Just before my wife and I began watching this episode, she asked me what I thought of the show so far. I told her I liked it, because they usually don’t try to do too much. The story is focused on her ascension as Batwoman and her fight to save Beth/Alice. My least favorite episode was when they deviated from that and gave her a one episode love interest and introduced the villain of the week model that most of the Arrowverse shows follow.
About fifteen minutes into the episode, my wife pointed out that I seem to find things to occupy another part of my brain while watching this show in particular. At present it’s crossword puzzles, not that you care. I realized they were doing the villain of the week again, this time introducing the Executioner. This version of the Executioner was disgruntled guard who instead of going after prisoners, was going after a corrupt “cabal” responsible for setting up innocent men for cases that were otherwise unsolved.
This character’s story served several purposes:
- We learned what happened to Lucius Fox senior.
- Colonol Kane had to come to grips with and admit that his hatred for “the Bat” is based in self-preservation.
- Sophie learns that her need to “protect” Kate could end up hurting her more than their original heartbreak.
The story also allows for a bit of soap boxing, similar to that of the female counterpart Supergirl. Obvious in the Executioners arc is the subtext of racial profiling and the idea that the criminal justice system is not set up to help the “brown and black”.
In the background we see Mouse and Alice, utilizing Mouse’s skills of mimicry to steal tech capable of penetrating the bat suit. Unfortunately, Mouse was not privy to what he was stealing and was upset by Alice’s seeming obsession with bringing Kate to their side. This little “sibling” love triangle will have some definite strong ramifications moving forward.
