Batwoman season 1, episode 2 confirmed that Alice is indeed Kate Kane’s missing sister, Beth - and raised a lot of questions about just what’s been going on for the last 15 years. Viewers weren’t exactly surprised by last week’s dramatic reveal that Alice is secretly Beth Kane, given it feels like a standard Arrowverse twist. Batwoman episode 2 wisely wastes no time in confirming it - within minutes, the episode includes a scene in which an irate Alice rants to strangers about her father.
But Batwoman episode 2, “The Rabbit Hole”, seems to hint that Alice isn’t the real villain here. Something happened to her 15 years ago, when somebody faked her death. It increasingly looks as though Gotham is in the grip of some dark conspiracy, with goons pretending they work for Alice attempting to clear up evidence she’s connected to the Kane family. The Crows successfully capture Alice, which leads to what appears to be a high-profile assassination attempt. It seems Alice is a symptom of a greater problem in Gotham, rather than being the problem herself.
Meanwhile, Kate Kane continues to dress as Batwoman, remaining ignorant of the impact she’s having on Gotham. The city is confused and bewildered, wondering whether Batman has returned - or whether it’s dealing with just another pretender. It’s only a matter of time before Kate is confronted with the reality that, by donning the cowl and cape, she hasn’t just chosen a convenient suit to protect herself from gunshots - she’s embraced a terrifying responsibility. Let’s explore all the mysteries teased in Batwoman episode 2.
12. What Happened To Alice Over The Last 15 Years?
The emotional highlight of Batwoman episode 2 is a twisted, disturbing conversation between Alice and Kate. Struggling to believe the truth that Alice is her sister, Kate attempts to arrange a meeting at a place that meant a lot to both of them - a waffles stand they used to go to a lot as children. By the end of the conversation, Kate is confident she was right in her deductions, so much so that she stands between Alice and the Crows’ bullets when her father arrives on the scene uninvited.
Alice refuses to be drawn on what’s happened to her over the course of the last 15 years. Her recollections are focused on her memory of the crash itself, and the experience she describes - seeing what she calls a “mommyless head” - is enough to drive any child insane. Those missing 15 years are clearly central to the plot of Batwoman season 1; the mystery isn’t who Alice is, it’s how Beth became Alice.
11. Why Does Alice Hate Jacob Kane?
Alice blames her father, Jacob Kane, for everything she endured in that mysterious 15-year period. She believes that he could have found her if he’d just not stopped looking for her, and that whatever traumas she suffered are consequently his fault. “My father gave up on me,” Alice fumes, “and I want to make him suffer the way I did, stripping away everything that he cares about until he’s all alone.” If there’s a parallel between Alice’s experience and the one she wants Jacob to endure, then it strongly suggests she was found by somebody - who then systematically broke her.
10. How Did The Bone Fragments Get Into The Miller Farm?
A flashback reveals why Jacob Kane gave up on his missing daughter. It seems skull fragments were found on one farm, belonging to the Miller family. They proved to be a genetic match for Beth Kane, and Jacob believed the only way those pieces of bone could have got there is if Beth was dead. Kate, however, never believed this; she insisted that she’d personally searched the Miller farm, and would have found these fragments of bone. It’s interesting to note that Batman never believed it, either, given the Batwoman season 1 premiere confirmed he was still researching the case 12 years later, when he too disappeared.
The clear implication is that somebody planted these skull fragments at the Miller farm, and then faked the test results to convince everybody Beth Kane was dead. This immediately escalates the mystery of Beth’s disappearance; whoever took her, they have connections.
9. Who Stole The Knife From Kate Kane?
Batwoman season 1, episode 2 reveals that somebody doesn’t want Jacob Kane to know the truth about his long-missing daughter. Kate Kane is attempting to persuade somebody - anybody - to conduct a DNA test on the knife she acquired from Alice, in order to prove that Alice is really her sister. A group of thugs attack her, dressed up as Alice’s goons, and they steal the knife back before DNA tests can be carried out. It’s unclear who they are, let alone how they knew Kate had the knife in her possession. Towards the end of the episode, two Gothamite business-people are shown discussing this strategy, again suggesting the extent of this conspiracy.
