Kate Kane returns to Gotham when a gang targets her father and her ex-girlfriend Sophie Moore.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Anachronic Order: The whole episode takes place well before the Elseworlds (2018) crossover so they can show Kate first starting out as Batwoman.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Step-sister in Mary's case, but still very much the case.
- Artistic License – Military: Point Rock's PT uniforms are rather atypical, featuring sweatshirts (presumably t-shirts for warmer weather), BDU trousers, and boots; the same uniforms at the real-life service academies resemble standard workout clothing, with tees, shorts, and sneakers (and cold weather variants). All that's a bit odd, but the bigger error is that the boots are from the Army Combat Uniform, which, while it had some chronological overlap with the BDU and the two would have coexisted at around the time the scene is set, was never authorized to wear in a such a mix-and-match fashion.
- As You Know: Mary feels the need to mention she's Kate's stepsister when calling her to inform her about Sophie's kidnapping. Lampshaded by Kate's response:Kate: Mary, our parents have been married for over a decade. I know who you are.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Kate worries that her father never really wanted her around (and Alice doesn't hesitate to play on this fear) but Jacob reveals he's actually trying to protect his daughter, having already lost one.
- Back-Alley Doctor: Mary is a heroic version, running an underground clinic for the poor using stolen supplies from her university.
- Badass in Distress: Sophie is more than capable of throwing a punch, but she gets abducted by Alice's gang. Kate likewise finds herself captured during her first rescue attempt, but Alice just knocks her out and dumps her near Mary's clinic.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Played with. Kate takes a cricket bat to the face with no subsequent visible head or face trauma, but the knife wound she received in the same fight still needs stitches.
- Beta Outfit: Kate isn't wearing her own suit yet, instead using Batman's old suit modified for her physique.
- Bookcase Passage: Kate Kane is in Bruce Wayne's old office and notices the display case holding Martha Wayne's pearls is in the wrong position on the bookcase. Where it should be, there's an indentation in the surface and a locking lug. Kate puts the case back in position and turns it, causing the hidden door to the Batcave elevator to open.
- Cain and Abel: Turns out that "Alice" is Kate's own twin sister Beth.
- Call-Forward: Vesper Fairchild, who plays a role as The Ghost in Elseworlds (2018), is heard in this episode.
- Chekhov's Gun: Kate and Beth's necklaces are shown several times, and end up being key to Kate's realization during The Reveal.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Sophie stabs Cheshire Cat, one of Alice's goons, during her abduction. He later seeks out Mary's clinic, where Mary learns from him where Sophie probably is.
- Dramatic Irony: Jacob isn't bothered by the supposed return of Batman, thinking 'he' is just another Heroic Wannabe who will quickly get killed because they don't have the skillset. Kate however has been training for years to get herself qualified to join the other ex-special forces personnel in Crow Security; but rather than accept her father's offer to join, she decides to become the Bat instead.
- Failed Dramatic Exit: After saving Sophie, Kate goes to leave the trailer they've landed in only to realise the door is locked; she releases the catch with an embarrassed smile.
- Flashback: The whole episode is set in the past, and within there are also some additional ones to Kate's childhood and her time in military school.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: Played with. The first mention that Beth's body was never recovered happens just before The Reveal, but her necklace, which plays a key role in that reveal, was seen multiple times throughout the episode.
- Hidden Depths: Mary stitches up Kate in her own back-alley clinic, much to the latter's surprise.
- Hope Bringer: The people of Gotham gain lots of hope when they believe Batman to have returned.
- Internal Reveal: Kate learns that her cousin is Batman.
- Like a Daughter to Me: Sophie is more or less treated by Jacob as this, much to Kate's bitterness. Alice goes so far as to claim that Jacob loves Sophie more than his biological daughter.
- Likes Clark Kent, Hates Superman: Kate initially blames Batman for failing to rescue her mother and sister, while being grateful that her cousin Bruce Wayne was there for her while she coped with the loss. Once she realises the two are one and the same, and Luke tells her he never stopping looking for Beth, Kate drops any disdain she has for Batman.
- Literally Falling in Love: Kate rescuing Sophie is played up for maximum romantic subtext, with them falling onto a bed with their faces really close to each other.
- Love Cannot Overcome: In the flashbacks, Sophie decides to lie about her homosexual conduct because she wants to stay at the military academy, much to Kate's disappointment.
- Malevolent Masked Men: How Alice's gang is dressed.
- The Mole: One of the Crow Security men, Dodgson, is in cahoots with Alice.
