Plot
Magpie, a costumed criminal with an eye for shiny things arrives in Gotham, but she may have more sinister plans that simple robbery. As Kate attempts to find a balance between her personal life and her new role as Gotham's guardian, Catherine has an uncomfortable encounter with Alice and Mary has a close-encounter with Batwoman, who needs a favor.
Influences
Batwoman: Elegy by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams.
Goofs
The small explosions for Magpies booby-trapped pearls are less than convincing.
Reagan is supposed to be an expert at reading people and proves to be a master detective, so why doesn't she put two and two together on Kate being Batwoman after she disappears just before Batwoman shows up?
Performances
The interactions between Ruby Rose and Camurus Johnson as Kate and Luke are much more solid in this episode, leading to some fantastic dialogues and interplay between them.
Nicole Kang is a delight as Mary, and her deciding to play Alice while talking to a doped-up Dodgson is a fantastic bit of comedy, yet it still works well as a dramatic moment that is important to the plot.
Artistry
This episode features the strongest cinematography of any episode yet, with some grand dramatic shots of Gotham City.
The fight between Magpie and Batwoman in the museum is well-choreographed.
Bat Trivia
Magpie first appeared in The Man of Steel #3 in November 1986 and was created by writer/artist John Byrne. A museum curator named Margaret Pye by day and a cat-burglar who specifically targeted jewels named after birds by night, she had no superpowers but was notable for leaving behind booby-trapped replicas of the items she stole.
Magpie is mostly remembered today as the first villain whom Superman and Batman teamed up to fight together. She was apprehended after Superman came to Gotham City, seeking Batman out thinking he was a criminal or a dangerous lunatic. The skills Batman showed in tracking Magpie convinced Superman that Gotham City needed a hero like him, though he still disagreed with some of Batman's methods.
Magpie was Poison Ivy's cellmate in Arkham Asylum, despite having no superpowers.
In the Rebirth era, Magpie has been seen fighting Batman, Catwoman, Batgirl and The Flash.
The Arrowverse version of Magpie is named Margot. No last name is given in the episode, but it is possible it is Pye. She is a photographer who used her work to case out museums before robbing them, but otherwise seems true to the original comics' character, particularly in how she utilizes explosive, 3-D printed jewelry replicas.
Kate makes reference to Killer Croc - aka Waylon Jones; one of the more infamous members of Batman's Rogues Gallery, confirming his existence in the Arrowverse.
Kate notes that Bruce's mother was killed over her pearl necklace and that he spent $1 million to recover it when it turned up at an auction years later. In some versions of Batman's origin story, particularly ever since The Dark Knight Returns, great play was made of how Joe Chill broke Martha Wayne's pearls during the robbery, even though real pearls are stringed in such a fashion as to prevent the whole necklace from falling apart if the string breaks.
According to the show's producers, this is the last episode set before the events of Elseworlds.
Technobabble
The Batarangs are coded to return to the gauntlets of the Bat-Suit. Unfortunately, Luke Fox used the pre-programmed length of Bruce Wayne's arms in building Kate's costume. This cause the returning Batrangs to go past her hand, breaking a priceless vase after her first fight with Magpie.
Kate uses a voice modulator to artificially lower her voice to hide her identity while talking to Mary.
Magpie makes use of 3-D printed explosives, disguised as charms which she hangs from her belt - both caltrops (to slow pursuing guards) and replicas of items she's stolen to act as distractions.
Magpie's explosives are created with a nano-thermite infused ink and are comparable to an M-67 fragmentation grenade in terms of power. The ink's sale is highly regulated and only a few companies sell it.
Depending on the complexity of the deformulation, it can take Luke up to 1.5 hours to analyze the chemical composition of an explosive.
The bomb which targeted Alice's convoy was an IED using high standard components. It was able to target the van carrying Alice in a 7-vehicle convoy with 99.9% accuracy and likely used an advanced sensor initiation to detect its target. The only sensor that strong, according to Sophie, is an unreleased technology unique to Hamilton Dynamics.
Magpie's lair is climate-rigged so that if anyone enters the lair the change in temperature from the additional heat will trigger an explosion. The same sensors also measure kinetic energy, making it impossible for a person to breathe around them without setting off the same trigger.
The Batsuit can temporarily lower the wearer's temperature to avoid setting off heat-based weapons or thermal scanners.
Dialogue Triumphs
Kate: (V/O) A wise woman once said, "Hurt me with the truth. Don't comfort me with a lie." Yes, Bruce - I'm quoting Rihanna because I'm not a liar. I have never hidden who I am. I came out when Brad Morrison told all the kids at school that I was gay. I said, "Yeah, and?" Then punched him. Ever since then, I've been out and proud as long as I can remember. So how the hell am I supposed to wake up every morning and hide who I am?
(Alice confronts Catherine, as she is excavating Beth Kane's grave.)
Catherine: What are you doing here?
Alice: (ponderously) The great existential question. What are we all doing here? You know the thing I love about bad guys? Is that despite ourselves we are all so tragically predictable. Of course, you'd follow the cards I left right back there to cover your tracks.
Catherine: What do you want?
Alice: Hmm. To keep this to myself, and in return, you are gonna give me something, a very powerful toy. I understand that Hamilton Dynamics is developing a very "top-secret" weapon.
Catherine: I own one of the largest defense companies in the country. I'm hardly privy to its day-to-day project management side.
Alice: Oh, but you are. You are the priviest because this particular project was your idea.
Catherine: How do you know that?
