Kate Kane is now a vigilante in her own right. She’s made a name and identity for herself utterly separate from her cousin, despite his big shoes hanging around for her to fill. She’s worked hard and gained most of Gotham’s trust. However, last episode, Kate strayed further away from Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego, towards a murderous direction. She killed Augustus Cartwright, and even though he was a sadistic man who tore her family apart, she’s battered up about it.
Batman has a no-kill policy, and Kate strangled Cartwright till he died. It was a gruesome moment—emotionally and physically—to match that episode’s tone. Now, Kate has to deal with the fact that maybe she’s just like Alice? Granted, Kate killed a man that not only abducted her twin but also hoarded their mother’s frozen, severed head for more than a decade. But that’s the kicker: The lack of remorse Kate feels at murdering Cartwright leaves her unsettled.
But, the death does bring about a macabre family outing that consists of burying the body. “The monster who ripped us apart has brought us back together again,” Alice astutely says. Oddly, there are some moving or semi-tender moments between the three remaining Kanes. Of course, the underlying darkness—not to mention Alice’s insanity—mars the moments and prevents their actions from actually being a family reunion. But at least there’s a standstill in violence, right?
Also, this small truce introduces the hilarious dynamic of Alice being on the This small truce introduces the hilarious dynamic of Alice being on the same side as Jacob and Kate. She takes every moment to remind Kate that she killed a man for Alice’s benefit, of course. Alice’s delight, while cynical and twisted, is fun to see. As I’ve noted time and again, Rachel Skarsten’s portrayal of Alice is one of the best things on this show, and she’s shown several sides to Beth/Alice. Last week, we finally saw Beth right before her switch into the murderous Alice we’ve come to know, and now Skarsten is giving viewers a more playful and somewhat carefree Alice. Odd, but not unwelcome.
Kate is at a considerably fraught moment in her vigilante career. Not only did her family just bond (maybe?) over burying a man, but no one knows about it—and she has to go right back to being a purveyor of justice. That anger she has towards Cartwright transfers right over into her duties, and now it’s even more taxing than the actual kill. Kate doesn’t feel bad about what she did to Cartwright, which in turn makes her feel worse.
Now, she’s taking all that rage into her work, if you will, and inflicting a murderous pain onto others. While these are still “bad guys,” none of them are Cartwright, so the remorse she lacked before comes back ten times stronger when she nearly strangles another man. “What does that make me now?” Kate asks later in the episode. She’s feeling guilty about everything, and as viewers know, Kate does not do well when intense feelings eat away at her.
Finally, after weeks of Luke Fox not being featured in a significant way, “Through The Looking-Glass” offers a story that highlights him. Like Mary, Luke plays such an essential role on Batwoman—not just by figuring so prominently in Kate’s life, but also because by being one of the most endearing and charming characters on the show. With that said, it is truly heartbreaking to sit through Luke’s arc in this episode. Reggie Harris, who went to jail for reportedly murdering Lucious Fox (Luke’s dad), saved Jacob in prison. Since Jacob got out, the possibility of a retrial has become possible because the Crows are so shady. The Crows’ corruption has been an issue since the premiere, because they are privatized security for the rich, and Jacob remains oblivious to why that’s bad. Reggie was put behind bars to cover up the real killer, and Crow intel helped with that somehow.
Luke has to relive his dad’s death, as well as the confirmation that his dad’s killer is still out there. Reggie’s death is surprising at the moment but makes sense when you consider that Sophie was also nearly offed because of her work with the new case. This storyline hits hard, but viewers truly get to see how close Mary and Luke are getting. That’s not necessarily in a romantic capacity right now, but these are two people who have each other’s backs. It’s the one bright light in all of this.
The other heavy-hitter this episode is seeing Kate and Alice’s trust system, or lack thereof. Alice is Alice: She’s made herself untrustworthy, despite her blood relation to Kate. However, Alice needs her sister to break Mouse out of good ole Arkham Asylum. And despite Alice planting Cartwright in Kate’s custody in hopes that she’d kill him, Kate agrees, and this freaky dynamic duo is born.
