'Batwoman' Episode 2 digs deep, gives us the origin story that Kate Kane and Alice deserve
Spoilers ahead for 'Batwoman' episode 2...
Kate Kane's (Ruby Rose) sister Beth aka Alice's (Rachel Skarsten) body was never found after the car accident that took away her mother's life and so Jacob Kane (Dougray Scott) and Kate had been on a search mission for months hoping to find Beth alive. Once skull fragments believed to belong to Beth were found, Jacob believed that it was time to move on and he stopped searching for her despite Kate's disagreements. Kate herself, on the other hand, had always believed that her sister was alive and did not give up hope on finding her one day and meeting Alice now has only reiterated her faith. The conflict now is to decide if she wants to protect Alice who has turned into a psychotic monster or to give up on her considering the crimes that she has committed so far, which includes murdering innocent people. The second episode of 'Batwoman' titled 'The Rabbit Hole' centers on this conflict.
The first episode of 'Batwoman' in my opinion was not something to rave about. There were certain things that worked, like the build-up towards a confrontation between Kate and Alice was great. However, there were some things that I couldn't look past, which included the fact that Kate's thoughts about Alice, or donning the Batsuit did not come to the forefront. A huge part of the episode seemed like decoration, and thankfully, we are done with that in the second episode of the show. We have finally got something to dig into. Kate decided that she had to find the truth once and for all, and so she broached the subject of Alice possibly being her twin sister Beth over breakfast with her father. Jacob is initially shocked, and then in complete denial, because Alice is a certified monster. She planted enough C4 in Gotham to blow the city apart and if left to her own devices, she can definitely do a lot worse.
Between almost drowning after a car crash and the present, Alice has gone through a huge transformation that is fuelled by hate for her father who deemed it acceptable to quit. The fact that Jacob gave up on searching for Beth is the main reason why Alice hates her father and the fact that her sister did nothing to stop him doesn't help. Yes, Alice did not kill Kate but she has no qualms about taking the lives of other people.
For instance, in the second episode, she visited the house where she had lived with her father, mother and Kate and had the new owners' throats slit. Why would she commit a heinous act such as that is not clear to Kate and from the looks of it, she is set to find the truth about Alice's situation.
In the meanwhile, Jacob is dead set on capturing Alice and he almost succeeds when Sophie Moore (Meagan Tandy) reveals that she knows where Alice is. Sophie was given this information in confidence by Kate, which becomes instrumental in helping the crows round her up when Alice is out to meet Kate at what used to be their favorite waffle place. Despite everything that Alice had done thus far when Kate hears that the car that was transporting Alice had been bombed, she heads out to save her sister.
She finds herself witness a moment from her past repeat yet again as the patrol car ends up at the bottom of the river after the bomb crash. While she was unable to do much as a kid, this time she does everything possible to help Alice. She is wearing the batsuit, but that doesn't stop her and ultimately this decision ends up becoming a problem for Kate as Alice now knows her secret. Can Kate be objective about Alice when she faces her, if not where is their relationship headed?
The next episode of 'Batwoman' will air on Sunday at 8 pm ET on The CW.
