Welcome back to Gotham! The city’s own paragon of courage Kate Kane defends Gotham as Batwoman, but her life has been difficult. Gotham’s underworld is in pursuit of the hottest item in town, Lucius Fox’s journal. But Batwoman is on the case, with help from an unexpected ally. So don your cape, grab your exploding briefcase of money, and join us as we give you five thoughts on Batwoman season 1, episode 18 “If You Believe in Me, I’ll Believe in You.”
1. The many skills of Mary Hamilton
Ok, so THIS is the week that Mary finally, FINALLY, became a member of the team. It feels like the season has been building to this moment for a good long while. But in recent weeks especially it just seemed like an inevitability, building up to Mary just straight up telling Kate she knows. But we get one more week of Mary having to prove herself. The one episode’s saving grace is that the episode is a lot of fun.
After Kate and Julia Pennyworth are captured trying to free Lucius Fox’s journal from the club of a local mob family, it falls to Mary to use all of her many skills to try and save her stepsister. Mary has connections in the club, not just because she is a socialite, but because she used her medical training to help the owner’s cousin. She even has a believable cover when she infiltrates the auction for Batwoman and her gear, Hamilton Industries wants the technology from the suit. Plus, she can be helpful in a fight! Over the course of season one, Nicole Kang has been this shows secret weapon. Mary has so much joy and enthusiasm, but can effectively transform herself as the situation calls for. Now that she’s a full member of the team, it’ll be exciting to see how she impacts the dynamics.
2. A more enthusiastic and fun Kate Kane livens up the episode.
Kate has always seemed to be a more upbeat hero than her cousin, and this week allowed Ruby Rose to have a lot of fun in the role. While it might seem out of place given the darker tone of the past couple of episodes as Kate struggled with her role as hero, it shows that progress has been made. It was nice to see Kate and Luke back to their old bantering, watching Kate playfully antagonize her somewhat straightlaced partner and confidant. This is especially true as she rekindles her old fling with Reagan.
“If You Believe in Me, I’ll Believe in You,” was a fun overall episode, which can be attributed in a major way to Kate’s attitude. While the work that Ruby Rose was doing in previous episodes was impressive, especially the series highlight “A Narrow Escape,” having a more fun version of Kate back helped to make the heist aspect of the episode feel light and breezy, which helped to make the situation feel that much direr when the plan goes south.
3. Alice pulls the strings safely out of harm’s way.
At the end of “A Narrow Escape,” Alice seems to be in a pretty sweet spot. She has successfully planted Mouse in the position of Dr. Butler, is off the Crows radar, and is surrounded by Batwoman’s enemies. “If You Believe Me, I’ll Believe You” seems to be there to show just how powerful Alice is “safely” locked away in Arkham. First, she is able to convince Tommy Elliot to give her Lucius Fox’s journal in exchange for a new face and his freedom. Second, she shows just how much power she wields over her “patients” by refusing to give him a new face until the transaction is complete. Third, and finally, is able to get others to do her work for her with the promise of freedom. When Tommy’s connection proves less than faithful, she reveals that Magpie has also been released to recover the journal.
As always, Rachel Skarsten is just a joy to watch and the episode really gives her a chance to flex her range. She plays gleefully evil so well, but then there are the quieter moments like when she confronts Jacob at Arkham. It will be interesting to see how her plans continue to evolve from the confines of the Asylum, but at the moment, it seems like she is far and away in the best spot to create the most mischief for her sister.
Continued below4. Old flames create new complications.
Julia seems to be sticking around until at least the end of the season, which is creating some fun tension for the team as she and Sophie seem to be getting closer than work colleagues. Kate seems to try her best to rub this off, but there does seem to be a certain level of hurt that Sophie seems to be moving on. But if by luck, Kate’s old flame Reagan is working at the club she’s about to steal from. The two once again hit it off as Kate apologizes and Reagan admits that she still has feelings for her.
Kate and Reagan rekindle their old flame, but reality hits the next morning when Kate wakes up alone and discovers that the journal she had fought so hard for, almost died for, has been stolen by Reagan. There are two big reveals in “If You Believe Me, I’ll Believe You,” One is that Reagan is the sister of Magpie, who gathers information for her sister, including seducing potential marks. But the other reveal, and the more serious one, is that Julia is not who she seems. She no longer works for the SRR, instead, she is working for a mysterious third party, and one who wants the journal. It seems like all of Kate’s old flames have some serious secrets that they’re hiding.
5. The race for the journal is on!
It seems the key to all the mysteries, all the conspiracies, is the journal of Lucius Fox. It’s an item that people have killed for and are willing to kill for again. To most, it’s a journal of the ideas and inventions that revolutionized Waynetech, which alone makes it a valuable item. But to Tommy Elliot, it’s the secrets of Bruce’s true identity Batman. Now, though, everyone has their own motivations for wanting it. Kate and Luke want to keep it out of the wrong hands, keeping the technology safe. Magpie needed it for freedom. But it ultimately ends up in the hands of Alice, who wants it simply to make Kate’s life more difficult (and the Bat tech information will also be useful.)
But of course, there are complications. The journal is written in code, there’s a safe bet that there’s one son in Gotham clever enough to crack it.
So there we have it. The race for the journal is on, mysteries are revealed as soon as others are solved, and Kate tries to keep the balance. What did you think of this week’s episode? Sound off below!
