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The Rabbit Hole

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"Maybe it was fate watching her drown in a river the way everyone assumed she had years ago, and maybe I was meant to stand by and watch it happen all over again. After all, my dad was right. Alice was a monster. She was a liar, a manipulator, a killer. But despite all that, she was still my sister."
—Kate Kane on Alice drowning under the Loeb Bridge

"The Rabbit Hole" is the second episode of the first season of Batwoman, and the second episode overall. It aired on October 13, 2019.

Synopsis[]

Back in Gotham, battling Alice and the Wonderland gang from the shadows, Kate Kane continues to be haunted by the events surrounding her sister's death 15 years earlier. While the city holds on to hope that Batman has returned, Jacob Kane and the Crows up the stakes trying to take down the villainous crew. Kate continues to look to Bruce Wayne’s legacy for guidance as Luke Fox inadvertently gets pulled into Batwoman’s vigilante heroics. Sophie and Kate are forced to team up, while Mary finds herself in Alice's crosshairs.[src]

Plot[]

Kate talks about how Beth wasn't found in the car with her mother, and that as long as there was no body, there was hope. The searchers never found Beth's body, but initially, Kate and Jacob continued searching for her.

Jacob tells the Crows about how Alice is a lunatic and Dodgson is traitor, and how she and her Wonderland gang are undermining the Crows to terrorize the citizens of Gotham. He tells his men to stop them dead or alive.

Two Wonderland Gang members firebomb a Crow hummer. Batwoman attacks them and she is a bit surprised when the suit deflects their bullets. She gets in front of one of them as he runs and knocks him out. Batwoman removes his mask and asks him where Alice is, and then leaves as more Crows arrive at the scene. The unnamed Wonderland gang member goes for his gun but is not fast enough, and the Crows gun him down.

Batwoman drives through Gotham on her motorcycle, going to the Wayne Enterprises tower. She takes an elevator to the Bat Cave and Luke asks her where she's been. He warns her that she can't continue to go out and pretend to be Batman. To which Kate insists that she's merely doing it as a way of finding Alice and to determine if she is in-fact her sister Beth.

The next morning, Vesper Fairchild announces that it's been four days since people apparently saw Batman. The citizens begin to weigh in, figuring that Batman picked a good time to return. Kate meets with Catherine and Mary for breakfast, and Jacob arrives and says that the Crows might not have killed the gang member if Kate had joined his security group. Mary brings up the fact that Sophie is married to a man, but Catherine advises her daughter to drop the subject all together. Kate says that Alice is Beth, and explains that she got one of Alice's knives with a garnet birthstone like Beth had. Jacob insists that facts are facts and that Beth is in fact dead. Kate tells her dad that she'll prove it to them and leaves them to finish the rest of their breakfast.

Alice and her gang capture an elderly couple, she has her Wonderland gang members serve them tea and says the rich of Gotham, are still protected by the Crows. She tells the family that Jacob is a quitter and gives too easily, and it's about time for Gotham to watch Jacob Kane squirm. Dodgson reports that he couldn't find Alice's knife, and asks how Kate fits into Alice's plan. Alice says that Dodgson is jealous and kisses him. Dodgson tells Alice that all he wants is for them to stay on point; which includes uprooting the city's confidence in The Crows, and subsequently letting chaos reign. He warns Alice to not let it get personal, to which Alice insists that it is in-fact personal because her own father gave up on her. So now, years later, she wants to make him suffer the way that she did by stripping away everything that he cares about until he's all alone.

At the Batcave, Kate examines Alice's knife and then looks at a photo of her and Beth as children. Sometime during Beth's disappearance, a young Kate has a nightmare, and Jacob hugs her tightly. Even though she has a bed, she sleeps in what looks like the living room in case Beth calls. She then makes Jacob promise they'll never stop looking for Beth.

Luke arrives at the Batcave and tells her that while Wayne Enterprises does have a device that can analyze DNA against another sample, he was really just hired to watch over the building and keep the lights on. However, he says to Kate that he wants to talk about Batman's suit, and proceeds to point out how the city wants a hero that isn't there. Luke warns Kate that Gotham City needs a hero and Kate has become one; whether she likes it or not. He then shows Kate several gadgets that Batman has at his disposal. He warns her that they're all very dangerous tools and that quite honestly, he doesn't know half them work. Luke reiterates that this is because they were all meant for Batman. Kate taunts Luke by saying that this whole speech he gave her, sounded eerily similar to his father Lucius Fox except Lucius was at least useful.

