Batwoman season 1 episode 12 review: Stolen faces and tragic choices
This week’s episode of Batwoman shows Kate and both of her sisters struggling with the aftermath of the Crisis anomaly that brought Beth back to Earth-1.
The most-recent episode of The CW’s Batwoman threw a wrench in Kate’s newfound happiness, making it clear that the Crisis anomaly that returned her sister to her was definitely too good to be true. As it turns out, Earth-1 can’t have two of the same person running around — meaning that, either Beth or Alice needs to die or get to another Earth.
This week’s episode, “Take Your Choice,” shows Kate, Luke, Mary, and Beth attempting to figure out a way to fix this mess. This, of course, is made more difficult by the fact that Mary and Beth know little about the Crisis on Infinite Earths situation — and that they don’t know about Kate’s identity as Batwoman.
To make matters worse, Alice soon discovers Beth’s existence after a visit with an angry and untrusting Mouse. She shows up to see Beth for herself, discovering that this version of her hasn’t experienced the same traumas — and that she’ll need to die in order for Alice to continue living.
Not only does this lead to an awkward encounter between Kate and her two sisters, but it gives fans a stunning scene between Mary and Alice. The relationship between these two is one of the more interesting ones in the series, especially since Alice seems to respect Mary as much as she resents her. Unluckily for her, Mary can’t stand her — and when she discovers a possible way to save one of them, she predictably chooses to save alternate-universe Beth.
Alice won’t give up that easily though, putting in a call to Gotham’s law enforcement and sending them in Beth’s direction. Given that the general public doesn’t know much about the many Earths in DC TV’s multiverse, they’re quick to chase after Beth thinking that she’s Alice. And that’s exactly what the real Alice is counting on.
Stolen and Familiar Faces
The B-plot of “Take Your Choice” shows Jacob Kane facing serious danger in prison, mostly at the hands of the inmates he put there. Their anger and desire for vengeance is only heightened by the rumors he might get out of prison, fueled by his meeting with a Dr. Ethan Campbell who agrees to look into Jacob and Mary’s claims that someone stole Jacob’s face the night Catherine died.
It seems the guy has their best interests at heart in the beginning, but it’s soon revealed this doctor is wearing another face — and the one under it is belongs to Mouse’s father. He investigates Jacob’s claim only to locate his lost son and Alice, and he seems hellbent on paying them both back for whatever they did to escape.
This is one of the most shocking twists of the entire episode, and his appearance at Mouse’s bedside suggests that he could eventually be the overarching villain of Batwoman. It’s clear most of Alice and Mouse’s actions stemmed from their traumatic childhood at his hands, and now he’s after them — and getting tangled up in Kate’s and Sophie’s storylines along the way.
Tragic Choices
When Mary brings her solution to Kate, the latter finally realizes that saving one of her sisters will kill the other — and that realization brings with it a hesitation Mary is appalled by. Saving Beth over Alice seems like a no-brainer, but Kate feels this would amount to her failing her true sister all over again.
Still, Kate ultimately makes the “right” call, choosing to inject Beth with the blood she needs. Knowing this will kill Alice, she spends what she expects to be her final moments with her. Alice, understandably, is distraught that her Kate would choose the alternate-universe version of her, and her betrayal is evident in what might be the most emotional performance we’ve gotten from Rachel Skarsten yet.
Unfortunately, this outcome is still too good to be true, and things quickly backfire as Mouse’s father forces Alice’s whereabouts from him. The problem? He winds up shooting Beth instead, meaning Alice perks back up, and Kate’s sister who deserved to live is lost forever.
Beth’s death is an expected one, but the appearance of Mouse’s dad does give viewers an all-new villain to anticipate. On top of that, Alice isn’t likely to extend protection to Kate now that her sister betrayed her. In fact, the episode ends with her angrily stabbing Kate after the realization of what she’s done washes over her. With their bond potentially severed for good, there’s no telling where Alice’s character will go from here.
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