Batwoman season 1, episode 4 review: Who Are You?

In “Who are you?” Kate Kane’s new identity as Batwoman is tested by the arrival of a cunning and violent thief who has set her sights on the jewelry of Gotham’s wealthy elite! 

Batwoman episode 4  is very much a “Case of the week” episode, but this is not a bad thing as the viewers are introduced to a colorful baddie by the name of Magpie who has an odd obsession with all things avian, and an eye for the jewelry of Gotham’s wealthy elite. Meanwhile, Catherine Hamilton-Kane is blackmailed by Alice for a new weapon, who threatens to reveal her deep dark secret to her husband Jacob.  Then to top it off, Kate decides to add a bit of romance to her life!

The villains of the Week

In “Who Are You?” Kate Kane does battle with Magpie, and this is used to showcase the detective aspects of the Dark Knight, as Luke Fox must investigate the origin of Magpie’s grenades.

The fight scenes are pretty well-choreographed, and the Bat gadgets are put to good use (a fun part was seeing Magpie seemingly escape only for Batwoman to grapplehook her off a building into a fountain). Magpie’s costume was a bit on the nose and corny, however, Gotham’s villains are not known to be normal either in dress or actions, so it works for the character.

Alice as said above is busy trying to gain a new weapon and her henchman that Kate is holding hostage reveals a bit of her overall plan involving someone named “Mouse”. Alice continues to be a delightfully unhinged character, she chews the scenery in the best way possible and her costumes are ever-changing and creative.

Bed, Bat and Beyound

Batwoman episode 4’s treatment of relationships was both cringey and supremely overdone. The episode opens with Kate and her date Reagan in bed and chatting. It is obvious that they both seem to care for each other, it seems clear that Kate must choose between her blossoming romance with Reagan and her identity as Batwoman.

The handling of this was predictably eye-rolling when a meeting of Reagan and Sophie occurs, complete with awkward dialogue, that only existed to show that Sophie still has feelings for Kate. This storyline is extremely tired and worn out, as we have seen some variation of it in every superhero show and movie.

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We all know that Kate won’t be able to stay with Reagan, and the ending of her choosing between her and being Batwoman is seen lone before it comes. While giving Kate love interests is not a bad thing, it should be done in a way that does not rely on tired tropes, that have been used countless times before.

Secrets

The viewer is treated to some resolution to the mystery of Alice and Jacob’s wife, it is revealed that Catherine Hamilton-Kane faked Beth’s death to give Kate and Jacob closure. This is made more horrifying after seeing Beth held captive in the Leatherface style cabin, last episode and knowing that due to Catherine Hamilton-Kane she could have been found had the search continued.

Catherine confesses to Jacob, rather than give Alice her weapon, but now that Catherine has been ruled out as a suspect, there are even more questions related to who caused the attack with Alice and who sabotaged the car with Kate and Beth. Is it possible that Jacob was involved? Who is Mouse? Who held Alice captive for all those years! There are many questions and not a lot of answers yet.

6.5/10 Batarangs

What did you think of this week’s episode of Batwoman? Let us know in the comments below!