'Batwoman' Season 1 Episode 10: Kara Danvers helps Batwoman come out as lesbian, Beth returns in Earth-Prime
'Batwoman' Episode 10 'How Queer Everything Is Today' sees Kate Kane struggle to accept that she is the Paragon of Courage. This comes in the face of all the lies that have gone into hiding her truth from Gotham to keep her and her family safe. While Batwoman's identity behind the mask is kept safe, Alice cannot let her sister stay a hero who is obsessed with "saving people who do not need to be saved". What Alice has failed to understand is that by kidnapping Jacob Kane and killing Catherine Hamilton-Kane, she has crossed a line. Yes, Kate's family was dysfunctional and Catherine hiding the truth about Beth is not acceptable, but that doesn't justify Alice's actions.
Kate comes to terms with losing her sister to circumstances and now sees Alice for who she is, which is evil. While Kate tries to reconnect with Mary after Catherine's death, Batwoman is pitted against a hacker who can easily out her identity. With Lucius Fox's help, Batwoman traces the hacker and finds out that she is just a high school kid, Parker, who is struggling because she was outed by her girlfriend to her family. She now has to deal with a family who cannot accept her for who she is, and the money that she tried to fundraise was for her to leave home and live somewhere she was accepted.
Kate, who empathizes with the high school student, has to reevaluate how much information about herself can be revealed to the public. There is strength in seeing yourself reflected in your heroes. This is why the representation of different gender, race, and sexuality is so important and one scene between the high school student and Batwoman beautifully explains why searching for someone like you on television shows is not the greatest way to find the courage to be who you are.
This also makes the latter part of the episode interesting in terms of themes. You see, it is important for the high schooler to be accepted for who she is, but when Alice wants to be accepted for who she is and tells her sister to stop trying to save her from herself, it is ironic. Alice's diabolical character cannot be accepted, and to expect that from her sister is not going to fly. Surprisingly, it is Mouse (Sam Littlefield) who tries to explain how illogical this expectation from Kate is on Alice's part.
It is also Mouse's pep talk that pushes Alice into trying to out Batwoman's identity by kidnapping the highschool kid. Alice doesn't understand how human emotions work, and her disconnect with humans from when she was young can be the only reason why she couldn't understand why a high school student with the power to out someone as popular as Batwoman wouldn't do it. Being outed before someone is ready is a pain that this young girl understands, so she found courage in knowing that Batwoman is someone just like her. She managed to inform the police about the bomb that Alice planted in the highschool that the student goes to while keeping Batwoman's identity safe.
Sophie, who receives the 911 message just like everyone else, manages to capture Alice while the Gotham police evacuate the students at the high school. Parker's move to keep Kate's identity to herself also shows Kate why it is important to make a stand. This gives Batwoman the courage she needed to inform Gotham that she is a Lesbian. She is interviewed by Kara Danvers, now that all of the heroes of the Arrowverse are in Earth-Prime.
After Kate reconciles with Mary, she returns to her office in the Wayne building only to find Alice waiting for her with a smile. Kate cannot comprehend how Alice could've gotten into the building and even attacks Beth, but this isn't Alice. This is just a different version of Beth, who has now become a part of Earth-Prime. She is also the one that Mary saw at Gotham University. How will this change Kate's life? That's something that we have to watch out for in the upcoming episode.
'Batwoman' episodes air on Sunday at 8 pm ET on The CW.