Batwoman writers continue to baffle boggle and bewilder me about why it is Mary Hamilton (Nicole Kang) is still out of the loop on Kate Kane’s (Ruby Rose) secret identity. It’s not as if Mary has given Kate a reason to not trust her with her secret.

In a previous episode, due to fallout from Crisis on Infinite Earths, we learned a second Beth Kane (Rachel Skarsten) existed. Somehow, not that it wasn’t plausible, this second Beth existed separately from Earth-1’s Alice (Rachel Skarsten). It is in this latest episode, for Beth to continue living, Alice must die.

Does anyone else feel that Kate’s incessant hope to save Alice is forlorn? Even though we are only 12 episodes into the first season, considering the mounting evidence pointing to Alice being a lost cause, Kate continues to hold out hope. Kate doesn’t seem to get that the Beth she once knew, the one she was too afraid to save, is gone. Alice killed Catherine Hamilton-Kane (Elizabeth Anweis) and came close to killing Mary Hamilton (Nicole Kang).

Sophie Moore (Meagan Tandy) and Colonel Jacob Kane (Dougray Scott), despite their tireless efforts to get Dr Ethan Campbell (Sebastian Roché) to sign an affidavit helping the colonel, there is hopelessness in this cause because the doctor isn’t what he seems. There is a hesitance which suggests Campbell wants something in return for his help. That something quickly becomes apparent when he’s told he can visit Jonathon ‘Johnny’ Cartwright / Mouse (Sam Littlefield). The Crows have Mouse under guard at a local hospital.

The motivations for Campbell wanting to speak with Mouse, having nothing to do with medical science, is personal. Campbell is August Cartwright (John Emmet Tracy) in a skin-mask. August is Johnny’s father. The big reveal, August ripping off his skin-mask in front of his son, was a tad overly dramatic. Whilst this skin-mask plot device was novel in the beginning, given how frequently it’s been used, it feels a tad old.

August chastises Mouse for abandoning him in favour of Alice. There is a disdain in August’s voice which suggests a hatred for Alice. The disdain in his voice is so prolific that it points to murderous intent.

As the previous episode drew to a close, even though there was no apparent cause, we saw both Alice and Beth experiencing significant pain. The existence of two Beths is the problem. In this post-Crisis world, both Beths being on the same Earth is fatal. What’s that phrase from the Highlander franchise? There can be only one.

Image Credit: IMDb.com

Kate, Mary, and Luke Fox (Camrus Johnson) have seven hours to find a way to save them. With this being Batwoman, not that anyone should be surprised, not everyone is reading from the same page. Mary, like Sophie Moore (Meagan Tandy), has made her feelings about Alice knew several times. She doesn’t feel Alice is worth saving.

Sophie, now in command of The Crows, has activated a shoot to kill order on Alice. We need not remind you that Sophie, like most of the Earth’s population, is unaware of exactly what went down during Crisis. The only thing most people know is Oliver Queen / Green Arrow (Stephen Amell) sacrificed himself when he led a team to defeat the Anti-Monitor (LaMonica Garrett). Consequently, because of her ignorance of Crisis, Sophie is blissfully unaware there are two Beths. Batwoman, not wanting to see Sophie go down a dark and dangerous path, calls her out on how she’s handling herself and The Crows.

There are way too many inconsistencies in Meagan Tandy’s character, even though it’s only been 12 episodes, for anyone to count. It almost feels like Tandy has been playing half a dozen different versions of the same character. Nicole Kang’s Mary is there to present viewers with a compelling voice to counter Kate’s motivations. Alice, supposedly a complex character, is merely morally ambiguous. She’s Batwoman’s Jessica Rabbit. Instead of being drawn that way, Alice is poorly written. Series writers need to re-evaluate their approach to the character because whatever it is they’re currently doing isn’t working.

The entire two Beths problem boils down to a decision Kate is unwilling to make without being prodded in that direction. It’s either Alice or Beth. Much of the episode, arguably filler, is unnecessary exposition. With Alice being a huge part of the show, not that it wouldn’t have been great seeing Beth become a fully realised character, there is no way showrunners would ditch Kate’s villainously murderous twin sister.

Momentarily, with Beth in her sights, it looks like Sophie is going to take her out. She obviously doesn’t know that the Beth she’s targeting isn’t Alice. Cartwright, most likely thinking it’s Alice, kills Beth. As Beth dies in Luke’s arms, across town at Mary’s clinic, we see Alice revived. Her anger at Kate for choosing Beth over her is immediate.

Next Time …