Into The Arrowverse: Sibling betrayal and virtual realities
By Ariba Bhuvad
Pictured: Rachel Skarsten as Alice — Photo: Katie Yu/The CW
Batwoman Episode 116: “Through the Looking-Glass”
Admittedly, Batwoman has been a little sporadic over the course of its first season. It started off strong, dipped low a bit, and picked back up post-Crisis; it’s been an up-and-down ride. This week’s episode had me intrigued a bit more than the last couple, but it’s still not quite hitting the mark.
The central focus of “Through the Looking-Glass” revolves around Alice and Kate. They have an unfortunate bond due to Kate murdering Cartwright in last week’s episode. More than ever before, these two have something in common, and it’s not something Kate is ecstatic about. She’s torn over the whole ordeal, and it’s the driving force behind her actions this week. Having promised Alice she will reunite her with Mouse, Kate helps Alice do just that. In exchange, Alice has to leave Gotham forever and never come back.
Anyone else think this sounds too good to be true?
Their investigation does indeed lead them to Mouse, but things take a turn when Jacob shows up with the C.R.O.W.S. and takes Mouse in, leaving Alice frazzled. She naturally suspects Kate is behind this betrayal, but Kate insists it wasn’t her.
Come on, Batwoman, did you really think you could fool Arrowverse fans? I think most people likely saw Kate’s ulterior motive and plan coming, but just in case you didn’t, let’s talk about it. Kate did follow through on the promise she made Alice about reuniting her with Mouse. However, they didn’t come to an agreement on how that would happen.
Oh, so locking Alice up with Mouse in Arkham Asylum wasn’t what she had in mind? Talk about stabbing your sister in the back!
I mean, I get it. Kate has been grappling with the notion that she’s too much like her murderous sister. The fear settled into the pit of her stomach, and she felt she had no choice but to lie to Alice and trap her.
Naturally, this act of betrayal has thrown Alice off the edge, and something tells me it’s going to get much worse from here on out.
It was a welcome change to see Luke Fox at the forefront of this episode. We don’t see him nearly enough, and I think his backstory is compelling. After all, he is Lucius Fox’s son! If only the Arrowverse could have crossed over with Fox’s Gotham while it was still on air!
Speaking of Lucius, the guy convicted for murdering him is released, which is hard for Luke to deal with. Leave it to Luke to go and confront the guy later that night, which doesn’t go as planned. As it turns out, this man probably didn’t kill Lucius and was framed for his murder.
Unfortunately, the guy doesn’t get too much time to talk before he’s shot dead on the spot. What the what?! Who did that? And is Luke going to get framed for this guy’s murder?
Well, he doesn’t get framed, but it does reveal that someone is trying to cover the actual truth about Lucius’ murder. The same group murdered the woman who owned the restaurant Lucius was killed at, and they also attempted to kill Jacob and Sophie. Who are these people?!
Luckily, Jacob takes down the guy who tries to shoot him, and Sophie remains safe thanks to Julia Pennyworth. It’s all pretty great, besides the fact that they are both Kate’s exes. But desperate times call for desperate measures, folks!
And while we’re talking about exes, as soon as Julia learns of Lucius’ death and what’s been happening, she goes off to talk to Luke. Lucius was her godfather and she wants to check in on her friend, but what she finds is her ex-girl sitting on a ledge.
Kate and Julia share a tender moment together as Kate shares the darkness she is dealing with. As fate would have it, Julia shines a little light into Kate’s life as the two share a passionate kiss.
Sorry, Sophie, there’s a new girl in town, and Kate just might be smitten.