Alice tells Kate the story of how she came to be the way she is, but is it a story that Kate needs – or is ready – to hear?

It’s another episode where we don’t get much Batwoman-ing this week, as Kate tracks down her errant sister and then makes the mistake of accepting an offer of an explanation as to how dear sweet Beth became the mad sadistic killer known as Alice. And it’s not a pretty tale.

Operating largely as a two-hander between the sisters, the episode ratchets up the creepy factor several notches as it explores the origin of the show’s main villain and how she ended up the way she is through a series of flashbacks which reveal not only the tale itself but also the identity of the mysterious ‘Mouse’ mentioned by Alice’s henchman Dodgson last week – turns out the two things are fairly intimately tied together.

Meanwhile Jacob, haunted by the revelation from Catherine last week, is desperate to find both his daughters after a call from Kate, designed to let him track her phone and therefore add a sense of urgency to Alice’s recital. The issue of course is that Kate is nowhere near as smart as Alice, who always seems to be several steps in front of her. Some might question this in a show where Kate is supposed to be taking the Bat mantle, but let’s remember that the show isn’t taking the easy route here. Kate has trained herself physically to be a Crow for years – she’s not the World’s Greatest Detective like her cousin, she’s only just starting to find her feet as her new secret identity. Alice, by contrast, has been surviving off her wits – as it turns out amongst some pretty unsavoury characters since she was very small – for years. It makes sense that she’s the one with the upper hand and Kate has to play catchup. It also would make for a very dull show otherwise.

As for Catherine herself, when she tearfully elects to reveal the truth to daughter Mary, she’s probably expecting some sympathy. Trouble is, the show has already told us just how strong Mary’s moral compass is, and she’s predictably horrified and runs to find Kate. Only to find Kate gone and poor Lucas in her place at Wayne Tower, leaving the poor guy to try to babysit her while also trying to do his own job. There’s an interesting symmetry here: Mary’s upset comes from the sheer shock of realising her mother could be capable of such a thing – she literally doesn’t know her. At the same time, presumably Catherine – like everyone else – has bought into the vapid, selfie-obsessed hard-partying persona her daughter gives out, and therefore expected if she could sympathy anywhere it’s there. Turns out neither knows the other at all.

Rachel Skarsten deserves all the plaudits this time out though. Even as we know what Alice is and how far gone she is, Skarsten manages to play with both Kate and the audience, dangling the ever-present possibility that even below all the deep damage, there’s someone salvageable underneath, making it sting every time when she reveals her teeth and claws. Ruby Rose might be the leading star (and doing a damned good job herself), but Skarsten is the beating heart of this episode and the show in general at the moment, and it’s horrifyingly compelling to see what she might do next.

Verdict: Tense and well-paced. I imagine some will feel aggrieved that there aren’t enough Batarangs flying around the place, but this is drama done properly, with real investment in the foundations of its characters. 9/10

Greg D. Smith