BATWOMAN - SEASON 1.2

REVIEW:  BATWOMAN - SEASON 1, EP. 2: "The Rabbit Hole"


I will say this:  Batwoman is already providing enough drama, action, and twists and turns in just two episodes that I would've expected.  They've done a great job so far laying down the groundwork for the series' main antagonist, her connection to our intrepid heroine, and those around her.  Plus, we get the personal drama between Kate Kane and her father, as well as her ex-girlfriend Sophie.  And we had an interesting twist at the end of the episode.

They're really playing up the whole "Alice In Wonderland" motif for Alice and her villainous group of "Rabbits"...complete with rabbit masks to hide their faces.  The only one NOT out there wearing a mask is a man who betrayed the Crows, and joined Alice---her boyfriend.  A man that Jacob Kane is eager to find---as well as Alice herself, and put them BOTH down in a hurry.  Jacob is a man driven by ridding the streets of Gotham of crime...with his own security force AND the GCPD.  We KNOW this will eventually bring him into direct conflict with Kate, as she continues her own quest to fill the shoes of Bruce Wayne as Gotham's protector.  We see in this episode that Kate & Jacob are still on opposite sides of the fence in how to handle Alice.  Kate spends the episode trying to desperately convince Jacob that Alice is actually Beth, her sister that was supposedly killed in the car accident that occurred 15 years ago.  In flashbacks, we see Jacob promising a desperate Kate that they would NOT give up on finding Beth.  However...when he discovers that Catherine, his now wife, was the lead investigator in the search, discovers bones that match Beth's...Jacob feels it's time to give up and let go---and tries to convince Kate to do the same...which she feels betrayed by him, and thus causes the rift between them that lasts to this day.  Jacob doesn't want to believe that Alice is Beth, even when Kate says that Alice's knife has the same kind of gemstone that she had.  


She searches for Alice...even going to far as to enlist her ex Sophie's help by sending a message out to Alice for a meet by using the word "waffles", which turns out to be a reference to a waffle stand in the park that the girls used to go after school.  Alice DOES meet her, and they have a heart to heart chat.  Alice asks her straight out if she was in the batsuit.  Kate reveals that SHE had Alice's knife---who had been desperately looking for it at the beginning of the episode as she was at a house, holding a couple hostage (whom she later killed), and wants a DNA sample to prove she is who she is.  Alice does a good job at trying to misdirect, just to mess with Kate's head a little, but it's clear that she is Beth---who described the day of the accident that caused their mother's death, and left her to nearly drown.  But she managed to escape.

Kate wants to get the proof, but she has to end up protecting Alice from being shot by the Crows.  Kate asks her Dad for time, and they begin to transport her to Arkham, but there's an explosion, and Alice hits the water again...but THIS time, Kate--as Batwoman---was able to save her using her rebreather.  Alice is gone when Kate recovers after losing consciousness in the water.

Kate's OTHER relationships aren't exactly all that great, either.  She has family time with her Dad and new sister Mary, but considering the relationship with her father, it doesn't go well.  Things get further complicated when Mary is attacked in her secret hospital by the Rabbits by Alice, because she refuses to be ignored and Mary is seen as "competition".  Mary, to her credit, holds her own, but isn't happy with Kate, either.  She tells Kate that she wants Alice to know that there is NO competition.  That relationship torpedoed before it begins.

Kate's working relationship with Luke Fox isn't off on exactly the right foot, either.  Luke is the son of Lucius Fox, and appears to not really know a damn thing about how the Batcave works...he's just more like a "curator" of Bruce's secret life.  But when Kate is in trouble, he finally steps up to help save the day.  While he still seems very wet behind the ears...he begins to believe in Kate and her mission.  

Kate's relationship with Sophie got to be more complicated when Kate asked for her help in running interference with her Dad, while she got a DNA sample from Alice.  Sophie did so...to a point. They ended up being attacked by the Rabbits, who ended up stealing Alice's knife back after Kate had gotten it from Sophie. When she went to meet Alice, and get to the truth, Sophie informed Jacob, who figured out WHERE Alice had been hiding out....their old house.  When confronted, Kate felt betrayed, and that Sophie sold her out.  Sophie appears happy with her marriage, and Kate said she's sorry she wasn't there.  When Sophie replies to Kate about wishing her well at her wedding had she been there, Kate responds that she would've gone there to stop it.  Sophie DID manage to ask Kate if it was her in the batsuit, but Kate deflects, saying that if she was going to save Sophie, she'd have done it as Wonder Woman (nice reference and name drop here).  This is a relationship that will be severely tested, and quite possibly have both woman on opposite sides before the season ends.

Alice herself is very clear about her mission---to destroy the Crows and the GCPD, and to send Gotham into chaos.  The possible brain damage and abandonment Beth suffered during that accident has left her twisted and evil.  She wants to make her father suffer...it's a personal vendetta---even though her boyfriend isn't too keen on it.  It hasn't taken long for this show to establish the motivation of the villain, as well as setting up the relationships between her, Kate, their father, and everyone ELSE effected by this.  

The show ends with a VERY fascinating cliffhanger:  Catherine---Jacob's wife and Mary's mother---who had, coincidentally been the investigator in finding Beth---had hired the Rabbits to obtain the knife---so that they could destroy it and make it disappear.  Since it now has Alice's blood on it, a DNA test would prove whether or not Alice IS Beth.  Catherine apparently has her devious reasons as to WHY she doesn't want the truth to be told...and now we're left wondering if---possibly---SHE is the true villain of the season?  Going to be fun to find out just how far down her own personal rabbit hole Catherine has gone.  

The episode moved fairly fast---least it felt that way---didn't have too much lull in it.  We got story and character developement.  We're seeing Kate get used to being the symbol that Gotham needs---especially at the end of this episode where she has one of the Rabbits...and plans on torturing him for information.  

I enjoyed this episode.  And I know A LOT of people felt it may have plodded along, didn't have the best dialogue, and felt that they have probably given so much too soon...new shows take time to get their footing.  But they are not always allowed that luxury, what with shows getting cancelled left and right these days.  So, this show feels that it needs to hit the ground running...and it has.  The first few episodes may be rough around the edges, but when you're a new program, with A LOT of expectations to follow...especially in the case of living up to your sister shows...gotta jump in both feet first and make a huge splash.  Batwoman will have some rough patches to work through...but I am invested and willing to give the show a chance.  I hope you will too, and stick around for my reviews.  

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Until next week....the Batsignal is OFF!