Batwoman 1x16 : Through The Looking Glass review

Be warned there will be *SPOILERS* involved in this review. With that being said let's get into it. 

Sisters bonding in unique circumstances, murder and an Arkham Asylum break-in. All this and more are included in this week's Batwoman and once again it continues it's trend of great episodes. Beginning pretty much where last week's episode ended we see Kate, Alice and Jacob all present as they bury August Cartwright's body. Batwoman soon has to leave as her signal shines bright into the Gotham skyline. Next thing we see is Batwoman beating up a thug but just as she gets him in her sights she begins to have flashes of what she did to August Cartwright last week. Taking his life has seemingly taking a huge tole on Kate's life which is exactly what I expected and wanted to happen. We hear Kate later talk over the episode as she talks about how she is no better than those she puts to justice after taking the life of Cartwright even though it may have felt good for her to get revenge for what he did to her mom, sister and everyone else he harmed. Earlier in the episode it's learned that the man who killed Lucius Fox a man named Reggie Harris will have a hearing trial pretty soon which sparks Luke to attend and see him put to justice. A bit more on this later however. Sophie Moore returns in this episode. Last time we saw her she just told her mom that she was gay which to be honest didn't exactly go down well. Her mom reacted pretty badly which really did not sit well with Sophie. We see her talking to Jacob who gets her back on The Crows payroll as they both start investigating a murder. At the location of the murder Sophie finds a body but almost immediately notices a gun sight on her. She gets thrown out of the way by someone wearing a hoodie. This turns out to be Julia Pennyworth who tells Sophie that there's a bounty on her head which leaves Sophie stunned. Sophie also gets another little shock as Julia mentions that she is also an ex of Kates. 

Ah but the most important part of this episode is none other than Alice and Kate's ever growing friendship / relationship that much like before still has plenty of twists and turns left. With Mouse having been seen outside of Arkham it's learned that he has been targeting previous nurses's who treated him. Alice tells Kate of a doctor named Dr Butler who treated Mouse in Arkham. He basically used him as a guinea pig pumping him full of Fear Toxin for days on end. Alice asks Kate to help her find him which at first Kate is strongly against but she soon comes around to the idea but on one condition..they both trust each other. Alice agrees and the two set off first stopping off at a nurse who treated Mouse's home. Inside they get outed almost right away as The Crows rush the area after the nurse called them. The sisters manage to escape and head back to the location where Kate killed Cartwright. Alice again comes up with an idea of going into Arkham to break out Mouse but it won't be easy. She needs Kate to come along since the jail cell where he is located is strongly locked with 2 different keys to enter. Dr Butler has the access as Alice presents Kate with a Wonderland gang mask so that she won't be recognized. The two set off and thanks to a fake bomb distraction on the topside by Alice they get inside where Alice confronts Dr Butler who gives her access to Mouse's cell after she threatens to kill him. Kate and Alice enter but only one comes out and that is Kate. She locks the door behind her leaving her absolutely distraught. The two touch each side of the glass which was a really nice throwback to earlier in the season where 2 younger Kane sisters touched either side of the door which behind lied Alice. The emotion throughout this scene was amazing and told a really good story overall. 

The episode draws to a close with the trial of Lucius Fox's murder. In short he manages to get a re-trial much to the dismay of everyone in the court room including Mary and Luke. Not being able to deal with the decision Luke confronts his dad's killer Reggie later that evening as for now he is living a normal life. Luke confronts him and his mom who goes into her apartment as Reggie and Luke talk. Luke asks why did he kill his father which Reggie responds to with that he didn't. He was in the store where Lucius was murdered but the last thing he remembers is buying a bag of chips before waking up with a gun in his hand and blood on his body. He also mentions how various other people were in the same store and how Lucius was bragging to all of them about how his son is going to change the world. Their conversation is ended in an instant however when Reggie gets gunned down in cold blood in front of Luke with no sign of any killer in sight. Luke goes to see Mary who at first thinks he killed Reggie but in fact it turns out Lucius's killer is still on the loose as this conspiracy is all linked together as the person who Sophie found earlier was also present in the store where Lucius got murdered. Someone is obviously tying up loose ends. The final thing we see in the episode is Kate who is sitting high above Wayne Enterprises. Julia comes out to see her and they talk for a bit. The exchange ends in them locking lips as things just got a whole lot more interesting. Wow..what an episode. It started off rocky but man did it pick up and deliver an impactful episode full of betrayal, lust and action. Say what you will about this show but right now it's on top form.

★★★★