Welcome back to Gotham! Gotham’s own paragon of courage Kate Kane defends her city as Batwoman, but her life has been difficult. Not only does she have to try and stop her evil twin, but she has to figure out why she’s seeing double. So don your cape, grab your piece of steel rebar, and join us as we give you five thoughts on Batwoman season 1, episode 11 “An Un-Birthday Present.”
1. Really truly Beth
At the end of “How Queer Everything Is Today!” we were left with a bombshell, Beth is back. Crazy things happen when you combine an infinite number of Earths, I guess, because now Earth-1 has two Beths. It’s actually quite a lot of fun to have Beth back, mainly because it just gives permission for Rachel Skarsten to have more fun. Who doesn’t want more of that? Beth is sassy and brilliant, in many ways she is the mirror of Alice. There are so many similarities between the two characters, but what is terrifying in Alice is charming in Beth. Mary even admits to Kate that she understands why Kate is fighting so hard to redeem Alice, Beth is just too much fun.
The only real hard sell of the episode is just how cool Beth is with her whole situation. They establish that she is an astrophysicist and she seems to have done work in multiple Earth theory. She’s also pretty excited that she won’t have to worry about bumping into her exes because they won’t know who she is, but it all just seems too convenient. Beth seemed pretty content with her life, but she’s just ok with her world being destroyed? Perhaps something’s not adding up.
2. Deeper down the Rabbit Hole
“An Un-Birthday Present” really gives Rachel Skarsten the opportunity to shine, giving Alice the chance to continue her schemings and manipulation. Alice has been captured by the Crows, waiting for her eventual transfer to Arkham. But as a birthday gift, Sophie gives Beth her copy of Alice in Wonderland, and a person to talk to. Alice continues to weave the narrative of those years being captured with Johnny and “The Caterpillar,” Johnny’s father.
Once again, the flashbacks are well executed and difficult to watch. You really feel the terror building in young Beth as she watches her world collapse around her and learns how her father has moved on without her. Ava Sleeth does a great job as young Beth, especially the scene ]when Beth decides to create Alice as a defense from the madness. But like all good Alice stories, we don’t know how much is true and how much is manipulating Sophie, reminding her of the lies she tells herself. Alice might be in a cage, but you can escape a physical cage… you can’t escape the lies you tell yourself.
3. The Bat without the suit
Batwoman dropped a bombshell at the end of last week’s episode, becoming an out and proud lesbian defender of Gotham. The problem is that the GCPD doesn’t seem to be as excited about the announcement as the rest of the city, effectively cutting Batwoman out of the loop. The commissioner assures the media that the decision is not political, but Kate knows the truth.
After the Commissioner’s son and the Mayor’s heir apparent gets kidnapped by the Wonderland gang as leverage to free Alice, Kate rushes off to save the day. While she might not be liked by those in power, it’s not going to stop her from saving the day. Luke is impressed; it’s just what Bruce would do. But en route to get to her suit, she’s also taken out by the wonderland gang. This episode is very much a Beth and Alice episode, showcasing the two sides of the character, but seeing Kate without the suit is also really exciting. It shows just how impressive Kate is before she adopted the mantle of the Bat. With heroes like Kate (or her cousin for that matter) who have no powers, it’s important to showcase why they’re there. Take away their suits and let them show the naysayers why they belong!
4. A chance at redemption
Continued belowWhile Kate is excited to have her sister back, she feels a deep level of guilt. Clearly there was at least one reality where Kate saved her sister from the crash. Luke does his best to calm those fears If there are multiple Earths, there are multiple opportunities that the crash never even happened. This is not the case. On Beth’s Earth, Kate saved her… and became her hero.
After Kate’s kidnapping, Beth volunteers to step up and pretend to be Alice. For her, this is a chance to repay her debt and save her hero. Beth also does a really good job playing Alice. Which… it might sound weird but Skarsten plays her with just enough nuance that it feels like a person playing another person and not an actress playing her two roles. But Beth is captured and thrown into the trunk of a car that is going to explode. This gives Kate her moment of redemption, a chance to save her sister in peril. Who knows how this will impact her character going forward, but the weight of not saving Beth has haunted her. Going forward, perhaps this will change.
5. Everything is just fine! (Just kidding…)
As Kate and her fellow hostages wait for their fate, the one asks if Batwoman is going to save them. The friend responds that the police don’t want to work with her given her orientation and the friend responds that “Dude it’s 2020, no one cares about Gay/Straight anymore.” While Batwoman is smart to show that the issue is much more nuanced than a line that simple, it gives Kate hope. Near the end of the episode, the citizens of Gotham storming the police headquarters and demand that they “turn on the light” and let Batwoman defend them again. Batwoman is their protector, they don’t care who she loves. It’s a pretty triumphant ending for Kate, acceptance for who she is.
The episode ends with the closest thing we’ve gotten to a happy ending. Kate, Mary, Luke, and Beth celebrate their birthday. It’s nice. But we all know that nice doesn’t last long in the world of superheroes as both Alice and Beth start having the same pain in the same spot. One thing seems clear, the universe doesn’t seem too fond of duplicates on its reconstructed Earth.
[break]So there we have it! What does the universe have in store for our duplicate twins? Is Beth hiding something? Is the Caterpillar out there? We will find out together! What did you think of the episode? Sound off below, and see you next week!