Alice: Well, I spent in an hour in your house, Catherine. What did you think I was just poking around your shoe closet? Which should be its own monument by the way. Yeah. You are gonna give it to me by 10 p. m. tomorrow, or Commander Kane will know that you're the one who convinced him his dear, darling daughter was dead.
(Reagan just caught Kate lying about where she was.)
Reagan: So here's why this sucks. I like you. You're funny, you're cool, but that's not really enough. I'm not a needy person, Kate, but if I'm gonna make an effort, miss a spin class or rearrange a work shift, all I ask for is a little honesty.
Kate: Here's why this sucks. I think you're fun and cool and seem to care about all the right things But I'm not in a place right now where I can share all of myself with someone else. I am sorry.
Reagan: I get it. You obviously have a lot going on. I just hope whatever it is makes you happy.
Kate: What do you know about real estate?
Luke: Um, everyone hates popcorn ceilings.
Kate: So more than me. I'm starting a real estate firm.
Luke: Okay.
Kate: So the last thing the city needs is another predatory developer cluttering the skyline.
Luke: I agree.
Kate: That's why I want to buy run-down buildings from outside the Crows districts, keep the rents low, and give them back to the community.
Luke: So Bruce was a billionaire playboy, and you're gonna be who... Joanna Gaines?
Kate: You can be Chip.
Luke: I just told you I don't know anything about real estate.
Kate: Well, you better learn quick because you're gonna be my assistant.
Luke: Associate.
Kate: Hmm. Up for debate.
Continuity
Magpie is said to have robbed three jewelry collections in the past week and nearly killed a guard at her latest heist. Batwoman has not been seen in that time, because Kate is spending her nights with Reagan the bartender, whom she met in 103 at Tommy Elliot's party.
Kate came out after a boy named Brad Morrison said she was gay. She said "Yeah, and?" before punching him.
Kate is temporarily loaning Martha Wayne's pearl necklace to the Gotham Museum of Antiquities for an exhibit of the jewelry of women of power.
Martha Wayne was a supporter of the museum when she was alive.
The curator of the Gotham Museum of Antiquities is named Roxanna. No last name is given for her in this episode. She is attended by a photographer named Margot, who is later revealed to be Magpie.
Luke called Kate because Dodgson, still held captive, is starting to go septic instead of being dehydrated, as Kate insists he is.
The playing cards left on Catherine's make-up table from 103 are revealed to be a reference to the cemetery lot where Beth Kane was meant to be buried - 283.
Alice threatens to tell Jacob that Catherine faked the evidence of Beth Kane's death unless she delivers a new top-secret weapon to her.
Batwoman takes Dodgson to Maty at her clinic and asks her to save his life. Mary agrees, despite having misgivings about treating the man who tried to kill her.
Mary's clinic is revealed to be on Bennett Ave.
The vase which Kate breaks by accident in her fight with Magpie belonged to Marie Antoinette.
Sophie reports to Jacob that the explosive that took out Alice's transport in 102 likely came from Hamilton Dynamics.
Reagan grew up in an apartment building which was later gentrified by The Crows.
Kate asks Reagan to be her date to the antiquities museum gala that evening.
Magpie steals Martha Wayne's necklace from Bruce Wayne's office, in broad daylight.
Sophie gives Kate a list of everyone within a 100 mile radius who bought the explosive ink used to make Magpie's explosives.
Alice captures several of Catherine's henchmen, who come looking for her. She cuts the finger off one of them and turns him loose to send a message to Catherine.
Magpie bought the ink through a PO Box, linked to an address at the Old Gotham Hotel.
According to Luke, Bruce was miserable leading a double life, unable to get close to anyone. He thinks Bruce was happier as Batman toward the end before he disappeared.
Kate poses for a selfie as Batwoman to get the address linked to the PO Box.
According to Luke, Batman never posed for selfies with civilians.
Magpie protects her lair with a climate-controlled rig that sets off an explosion if it detects a change in the temperature of the room or detects someone breathing.
Kate can hold her breath for just over 2 minutes.
Kate sets the sensor off accidentally by sneezing, but manages to escape with a copy of Magpie's hard drive.
Dodgson hallucinates that Mary is Alice. Mary plays along and learns that Alice has big plans for someone called Mouse.
Magpie had complete semantics for something important on her hard drive. It is later revealed to be a 3D-printed replica of Martha Wayne's necklace.
Sophie shows up at the gala opening for the jewelry exhibit, killing the mood of Kate's date with Reagan.
Security guards show up with the pearl necklace, despite Kate calling ahead to tell the museum it had been stolen. This tips her off to Magpie's plan even before Luke tells her what he printed off of Magpie's hard drive.
Kate stops Magpie from escaping by cutting her zipline, in full view of the crowd of gala attendees.
Reagan dumps Kate for not being honest with her..
Catherine tells Jacob about how Alice is trying to blackmail her for a weapon.
Catherine tells Jacob the truth about how she falsified the evidence of Beth's death.
Jacob kicks Catherine out of their apartment.
Mary tells Batwoman about Mouse.
Batwoman chips Dodgson so she can track him to Alice's lair.
Kate decides to start a real estate company to buy run-down buildings from outside the Crows districts, keep the rents low, and give them back to the community.
The Killing Jokes
There's a bit of slapstick with Kate not catching her Batarang on the rebound, destroying a priceless vase and sneezing in the middle of a room primed to explode if anyone breathes. It's made up for by the end, but it all is done to emphasize how green Kate is despite her combat training.
The Bottom Line
A solid episode that introduces a fun villain, pushes forward most of the subplots and establishes some fantastic interplay between Luke and Kate. The series is shaping up into something truly entertaining and doing so far faster than Arrow did relative to how many episodes have passed.
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