Female Fury: Batwoman Episode 107, "Tell Me The Truth"

Oh, BATWOMAN writers at the CW, why have you betrayed me? After weeks of supporting your show in the face of criticism, after numerous declarations that, "No, the show is not like that awful preview trailer, you should really try it," you go and stab me in the back by churning out an episode that is exactly what the critics excoriate the series for.

The episode, "Tell Me The Truth," finds Kate (RUBY ROSE) struggling with what to do about her former lover, Sophie (MEAGAN TANDY), who has revealed she knows Batwoman's secret identity and threatens to go to Kate's daddy and tell on her. What should Kate do? Continue to deny it? Bring Sophie into the circle of trust and hope that she can keep a secret?

Meanwhile, the company run by Kate's stepmother has suffered a setback in the loss of a specialized gun developed solely and specifically to penetrate the kevlar of Batman's suit. That's it. That's all. A company with a project dedicated to taking down a superhero and, surprise, it's not Lexcorp. I mean, it's not like such a weapon would ever fall into the hands of a villain, because only the best security precautions would be taken, and...

...oh, crap, the weapon has fallen into the hands of a villain, and the only three men in the world who could build it (because nobody stores blueprints or design documents anywhere) are methodically killed off. It's all just another part of Alice's (RACHEL SKARSTEN) plan for Gotham City.

And, as expected, Sophie goes straight to Daddy Kane (DOUGRAY SCOTT) to tell him that Batwoman is his daughter Kate, and that she needs to be stopped before she hurts herself. Fortunately (for Kate) this is actually Mouse (SAM LITTLEFIELD) in another of his impenetrable disguises brought on by skin masks, perfect vocal impersonation, and (apparently) the ability to change height and build. We get a lot more flashbacks to the days of Kate and Sophie's fling in the military academy that got Kate kicked out, but we are assured that Sophie's love and allegiance now are solely to her husband, Token Heterosexual.

Kate decides to bring Sophie into the circle, and that's when this episode's boxcars begin to tilt precariously off the rails. The meeting is in a restaurant, a table for two, where Kate learns why Sophie ended up betraying her at the academy. A point is made of referring to Kate's sneakers, which comes up moments later when the restaurant manager comes to tell them the restaurant has a dress code, which doesn't allow sneakers. Kate gets indignant that the shoes are under the table, and, oh look, there's someone else wearing them. Obviously, the only reason the manager is asking them to leave is because they are gay, because that's something you can visibly tell about two people sitting at a small table talking earnestly to each other while not even holding hands.

So Kate ends up not teling Sophie. Which means she has to do something else to throw her off the scent. Fortunately, Kate finds a new ally in the form of British visitor Julia Pennyworth (CHRISTINA WOLFE). Julia determine Batwoman's identity during a scuffle while both are tracking the gun thief, because she uses a move Julia taught her while she was traveling the world; and also because she's Alfred Pennyworth's daughter and knows the secret world of Batman. But more than that, we learn that Julia and Kate had a "thing" together while Kate was still rebounding from Sophie.

Folks, please. Despite the lyrics to Nirvana's "All Apologies," not everyone is gay--except in BATWOMAN.

Kate and Julia work together to pull the old "Pennyworth Impersonation" gambit, with Julia wearing the Batsuit at the same time, and in the same room, as Kate, with Sophie in attendance. This has the intended effect of convincing Sophie that she was wrong, but Julia gets shot and Kate has to go after her and rescue her.

The episode ends with Kate convincing her stepsister, Mary (NICOLE KANG) about her real estate project lie by buying up a piece of property. Oh, and it's directly across the street from the aforementioned restaurant. As Kate hangs up a rainbow flag in the window, she ponders how the manager will feel when she converts the place to a gay bar.

Better the writers should consider how the audience will react, as they score points against their fictional strawman character. Keep it up, guys, and those cancellation rumors will turn into cancellation facts.