Into The Arrowverse: Batwoman and Supergirl end, Stargirl begins

Batwoman: Pictured: Gabriel Mann as Hush — Photo: Dean Buscher/The CW

Batwoman Episode 120: “O, Mouse!”

It pains me to even begin writing this review because little did I know just two days after it aired, we would learn it was Ruby Rose’s last episode as the title character. It’s strange to think that when the series returns next year, there will be someone else donning the red wig and Batsuit. Let’s just hope whoever it is does the role justice, as Rose did.

Okay, enough with the mourning, let’s talk about this ridiculously awesome Batwoman season 1 finale. The main focus is Kate’s determination to convince Papa Kane that Batwoman isn’t all that bad, and we’re treated to unexpected twists and turns along the way.

Batwoman attempts to convince Jacob that they should work together on capturing the villain of the week. While Kate the daughter is extremely hopeful he’ll agree, the Batwoman side of her just wants the city to be kept safe. Jacob isn’t eager to join forces at first but comes around to the idea, which involves an escaped convict from Arkham who was once a professional football player.

Clearly, time hasn’t been good to him, and to make matters worse, he’s incapable of feeling pain. Great, another villain in Gotham who seems impossible to defeat. But never fear, Batwoman and the C.R.O.W.S. are here.

They lure him to a football stadium in a scene that reminded me a little of Bane taking over a stadium in The Dark Knight Rises, and attempt to take him down. However, things get messy because dear Papa Kane does not intend on teaming up with Batwoman at all. In fact, he sees it as an opportunity to kill Batwoman while taking down the Arkham escapee.

Imagine the horror this guy will feel when he inevitably finds out that Batwoman is actually his daughter. Won’t be a happy day, that’s for sure.

It doesn’t take Batwoman long to realize that her father intends on killing her, as he and the C.R.O.W.S begin shooting at her point-blank with no reservations. It’s pretty brutal. But with the Batsuit protecting her, Batwoman is able to grapple her away out of there. Unfortunately, while she may have walked away unscathed, her heart has broken into a million pieces over Jacob’s deception, and his rage towards her alter ego.

But let’s get to the real meat of the season 1 finale, shall we? In last week’s episode, we learned that Kryptonite affects the Bat-family as well, thanks to the information in Lucius Fox’s coded journal. Alice being privy to this tidbit doesn’t bode well for Kate; like Jacob, Alice just wants Batwoman gone. Now that she possesses the knowledge on how to get rid of her, she won’t stop at anything to get her hands on that shiny green rock.

However, it’s easier said than done for Alice, who into a dead end. I must say, now that the season is over, I want to commend Rachel Skarsten on her incredible performance as Alice. The character is so evil, manipulative, and frightening; Skarsten brings her effortlessly to life.

Skarsten’s best performance, in my opinion, is in this episode. On Alice’s failed quest to find Kryptonite, it becomes clear that she’s starting to lose her mind. Mouse sees her in this repetitive cycle of despair and revenge, and tries his very best to get Alice to walk away from it all. Why continue on this journey if it only leads to hate and anger?

I 100% agree with Mouse, but Alice…not so much. She pulls a horrendous trick on the guy who was basically the only family she ever knew. It’s what Gen-Z folks would call, savage.

First, she leads Mouse to believe that she agrees with him and is going to leave this life behind. Little does the poor guy know that his dear “sister” has other plans for him: poisoning him to death. R.I.P. Mouse, sorry your sister was a horrible human being who is obsessed with Batwoman.

And if you thought this would be the biggest plot twist of the finale, you’d be wrong. Very wrong. After killing Mouse, Alice tends to Tommy Elliot’s face problem, which is to say he’s finally getting one. At first, I assumed it was going to be Mouse’s face. But upon further thought, it wouldn’t make sense to do that because it wouldn’t have a very big impact on the story overall. So whose face did Tommy get? Are you ready for it? Are you sure?

BRUCE WAYNE.

Granted, we had no idea what Bruce Wayne looked like in the Arrowverse before this moment, but here he is as Tommy’s new face. I love how the show unveiled this. We see Tommy looking at a magazine cover with Bruce Wayne on it, and then we shift to his new face.

I don’t think I have to tell you how big this reveal is and what it means for the Arrowverse in general. The only question we have now is whether Batman is going to pop up in the show next year. I mean, he has to, right? A villain obsessed with him will be walking around with his face, so if that doesn’t pull him out of hiding, I don’t know what will.

And to think, this wasn’t the planned finale. In fact, Supergirl was supposed to pop in during one of the last couple of episodes, presumably to deal with the piece of Kryptonite Kate has been holding onto for her. Thanks to Luke and Mary, the other Kryptonite was destroyed, but Kate refused to do anything with Supergirl’s until she spoke with her. Unfortunately, that never came to fruition, but there’s always next year, right?

We’ll see you in 2021, Batwoman — with a new story, and a new Batwoman.

Grade: A-