You know I actually wound up watching last weeks episode (aka the Pilot) twice because I couldn’t make it an entire week. Actually I made it two days as I watched it on Monday and Wednesday last week. I think the writing for Alice is very clever, I can’t remember if I said that in the ramble I did.

I also don’t think I said that I reckoned that Bruce Wayne isn’t as gone as everyone says. Somebody moved the pearls which led Kate to discover the BatCave – was it Bruce pointing her in that direction?

Anyway I’m going to ramble about this weeks – a lot!

Identity Stuff
When they hinted at Alice being Beth last week I figured it would slowly develop over the season. I did not anticipate Kate believing it, and basically throwing down with her dad repeatedly to try and get him to accept it – especially without proof! I mean if she’d got the DNA test first and had the proof then pushing the confrontation maybe but still that was a huge leap in just one episode.

You know I actually feel sorry for Kate’s dad because from the look of the flashbacks he had to try and move on for his own sanity and also because he wanted better for Kate. I can easily see the logic that Beth wouldn’t be helped by ruining Kate’s life as well. I’m not sure whether the bone fragment thing was true or not but the not knowing must have been torture, convincing himself that she was dead and then holding onto that belief so he wouldn’t then mentally torture himself about all the things he should have done differently (that’s a door he doesn’t want to open). I’m just saying I get it. He doesn’t want it to be true. Additionally because of Alice’s crimes as that must be really hard to reconcile the sweet memory of his daughter with the psycho killer. I can understand him wanting to hold onto the good memory and not have the killer be all he pictures when he thinks of Beth.

I also get why Kate wants her gut to be right. I mean she made a mental leap based off a gem stone and Alice targeting her dad. However, it would mean Beth was alive and by the sounds of it Kate has tortured herself ever since the crash that she should have saved her somehow (or died with her). She has so much unresolved guilt, so much so that I don’t think she’s blaming Alice for her crimes, instead she’s excusing them and blaming herself (this wouldn’t have happened to her if I’d been there).

So yeah I didn’t expect Alice’s identity to be front and center (and all but confirmed) in episode 2 but I can see why Kate and her dad are taking the positions they are.

Ooops I ship it
Oh boy Sophie. That corridor conversation where Kate called her out for lying and Sophie swore that she’d never lied to her and then Kate asked if she was happy and she said yes – THAT WAS A TOTAL LIE. Also at the same time I was thinking how Kate had lied to Sophie earlier when Sophie had asked if she was wearing the BatSuit.

I don’t think Kate told Sophie a) because they were in the middle of Crow HQ which is not the place for secrets to be told, and b) probably to do with the marriage thing. That was a hell of a shock and so it doesn’t make sense for Kate to bare her soul/confess everything to someone that just hurt them. I wonder if that lie crossed her mind in the corridor, I wonder if that’s why Kate didn’t call Sophie on her lie and instead just accepted the “I’m happy”. Although I suppose she couldn’t really call her a liar as she had no evidence and Sophie would have stuck to the lie and it would just have been really awkward.

I feel for Sophie to be honest. I don’t know whether she actually loves her husband or not but IMO she definitely has unresolved feelings for Kate. Now I’m not a fan of infidelity, (even though bizarrely my first ship started with an affair), so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that eventually Sophie decides to be honest with herself and splits from her husband. Until then the pining and all the things left unsaid are going to kill me.

Also there’s the possibility for so many AU’s. Like “what if Sophie had gone with Kate and left the military academy with her?”. I reckon in this case Kate would probably have been drawn back to Gotham for the funeral of her step-mother (or step-sister perhaps) as Alice would have needed a hostage instead of Sophie and Batwoman wouldn’t have been there to save her. It’s also possible that the movie in the park would have been bombed as well, dark times for Gotham. The question then of course would be about the BatSuit. If they’d both been away training for years and were a team, wouldn’t they both need a suit? I just can’t picture Sophie taking Luke’s position as the “guy in the chair”.

or “what if Sophie wasn’t married when Kate returned?” this also ends with them teaming-up because I reckon Kate would have told Sophie about being Batwoman, and would have led to them reconciling sooner. The only problem would be Sophie’s split loyalty between Kate and the Crow’s. That was hinted at in this episode as Kate had told Sophie about the meeting with Alice and Sophie kept quiet and then confessed to Kate’s dad. I still think that Sophie only did that a) because she didn’t know Kate was Batwoman and therefore b) she was genuinely concerned for Kate’s safety. Although seeing as Kate didn’t go in the BatSuit she would have been vulnerable if Alice had pulled anything so that was probably a good call on Sophie’s part.

Anything else?
I feel really sorry for Mary (Kate’s step-sister). She comes across as shallow but she’s really not and it can’t have been easy. She’s always extending the hand of friendship to Kate, chattering easily and I bet especially to begin with Kate didn’t give her much to work with. I totally get that because being forced together with people, having to live with them, being told they are ‘family’ when you don’t like them, don’t want them there etc. it’s awkward as hell. However, that was true from both sides. Kate had more reason to reject it because there was a Beth-sized hole and it would have been weird, but Mary would have known that and probably also felt weird about it.

I wish Mary knew that Kate instantly went to save her. That the guy didn’t give up but actually Kate dealt with him, that she cared enough to race across town to do it. I hope she finds out one day.

Also what is up with Kate’s step-mother? How is she involved? IF what Kate’s dad said about the bones is true (as he knew it) then he was given that information by the Hamilton investigators. Could the step-mother have found Beth all those years ago and lied about it? Why would she have done that? I think it comes down to where was Beth growing up? Somebody must have taken care of her, fed her, sheltered her etc. Was it a “grow your own villain” as the fixation on Alice in Wonderland had to come from somewhere too?

I can’t believe I have to wait a week for Episode 3 /cries