8. Did Someone Try To Kill Alice?
The Crows capture Alice, and are transporting her to Gotham. There’s what appears to be an escape attempt, with an explosive device hidden on a Gotham bridge that tosses the prison van into the river. But there’s no evidence this was orchestrated by Alice herself, simply because none of her people are on hand to try to save her. She comes very close to drowning, and it takes all Batwoman’s skill - not to mention a convenient piece of Batman equipment she’d taken from the Batcave - to rescue Alice. Again, it looks as though somebody is conducting a cover-up. Jacob Kane rightly deduces that there’s something going on right to the top of the Gotham City Police Department.
7. How Did Alice Figure Out Batwoman’s Secret Identity?
Batwoman season 1, episode 2 ends with Alice sending her sister a note, confirming that she’s figured out that Kate Kane is Batwoman. “You have our father’s eyes,” the note observes, suggesting that she worked out the truth when Batwoman saved her in the river and the two stared into one another’s eyes for a long moment.
6. Is Kate Kane Even TRYING To Hide Her Secret Identity?
The truth is that Kate Kane hasn’t been putting much effort into hiding her secret identity. Batwoman episode 2 shows her driving into the Wayne building’s garage while in full costume; while it’s safe to assume the city’s security cameras have been rigged to ignore the Bat-suit, it’s frankly a miracle she wasn’t seen. Meanwhile, Kate’s ex Sophie has her own suspicions too, and she asks Kate outright if she’s Batwoman.
5. How Long Has Batman Been Protecting Gotham?
Batwoman episode 2 reveals that Kate’s sister Beth was lost 15 years ago. Given the Batwoman season 1 premiere revealed Beth went missing as a result of another Batman/Joker confrontation, it means the Dark Knight had been active in Gotham for well over a decade before he too vanished. This show is rewriting the history of the Arrowverse, making Batman this reality’s longest-serving superhero.
4. What Happened To Robin?
Batman has always been something of an odd hero, a lone wolf who always has allies. Batwoman episode 2 confirms that the Arrowverse version had at least one Robin; a voice-over from Vesper Fairchild wonders why Batman didn’t intervene in the bridge bombing, and jokes that it could have been Robin’s graduation party. This confirms that Dick Grayson exists in the Arrowverse too, and potentially that there have been other Robins - perhaps Jason Todd and Tim Drake. Notice that the Batcave Kate has discovered doesn’t have any trace of Robin equipment, though.
The Batwoman season 1 premiere featured dialogue that referred to previous Batman pretenders. It’s possible Batman didn’t leave Gotham City undefended, but rather that he passed the mantle on one of his Robins - and that they too have gone missing.
3. What Happened To Lucius Fox?
Batwoman episode 2 features one scene in which Kate Kane taunts her ally, Jake, about sounding just like Lucius Fox. It’s a deliberate piece of signposting, reminding viewers that Batman - and, now, Robin - aren’t the only characters who’ve disappeared. Even people associated with Batman, such as Lucius Fox and Commissioner Gordon, are also mysteriously absent. It’s interesting to note that Kate must have spent enough time with Lucius Fox to know what he sounds like. She’d remembered that Bruce Wayne was there for her after her sister’s apparent death, and it seems she met some of his closest allies as well.
2. Is Batman’s Disappearance Connected To Alice?
Batman clearly isn’t the only one to have disappeared from Gotham; most of his associates have as well. That’s extremely suspicious, because it raises the possibility Batman became aware of some dark force in Gotham that was beyond even his ability to defeat. Batman confronted this mystery force, and he was beaten; they then went one step further, taking all his key allies off the board too. If this is the case, it’s reasonable to suggest Batman had discovered the very conspiracy that Kate Kane is working on now. He never considered Beth Kane’s disappearance to be resolved, and even had the newspaper clippings still out, suggesting it was an active case to him. It could well be that Batman learned the truth about Beth, but that the discovery cost him dearly.
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