Not to praise Alice or diminish all that she’s done, but ever since her run-in with the fear toxin, she’s been a bit more vulnerable with Kate. While on the floor of Kate’s bar, they share a touching, sisterly moment. These types of conversations aren’t something viewers have seen much of, for obvious reasons. All the pain Cartwright inflicted on Alice/Beth is visible in her eyes, and her openness makes for a sweet moment, insanity be damned. This is a fractured version of something Kate’s wanted: to have her sister back, even just for a little bit.
This closeness, and Kate’s betrayal, end up throwing us for a loop. Alice is indeed a villain. But that show of tenderness, and the fact that she truly did trust Kate, makes it hard not to feel bad for her when Kate and Jacob lock her away. I’ll go ahead and say it: It’s heartbreaking seeing Alice scramble like this, sobbing, “Don’t leave me” at the only family she has left, family who she thought she had gotten back for a little bit. Underneath it all, Alice is a battered, tortured woman who came out of her imprisonment a survivor. She does kill people for a living, so that brings everyone back to the same page eventually. But it was still rough to watch.
The last two scenes of “Through The Looking-Glass” are eerie and foreboding. After everything Kate did in this episode, she’s still torn about Cartwright’s murder and fooling Alice. “I don’t know who I am right now,” Kate tells Julia Pennyworth. “I don’t wanna be my sister.” While she’s not Alice, the aftermath of locking her up will play with Kate’s head for a while to come. Alice’s chilling statement—“I don’t want to be anybody’s prisoner, I want to be a queen”—was the perfect closer.
Stray observations
- First off, I want to send a huge shoutout to Kyle for filling in for me as I (tried) to have a vacation. Missed some great episodes, but luckily I have more beef with the state of the world; so no archnemesis rivalry here. Maybe next time though, especially if you come after Mary!
- I’m loving the fact that Nine Inch Nails have a pretty strong, canon hold on superheroes right now.
- It was slightly a surprise to see Julia Pennyworth again, but she was such a delight last time, that she’s welcomed back with open arms. It’s also very entertaining to see Kate’s exes interact. Plus, I’m not mad at Kate and Julia linking up. Is it under distressing pretenses and might end up badly? Sure. But who doesn’t love romantic messes? The CW sure does.
- “Flying rodent” doesn’t have the same ring as Batwoman but… it is funnier.
- Alright, I know we’re not supposed to root for Alice, but this team with Kate? It’s very much a pleasure to watch.
- I did some digging on Coryana, and it wasn’t hard to find out that it actually connects to the antidote Alice gave Mary (the flower it comes from is from the Coryana desert). And it also connects to the “Safiyah” Alice is so frightened of, which she mentioned several episodes back. So, without going so deep that I spoil anything, Alice isn’t gone, even though she’s holed up in Arkham. Although, this Safiyah from Coryana might be a terrifying resurgence for Alice. Very excited, looking forward.
56 Comments
“Flying rodent” doesn’t have the same ring as Batwoman but… it is funnier.Bats aren’t rodents, Dr. Meridian.
First off, LOL. Second off, boo! Batman & Robin or bust (not Batman Forever)! Third off, bats really are NOT rodents, people. Let’s stop with the misinformation.
Can’t we agree that all Batman films are beautiful and perfect in every way?
This week in Mary Is The Best: she shows up for the hearing to support Luke without him even needing to ask.This week in The Crows Are The Worst: Everything. Just…everything.Yay, Julia’s back. Hope she sticks around long-term, especially since she got so little screentime in this episode.I know it’s realistic for people like Jacob and Kate to keep circling back around to wanting to trust Alice, only to give up and walk away again, but it felt like the show just repeating the same beats, even though they had such specific, clear moments from Kate saying she was done. So I was honestly kind of relieved to see them leaving her in Arkham at the end.I feel for Luke not knowing who his father’s killer is…but I honestly felt really bad for the guy that got framed for it as well.
[IMDb cast list spoilers]I know pre-air credits aren’t always reliable but IMDb says Julia is here for the season.
Good. Julia Pennyworth (Um, what happened to Alfred?) was an unexpected delight in her first episode and this one, so I’m looking forward to more.
unless I missed it I don’t think we know what happened to Alfred. I guess he could be what Julia’s working for, although she says British intelligence.probably he wasn’t murdered since it would be too much overlap with Lucius Fox.
Alfred could easily be with Bruce.
