Rewatching Batwoman never ceases to enthrall me in the world of Gotham and capture my interest for the duration of every single episode. Season one, episode five, “Mine Is a Long and a Sad Tale,” doesn’t disappoint in doing the same thing.
The episode begins with Kate (Ruby Rose) and Luke (Camrus Johnson) discussing Gotham’s new foe, The Skin Pirate. While looking for them, they discover Alice (Rachel Skarsten) on the security cameras instead.
RELATED: Batwoman Rewatch Recap: (S01E04) Who Are You?
While Alice assesses what her boyfriend Dodgson (Brendon Zub) shared with Kate, she and her gang are under attack. Batwoman (Rose) apprehends Alice. Kate questions her involvement in stealing the skin from corpses. When threatened with calling Jacob (Dougray Scott), Alice agrees to give Kate the information she wants. This causes Kate to hang up before giving away their location.
After Alice agrees to talk, the two sisters end up on a road trip where Alice recounts why she turned out the way she has. Once they reach one of their destinations, Alice continues her tale at a diner, explaining how she woke up at a father and son duo’s home. The father held a young Beth hostage, never alerting the police to her whereabouts.
Back at Crows headquarters, even though Jacob has no coordinates, he enlists Sophie’s (Meagan Tandy) help locating Kate and Alice. In no time, Sophie has a location. Jacob shares with Sophie his wife’s past actions regarding Beth’s remains. He plans to find out the truth once and for all by testing Alice’s DNA.
In another part of town, Catherine (Elizabeth Anweis) admits to Mary (Nicole Kang) that she orchestrated the bone mix-up that pronounced Beth dead. Catherine tries to explain her intentions of providing them closure.
Because of this new information, Mary goes to Wayne Enterprises, looking for Kate. Security escorts her to Luke’s office, and she explains why she’s so upset.
RELATED: WEBTOON and DC Drop First-Look Images for Red Hood: Outlaws
Batwoman jumps back to the diner, Alice drugs Kate, and the Wonderland Gang opens fire on Sophie and Jacob when they arrive. Thinking ahead, Sophie causes a propane tank explosion providing a distraction. With the gang down, Jacob confronts Dodgson.
At Wayne Enterprises, an intoxicated Mary deals with the family crisis and vents to Luke, who wants her to be anywhere but disrupting his work. She figures out Kate is with Alice, which aids in her spiral.
Alice chains Kate up, moving locations as she finishes her story of life after Beth’s assumed death. She reveals the son to be Mouse (Sam Littlefield). She tells of the day she called her father, and when he arrived, her captor kept her from him, promising to kill both Jacob and Kate if Beth made a sound.
RELATED: SDCC 2022: Shazam Fury of the Gods Trailer Is All About Family
For Jacob and Sophie, the trail runs cold, but he recognizes the surroundings and knows where they are. He turns the vehicle around, hoping his intuition will help him find them.
At Wayne Enterprises, Luke tells Mary about the skin thefts and recent related Arkham break-ins.
Kate attempts to free herself as Jacob encounters Alice. He finds her in the very house he visited after a young Beth called him. Just when he begins to believe Alice is his long-lost daughter, she stabs him as he reaches for her.
As Sophie attempts to rescue Kate, Mouse attacks her. She manages to break free just as Kate does, and they both meet outside. Kate captures Mouse, threatening Alice to release Jacob.
They trade hostages, Alice letting Jacob go and Kate handing Mouse over to Alice. Jacob tells Kate Alice is Beth.
Alice and Mouse reconnect with Mouse giving her the book Alice and Wonderland just as he did when she was a child. She gives him the skin she stole to cover his face.
This episode gave so much insight into Alice’s side of life as Beth after being found. Being held and captured by Mouse’s dad to be his playmate, I could see just how she felt forgotten and given up on when Jacob and Kate were there when she called, but essentially believed Mouse’s dad when he said Mouse made a prank call.
RELATED: Read our Batwoman recaps here!
I enjoy the depth we get from Alice. She’s not just a villain, but a villain whose motivations and backstory we learn about alongside Kate.
While this episode only gave us a brief look at Batwoman in action, there was suspense and thrilling storytelling in every scene.
The Kane family is a mess right now, and I can’t wait to hit play on the next episode to see how they deal with all the revelations here.
You can stream Batwoman on HBO Max.
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/batgirl-film-canceled/
- SUPERMAN & LOIS Recap: (S03E10) Collision Course - June 5, 2023
- SUPERMAN & LOIS Recap: (S03E09) The Dress - June 5, 2023
- TITANS Series Finale Recap: (S04E12) Titans Forever - June 5, 2023
