Welcome back to Gotham! Hope is on the rise after some recent Batsightings as Gotham looks for their returned Dark Knight. But you and I both know this is no Bruce Wayne, it’s Kate Kane and she’s not here to play by the rules as she tries to save her father from her evil twin sister. So don your cape, grab your collapsable bow staff, and join us as we give you five thoughts on Batwoman season 1 episode 8, “A Mad Tea-Party.”
1. Kate’s relationship with Alice continues to compromise
As the first half of the season comes to a close, Kate still believes that there is enough of Beth’s personality and kindness left in Alice that she is worth redeeming. After all, Alice saved her life from the Rifle, keeps family heirlooms, and keeps a lair at least long enough for multiple visits from her twin sister. Kate says that she has decided to choose hope. By the end of the episode, she might have chosen wrong.
The interactions between Ruby Rose and Rachel Skarsten continue to be the highlight of the season, and “A Mad Tea-Party” is no exception. You can see the conflict on Kate’s face when she’s interacting with Alice, desperate to find the lost humanity of her sister. Alice, on the other hand, balances between the manic energy of a classic Batvillain, but with enough moments of humanity breaking through the surface that you find yourself questioning where the act truly ends. While Kate’s determination to save her sister is gone by the end of the episode, you can see where she’s coming from. At the end of the day, we all hope that we can save the ones we love. Even if it means compromising everything else.
2. Jacob!Mouse and the dangers of the infiltrated Crows
At the end of the last episode, it is revealed that Jacob Kane has been compromised, replaced by Mouse, the Skin Pirate. Dougray Scott does some impressive work as the imposter Jacob. While he is convincing enough to fool his employees, there are so many interesting and weird little ticks that betray his identity. It’s simple things like facial ticks or how he stands with a more pronounced gut. Even the cadence of his voice is off.
But what this boils down to is that Alice has access to the paramilitary group that is in charge of protecting the incredibly wealthy. Right before a gala. A gala where most of Gotham’s elite will be. While Kate is able to quickly discover her imposter father, she is unable to inform Sophie in time. Meaning that Alice’s gang has access to the gala and can attack and harass Gotham’s elite, breaking down their trust in the Crows. The Crows aren’t great, but they do serve a purpose. It will be interesting to see how they handle the fallout of the situation.
3. Sophie and Tyler’s tensions boil over
The building tension in the relationship between Sophie and Tyler came to a head in “A Mad Tea-Party.” Sophie continued to try and act as if there was nothing wrong, that her time with Kate was just a phase. Tyler is skeptical. It continues to escalate when Jacob!Mouse decides to tranquilize the couple instead of killing them. Alice doesn’t want to make Kate mad, and Tyler is more than a little upset that the villains of Gotham seem to know more about Sophie and Kate’s past than he does.
While it seems like they might have worked through their issues by the end of the episode, Tyler delivers a bomb. Sophie needs to figure herself out before they can continue to make it work, he’s not even sure he’ll be there when she’s ready. It’s tough to watch. It would have been nice to see some more characterization from Tyler earlier in the season, but he does good work with the material given. Both sides are presented fairly, though Tyler might be a little bit more uncompromising. It will be interesting to see where the story goes from here.
4. The Mad Tea-Party is complete
The gala is the main setpiece of the episode. Catherine Hamilton is going to be awarded a Gotham Humanitarian of the year award and in celebrating with her daughter and recently returned “husband,” enjoys a nice champagne toast. We can all see where this is going.
Continued belowAs Catherine gives her speech, the words begin to change, revealing the crimes of her company. How her fortune was made in blood. How her weapons are sold to Gotham’s criminals. How her husband’s company profits off of those same criminals. Gotham’s villains aren’t the Joker or the Riddler, they’re the people in the room. After her speech, she collapses, poisoned by the wine.
The climax of the episode comes with Catherine dying and being comforted by Mary. Alice poisoned her with an experimental drug developed by Catherine’s own company. A drug that destroys your insides and with no antidote. Alice has an antidote, however, but will only give it at a genuine apology. After the apology, it’s also revealed that Mary was poisoned and there is just enough antidote for one. The death of Catherine Hamilton is tragic, slow, and painful. The interactions between her and Mary show a loving relationship, them finally coming to an understanding in the last minutes of her life. It was incredibly well done, the emotions were strong and genuine showcasing the love and loss of a family.
5. The fallout of a well-laid plan
At the end of the first half of season one, Alice is triumphant. Her revenge is complete. Catherine is dead, Mary is punished for being her perceived“replacement,” and Jacob is arrested for the murder of his wife. Kate’s relationship with Mary seems damaged beyond repair, the one modicum of hope coming from Kate’s admission that perhaps Alice isn’t worth saving.
It’s a very dour ending to the first half of season one, perhaps fitting for Gotham’s Dark Knight. At the end of the episode, with Kate and Jacob getting a brief time together in the cell, they agree, Jacob is going to end Alice. Kate won’t stop him.
[break]And like that, we are done with the first half of Batwoman! While we have the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” episode to look forward to, this very much has a “midseason finale” vibe. What did you think of the episode? Did you want to see more of Catherine? Where will we go from here? Sound off below, and see you in 2020!