I assumed he’s off with Bruce, wherever that is.(I still want Nightwing to show up at some point and tease Kate. She needs a sibling who can sympathize with trying to fill Bruce’s shoes.)
Good idea. I’m also waiting for Batwoman to meet Batgirl (Barbara, Cassandra, or Stephanie) or Oracle or one of the other Robins. Maybe butt heads with The Red Hood over how to protect Gotham City the right way.
Yes. I love that Kate, Julia, and Luke are like a new trinity of Gotham. (With Mary being a surrogate Dr. Leslie Thompson) Though Kate is presented as Bruce’s peer in the comics. I’m assuming he’s got maybe 10 years on her? Now if they can start name-dropping others in the Bat-family but save cameo check-ins for next season.
I think that finding his father’s killer is what drives Luke to become Batwing. It’s a little early in the show to give Batwoman a masked partner, but it’d be pretty cool. Not that they can afford a comics-accurate Batwing suit, because we saw what happened with the Atom…I’m also a little hesitant because the show doesn’t need a team. It didn’t work too well on Arrow and having a regular cast member be a caped hero means they won’t miss an episode without some contrived reason. Like Supergirl did (does?) with the Martian Manhunter. The most powerful hero on the planet and he stands in an office most of the time?Basically, I want a superhero with a kid sidekick. Batman and Robin. Flash and Kid Flash. Green Arrow and Speedy.
-Are Kate and Alice not identical twins? If Jacob doesn’t get involved, just pin it on Alice.-Awww, Mary went to Luke’s court thing.-Alice eats brownies off the point of a knife. It was slightly a surprise to see Julia Pennyworth again, but she was such a delight last time, that she’s welcomed back with open arms. It’s also very entertaining to see Kate’s exes interact. Plus, I’m not mad at Kate and Julia linking up. Is it under distressing pretenses and might end up badly? Sure. But who doesn’t love romantic messes? The CW sure does. Her interactions with Sophie made me wonder if they were going for an actual closed love triangle instead of a typical love pivot.-I was WTF-ing when Kate agreed to reunite Alice with Mouse, so it was a real relief at the end when she Exact Words’d Alice by locking them in Arkham together.-Speaking of, Jacob being useful for a second episode in a row? Who knew!
Please no. The last thing this show needs (not to mention Sophie’s character) is a love triangle.
Heh. I think the last time I saw a full-on love triangle is when Rachel Skarsten turned up on Lost Girl. Maybe Sophie will develop a gay friend who is not her ex-girlfriend. That might be healthy.
-Are Kate and Alice not identical twins? If Jacob doesn’t get involved, just pin it on Alice.Why do people keep saying that? If they were identical twins, wouldn’t they be played by identical twins, or the same person, at literally any point?
ehh. not everybody is Tatiana Maslany and Rose/Skarsten don’t appear to have twins. don’t derail your whole casting for it.
Or, or, hear me out… they can just be the non-identical kind of twin.
What if they’re identical twins, but one of them is wearing someone else’s face because that’s one of only three or so plots this show knows.
They are. The flashbacks portray them as identical twins. I’m surprised they haven’t tried to handwave the difference in their current appearances as various injuries over the years or Alice being used as practice for the crazed plastic surgeon.Rachel Skarsten as Batwoman? Yes, I’m for that. Ruby Rose pulling double duty? Eesh.On top of that, it’d be murder if the lead had to play two (three, including the Multiversal Leftover Beth) characters for 22 episodes.
What are you talking about? The flashback actresses aren’t identical twins, either. Young Kate is played by Gracyn Shinyei, and young Beth is Ava Sleeth. This is the 21st century, we have the technology to look up these things and don’t have to just assert stuff and hope we’re right.You know, I’ve always worried I was a little face-blind, but I’m seriously reconsidering how well I’ve been estimating other people’s ability to recognize people after they change their haircuts or whatever.
I never looked at the cast list, so I assumed since they always dressed the kids the same and they look so similar, that they were twins (or they used one kid and did multiple takes). In my defense, I usually tune out the flashbacks because they’re not terribly interesting.
The show’s done the Kate lets Alice go for reasons thing just often enough that I was legitimately surprised when Kate locked Alice in the cell. Kind of shaky reasoning on Kate’s part for doing it, but it is where Alice belongs, and also where I’ve been hoping they’d put here for a while now to let the show focus on other things and build out the world. Like diving more into the corruption inside the Crows, that’s a great thread to pull. for however long we can still get new episodes this season, I noticed they didn’t even say when the next new episode is going to air.And of course, Mary remains the best.
