TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Batwoman Season 1 Episode 16: Through The Looking Glass

Last weeks’ “Off With Her Head” was a powerful and almost transformative episode for what the series could be, and today’s “Through The Looking Glass” just added to that in the best way possible while laying the seeds for what is to come for the rest of the season and possibly the next.

First and foremost, we got to see the immediate aftermath of Kate killing Cartwright. All three of the Kane’s being together to bury the body, and then being forced to let Alice leave, lest she tell what happened, was very powerful and poignant. Kate’s struggle with what she had done was also handled in a believable and fun way.

From nearly killing that gone, to nearly killing Alice, to reciting the line that Bruce gave her in Crisis on Infinite Earths, and then admitting that what she felt was…nothing. She didn’t feel guilt over what she did, not at all, and that made her feel even more guilty because shouldn’t a hero feel that when they did something wrong?

In many ways, the bond between Alice and Kate drove the episode. From the barfight, to Alice opening up to Kate about everything that the Fear Toxin showed her, and then Kate doing the same, and of course, them teaming up to “breakout” Mouse was great.

And that twist at the end with her leaving Alice in Arkham, I honestly didn’t see that coming. Especially when Jacob showed up and it was clear that this was the plan from the beginning. That was a bold move, and now Alice is going to be even more angry at her family because of their now “second” betrayal of her.

Plus, don’t forget that an old enemy of Alice is now in Gotham, but who is it? We’ll see…

We also got some major headway in the Lucius Fox case, including proof that his killer was innocent, there is indeed a conspiracy in the Crows, and someone powerful killed Lucius Fox for one reason or another. But who and why? We’ll see, and there’s always the question of…will this lead Luke to becoming Batwing?

There were only a few faults in this episode. Mainly some cliches, including Luke confronting his fathers killer, and Kate hooking up Julia who just happened to be in town EXACTLY when Sophie got assigned to do the undercover mission. Right…

Seriously though, I love this version of Julia Pennyworth, and hopefully she’ll be staying around for the rest of the season, if not the series!

In the end, “Through The Looking Glass” was another great episode that delivered great character moments, big twists, and some teases of the future. Can’t wait for the next episode to arrive.