Kate approaches Sophie at the Crows base, and Sophie asks if the "Batman" everyone is talking about is in fact, Kate. Her former lover insists that she hates Batman, and Sophie warns that Jacob hates Batman as well, so whoever is dressing up as Batman nowadays is really asking for trouble on Jacob's part. Kate denies it again, and jokes with Sophie that If she were gonna save her in a dramatic fashion, she would have totally dressed as Wonder Woman to do so, instead of Batman. Jacob looks down from his office, and Kate takes Sophie somewhere private. She asks her to run the DNA on the knife, and Sophie insists that Alice isn't Kate's twin. Sophie warns her that Kate is getting her hopes up, and says that Jacob would kill her if he found out. Kate takes the knife back and switches topic. Saying how she would have come back sooner to stop Sophie's wedding.

A gas grenade rolls down the parking garage ramp and gang members come after the two women to get the knife. Kate and Sophie fight them off, but one of the masked men grabs the knife and drives off with the others.

Later, Kate apologizes to Sophie for dragging her into it. Jacob complains that Kate brought Alice to the Crow's doorstep, and Kate wonders how Alice knew she had the knife. Sophie sides with Kate, but Jacob insists that Alice is a cop killer and must be stopped. Kate tells Jacob that somewhere deep inside of Alice, she's actually Beth. Jacob ignores her and says that the GCPD gave the Crows permission to put Alice down. An aide reports that they traced the second Crow from the night before and followed him to a section of town.

Kate goes to Mary's clinic and asks to see the second gang member. Mary has him under treatment and found a batarang in him. Kate says that he's one of Alice's gang, and tells him to send a message to Alice: "waffles". She releases him, and Kate tells Mary that if Alice is indeed Beth, she'll know what "waffles" means. When asking for more details, Kate tells her step-sister that it's better that she doesn't know.

That night, the Crows spot Dodgson on surveillance. They find him in a suburban neighborhood, and Jacob says that he knows where they are. He directs every available man to a specific address. As they go, Kate calls Sophie and asks her to stall the Crows while she finds Alice. Sophie realizes that Kate is referring to the Waffle Stand, and Kate asks then asks Sophie to buy her some time so she can prove Jacob wrong.

Kate is making her way through the city. Meanwhile, an alarm goes off in the Batcave, and Luke tries to stop it but ends up turning on the computer instead. It ends up showing Kate's location on the streets of Gotham.

Kate drives to the now-abandoned Waffle Stand and waits for Alice.

In another flashback, Jacob brings a young Kate waffles, but Kate doesn't want to eat them. She says that they should instead be looking for Beth. Her father points out that they've been looking for months and deserve a break. However, Beth tells her dad she feels like this was all her fault because Beth went to check on their mom, but instead of helping, Kate climbed out. She feels like she could have tried harder to save her sister, but was scared that if she stepped too far, she'd fall down too.

When the Crows arrive at the house, they find that the elderly couple who lived there had their throats slit. Sophie asks Jacob how he knew Alice had been here, and he tells Sophie that it was the old house where Beth and Kate had grown up in. She asks Jacob if he's seriously considering the idea that Alice could be Beth. He denies this, but figures that Alice is simply trying to get into his head.

Kate then hears Alice swinging on a nearby swing set and goes over to her. Kate asks Alice if she's really Beth. Alice toys with her when Kate asks her to prove that she is Beth. Alice says she is already here and knew the password was waffles and shares with her how they used to come every Friday to this waffle stand and gorge themselves in chocolate-covered garbage. But then proceeds to say that she could also be lying because the little factoid she just shared could have been mentioned in the press and she might have read it online. Kate then reveals to Alice that she had her knife, while Alice continues to insist that they're sisters.

The Crows secure the crime scene, and Sophie eventually tells Jacob that she knows where Alice is; thereby breaking Kate's trust in her in the process. Kate points out that they found Beth's skull fragments, and Alice asks why she's there if that's the case.

