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Recap / Batwoman 2019 S 1 E 12 Take Your Choice

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Both versions of Beth are slowly dying from their proximity, and for one to survive the other must die.


Tropes:

  • Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Alice abandons any semblance of pride in the face of death, pleading with Mary in every way she can think of to convince her to try and save her life. Surprising no one but Alice, Mary refuses.
  • Alas, Poor Villain: Alice's final moments, frightened, sobbing, and confronted with the fact that she all but brought her fate on herself, is a pitiful fate for anyone to suffer, with even Kate, who condemned Alice to die, weeping over her fate. Subverted at the end, where Alice survives by a twist of fate, and if anything, seems more twisted than ever for it.
  • All for Nothing: All of the heroes' efforts to save Beth end up coming to nothing; she's shot dead by Cartwright not long after being spared her death by cellular collapse.
  • Arrow Catch: Kate catches the knife that Alice throws at Beth, to the latter's shock as she has no idea her sister is Batwoman.
  • At Least I Admit It: As Dodgson points out, Alice may be psychotic, but she at least never pretended to be good, unlike Jacob, who claims to uphold the law even as the Crows break it all the time.
  • Big Damn Heroes:
    • Kate saves Luke, Mary and Beth at the checkpoint.
    • Reggie Harris saves Jacob from being killed by Dodgson.
  • Blood from the Mouth:
    • And not just the mouth. As a result of their degeneration, Alice and Beth start bleeding from the ears too.
    • Happens to Beth again after Cartwright shoots her.
  • The Bus Came Back:
    • Dodgson returns, almost killing Jacob in prison.
    • Catherine Hamilton appears as a hallucination Alice sees while dying.
  • Cassandra Truth: Luke stops Kate from just going to Sophie and explain everything by pointing out how crazy it would all sound, especially the Crisis. She'd also have to admit to being Batwoman.
  • Continuity Snarl: Having two different versions of one person on one Earth at once surely didn't bother Brainy, Toyman or Al the bar owner over at Supergirl (2015), nor has it ever affected the various Harrisons Wells on The Flash (2014).
  • Corrupt Cop: Dodgson states that the Crows have tampered with evidence to get their clients off, and persecuted people who couldn't afford their services, among other things.
  • Crazy-Prepared: Luke's car can change license plates mid-drive.
  • Cruel Twist Ending: Kate chooses to give Beth the syringe to save her and leaves Alice to die. Unfortunately, Mr. Cartwright (who was intending to kill Alice) snipes Beth, which revives Alice, who then becomes vengeful toward Kate for not choosing to save her.
  • Curb Stomp Cushion: Jacob surely tries his best, but gets stabbed and almost beaten to death by Dodgson, only being saved by Reggie Harris.
  • Died in Your Arms Tonight: Beth dies in the arms of a heartbroken Luke.
  • Double-Meaning Title: The title refers not only to Kate's choice to spare either Alice or Beth, but also to Sophie's decision about keeping the Crows on the more extreme path she's put them on.
  • Dramatic Irony: Cartwright murders Beth, believing her to be Alice. For extra irony, he ends up saving the real Alice's life by doing so.
  • Dressing as the Enemy: Alice murders a Crow so she can take his uniform and get in to see Mouse. Cartwright then kills the guard outside Mouse's room and uses his uniform and face to get Mouse out of the hospital.
  • Drowning My Sorrows: Beth starts drinking heavily when she learns she has only hours left to live.
  • Entitled Bastard:
    • Alice tries pretty much everything she can think of to get Mary to save her life, from calling on her oath as a doctor to do no harm, to begging, to reminding her that she saved her life (after being responsible for endangering it to begin with), to appealing to her sense of family. Unsurprisingly, given Alice's laundry list of crimes against many people, to say nothing of Mary personally, none of it works. She also expects Kate to choose to save her life over Beth's, going so far as to claim that Kate's never known "the real [her]", despite having made it abundantly clear that she considers her murderous persona to be her real personality.
    • Dr. Cartwright considers the life of prestige that he enjoys as Dr. Campbell to be what he rightfully deserves. Even Mouse can't see his father as anything more than an abusive lunatic who should have died years ago.
  • Evil All Along: Dr. Campbell was Dr. Cartwright all along.
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good:
    • Cartwright mocks the notion that Alice's affection for Mouse is genuine; being incapable of genuine affection himself, he can't see other people's affection for his son as anything but manipulation.
