce’s new classmate Silver St. Cloud (Natalie Alyn Lind) may have an ulterior motive for getting close to him. She tries to warn Bruce, but he lashes out at her for intruding into his budding relationship.
Selina doesn’t relent and uncovers damning evidence that Silver is using Bruce. As an apology for not believing her and sensing that she had been jealous of Silver, Bruce subtly admits his feelings for Selina, leaving her adorably flustered.
Bruce and Selina later become roommates for a few months when Bruce realizes he could stand to be a bit more street smart. The pair lovingly take care each other and, for the first time since her mother left, Selina feels like she has a person, in the Grey’s Anatomy sense.
Bruce devastates her when he abruptly announces that he’s learned all he needed to and is returning home. Not wanting to show weakness, Selina doesn’t admit how much it hurts her; and Bruce is oblivious, having always believed that she liked being on her own.
They end the season on good terms, after reuniting to save an old friend of Selina’s from Arkham Asylum. However, they never talk about what happened, foreshadowing a pattern of poor communication in seasons three and four that I’ll discuss in my next column.
