On Batwoman season 1, episode 15, more flashbacks show Alice’s later years in captivity, with a new figure emerging to help carry out the torture she experienced. Meanwhile, Kate and Jacob interrogate August Cartwright, seeking Alice’s location.
Batwoman season 1, episode 15 really shakes things up for the show, especially for Kate, and puts the series on a new trajectory. Plus, while Kate and Alice were busy with the Cartwrights, Mary and Luke were searching for Beth’s killer, and they actually found something… which will make the next episode even more exciting, as Kate has to hide what’s going on from them.
After this episode, it’s safe to say that nothing will be the same, and even some character dynamics will be shifting. I, for one, cannot wait to see what comes next! But first, let’s discuss where the series can possibly go from here, and read the final part of our interview with Rachel Skarsten, including her thoughts on that life-changing twist!
‘Batwoman’ season 1, episode 15 review
Batwoman season 1, episode 15 is the best episode of the season, and the flashbacks are the most interesting and heartbreaking that we’ve seen yet. This show and this story are being handled with so much care; it’s so impressive to see how strong the series is getting and how focused the writers are on their main characters and developing them.
Far too often on TV, the characters fall to the wayside for the plot, but Batwoman has really changed things up and made the story somehow revolve around one of their characters.
Debra Mooney was an incredible addition to the cast as Cartwright’s mother, Mabel, and as horrible as it was to see how she treated Alice, I’d really love to see her come back again for more flashbacks. It’s not fair that the two worst characters on the show — Cartwright and Mabel — are so incredibly well-performed because, as much as I hate the characters, I want to see more of them.
Kate’s big mistake
Obviously, the most shocking part of Batwoman season 1, episode 15 is Kate killing Cartwright. Her rage issues have been alluded to a few times this season, so it’s not that surprising really, but it’s shocking to see that she completely lost control and went too far.
As Alice quickly rubbed in Jacob’s face, now both of his daughters are murderers. Alice’s first murder, the Queen, and Kate’s murder of August are paralleled because they show each Kane girl breaking. While Alice took her power back by killing Mabel, Kate lost her power, in my opinion. Kate’s power has come from her self-control, but now she’s not going to even be able to trust herself, especially when she’s out and about as Batwoman.
The most exciting part of this twist is how it’s going to change Kate and Alice’s relationship. Kate can now see, at least a little bit, why Alice turned out how she did, and what it took to really break her sister and turn her into the person we see in Gotham now. Alice has always had a redeemable quality about her, but now Kate really must try to find that within her sister, for herself.
However, as great as this might be for Kate and Alice’s relationship, I see major problems arising for Kate with, well, literally everyone else: Sophie and Luke in particular, but also Mary when she discovers that Kate’s feelings toward Alice have changed, especially if she doesn’t know why. But maybe Mary can be pulled into this since Kate called her about closing a throat wound, and surely Mary will get suspicious when she can’t even get into the bar that Kate opened (with her help).
It’s terrible for Kate, but this twist is absolutely fantastic for the fans because we’re going to get so much incredible content over the rest of the season. And now that Cartwright is dead, that only leaves Mouse as the season’s Big Bad, which will likely bring Kate and Alice even closer together.
Alice’s adventures in captivity
The flashbacks of Alice and her hallucinations from the fear toxin on Batwoman season 1, episode 15 were heartbreaking. It’s so easy to see, after everything she went through for 11 years at the hands of two tormentors, why Alice broke and, essentially, turned off her humanity.
Mabel Cartwright was an actual demon, and I’ve never loved a scene more than Alice’s “Long live the Queen!” paired with her burning Mabel alive. It’s so poetic that her story ended that way, after she abused Alice for simply existing as a young woman.
Cartwright’s imprisonment was bad enough, but he did it to give Mouse a friend, while Mabel simply despised her out of jealousy for her youth and beauty. It’s sad that so much of Alice’s torture occurred because she merely existed.
