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 looks for the person taking out those in Gotham’s justice department. So don your cape, grab your bat igniter, and join us as we give you five thoughts on Batwoman season 1 episode 6, “I’ll be Judge, I’ll be Jury.”
1. Growing tensions between Gotham’s protectors.
Over the course of the first season, one thing has become clear, not all of Gotham is created equal. While it initially appeared that the Crows were established to replace the police, in reality, they simply exist to protect the incredibly wealthy. We are beginning to see the consequences. Early in the “I’ll be Judge, I’ll be Jury”, Jacob is frustrated. Not only is he learning about the murder of a prominent Gotham Lawyer on the news, but he also learns why the Crows weren’t consulted. Gotham Police have begun to put their faith into the Bat.
Kate finds herself in an awkward position this week, being used in a power struggle between Gotham’s police forces. The majority of the time spent in the episode is trying to convince Jacob that Batwoman is not a threat. Jacob is her father, true, but the Crows have resources and influences that can be dangerous if Batwoman turns from occasional nuisance to actual threat. Batwoman does save Jacob’s life, but that doesn’t remove tensions completely. Still, it seems that there are rising tensions between Gotham PD and the Crows, and it will be interesting to see how that develops.
2. Blaming others is easier than blaming yourself.
While tensions are rising between Gotham PD and the Crows, it seemed that something else is driving Jacob. While it’s true that Jacob is upset that Gotham is putting more faith into a masked vigilante than his organization, he also has a personal vendetta against Batman. He holds Batman responsible for the death of his family.
Jacob has had a rough couple of weeks. His new wife lied to him for years. His daughter he thought dead is a threat to Gotham’s safety. Now there’s a vigilante to throw into the mix. Over the course of the episode, though, both Kate and Batwoman convince Jacob that blaming Batman is the easy way out. Batman tried to save them. Jacob stopped looking for Beth. Jacob succumbed to grief. It was just simpler to put the blame onto others. The episode isn’t just critical of Jacob, though. Kate too realizes that she has been putting the blame on her father. It’s a tough lesson, but an important one to learn. While Jacob won’t be calling Batwoman anytime soon, it seems he won’t stand in her way. Jacob has also found a newfound drive to save his daughter.
3. The Executioner puts Kate in an awkward position
This week’s villain is The Executioner. The Executioner is a mysterious man who wears an executioner’s mask and carries an ax. (Which, pretty metal if you ask me.) He has also been killing people in Gotham’s law enforcement. He killed a prominent prosecutor by electrifying him on a fence, killed a detective by creating a tripwire firing range, and is planning to kill a judge by turning the chambers into a gas chamber. Luke quickly realizes these are the three forms of capital punishment in Gotham (the firing chamber was authorized during the short terms of Mayor Cobblepot!) Things get messy, however, when Batwoman discovers a confession before the third murder.
Executioner is Bertrand Elden, the executioner of Blackgate prison for 20 years. During that time he performed death sentences, thinking he was keeping the city safe. Eventually, he realized that there were common trends in his victims. They were poor, minorities, and all told similar stories of being framed and coerced into confessing their crimes. Gotham had a cabal of corruption. The detective would beat out confessions and plant evidence, the prosecutor would get them arrested, and the judge would give them the death sentence. Elden decided to take justice into his own hands and cleanse the sins of the potentially innocent lives he ended.
Continued belowThere is one further difficulty. If this evidence gets out all of the cases by the prosecutor would have to be retried, including the man who murdered Luke’s father. Luke is initially reluctant to pursue this path, choosing to believe Elden crazy, but over time he decides that they must be stopped. The plot is complex and challenging, reminding us that there are flaws in the system, but that doesn’t mean we should rewrite them in blood. It’s well-executed and makes for an engaging episode.
4. Mary’s clinic makes Sophie confront her past
Early on, Sophie reveals to Batwoman that she knows her secret identity, right after being shot in Executioner’s firing squad. Kate takes her to Mary’s clinic and tells Mary not to leave, afraid that Sophie will betray her identity to her father.
While there aren’t a lot of scenes in the free clinic, all of them are good. Sophie gains respect for Mary, realizing that her ditzy front is to hide the fact that she is a hard worker and keeping Gotham’s most vulnerable safe. Mary also makes Sophie confront her past decisions. Sophie learns how her actions at the military school hurt Kate. How Kate’s subsequent aloofness and globetrotting were to heal. Mary asks her to think about the consequences of her actions, how outing Batwoman will damage her life. What Mary doesn’t know is that these examples are closer than they appear. While we don’t know Sophie’s decision, Mary’s clinic gave some important perspective. Watching Mary’s growth has been one of the highlights so far, “I’ll be Judge I’ll be Jury” continued that.
5. Anyone, anytime, anywhere
At the end of last week’s episode, it was revealed that Alice has learned the technique to create skin masks for “Mouse.” Mouse’s natural ability for mimicry and Alice’s skills of recreating faces means that their plan, whatever it might be, will be simpler for them to achieve. Mouse is able to infiltrate Hamilton Industries and steal a weapon designed to puncture the Batsuit.
While she is successful, there are problems brewing for Alice. Mouse uses his mimicry to learn that Kate is Batwoman and is getting increasingly more jealous of Alice’s connection to Kate. While Alice is able to placate him, it seems possible her control is slipping. Mouse seems sadistic, reveling in cruelty and unwilling to lose his friend. Combine that with his power to assume any identity, and you hope that Alice will be able to maintain their bond.
So there we have it. This was probably my favorite episode of Batwoman yet. All the themes worked really well and continued to build some good mysteries. What did you think? Sound off below!
