Batwoman delivered another great episode (or better than the rest of the season in comparison) in “Off with Her Head. A lot of it is due in part to Alice played by Rachel Skarsten. She’s a class act who literally kills it week after week as Alice. She elevated it all in this week’s all-new episode.
I feel for Alice now. I look at her life, everything that she’s been through, and for the first time in ever I have sympathy in my heart for Alice and what was done to her, especially after getting a look at what grandma Cartwright was/is capable of. Crazy to read that, right? Well it was crazy enough to feel it as well and now look at her with different eyes.
There was no way to avoid or deviate from the madness that consumed Beth. Those around her, the monsters that made her life a living hell, were and still are the reason why Beth was overtaken by Alice and why her mind was twisted, in many ways, beyond repair. That’s not to say there’s no coming back for Alice.
“Off with Her Head” made her a sympathetic character that you could understand and relate to, no matter how twisted her upbringing was. Everything that she has done or will do from here on out will have to do with a new set of eyes where we wonder over and over if she can be turned back to the light and away from the darkness that consumed her.
Then there’s Kate. Her fate and everything that she does on Batwoman is intimately tied to Alice. Yes, we all thought for a hot second there that Alice was beyond saving and Kate experienced that to the fullest. But I think there’s hope now in Kate’s heart, despite the revenge she took for her sister, for her father, and for herself.
That woman, Alice, is her blood. Alice is her family. And it’s hard/nearly impossible to cut family like that out of your life, especially with how Alice keeps coming back for more from her sister the superhero. And after this episode, I think Kate understands Alice in a way she’s never done so before.
Kate understands Alice’s rage.
Kate sees what it did to Alice.
Kate sees what it’s done to her when she killed Cartwright.
And based on what we saw in the trailer for the next episode, titled “Through the Looking Glass” Kate and Alice are going to have to confront each other now that Alice’s past is laid out in front of them all, including their father. This is the complicated family drama I’ve been waiting for it to all develop into.
And I can’t wait for more!
Batwoman airs Sundays at 9/8c on The CW.
