What I’m Watching: Batwoman

Batwoman: Season 1, Episode 5 “Mine is a Long and a Sad Tale” (C+)

This episode’s title was unfortunately accurate, signifying a larger trend that this show just isn’t getting off the ground. I’m on board at least through episode eight when the mega-crossover begins, but as I realize that I’m watching too much television and should really give something up, this feels like the strongest candidate for that dishonor. It seemed like we were getting a new villain in the form of the Skin Pirate, an unappealing moniker for a disturbing obsession, but it turns out that was just Alice, who got captured by Kate before turning the tables on her by bringing her to a diner and encouraging her to order an obviously spiked beer. Alice’s story was indeed unsettling, featuring her lengthy captivity by a predatory man who also kept his own son hidden from the world, and I have little desire to see what comes of that. The fact that Jacob and Kate came so close to finding Beth only to be tricked into abandoning her is lamentable, and it’s hard to understand why Alice blames them given what she knows about how they were made to believe she was dead. The writing on this show isn’t great, and the emphasis on Alice in Wonderland puns is tiresome at best. Jacob now knows that Alice is Beth, but he’s still most concerned with the daughter who hasn’t become an eager killer. Sophie should have total confirmation now that Kate is Batwoman, but she’ll likely not act on that knowledge anytime soon. The most worthwhile, if still overdone, part of the episode was Mary irritating the hell out of Luke while proclaiming just how sorry she was on behalf of her mother’s actions to her dear sister.