Rachel Skarsten gave a perfect performance as both Alice in the flashbacks and in the present day, delivering a believable trip down memory lane with the fear toxin and seeing Alice completely break and everything within her officially snap. It’s incredible how Skarsten is able to pull off every version of this character, and Batwoman is lucky to have someone so talented. Skarsten is the breakout performer of the show, and that’s why we need Alice to stick around for a long, long time.
Looking forward, my mind is on seeing Alice escape from Cartwright. Surely they broke free from him just shortly after Mabel’s death, which occurred when Alice was 24 years old, since she had completely broken.
‘Batwoman’ season 1, episode 15 final thoughts
Honestly, I’m shook after Batwoman season 1, episode 15. I was not expecting an episode, mid-season, to change the show and main character so dramatically. Kate’s a new person now, and she has to deal with what she’s done (even though she killed someone who 100% deserved it).
Alice is a new person now because the person who set her life off in a new, terrible direction is now dead, while her “brother” is done with her. Jacob’s a new person because his daughters have turned into… this.
As for Mary and Luke, I definitely feel like their relationship is going to take a turn soon, but only after Mary comes clean that she knows the secret. (How funny was it to watch her in Kate’s office, looking for the entrance to the Batcave?) Mary’s not being very subtle about what she knows, and I desperately want her to just come out and say it, but Mary is too good. She’s being as patient as she can, letting Kate tell her in her own time.
Sophie was missed, but that crumb with the text messages at the end was satisfying enough for now. It’s crazy to see how much Kate and Sophie care about each other, yet they continue to ignore and avoid it. These two stubborn women are going to drive me crazy before they admit what’s going on between them.
Interview with Rachel Skarsten
If you haven’t already, read our pre-Batwoman season 1, episode 15 interview with Rachel Skarsten! Here, Skarsten dives into the game-changing moment where Kate kills Cartwright and what that means for their relationship and Alice’s future!
Hypable: Kate just killed Cartwright. Alice immediately flaunts it in their dad’s face. What’s next for these two sisters?
Rachel Skarsten: Well, Alice’s plan seems to be always constantly evolving, as I suppose is true to life. I think her ultimate goal was — she realized that what she was doing to bring Kate to her side wasn’t working, and that Kate was constantly trying to pull her over to the good side — Alice wanted to prove to Kate and to her father that [Kate] was no better than Alice, that no one is any better than Alice, and given the right circumstance and the right motivation, anyone would do what [Alice] had done.
I think there’s this attempt to bring Kate over to the dark side because her ultimate goal, at this point, still hasn’t changed of wanting to be reunited with Kate, even despite everything that she has done. It’s a true love and hate relationship. I think you’ll see them starting to see one another in a different light. It’s interesting going forward from this episode, what the ramifications of the way they’ve changed in one another’s eyes have on their relationship and the whole universe in, general that they live in.
With Cartwright dead, what can you tease about how that impacts Alice?
Alice so wanted revenge on Cartwright. She wanted freedom from him, but, so often is the way with revenge or with being victimized by any person, a lot of that is not just about the person. It’s also about what exists after, in your own mind. So I think [Cartwright being dead] frees her in some ways, but it doesn’t in others. While he’s physically gone, the ramifications of him within her will continue to play out beyond this episode.
Cartwright stated that his mother is the one who broke Alice, but who do you think is more responsible for the person we have in the present day?
I actually think Cartwright is more responsible. I think the moment Alice really became Alice was when she killed the Queen. I think that’s when she took her power back. The Alice that you know today was really born, but she had been broken down. Beth had been broken down and chipped away at and lost along the way much, much before that.
I loved the way Mya, our costume designer… you [know] a lot of Alice’s wardrobe is inspired by the Queen of Hearts, and you’ll notice that the Queen of Hearts has red nail polish and that’s where Alice’s obsession with wearing red nail polish, which we’ve done from the beginning of the [show]. All [of] these sort of homages, in a lot of ways, [to show] Alice is shaped around this character of the Queen of Hearts.
So I almost think that it was less about breaking her and more about making her, [and Cartwright] really was the one who broke her down from Beth.
Batwoman continues Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW! For those who aren’t aware, the series has shut down production because of the threat of the coronavirus, making the end of the season uncertain. Stay tuned for updates!
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