'Batwoman': The CW has a hit track record of great Season 1 villains and Alice is a fantastic addition to the list
The Reverse-Flash. Malcolm Merlyn. Tobias Whale. The CW tends to start their shows off with a bang when it comes to supervillains. Their track record for compelling season one villains with interesting stories and great on-screen presence has always been a hit.
For all the faults that 'Batwoman' may have, the series' first villain is a worthy addition to The CW's roster of strong season one villains.
Alice (Rachel Skarsten) steals every scene she's in. Portraying an unhinged character who constantly quotes 'Alice in Wonderland' isn't easy to do without hamming it up to cringe-worthy levels, but Rachel Skarsten manages it every time.
In a fictional city famed for its unstable personalities, Alice manages to make her own distinctive mark. She brings airy humor to her violent tendencies, a danger to her pleasantries and, every now and then, buried under all that violent playfulness is genuine anger that will not be easily sated.
Part of the fun of her performance is her awareness of the situation's ridiculousness. She’ll call it out without missing a beat because she knows that no matter how silly things get, the stakes she establishes are still very real.
Beyond her performance, her story weaves itself into Batwoman's origin in a way that makes their enmity a personal thing, a hallmark of The CW's season one bad guys.
Tobias Whale killed Jefferson Pierce's father. The Reverse-Flash went back in time to kill The Flash's mom, and Malcolm Meryln was responsible for Robert Queen's death.
Alice’s familial connection is a lot more personal — she's Batwoman's twin sister, who went missing early in their childhood (It should be noted that while she has not killed either of Batwoman's parents yet, it's not from a lack of trying).
Kate Kane's survivor's guilt has been a part of her all her life, and her sister's return is nothing but that guilt made manifest.
Uncovering Alice's motivations are part of the fun of the show. She doesn't want outright revenge for her abandonment — she does seem to still care for her sister, enough to not want to see her dead.
Her goals are ostensibly to call out her father's mercenary group, the Crows, and the fact that they only cater to the wealthy, but her actions seem to indicate more personal goals.
She is revealing truths about her disappearance and forcing her family to come to grips with things they’ve tried to move on from. Her endgame is far from being revealed, but the journey there has proved entertaining so far.
It's hard to imagine a season two villain better suited for Batwoman than Alice, but there's a long way to go before that becomes a problem. For now, we get to enjoy Alice's villainy be the highlight of every 'Batwoman' episode.
The next episode of 'Batwoman' titled 'I'll be Judge and Jury' airs on November 10 on The CW.
