On Batwoman season 1, episode 15, Kate Kane crossed a line, breaking one of any hero’s cardinal rules when she killed August Cartwright, the man who had kidnapped and imprisoned her twin sister for over a decade.

Kate Kane is very different from Batman, as she pointed out in a voiceover to Bruce earlier this season on Batwoman, stating that she needed to be herself in order to protect the city. She was, and then she went too far… not as Batwoman, just as Kate. There was no vigilante morality clause attached to this kill.

Kate’s found herself in a conundrum: She’s killed someone, and regardless of how much he may have deserved it, she has to live with the guilt of taking someone’s life. This is truly the starting point of the show to figure out what makes Kate a hero, and how will she continue on as Batwoman after crossing a line that her cousin never did?

What does her kill mean for Kate Kane as a hero?

Whether or not to kill the villain, is something that almost every hero struggles with. We’ve seen it on all of the other Arrow-verse shows, most recently on Supergirl with Nia Nal’s Dreamer. Though, very few of these heroes have actually killed. Oliver Queen and Sara Lance are two that come to mind, but they quickly had to put that type of thinking behind them to step up as “heroes” instead of “vigilantes” on their respective shows.

Kate Kane crossing that line is really going to leave a mark on her for the rest of the show, especially when it comes to how she handles future villains that begin to torment Gotham. It’s a bit shocking that Kate even crossed that line to begin with, but all season we’ve seen her struggle to manage her emotions, particularly her anger, so it’s not really that surprising. (And Batwoman is obviously much darker than the other Arrow-verse shows, so it was only a matter of time.)

Batman had a strict code to follow, while Batwoman does not. Following in Bruce’s footsteps didn’t work for her, so she had to try to do it her own way… and this is where she ended up. It’s an important thing for every hero to consider, and while we know Kate will institute a no-kill policy shortly, it’ll actually be interesting to see why she decides not to kill, instead of just because it’s expected of her.

What does her kill mean for Kate’s relationship with Alice?

As Rachel Skarsten teased in our exclusive interview, Kate crossing this line helps her to see Alice in a different light. After what Kate’s been through, which is nothing compared to what Alice experienced while in captivity, she was able to cross the line. So now, can she really be surprised that her sister did?

Kate’s very much paraded herself around Gotham as a hero thus far, never succumbing to the darkness or letting anyone truly influence her decisions, but that’s gone. She was broken down by the same man who destroyed Beth; there’s a reason that Kate and Alice’s first kills were shown side-by-side because they actually parallel each other quite a bit. Kate’s slipped down the cliff and is now closer to Alice (though still very far), but maybe this slight progress is enough to blossom enough change.

I hope going forward Kate actually makes an attempt to understand everything Alice has been through. Alice has changed so much over the course of the season, and while she’s still trying to push her plans through, these flashbacks are showing how she’s become the damaged monster that reappeared in Gotham after over a decade with the Wonderland gang behind her.

Kate’s had enough time to grieve for the sister she “should have” had to begin to look at Alice for who she is, what she’s gone through, and why she, ultimately, turned into a killer. This obviously doesn’t just clean the slate for Alice after she’s killed dozens of innocent people; however, it does make the picture much clearer of where this started and what drove her to this point.

Like Skarsten, I still think there’s something redeemable about Alice, which we’ve seen come to the surface more often over the last few episodes. She’s desperate to have her family back, and this is a new starting point for Alice and Kate Kane. What Alice does after this seems to be what will define her character for the rest of the show, and with Mouse on the loose, I think Alice could be the one who has to stop him from destroying Gotham (because I’m even more convinced he’s the Big Bad of the season).

I guess we’ll see where this relationship is really headed on the next episode of Batwoman, as Kate and Alice have a body to dispose of (and Alice obviously has to rub this in Kate’s face after being told, repeatedly, that Kate would “never” do something like that). Lucky for Kate, at least she killed a dead man.

Batwoman continues Sundays at 8 p.m. on The CW! Production on the final episodes of the season is currently shut down. Stay tuned for any updates about when the series will continue on.