So it looks like “Crisis on Infinite Earths” affected Batwoman more than just putting her on the same earth as The Flash and Supergirl. As we saw at the end of last week’s episode, it brought a version of Beth who never went missing into the world as well. That’s going to be super awkward considering all Kate’s ever known is the version who turned into Alice. Kate doesn’t react super well, choking her on the desk until Beth maces her and escapes. Not the sister reunion either expected, I’m guessing.
After Beth runs out, Kate confirms that Alice is still in custody with the Crows. Sophie shares the interesting fact that Kate isn’t the only one who’s seen an Alice lookalike out and about. Further inspection of the purse Beth left behind reveal that all her documents check out. It really is Beth. Kate tracks her down at the place they always spent birthdays as kids. Beth wonders why no one recognizes her, and Kate tells her everything. Beth is surprisingly receptive. She says a masters in theoretical physics prepared her for the possibility of parallel universes. Now, it’s just a matter of sorting out what’s different.
Rachel Skarsten as Beth — Photo: Shane Harvey/The CW
That leads to a scene that’s fun at first, but soon turns sad and touching. The two sisters catch up, going over the differences between their two Earths. At first, it’s just little stuff, like how Beth’s Kate didn’t have any tattoos. Then she reveals that there was still a car crash on her Earth. The difference is Kate crawled back onto the car and saved her. Exactly the thing our Kate has kicked herself for not doing all her life. Amid all this, there’s a sense of relief and melancholy in both of their performances. They really feel like sisters who reconnecting after decades apart. I’m admittedly a sucker for sibling relationships in stories, but this scene hit me right in the heart. For a character we really only met at the very end of last week’s episode, Batwoman made us care about her in record time.
This whole episode is structured so well. Every development is organically set up and paid off. While Kate is reconnecting with her sister, Alice is in Crow custody. We see flashbacks to her time in Mouse’s house, and get a clear picture of everything she went through. How Mouse snuck her a cat to keep her company, how Mouse’s dad verbally abused both her and his son, and how Mouse’s dad found the cat and killed it in front of the kids. These scenes are tense and a real punch to the gut. They make you feel for Alice in a way the show hasn’t been able to before this. Especially because, with the introduction of Beth, we see the life she missed out on. The flashbacks also set up the secret code between Mouse and Alice, and the fact that Alice had stitched up her book with Mouse’s dad’s very strong fishing wire. Both of which pay off later in the episode.
Ruby Rose as Kate Kane and Sam Littlefield as Mouse — Photo: Shane Harvey/The CW
The emotional stuff in this episode also landed perfectly. A lot of the time CW shows, superhero and not, can go too hard into melodramatics. They can start to feel like soap opera presentations of emotion rather than actual emotion. That wasn’t the case here. In the scenes of Beth and Kate catching up and talking about one another, it’s like they’re finally saying everything they’ve wanted to tell each other for years. Even the happy scenes between them carry the underlying threat that this could all be taken away at any moment.
Then there’s Alice, forced to relive her trauma as she spends another birthday in captivity, though deserved this time. She’s a more complicated villain than what we’re used to seeing on these shows. She’s done some horrible things, but she also clearly needs help. We’d love to simply replace her with the new Beth, but there’s a nagging sense that wouldn’t be entirely fair. Then there’s the possibility that Jacob Kane is right, that she’s just trying to get in Sophie’s (and our) head. All their scenes together made me genuinely worried Sophie would listen to her and let her go. Fortunately, she doesn’t. Always nice when nobody takes the stupid pills on one of these shows.
Sam Littlefield as Mouse and Rachel Skarsten as Alice — Photo: Shane Harvey/The CW
Mouse and Alice’s gang kidnaps two high-profile hostages and the police commissioner refuses to turn on the Bat Signal. Ever since Batwoman came out, it seems he thinks calling her for help is political. I know the show hammered this point last week, but it deserves repeating. We’re still told the existence of women and gay people in comics, video games and action movies is “political” when a straight man in the same role somehow isn’t. In any case, Kate sets off on her motorcyle to save the hostages, but Mouse hits her with a van and ties her up with them. Beth sees an opportunity to save her and has Mary make her up to look like Alice. I like that Mary’s on the team again, but this was a real rough first job to have her do.
Beth shows up in a blond wig and asks Mouse to let the hostages go. The problem is she only knows how to act like Alice based on what people who hate Alice have told her. There are bound to be some holes in the performance. Earlier in the episode, Alice mentioned having her own secret language with Mouse, that they used to communicate while Mouse’s dad was around. Mouse tries using it with Beth, who doesn’t have the right response. He rips off her wig, stuffs her in the trunk of the car holding the other hostages, and pours gas all over it. Kate escapes and we get a thrilling fight scene, where Kate beats back every rabbit-faced goon that comes after her. She may not suit up much in this episode, but I’m glad we got to watch Batwoman kick ass like this.
Ruby Rose as Kate Kane and Sam Littlefield as Mouse — Photo: Shane Harvey/The CW
Mouse’s shoulder gets impaled on a steel rod, but he flicks a match and lights the car on fire. Kate frees the hostages, but can’t open the trunk to get Beth out. She rips the backseat away, but the metal bars of the seat are too narrow for Beth to crawl through. For a second it looks like Kate is going to have to leave her sister to die all over again. But we know that’s not how this show’s going to end. Kate comes back this time, with a metal beam she uses to wrench the backseat open. She rescues Beth just before fire consumes the whole car. Kate got her redemptive moment. She went back for her sister and saved her, just like she always kicked herself for not doing. Yes, the moment is obvious and corny, but damn it, it works.
Only the second episode of the season, and it’s a banger like this. Batwoman is starting the second half of its first season on a much stronger note than the first. Of all the CW DC shows, this one is clearly making the best use of the momentum it got from “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” It’s a good thing, too. With the Super Bowl next week and the Oscars after that, the show is taking the next two weeks off so it doesn’t lose viewers. (Though, with the Oscar nominees this year, is that really such a ratings threat?) Batwoman had to leave us on a high note before taking such an early two-week break. No matter the reason, I’m glad we got such a strong episode at this point in the season. And with Beth and Alice both developing sudden headaches from existing on the same Earth, I’ll definitely be back for the continuation in two weeks.
Batwoman airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
Previously on Batwoman:
- Batwoman Season 1 Episode 10 recap
- Batwoman Season 1 Episode 9 recap
- Batwoman Season 1 Episode 8 recap
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