BATWOMAN - SEASON 1.8

REVIEW:  BATWOMAN - SEASON 1, EP. 8:  "A Mad Tea Party"


Things have certainly taken a turn for the worse for our Lady Crusader.  Her father and her are at odds about Alice, she can't seem to make a connection with Mary, her step sister, Catherine had lied to her about her sister's death, Sophie has nearly blown her secret ID...and Alice still has yet to enact her master plan.  What happens from here will tailspin into the rest of the season---BUT---we still have CRISIS hanging overhead.  What will be Gotham City's fate?  


We descend into Gotham City this week, where one of the Wonderland Gang is on the run, only to run into his pursuer---Batwoman.  She threatens him if he doesn't cough up his coat, which he does so to save himself from a beating.  She takes off with it just before the police arrive to arrest him.  Back at the Cave, Kate and Luke find a cell phone in his pocket, which they use to track Alice to her new location, which is at some undisclosed warehouse (seem to be A LOT of these between Star City, Central City, and Gotham).  Kate actually shows up to meet her sister, and Kate discusses whether or not Alice sent the Rifle to kill her, only to have Alice give her the piece of the weapon that WOULD have.  The cartridge that would've been able to pierce the Batsuit.  Kate tries to reason with Alice, wanting to help her.  But Alice has no interest, saying that ANY vestige of Beth is gone.  With that, Kate leaves.

Jacob is still upstate on whatever case he was working on, when he checks into Crow HQ, informing them of his return to Gotham.  However, Jacob doesn't get far as he's overtaken by members of the Wonderland Gang, who stun him and kidnap him.  

Kate is in her bar, pulling out glasses, when Mary walks in.  She let's Kate know that there's a Gala honoring her mother Catherine tonight, and she would like Kate to go.  But Kate is still sore that Catherine lied to her and her father, and she wouldn't betray her father like that.  Mary tells her that Jacob and Catherine are working it out.  Kate is in disbelief, and she just can't bring herself to go, which upsets Mary.  

Kate goes to see her father, and he tries to convince her that they're working on things.  It's not that he's totally forgiven her, but he's trying to meet her half way.  Kate can't simply do this (of course, what she DOESN'T know--as yet--is that Jacob is actually Mouse in disguise), and she bails.  

The real Jacob awakes in another location, cuffed up and confronting Alice.  She wants to get an apology from him....for not looking further into the case, for not checking on the bones that Catherine found.  He breaks down, and apologizes to her for failing her, for not doing his due diligence.  They discuss Catherine's actions, and she thanks her father for making her who she is.  When he asks what she's up to, she merely replies that it's time for her "Mad Tea Party".  Her plan is now going into action.  

Back at the Cave, Kate is talking with Luke on her father's willingness to forgive Catherine for what she did.  She feels something is off, and calls her dad again.  When she talks to him, she talks about the wedding he and Catherine had, and what time of the year it happened.  She said it was a cold winter, and he agreed.  Kate hangs up, and realizes it's not her father, since he and Catherine married in the middle of Summer.  She puts two and two together, and knows that it's Mouse impersonating Jacob.  

At the Crows' HQ, Sophie and Tyler are discussing her past relationship with Kate.  He's upset that he doesn't know more about it, and that she didn't tell him.  Just then, "Jacob" comes in to give out tactical instructions for the gala that night, and as he's discussing the plan, Kate texts Sophie, telling her that her father is really Mouse.  Sophie is onto it, but plays along.  Just as "Jacob" finishes his marching orders, he gets the jump on the two, and nails them with tranquilizers...thus taking them out of the equation for the time being. 

We next see the Kane family in a limo headed for the gala, where "Jacob" is handing out champagne to both Catherine and Mary, who drink it up, while Mary is blogging about the big night.  

Kate meets Alice once again, letting her know that she's onto her plan.  Kate also says that Alice keeps a picture of the both of them, so she can't possibly want to kill her.  She asks where their father is, and Alice tells her.  When Kate goes to get him, however, he's gone. 

Luke has eyes on the gala, and he sees "Jacob" enter, and a couple of the security men are actually members of the Wonderland Gang.  Alice's plan is now in action.  The host gives his speech about Catherine's work to make Gotham better, and invites her up for an award, and she begins to give her speech.  