I really liked that after Mary showed up unannounced to support Luke at the hearing, Luke showed up unannounced at Mary’s clinic to talk to her after witnessing his father’s supposed killer’s assassination. I love their thing even if it is a bit one-sided at the moment, but I’m sure that Luke is going to support Mary when she needs it too
Since the scene ended sort of abruptly when Luke showed up at Mary’s clinic, I lowkey want the next episode to open showing that they hooked up. Lowkey. I can be all in for a slowburn, too.
Luke was very fragile when he showed up at Mary’s clinic, I don’t think she would take advantage of him in that situation. I think they will hook up later
I was all prepared to complain about how Jacob would easily recognize that nurse’s description of the “Undercover Crows” (I mean, it’s not like Kate doesn’t have a particularly distinctive look) but then it turned out he was in on the whole thing. Though I have to assume Kate called him after they’d caught Mouse.
I agree that Alice should have been locked up. However, it would have been wiser to put her in a place that isn’t infamous both for its lack of security and poor track record of rehabilitating it’s inmates.
So glad to see Julia again, I feared that we wouldn’t. So just in this episode she saved Sophie, got shot, was reintroduced to Mary, checked on Luke, and hooked up with Kate. She might have had a flight too. That is a very full day.
I wondered for about a second if Julia was somehow involved with all the assassinations. She might be in an MI:6 kind of way. She can’t be a villain, can she? She’s a Pennyworth, after all.
She could be an antihero, as Young Alfred’s portrayed in PENNYWORTH — he’s channeling Michael Caine as a cross between Alfie and Get Carter, and while I’m not sure how it works really, it still kind of does.
Is that a good show to check out? I might as I am running out of things to watch during this self-quarantine.
If you don’t mind seeing a show about an out lesbian dealing with her ex, who ran back to men because — her lover was Bruce Wayne’s cousin and she’s wasn’t. Also, if you don’t mind weird family issues — very weird family issues.
I feel like maybe Julia and Sophie should hook up, partly because I don’t really want Kate and Sophie to be together. Julia for sure made a good first impression you would think
I thought Julia and Sophie had a good spark in their scenes together. Also Kate’s reaction to her exes dating would be priceless.
I did find it suspicious that we didn’t see her meeting Luke to see if he was okay.
This show is growing more and more hardcore. This episode was strong enough that it could have been a season-ender. Certainly Alice’s story has landed on a beat that sets her aside for a few episodes. I’ve bitched before about how much time the show has spent on Alice, but the last run of episodes has been good enough, that I don’t mind it anymore. The acting has been up to a level that I think the show can give itself a pat on the back (or indulge in brownie) now and be secure in the knowledge that they put a villain on the CW that stands on the same shelf as the best on any of the CW shows. Even if your bad guy ranking goes: 1) Damien Darhk 2) Eobard Thawne 3) Lex Luthor … etc. At least you can say Alice has made a screaming run at cracking the top ten.
For years and years, I wanted a big bad female in the Beeboverse shows and Alice has been a dream fulfilled.
I love how they’re playing Mary and Luke! Too many TV characters have ONE bonding scene and then rush for each other’s lips. This is building naturally and feels more real and authentic because of it.I also love Julia and was pleased to see her a second time.I would have done what Kate did too — Alice belongs in Arkham. Actually she belongs in a much better rehabilitation clinic than Arkham (nobody ever seems to get better there, and the place is so harsh, why would they?) It is only a matter of time before she escapes though, possibly next episode (whenever that is). There is no permanent solution for the most popular villain of a superhero TV series.
Really, didn’t Kate just hear that this guy used to “treat” Mouse with fear gas? Why would she put Alice there? It’s bullshit.
So far the show has been decent enough at making Alice uniquely crazy but then when she talked about setting up Cartwright to make Kate kill and see that she and Alice are the same, I rolled my eyes and went “oh so she’s just the Joker now I guess”.
She’s always been the Joker, the level of how Jokerlike she is varies by the episode.