    • Zigzagged; Alice assumes that Kate would choose her over Beth, but a hallucination of Catherine drives the truth home for her, that Alice's lack of remorse for her crimes, especially compared to Catherine's genuine regret, is exactly why Kate won't save her. Alice is clearly aware of the reality in front of her, but she doesn't seem willing or able to accept it.
  • Evil vs. Evil: Cartwright wants to kill Alice. Unfortunately, he shoots Beth instead.
  • Exact Eavesdropping: Alice walks in just as Beth is explaining that one of them has to die.
  • Exact Time to Failure: Team Batwoman seems to know exactly how long Beth has left, down to the minute.
  • Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Alice and Mary come to the simultaneous realization that her blood has Healing Factor thanks to Mary taking the perfect antidote.
  • Fake Pregnancy: Laughingly raised as a means of getting through the checkpoint; Luke points out that Mary (wrapped in furs) does not look the part.
  • Family of Choice: Mouse has long since rejected his abusive father and turned his love towards the woman who accepted his disfigurement.
  • Foreshadowing: Dr. Campbell is skeptical of Jacob's claim that he was framed by a man wearing his face, but when told they have the man in custody suddenly changes his mind on condition that he speak to Mouse.
  • From Bad to Worse: Beth is dead while Alice is alive with an even greater grudge against her twin sister. Mouse has been removed from Crow custody, and the plastic surgeon who promised to testify on Jacob's behalf turns out to be Mad Doctor Cartwright.
  • Green-Eyed Monster:
    • Alice is obviously very jealous at Beth due to the affection Kate has for her, wanting to kill her.
    • August Cartwright likewise wants to kill Alice because of his son "falling" for her.
  • The Guards Must Be Crazy: The Crow outside of Mouse's room fails to recognise Alice (the most wanted person in Gotham), or catch the fact that her uniform is too big for her (even though the Wonderland gang have impersonated Crow security officers before). Also there's only one guard on duty (not to mention a Crow security officer going around without backup so Alice can Kill and Replace him).
  • Hero Antagonist: The Crows, including Sophie, target Kate and her friends throughout the episode due to them protecting Beth, whom the Crows mistake for Alice.
  • Hero with Bad Publicity: The Crows are hunting Batwoman due to her interfering with their manhunt for Alice.
  • Hope Spot: Despite having Beth in her crosshairs, Sophie chooses not to pull the trigger. Then a gunshot from a second sniper rings out...
  • Impostor-Exposing Test: When Alice turns up to rescue Mouse, he assumes she's the doppelganger who tried to fool him last time and demands she provide a Trust Password, to her annoyance until he explains why. Discovering there's a woman with an uncanny resemblance to herself in league with Kate causes Alice to abandon Mouse to investigate the matter.
  • Improvised Weapon: Mary uses the wallphone to beat Alice unconscious. Unfortunately, she leaves it near her, causing Alice to pick it up and lead the Crows to Beth's location. Alice later knocks out Kate with a hospital tray.
  • In English Please: Played with. Kate says this when Beth and Luke share a short flirty moment while discussing the many-worlds interpretation, but it comes off more as a way to get them refocused.
  • Internal Reveal:
    • Alice learns of her multiverse twin.
    • Kate reveals that she's Batwoman to Beth, who then suffers Death by Secret Identity.
  • Irony: By sniping Beth to try and kill Alice, Cartwright wound up saving Alice's life.
  • It's All About Me:
    • Dr. Cartwright sees Alice's fondness for Mouse and their escape from his abuse as nothing but an attack on him.
    • Alice takes this to new levels; her first thought when told that only one Beth can survive is that it has to be her, and she immediately tries to kill Beth. Alice also begs Mary for help, and when she realises a way that she can be saved, she assumes that Kate would naturally save her.
  • Kick the Dog: Alice selling out Beth's location, knowing that the Crows will kill her on sight, is a new low.
  • Kick The Son Of A Bitch: Mary is fine with leaving Alice for dead to save Beth, although she's at least willing to leave the choice of whom to save in Kate's hands.
  • Killing Your Alternate Self: Which Alice is entirely willing to do.
  • Kill on Sight: Sophie issues a B-42 shoot to kill order on Alice.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: Alice has spent the whole season committing any number of horrible crimes while resisting any attempt at reforming her, ultimately leading to her fate of dying a slow, painful death, burdened with the knowledge that no one who could save her has any reason to do so. Her death is averted at the last minute, but it's hard to argue that Alice hadn't brought her fate on herself.
  • Never My Fault: Cartwright blames Alice for Mouse turning against him, ignoring his own abuse of his son or the fact that he's one who kidnapped a young Beth in the first place. Even Mouse spelling it all out in front of him doesn't convince him of the truth.