Back at the Crows, Sophie and Tyler wake up, and begin to work on escaping the zip ties they're attatched to.  Meanwhile, Tyler again continues to discuss Sophie's relationship with Kate.  He needs to know more.  She finally gets free, and gets him free as well, as she tells him that all her life, she's tried to follow the rules, and Kate was the first time she broke them.   He wants to know if they have a future...because he wants a family.  She understands that.  But right now, they need to get to the gala.

Catherine is giving her speech, but as she's reading the teleprompter below her, she starts to see that Alice has rewritten it, revealing to Catherine that she's got gang members in the building, and lives are in danger.  She is to continue reading the speech, which she continues to explain that the real villains are not the Joker, or Penguin, or Riddler...it is THEM...and they're all around you.  Just then, her nose begins to bleed profusely, and she collapses...Mary rushing to her side.  The Wonderland Gang beings to herd everyone into the room to prevent them from escaping.  The host tries to get the crowd to not panic, but it's no use.

Batwoman has made it to the gala, and has to start fighting off Alice's gang.  As Mary is tending to Catherine, Alice shows up, decked out in a ball dress.  Alice confesses that their champagne was spiked with poison...a very fast acting one...that destroys the system.  Mary wants the antidote, but Alice says that her mother is the one responsible for creating the poison, but never got around to an antidote.  However...Alice just happens to have an alternative, which she puts into a cup of tea.  It's from a rare plant from a place called Coriana.  Alice goes on to explain that she wants an apology from Catherine, who does apologize, but Alice really isn't quite feeling it.  While Alice is looking for a real apology, Batwoman continues to wade her way through Alice's goons, trying to get to Catherine and Mary.  Catherine again apologizes...knowing she's dying.  Alice gives them the antidote, but there's just one problem---Mary is poisoned as well.  Alice informs them there's only enough for ONE of them to have the antidote.  Alice then recounts how she had someone impersonate Jacob, and had them poisoned.  Alice goes on to explain that this is about the choices we make in life...and the consequences they have.  She leaves Catherine and Mary to their fate, as she has other fish to fry.  

Mary tries to reason with her mother to drink half, then she'll drink half, and it should work.  But Catherine knows better.  She tells Mary that she knows about her underground clinic, which surprises her.  But Catherine admits pride at what Mary's doing.  Catherine knows that she has to make the ultimate sacrifice to save her daughter.  So, she urges Mary to drink the antidote..which she does.  Sadly, Catherine does not make it, as she dies, but not before she tells Mary that SHE is the one thing Catherine did right.

Jacob had been drugged and taken away somewhere else, as per Alice's orders.

Batwoman eventually catches up to Alice, asking where HER father is, to which Alice corrects her.  Alice doesn't cough it up, and Batwoman asks where Catherine and Mary are, and she say she poisoned them....because she wanted revenge.  This enrages Batwoman, who begins to start choking her sister out.  She continues to choke her, but ends up letting her go.  Alice knew Kate wouldn't kill her.  Before Batomwan can get more out of Alice, Mouse rams into her, pushing her off the balcony.  Alice and Mouse make their escape.  

Jacob awakes inside the driver's seat of a vehicle in a parking structure.  As he gathers his surroundings, he sees the cellphone in front of him, and calls Kate.  Kate makes sure she confirms his identity by asking him what he got her for her 6th birthday.  Once he confirms it's a bike, she asks where he's at.  But at that moment, the GCPD is surrounding the vehicle, guns out, aimed at him.  He's under arrest, and it doesn't help that they find the vial that had the poison Mouse used to kill Catherine.  We later see Vesper Fairchild reporting on Catherine's death and Jacob's arrest.  

Kate goes to see Mary in her clinic, who tells her about how many people she's saved in that clinic.  Kate tries to be comforting to Mary, but she's upset with her.  She tells her about how Catherine died, and asked Kate if Alice was worth the risk of saving...to which Kate nods "no".  Mary just doesn't want to be around her right now.

Sophie is on the phone trying to get ahold of the Commissioner in order to get Jacob out, but nothing's doing.  Her and Tyler talk again, and he reiterates that he wants a family with her, but he needs to know that she's on board with that, and that she wants to be there.  He flat out asks her if she is in love with him---and she doesn't know.  He tells her that when she settles her issues, he'll either be there or not.  

Kate looks upon the picture of her and Beth...and the anger she has at what her sister has done for simple revenge is too much.  She shatters the picture frame, and throws stuff off a desk, meanwhile, Mary does the same thing out of grief, and we see Sophie in a stairwell, crying.  Everything has fallen apart.  We then see Kate go and see her father, and she talks about giving up on Beth.  She is gone, only Alice remains.  She feels nothing for her anymore.  Jacob says good, and when he gets out, he's going to destroy her.  Kate won't stand in his way.