It would be cool if post-Crisis they incorporated characters from Gotham into Earth Prime, and Erin Richards is the Joker
THAT’S what was missing from Crisis: a cameo of the universes “Gotham” and “Krypton” were set on!
It only took most of the season but Kate finally put away Alice. Maybe shouldn’t have done it in Arkham since it’s very clearly corrupt but still. Also we went so long without any mention of Coryona that I forgot that it was a thing. I don’t know what to expect from it since they’ve already greatly changed it from the comics version but if it’s like most of the villains this season then I’m sure I’ll be disappointed.
Also we’re dealing with a giant conspiracy surrounding the Crows for the rest of the season? I don’t know what to think about that either other than Jacob & Sophie are shitty leaders who’ve somehow managed to not notice the corruption occurring around them.And lastly while The CW might like Romantic Drama I certainly don’t especially when the Drama is about pushing a love triangle where people would probably rather see the destined loser win then the destined winner.
Whenever the Hero and the Villain team up, the CW has conditioned me to expect the villain to always get away. Moreso with Batwoman because of her personal connection with Alice. I did not see Kate locking Alice in with Mouse, not at all and I’m not someone that surprises easily. I liked that Kate’s problem with killing Cartwright wasn’t that she killed a dude, but because she didn’t feel bad or guilty about it. I find that to be a much more compelling motivation for not crossing that line again than “omg I killed a guy, I’m a monster, how can I ever live with myself?!?!”.I’m going to throw out a mildtake here, last week’s episode wasn’t about Alice. It was about Beth. It was about how Beth died after years and years of physical and psychological abuse, and gave birth to Alice. Beth was a victim, Alice is a psychopathic murderer that needs to be locked up for the safety of those around her. The tears she had at the end? Fake. She knows how to use emotions to manipulate to do what she wants. She knows how to prey upon someones insecurities, and their fears, and their guilt. If you felt bad for her at the end, then you fell for her trap. I don’t mean that as an insult, and I’m; not talking down to you. I’m not innocent of falling victim to that trap in the past, just not this time.
I think my favorite bit was when they were in the asylum and Kate made Alice promise not to kill any one, right after they put their masks back on and parted ways, Alice was skipping. It was a tiny bit that showed how deranged yet delightful she is.
Rachel Skarsten is often good in Batwoman. Tonight she was phenomenal.
I thought it was a bit cold hearted for Kate to trick her sister like that. Doesn’t seem like the best way to try and bring her back to the light, and will only exacerbate the PTSD Alice has over being held captive her whole life. Also, the fight scene with the gaurds in Arkham was one of the best the show has done so far, and I would love to see more like that but IN THE FREAKIN’ BATWOMAN SUIT!!!! Seriously, not enough of Kate as Batwoman on the show.
“Doesn’t seem like the best way to try and bring her back to the light”Kate gave up on trying to bring Alice “back to the light” after she killed Mary’s mom.
I’m loving the fact that Nine Inch Nails have a pretty strong, canon hold on superheroes right now.Cool to see Kate wear a NIN shirt (got one myself from when they were on tour in 2014 with Soundgarden), but I’m blanking on other superheroes who reference that.Kate, why did you lie to Luke about killing Cartwright? Coulda said he was dead from a self-inflicted throat wound to stop from talking. Which he would have died from if his neck wasn’t stapled back together.As for this new development in the “Who killed Lucius Fox?” case, there appears to be a conspiracy around it, which debunks the “armed robbery gone wrong” theory (like his best friends, Martha and Thomas Wayne), and cranks it up to “hired hit” (which could have also happened to the Waynes). I imagine Fox as a pillar of the community, a titan of industry, and a champion of the underprivileged, so I already have a theory about who’d want him (and perhaps a large chunk of Batman’s support network) out of the way: The Court of Owls. Introduced early in Scott Snyder’s run on Batman when the Nu52 began, they’re a secret society of Gotham City’s wealthiest and greediest who’ve had their claws in the city’s soul since the colonial era.
Jacob moved Cartwright’s body. Finally someone thinks ahead.
I was super surprised when Kate locked up Alice. Then, I was super-duper surprised when I felt sorry for Alice in lockup.
Heart aches for Luke man. He sold that pain so well.
Kate is a piece of shit. But it had to be done.
Sooooo did Batwoman reviews just…stop?