Batwoman season 1, episode 10 review: How Queer Everything Is Today!

Batwoman’s midseason premiere finds our titular hero back in Gotham City after the craziness of Crisis on Infinite Earths, however, the world is different than before, but some things remain the same, as Kate’s sister is still on a mission of vengeance. 

Much is going on in Gotham City, Jacob is in prison framed for the murder of Mary’s mother, and a dangerous hacker is running loose, it’s up to Team Batwoman to work together to stop the threat to the city all while recovering from the events of last weeks crossover and the death of Oliver Queen.

Out and About

The Hacker and Big Bad of this episode has rigged a subway train to crash, and it’s up to Batwoman to save it! Save it she does with a high tech gadget, however, her life is put in danger when a cable snaps, she is saved when a heroic Police Officer jumps in to save her, which then leads to Gotham “Shipping” them. This storyline was funny in that it felt like the CW was poking fun at itself and how fans are always shipping characters together.

This plot then leads into a subplot of Kate feeling uncomfortable that the city views her as straight and she gets Kara Danvers (a.k.a. Supergirl) to write an article revealing that Batwoman is a lesbian.

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While no doubt a positive message to highlight, this felt like a missed opportunity to delve into how being a hero is not about gender or orientation; it’s about being unselfish and exactly what the title suggests: A Hero. Moreover, it could have been a great opportunity for Kate to highlight that the obsession with shipping and relationships in our society did not matter and that being Batwoman was enough, as she was a hero to everyone of all orientations. Instead, the show chose to sideline this for a rather ham-fisted narrative that, in the end, felt out of place.

Alice Alice Alice

Once again Rachel Skarsten shows why her character is one of the best on the show – and one of the best villains in the whole Arrowverse – as her performance of Alice continues to shift between deranged and oddly sane at the same time, as she goes about her mission to ruin her family. One thing the Arrowverse does well is create characters that one grows to love, and though Alice is not one to love, she is a great addition to the ranks of great CW villains.

What a mad mad mad twist!

The episode ends with the mother of all twists, Kate goes back to her office to find Alice there, but she has dark hair. Kate then tries to peel away her face, but then realizes that however unlikely, it seems that the REAL Beth, her long lost sister, is standing in front of her. So then who is Alice?!

Overall, this was a decent episode. The first episode after a crossover is always hard for a show as it must return to a status quo that has been upended, and Batwoman was able to deliver a decent narrative for the most part. Its twists and turns give the audience an exciting hour of television, that makes up for the hamfisted social messaging that weaves its way throughout the episode. Who is Alice? Where has Beth been? It looks like we have to wait to find out, and it’s going to be a long week indeed!

6.5/10 Batarangs

What did you think of Batwoman‘s midseason premiere? Let us know in the comments below!