We later cut to Central City on December 9th, as Nash Wells is back in the tunnel, looking at the opening that has exposed a metal wall or sorts with heiroglyphics or something on it.  He hears a voice in his head telling him to "submit and be anew"...presumably from the Monitor.  He goes up to the inscriptions on the door, which are now glowing, and the touches them in a specific sequence.  We then see the door open with this bright light....and it immediately sucks Wells in, and the door closes.  

CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS has begun...



Man, did this episode come down on a bummer note!  Well, like a good story goes, at one point, everything has to go to hell before it gets better.  And this story focused on the choices we all make...or in THIS case...those of our denizens of Gotham City.  For Batwoman--- she wanted to save Beth.  But, in the wake of what happened...things are only BEGINNING to get worse!  CRISIS aside, her family has been ripped asunder thanks to the machinations of Alice and her Wonderland Gang.  We knew that once we found out Alice was Beth, her motivation was pure revenge.  Revenge against her father for giving up on finding her, for not double checking Catherine's investigation, and for the death of her mother.  She wanted revenge on Catherine for closing the investigation into her case to begin with.  She just basically hated Mary because she was Catherine's daughter, who got to grow up of a sort with Kate, and for the fact that she was doted on...and that Catherine dragged her into a marriage with her father, henceforth taking her place.  Alice has lost all sense of morality, but she hasn't killed Kate yet.  Not sure if she can honestly kill the one person who never truly gave up on finding her, but with things now accelerated in the wake of Catherine's death, and the fact that Kate was ready to kill HER...even though she didn't...the very THOUGHT of it has now put the two sisters on a collision course.  There is no going back.  

Catherine's choice:  She wanted to spare both Jacob AND Kate any further pain from Beth's loss.  In doing so, she tampered with the investigation, and closed it.  While her intentions were altruistic to HER...it's what set all of this in motion.  Jacob's refusal and ignorance to not double check the evidence is another thing that drove Beth to become Alice.  

Mary is the worse for wear here, now having no mother, and having a stepsister that didn't want to be supportive of her stepmother.  Mary is mad at Kate, and there really isn't much Kate can do about that right now.  Mary is going to lash out, she's going to make Kate miserable, and it might take Alice going after Mary again, that Kate ends up rescuing her, and thus revealing to her that she's Batwoman.  I still feel that day is coming regardless...doesn't matter HOW we get there.  Jacob finally got to have his day of remorse for failing his daughter.  And while Alice had several chances to kill her own father---her motivation is revenge.  Thus, framing him for killing Catherine is just as sweet.  He'll be on trial, possibly go to prison if convicted, and it will give her that satisfaction she craves.  However, she is still going to have that final showdown with Kate.

Sophie's and Tyler's marriage...to ME, anyway...has been nothing more than a boring joke and a ploy to create tension between Kate and her.  But it has been OVERTLY apparent that no matter HOW hard Sophie tries to hide her feelings, she can't.  She still loves Kate, and has pretty much admitted that to Tyler.  I can't blame him for not wanting to stick around, but the question is this:  where do we go from here?  What happens to this relationship?  Does Kate and Sophie have a chance, or will Kate's secret of being Batwoman...now that she's fooled Sophie...loom over any happiness they MIGHT have?  It's something that will be visited before the end of this season.  But I see it being doomed.  I think Kate will work past the loss, and be happy on her own.  She'll finally understand why Bruce NEVER had personal relationships outside of a VERY few.  It's something worth watching.

Well...as we saw at the extra scene after the title tonight at the end of the episode, Nash Wells got sucked into the void of whatever it is the Monitor hangs out after he used the markings on the door in sequence.  Does this mean he becomes Pariah?  I know we'll be finding THAT out shortly, as everything in the Arrowverse is now put on hold because CRISIS is here!  What happens in the wake of it...and what happens to Gotham City, Batwoman, Alice, Mary, Jacob, Sophie, and everyone else?  We'll have to find out in Janurary.  For now, this was our Fall Finale, because CRISIS is now doing to dominate our little DC Universe here for the next month and a half.  So, strap in, kids....the ride is about to take off!

That does it for this installment!  Subscribe, comment, and pass along the good word I'm here.

Until next time:  Worlds will live...worlds will die...and the Universe will NEVER be the same!

The signal is OFF!