Batwoman season 1, episode 5 review: Mine Is A Long and A Sad Tale

In Batwoman’s latest episode, “Mine Is a Long and a Sad Tale”, the first portion of Beth’s backstory and descent into Alice is revealed, and boy does it get creepy.  

Batwoman has revealed a lot over its first four episodes and teased the audience with a lot more. The primary mystery to unravel has been how Beth, the sweet and kind sister of Kate Kane, turned into a psychotic killer known as Alice.

Bits and pieces have been revealed, yet the full picture has yet to be seen. Episode 5 has given the clearest puzzle piece yet, and shown the viewer the first part of the long origin story of Alice and her villainous friend Mouse.

Skin in the game

In “Mine Is A Long And A Sad Tale”, the creep factor begins as Alice is witnessed stealing skin from the city morgue. This, of course, is very disturbing to Kate (for some reason more disturbing than her sister stabbing many people to death already).

Kate then tracks her sister by using the tracker she placed in the neck of Dodgson (Alice’s henchman and lover). After successfully doing so, she engages in a fight with the Wonderland gang and captures Alice. And as they wait for Jacob to arrive and take Alice away, the audience finally begins to get a picture of what exactly happened to Beth!

Gotham Chainsaw Massacre

After the car accident, Alice reveals she awoke in the home of a father and son, who claims to have found her when they went fishing. Despite claiming they had called the police to come get her, it was pretty obvious that something was very creepy with this family. Kate then takes Alice to a diner and she reveals more of the story, as the man’s son Johnny (who we later find out is Mouse) was disfigured and Alice and he became friends.

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However, things took a turn for the worst when Beth figured out that Mouse’s father had never alerted the police about his discovery of her, as she was subsequently locked in the basement.  She then found a skin face in the sink – seen in the previous episode. Yep, some serious Leatherface vibes going on there!

Knock Knock

It is then revealed that Alice planned everything out in order to drug Kate and then take her to the very cabin where Beth had been held captive. Soon afterwards, Jacon and Sophie make the save – and the tragic truth is revealed.

Alice had escaped from the basement where she was being kept and called her father. However, as Jacob and Kate arrived at the house, they were met by the father who informed them it was a prank by Mouse. Kate and Beth were literally only separated by a door, yet the fear of her captor murdering Jacob and Kate kept her silent.

Its a truly tragic moment, and Rachel Skarsten really sells the emotion of it all. As Alice remains one of the most interesting and complex characters on the show.

Conclusion

Batwoman has had its ups and downs this season, yet “Mine Is A Long And A Sad Tale” was perhaps the best episode yet. It was raw, emotional, and had horror elements in spades. It’s great that the show is embracing the darkness of the Batman mythos and allowing viewers to feel the horror and emotion of the moments as they come.

The shocking stabbing of Jacob by Alice, the reveal of a grown-up Mouse, and the good origin tale, all made up for a few lackluster moments with the more superfluous members of the cast.

The CW has the tendency to overload its shows with cast members. Arrow was at its best at the very beginning when it focused on Oliver and Diggle (and their respective lives), and The Flash thrived when we had the small core team around Barry in the freshman season. Batwoman is a solo hero, and it would be best if the show focused on Kate, Alice, and Luke and not devoted as much time to the other characters

7.5/10 Batarangs

What did you think of Batwoman Episode 5? Are you a fan of Alice? Let us know in the comments below!