Alice describes the crash and how the thought of someone coming to save her was what kept her calm. Mary then texts Kate, asking her where she is, Alice says it's okay and that Kate can answer that if she wants to. But Kate ignores the text, and texts Mary, that something came up that holding her up at the moment. When Kate says they have a lot to catch up on. Alice says she rather not. That she really just came to meet her and ask her one question and that is when it was that Kate finally slept through the night after she disappeared. Kate says that she never did because to this day, she feels like she should have been with Beth when she was in the crash. Alice then cuts her hand and gives her some blood to test her DNA, so she can get the proof she so desperately wants.

However, The Crows arrive shortly after with their guns drawn, and Kate steps between them and Alice. Thus shielding Alice from any potential kill shots. Jacob orders Kate to get out of the way, warning her daughter that Alice is just using her to get inside her head. They see that Alice has a weapon, and Alice refuses to drop it. Kate warns Jacob that if he shoots then he won't just lose Beth, but her as well. Not wanting to take that risk, Jacob orders his men to lower their guns, and to instead take Alice to Arkham Asylum.

Sophie approaches Kate, trying to justify telling Jacob her whereabouts. Kate is disappointed in her and goes instead to tell Alice that she hadn't told the Crows where they'd be meeting. Alice then asks Kate if she remembers why they each had to get their own waffle, and Alice proceeds to say that it was because she didn't like to share.

At the clinic, the power goes out. Mary goes to the fuse box and Dodgson steps out of the shadows and tells her that Alice doesn't like competition. He grabs Mary and starts to choke her, but she stabs him in the leg with a scalpel and runs into the next room. Dodgson grabs an axe and tries to cut through the door that Mary has barricaded herself in. However, Batwoman arrives not too long after and knocks him out. The power comes back up, and Mary cautiously peers out and realizes that Dodgson is gone. Batwoman is watching the TV as it comes on with the power, and a newscast shows that the van transporting Alice has exploded, and subsequently fell into the waters under Loeb Bridge.

Batwoman drives to the bridge, and Luke calls her and warns her that the place is crawling with cops. Undeterred, Batwoman speeds up trying to get to Alice in time.

The van containing Alice sinks beneath the river waters, and Batwoman gets her out while wearing a rebreather. She gives it to Alice to breath, and Alice jerks awake and stares at Batwoman. The Crows shoot into the water, hitting the van, and it explodes knocking the two women apart, and opposite shores.

Luke calls Batwoman several times as she lies unconscious. The police officers move in, and Luke tells Batwoman to get up as a dog approaches her. He remotely activates the defibrillator built into the suit, and by the time the police get there, Batwoman is gone.

The next day, Vesper reports about how Alice escaped and Batman wasn't there. She jokingly asks her listeners if they think there's a cowl convention the citizens of Gotham didn't know about? Or perhaps it was Robin's high school graduation. Vesper finishes by asking her listeners if in the end, they all put their hope in a ghost.

At the clinic, Mary draws a gun when she hears someone behind her. When she realizes it's Kate, she lowers it. Kate apologizes for missing dinner the night before. Mary tells her that she understands Kate needs to know about Alice and says that Dodgson tried to kill her because Alice sees her as her replacement. However, she proceeds to tell Kate how Alice was in the wrong, not once since their parents got married, has Kate treated her like a sister. She says that the most sisterly thing that Kate has done for her is pretend she doesn't exist. Kate tries to argue that it's not that way at all, but Mary doesn't believe her. Mary assures her that she didn't tell Jacob, and asks her if Alice is worth all the trouble. Kate doesn't answer her, and Mary asks her to tell Alice that she's not a threat.

Jacob questions his people once more and tells them that they need to find out what's going on between the Wonderland gang and the Gotham City Police Department because Alice escaping in such a way was not random. Kate comes in and tells Jacob that he's about to kill his own daughter. Jacob shows her the photos of the dead family and says that his Beth wouldn't have killed them. He tells Kate to drop it or he'll have her arrested, and Kate storms out.

Years earlier, Jacob tucks a blanket over a sleeping Kate and sees a map of the area where the car went off the bridge, and the places they have already check for Beth. He breaks into tears and walks away with it. He crumbles it just as he sees Kat is awake once more and is seeing him crying. Jacob calls her over and holds her tightly. He tells her that Catherine's investigators found skull fragments on a nearby farm and had them tested, and they belong to Beth. Kate doesn't believe it and calls Jacob a traitor for giving up before walking away.

Sophie tells Kate that Alice could have killed her. Kate accuses Sophie of lying to the military academy and selling her out. Sophie argues that wasn't the same thing and insists that she'd never lie to Kate. When Kate asks her if she's happy, Sophie says that she is and there is no "them". She tells Kate to move on and leaves.

