Female Fury: Batwoman Episode 104, "Who Are You?"

The story of Alice (RACHEL SKARSTEN) deepens as Kate (RUBY ROSE) learns just what it means personally to take on the mantle of the bat.

Gotham City has a new supervillain problem -- a catburglar who likes to steal shiny objects. No, it's not Selina Kyle. It's Magpie (RACHEL MATTHEWS), a thief with a bird-motif, who steals expensive baubles and uses small grenades as her getaway weapon. In the comics, Magpie was a bit deeper than that -- her psychosis caused her to leave something in trade for the objects she stole, which would explode when moved. After a string of robberies -- one in which she escapes Batwoman, whose miss of a returning batarang causes expensive collateral damage -- Magpie sets her sights on a special piece of jewelry: the pearls worn by Martha Wayne the night she was murdered. Visually, they're not much of a display, but historically they carry a provenance special to Gothamites.

As Kate continues to track down both Magpie and Alice, she begins dating (read: sleeping with, because that's just how fast she moves) Reagan (BRIANNE HOWEY), a bartender she met last episode. As her dates get more and more complicated due to texts from Luke Fox (CAMRUS JOHNSON) about bat-related issues, she asks how Bruce was ever able to have a life. She's not thrilled with the answer, and as the episode comes closer to its climax, she realizes the personal cost that comes with the acceptance of the mission.

Meanwhile, Alice approaches Kate's stepmother, Catherine (ELIZABETH ANWEIS), blackmailing her to deliver a weapon her company is developing or have her past come back to haunt her. Catherine sends thugs after Alice, but that goes about as well as you might expect. Before it can blow up in Catherine's face, she confesses to Jacob (DOUGRAY SCOTT) what she had done -- a lie, involving the DNA evidence of the bones that were confirmed as being his lost daughter's. Jacob can no longer deny that Alice is actually Beth, the daughter he believed to be dead.

Kate continues to be a fallible vigilante -- not the perfectionist of Batman in his prime, but someone still learning how to use all the things available to her. She can throw the batarang, but catching it is more difficult because they're programmed for someone of Bruce Wayne's size. She can hold her breath for two minutes (Bruce can do 3 minutes, 15 seconds), but still can't restrain from sneezing when she needs stealth. These are all signs that we're watching a newbie learning the ropes, which is a departure from the norm for fans who like their superheroes to be perfect right out of the gate.

The CW Network has confirmed that the full-season complement of episodes have been greenlighted for BATWOMAN, despite the show's struggle for ratings. One can only hope the series gets a serious rebranding soon to attract more viewers, perhaps getting a much-needed boost from the impending CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS event later this year.