- My Greatest Failure: Bruce's greatest one is failing to save Kate's mother and sister, who died during a Joker attack. A bus he hijacked ran their car off the road while on a bridge. Bruce used grapple lines to secure it before it could fall, but didn't count on the poor engineering of the car's trunk door, resulting in the car falling into the river just after Kate crawled out.
- Never Found the Body: Despite all his advanced tech, Bruce never found Beth's body. Then it turns out she's still alive...
- Not Quite Dead: Beth isn't dead and has become the villainous "Alice".
- Not the Fall That Kills You…: Kate saves Sophie from a roughly 8-story fall by catching her in midair and shielding her before they crash through the roof of a construction foreman's trailer and land on a bed inside.
- Oh, Crap!: Alice, when she sees Kate's silhouette, thinking Batman has returned.
- One Size Fits All: Despite the Batsuit being custom-designed for a (presumably larger) man, Kate has no problem adapting it to fit her feminine form.
- Parents as People: Jacob explains that he has always been so distant and against Kate's wishes to join the Crows or the military because he didn't want to lose her too.
- The Password Is Always "Swordfish": Wayne Enterprises security password is still "Alfred".
- Practically Joker: Beth aka "Alice" acts pretty much like a female version of the real deal.
- Reality Is Unrealistic: Kate's breath isn't visible during her first scenes, which take place on the frozen-over Lake Baikal in Siberia. However, breath only condenses in cold temperatures if the air is humid enough, and Siberia is generally rather dry, making the scene plausible.
- Sadistic Choice: Alice tries to force Jacob to choose between Sophie or dozens of innocent people, having planted a bomb in one of his vans.
- Samus Is a Girl: In-Universe; only Alice and Sophie who've seen 'Batman' up close know the Dark Knight is actually a woman. Sophie decides not to reveal this fact to her boss.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Kate all but tells her instructors at the military academy where to shove it, and quits without a second thought when she and Sophie face expulsion for homosexual conduct. Sophie can't bring herself to make the same choice.
- Second Love: Sophie is married to a man named Tyler after Kate's return.
- Shout-Out: The "Movie in the Park" playing during Kate's official debut as Batwoman is The Mark of Zorro, which is commonly the film the Waynes were watching before their deaths and thus played a key role in shaping Bruce's methods as Batman.
- Sink or Swim Mentor: Kate's mentor has her dive into a frozen lake with shackles on to get the key for them and then covers the exit hole, forcing her to punch a new hole using the cuffs as knuckle-dusters. Afterwards, he even scolds her for being too slow.
- Slave to PR: Catherine has to put on a good face for the press because she doesn't want the city in panic.
- Stealth Pun: That's a real Sophie's Choice Jacob is put in.
- Steel Ear Drums: As Kate fights one of Alice's goons, his pistol discharges twice inside a metal elevator, but neither shows any discomfort.
- Spotting the Thread: Kate immediately spots that her aunt's necklace has been moved to the opposite side of the shelf it's normally on, leading her to discover the secret entrance to the Batcave.
- Surprise Party: Kate gets one after returning to Gotham.
- Take Me Instead: Alice says she wants revenge on Jacob Kane, so Kate offers herself as a more valuable hostage in Sophie's place. Alice however taunts her that Sophie's loss will be more devastating to her father, as he regards Sophie as the daughter he never had in Kate.
- Training from Hell: Kate swims in icy water in Siberia while handcuffed as a form of training. Her teacher seals the hole she dived through, forcing her to break the ice with the handcuffs to avoid drowning. When she complains, the teacher simply tells her that she'll break the ice more quickly the next day.
- Spare a Messenger: After capturing Kate, Alice whacks Kate in the face with a bat and dumps her near Mary's clinic, so she can deliver a message to her father. However The Reveal of Alice's identity implies she has other reasons for sparing her life.
- The Un-Favorite: Alice believes Kate is this to Jacob, saying that Sophie is the daughter that Jacob always wanted.
- We Can Rule Together: Used for the Wham Line that Alice is Kate's long-lost sister Beth, though it's done as Alice's voiceover rather than a direct proposal.Alice: I'll win you over, my dear sister. The two of us will rule Gotham together.
- "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: Kate has always tried to please her father after her sister and mother died, but it never seemed to work.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Kate was heartbroken when Sophie first lied about their relationship in military school so she could stay and then told Kate it was just a fling and she never loved her. After saving Sophie's life, Kate drops by, clearly hoping they can have a fresh start and reunite... and meets Sophie's husband.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Kate's reaction upon entering the Batcave and realizing her supposedly dull-witted playboy cousin just happens to be the Dark Knight.