The next day, Kate goes to see Luke. She thanks him for saving her, but as Luke looks to be tearing up, she tells him that they should get so emotional, and they drop it. She tells him how she knows it wasn't Alice and her gang that took the knife. So she theorizes that there's someone else out there who doesn't want her to know the truth about the DNA on that knife.

At a park, Catherine gives a man the knife that was previously in Kate's possession and tells him to make it disappear and get rid of all the evidence showing he and the others went to the parking garage to take from Kate.

Kate writes in her journal that the people of Gotham want hope, and she found someone she didn't know or recognize in Alice. Now rather than hope, she feels doubt.

That night, Batwoman beats the captive Dodgson for answers as she wants to know everything he knows about Alice.

Alice writes a letter to Kate saying that she knows she's not the girl Kate expected her to be. She does warn Kate to be careful of the darkness that comes with wearing the suit because it makes Kate just as crazy as her for even putting it on.

Kate returns to her bike and finds a case left for her. There's a bat inside, and there's a note saying that Kate has her father's eyes.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Guest starring[]

Co-starring[]

Gallery[]

Videos[]

Trivia[]

  • The opening sequence for this episode features a red batarang, which Batwoman doesn't actually use in the comics. However, she does own an authentic one thanks to Nightwing.
  • The Wonderland Gang members burned the words, “We must burn the house down” into the van at the beginning.
    • This comes comes from chapter four of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: “We must burn the house down!’ said the Rabbit's voice; and Alice called out as loud as she could, ‘If you do. I'll set Dinah at you!’”
  • The creepy tea party/hostage situation Alice took part seems to be paying homage to the Mad Hatter’s tea parties in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
  • Kate mentions Lucius Fox, Luke's father and a popular supporting character of Batman.
  • This episode confirms the existence of both Wonder Woman and Robin:
    • Kate casually mentions Wonder Woman, after many hints in the other shows. However, beyond her name, nothing else is known about her. Themyscira, Wonder Woman's birthplace, was featured in the DC's Legends of Tomorrow episode "Helen Hunt".
    • Vesper Fairchild speculates Batman was at "Robin's high-school graduation" after being absent from the incident on the bridge.
    • In addition, when Vesper Fairchild talks about “Who got drunk, who got clawed” implies that this could be a subtle hint at Catwoman.
  • The note Beth leaves Kate "You have our father's eyes" is the line she used to reveal her true identity to Kate who was acting as Batwoman in the comics.
  • This episode contains many references to the 2008 film, The Dark Knight.
    • Batwoman riding her motorcycle through the streets of Gotham is similar to Batman riding the batcycle.
    • Alice using a knife to threaten or kill people is similar to Heath Ledger's version of the Joker who preferred to use knives.
  • The name of the bridge is called, "The Loeb Bridge", likely a reference to Gillian B. Loeb, who in DC Comics was the commissioner of GCPD when Batman began his career..
  • The way Batwoman saves Alice from drowning, is similar to how Batman saves Harley Quinn from drowning in the 2016 DC film Suicide Squad, as both characters are trapped in an automobile underwater.
  • Jacob orders Alice to be sent to Arkham, which was first featured in the Elseworlds crossover event and of course an important part of the Bat-lore.
    • When Alice is being put in a cop car, so that they can take her to Arkham, Kate approaches her, and Alice says "Tell us a story, said the March Hare".
      • In the comics the March Hare is a member of Mad Hatter's version of the Wonderland Gang.
  • The website article that Kate reads with the headline "Where'd Ya Go, Batman?" features a drawn city skyline with a bat-signal overhead, resembling the end-credits graphic used in the 1966 Batman TV series.
  • Waffles is used as code word to find out Alice is really Beth, in the comics this is Kate and Beth's favorite meal as well.
    • Their mother took them to get waffles and chocolate on their birthday, and they were attacked/kidnapped on the way back.
  • According to the Crows’ surveillance, Dodgson is in the Kubrick District, presumably named for Stanley Kubrick, which former Batman trilogy director Christopher Nolan is a fan, and Heath Ledger's Joker performance was apparently inspired by Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange.[1]

References[]

  1. ↑ Batwoman Episode 2: Complete DC Comics and Batman Easter Eggs Reference Guide - Den of Geek
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