‘Batwoman’ S1E3 recap: “Down, Down, Down”

The CW’s Batwoman has returned, bringing more Kane family drama to the forefront. In the second episode of the series, Kate (Ruby Rose) got confirmation that Alice (Rachel Skarsten) is indeed her long-believed-to-be-dead sister, Beth – even if her father (Dougray Scott) doesn’t entirely believe (or even want to). 

Alice, meanwhile, wants her sister by her side for yet unknown reasons, going so far as to have Kate’s stepsister Mary (Nicole Kang) nearly killed. Meanwhile Kate’s stepmom Catherine (Elizabeth Anweis) has some evidence that could prove Alice’s identity stolen and destroyed. 

And Alice knows Kate is the new vigilante, so that can only end well. Gotham has latched onto this latest Batman. Luke (Camrus Johnson) tells Kate she has to decide about continuing to wear the suit, because Gotham needs a hero.

Batwoman has definitely been stylish & intense, and the chemistry between Skarsten & Rose is electric. We have to wonder when Kate is going to wear that bright red wig and, you know, repair her relationship with her not-insane sister.

“Down, Down, Down” starts with a very real peak into Alice’s mind. This is clearly Beth post car crash. She’s in a murder cabin, whispering passages of Alice in Wonderland and entering a dark room where she approaches a box that has a skinned face rising to the top.

Kate, in her monologue to Bruce, talks about how Alice knows the truth. Alice has turned on the Bat Signal and is playing shadow puppets with it. Alice pokes at Kate for giving Gotham false hope by wearing the Batsuit. She asks Kate how to get boyfriend back, who issues a challenge. Alice can’t kill for 24 hours and then they’ll see what happens. She agrees to it, but tells him that Beth is never coming back.

A security guard watches a commercial for Tommy Elliot’s (Gabriel Mann) Elliot Estates, when a car crashes in and kills him. Sophie (Meagan Tandy) and her husband do a little sparring and Sophie uses the opportunity to deal with her feelings for Kate. Jake summons Sophie to where he’s watching footage of Alice’s escort getting blown up. Sophie asks Jake for a special assignment.

In her underground clinic, Mary is at work before changing back to influencer mode to make her parents think she’s sneaking in after a late night. She runs into Sophie, whose new assignment is to be Mary’s bodyguard. Kate arrives at Wayne Enterprises where Tommy is at Bruce’s desk, who is there to admire his newer taller building. He prods Kate’s hate for Batman and brings an invitation for Bruce before leaving. 

Luke calls Kate to the Wayne Enterprises site that’s been broken into, a weapon’s vault. He informs Kate that he’s called Bruce, but she’s not optimistic about it. Outside the Gotham Gazette, there’s the effigy dressed as Batman with a taunt.

Vesper continues to demand that Batman “show himself” with Mary working on her studies. Sophie remains in the background, watching Mary and probing her about why Kate didn’t join the Crows. Mary tells Sophie that she seems like a jealous ex and that Kate didn’t join the Crows because Sophie is there. 

Luke shows Kate what was stolen: the most lethal weapon Bruce ever built. It can rip a hole through the Batsuit. Kate figures out that whoever stole the force gun knows Bruce is Batman. She suspects Tommy Elliot, who is certain that Bruce is back after Batman arriving. Luke thinks that Kate should put on the Batsuit and make a show of force, but Kate is not Batman and doesn’t want to let the city down. 

Alice applies makeup in the Hamilton-Kane’s apartment while wearing a Crows uniform and drinking a martini. She sees the party invite to Tommy Elliot’s before smashing a picture. She kills a guard that was housesitting, dryly remarking how disappointed Kate is going to be.

Kate arrives at Tommy’s party where she runs into Mary and Sophie, who’s very curious about why Kate is here. (What is Sophie’s deal this episode?) Kate goes to the bar where she flirts with cute bartender Reagan and runs into Sophie’s husband Tyler. He’s curious about Kate’s relationship with Sophie. 

All Sophie told Tyler is that she and Kate went to Point Rock Academy together. Reagan pieces together the true story about Tyler/Sophie/Kate and then reads Tommy to filth. Jake goes to commiserate over Tommy and asks Kate about Alice. Mary asks Catherine to loosen up the security detail. Kate goes to talk with Tommy about the force gun, telling him about a hidden GPS tracker in it to see if it gets a rise out of him.

Alice calls Jake to taunt him, who wants to know why he stopped looking for her. She plans on knocking him off the top of the mountain. Jake realizes she’s in his apartment and Alice tells him that he won’t forget her. Not again. 

Then she goes digging through a box of Kate’s stuff, seeing a box marked Beth and the map that Kate marked up looking for her. Jake grabs Catherine and has Sophie grab Mary. The family leaves sans Kate, who is confronting Tommy over stealing the Wayne Enterprises tech.

Kate asks Tommy how he knows and he insinuates that the Riddler told him. It turns out that Tommy Elliot blames Bruce for his mother’s mental state and how he had to wait for his inheritance. 

He blames Batman for his misfortune and wants to kill him, calling Batman the villain of his story. Tommy freezes the elevators and kills a group of servers to make his point to Kate. He wants Batman and Kate on the roof in an hour.

Kate finds a survivor of the elevator and waves the EMTs over to work on them before leaving. The Hamilton-Kanes, Sophie, and Tyler are trapped in two separate elevators. Jake tells Catherine about Alice in their apartment while Tyler probes Sophie about her and Kate. 

Tyler, Sophie, and Mary are able to escape the elevator while Kate goes to the Batcave. She blames herself before putting the suit on. She asks Luke if he thinks Batman is coming back, and he says no. She asks Luke how long it will take for her to get the costume fixed. Mary, seeing the victims, springs into action to help the EMTS, identifying the symptoms of a subdural hemorrhage. 

Kate tells Bruce that since he isn’t here, she’s going to kick Tommy’s ass on his behalf. She needs to be honest with the city as she does it. She dons the official Batwoman costume, meeting Tommy on the roof. It’s a badass costume reveal.

Tommy demands to see Batman, not his “side piece”. Luke has a disruptor to stop the force gun, but it needs to charge. Kate goes to stall Tommy while it charges. She knocks the disruptor out of his hands, but sends the elevator with Jake and Catherine falling. Kate is able to stop it and he sends her elevator careening down. She tries to climb out but he steps on her hands to get her to let go and fall.

That’s when Alice shows up to save Kate, knocking Tommy out. 

Kate climbs out and looks at Tommy’s unconscious body, thanking Alice for saving her life. She tells Alice to leave. The two sisters have a moment over Kate’s choice of red, saying that it’s their birthstone. She then tells her about killing the Crow security team member. She tells Kate that she has plans for her and that she doesn’t want to be her sister. Kate, however, thinks differently. Alice leaves and she grabs the gun.

Tommy is led away to Arkham, where he can’t buy his way out. Reagan was looking for Kate this whole time. She also read that Kate is into her and wants to go out sometime. Kate agrees with Sophie, upset, watching on. Catherine returns home and sees three cards laid out: 2 of hearts, 8 of clubs, and 3 of diamonds. She tells Jake that he needs to end it and not to let Alice in. 

Kate, in costume, watches over Gotham telling Bruce. Vesper declares that the Bat is back and they need a name. Sophie names her: Batwoman.