  • Never the Selves Shall Meet: Beth says the Universe is literally Not Big Enough for the Two of Us. Alice and Beth don't even have to meet or touch, as both will die unless one anomaly is removed.
  • No Ontological Inertia: Alice instantly gets better when Beth is killed, despite being minutes from death before.
  • Oh, Crap!: Mouse has a big one when his father reveals himself to him, alive.
  • Race Against the Clock: Beth and Alice have only seven hours to live.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
    • Dodgson calls out Jacob for his brutal and downright corrupt methods as Commander, pointing out that Alice at least never pretended to be good.
    • Alice's hallucination of Catherine brutally calls out Alice for her lack of any redeeming qualities. As she puts it, Catherine may have done bad things, but she tried to make amends, while Alice is just flat-out evil.
  • The Resenter: Alice is clearly jealous that Beth never suffered through the horrors that she did, especially when she hears that on Beth's Earth, Kate saved her from the car crash.
  • The Reveal: Dr. Campbell is actually Mr. Cartwright in disguise.
  • Sadistic Choice: Mary's blood can boost one of the Beths long enough to outlast the other, but giving it to both would just prolong the inevitable. Mary leaves this up to Kate, who chooses Beth, but Mr. Cartwright sniping Beth in the back means Alice gets to survive.
  • See You in Hell: Alice's hallucination of Catherine promises to save her a seat in hell if Kate decides not to save her.
  • Ship Tease: Beth and Luke take quite a shine to each other. Unfortunately, it tragically goes nowhere.
  • Shout-Out: Vesper Fairchild borrows Robin's catchphrase.
    Vesper: Holy police state, Batwoman! Can we find her already?
  • So Proud of You: Dr. Cartwright towards Mouse, as he is just a talented as himself.
  • Stay with Me Until I Die: After realising that Kate chose Beth over her, Alice asks Kate to stay with her in her final moments. Unfortunately when Alice has her unexpected recovery, this leaves Kate in striking range.
  • Supergirl Stays Out of Gotham: One quick call to either Kara Danvers (whom Kate has formed a friendship with) or Barry Allen could have gotten Beth out of Gotham City with trivial ease. Both characters are mentioned, but not in the context of anyone thinking to ask them for help.
  • Sympathy for the Devil: Beth feels very sorry for Alice, even asking Kate if she is sure that she doesn't want to save her instead.
  • So Much for Stealth: Mary is using her position as the Commander's daughter to get through the Crow checkpoint, when suddenly Beth who is hidden in the back gasps in pain and gives herself away. Only Batwoman's intervention stops Beth from being shot.
  • Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Beth is so empathic she even has sympathy for Alice, to the latter's disdain. Naturally Beth dies and Alice survives.
  • Undying Loyalty: Twisted as it is, Mouse makes it clear that his love for Alice is genuine and that he will never betray her. Even when Alice leaves him tied to a bed because she has to rush off after her doppelganger, he's entirely confident that she will come back for him as promised.
  • The Unreveal: Beth tells Kate that in her universe she found her soulmate, but teasingly refuses to reveal who it is.
  • Wants a Prize for Basic Decency: Alice expects Mary to be grateful towards her for giving her the antidote after she herself poisoned her, killed her mom and put her step-dad in prison.
  • Wham Line:
    • Dr. Campbell referring to Mouse as "Johnny", his father's old nickname for him.
    • When Kate arrives at the clinic, Alice immediately assumes that Kate chose to save her over Beth. Then Kate reveals the real reason she came.
      Kate: I came to say goodbye.
      Alice: What?
      Kate: Goodbye, Alice.
  • Wham Shot: Dr. Campbell removing a facial mask to reveal that he's Dr. Cartwright.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Batwoman calls out Sophie on using downright fascist methods during her crackdown on the city. Sophie knows that she is acting extreme, but refuses to call it off, wanting to find Alice under all circumstances.
  • White Shirt of Death: Genre savvy viewers will know what's going to happen when Beth unzips her jacket to reveal the lighter colored jumper underneath.
  • Worf Had the Flu: Mary (who has no combat training) is able to get the upper hand on Alice (a much more competent fighter) since Alice is weakened and sick from her proximity to Beth. It also helps that Alice cares more about the blood she took from Mary, which is enough of a distraction for Mary to cuff her to a bed.
  • You Owe Me: Since Jacob's release from prison is imminent, Reggie Harris saves him from Dodgson with the expectation that Jacob will return the favor when he's reinstated as the Crows commander.

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