SPOILER WARNING: This article contains major stories for "A Mad Tea Party," the midseason finale of Batwoman.
Alice's grand plan came to fruition in "A Mad Tea Party," the midseason finale of Batwoman. In an act of revenge, she poisoned Catherine Hamilton-Kane to death and framed her father Jacob for the crime.
For the past couple episodes, Alice's "brother" Mouse used his talent for mimicry to impersonate Jacob, while the real Jacob was held captive by the Wonderland Gang. His intentions were unclear, but Kate knew he could be up to no good when she pieced together his true identity. Fortunately, she realized this after "Jacob" forgave Catherine, then confirmed it by discussing a fake memory with him.
At that point, though, Alice's plan was already in motion. Mouse-as-Jacob slipped poison into Catherine and Mary's champagne on the way to the Gotham Humanitarian Gala. It didn't hit until after Alice and her cronies coerced Catherine into delivering a speech that Alice herself wrote:
Tonight, you all know me as one of Gotham's heroes, an honor that I bought and paid for -- quite literally -- with blood money. My company makes millions by putting weapons of war in the hands of Gotham's criminals, and my husband rakes in even more by protecting you from them. Quite the scam we've been running, wouldn't you say? What my husband doesn't want you to know is that the true villains of Gotham don't go by the name Joker, Riddler or Alice. Gotham's true enemies are right in front of you.
When she finished, blood began to trickle from her nose and she collapsed on stage. Mary and Mouse ran to her side, then dragged her backstage. From there, Mouse took off, while the Wonderland Gang -- dressed as the Crows -- held everyone inside the auditorium.
As Catherine begged Mary to get Jacob, Alice waltzed into the room. "I used a Catherine Hamilton recipe: Project 4782. Ring any bells?" she said of the poison. "It's a deadly neurotoxin designed to kill without mercy... but, lucky for us, Hamilton developed an antidote. Oh, no! My dear, I'm confusing my stories. Hamilton never even bothered to develop an antidote."
"I found a solution," she continued. "A universal cure-all all the way from Koriana. It's made from a desert rose that only blooms on the island... harness the flower and nurture its serum and it gives you life." In return, Alice demanded an apology "for all the pain you've caused me," just as she had done from Jacob earlier in the episode.
Catherine provided that apology, but Alice wasn't done. As Mary began to show the symptoms of the poison, Alice revealed she had only enough of the cure for one person. She offered Catherine the choice to save herself or her daughter and left. Without hesitation, Catherine gave the cure to Mary, revealing she had always known about Mary's clinic. "You're the one thing I did right. Nothing makes me prouder than having raised you," she whispered, and died in her daughter's arms.
As Alice beat a hasty retreat, she ran into Kate, who insisted there was time for Alice to undo whatever she had done. "I don't want to undo it," Alice shot back. "I was locked in a cell for 11 years! What do you think put me to sleep at night? Rainbows? Unicorns? I dreamt of revenge... It was all very well to say 'drink me,' but the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry. Oh, come on. It's not like Catherine didn't have it coming. Catherine poisoned Catherine when she slithered into our family and brainwashed our father and replaced us with that vapid human run-on sentence of a daughter. Catherine brought this on herself, and I was more than happy to watch Daddy go down with her."
In response, Kate slammed Alice against a column and strangled her. However, she couldn't bring herself to finish the job. This left enough time for Mouse to return and toss Kate off the balcony. "One way or another, dear sister, you'll come to see my way," Alice said, and fled.
Meanwhile, the real Jacob woke up in an SUV wearing a tux. He called Kate, confused, but the police surrounded the vehicle during their conversation. When they patted him down, they discovered a vial of the poison that had killed Catherine in his pocket and placed him under arrest.
Later, Kate ditched her Batwoman costume and tracked Mary down at her clinic. "Do you know how many horrible people I've saved?" Mary mused. "Druggies, thugs with face tattoos. Pulled a windshield out of a guy who stole the car that he totaled. Walked out of the clinic the next day, like nothing had happened. But I couldn't save her. You know how she died? Exactly the way that Alice planned it: slowly, and in pain. The only way for her to save herself was for me to die, and she sure as hell wasn't about to let that happen because she is not the horrible person that you and Alice claim that she is. You are literally the last person who can bring me comfort right now. I'm going to ask you again, Kate: is Alice worth it?"
Unable to connect with Mary, Kate went to visit her father in prison. "When I get out of here, I'm going to put her down once and for all," he promised, to which Kate responded, "This time I won't stop you."
By the end of the midseason finale, three people know the truth of what happened: Kate, Sophie and Mary. Kate discovered the plot on her own, then told Sophie, who was incapacitated by Mouse shortly thereafter. Alice also revealed the truth of Mouse's deception after Catherine was poisoned. As such, it may only be a matter of time before Jacob is released from prison. However, in exacting her revenge, Alice wore out any mercy she might have received from Batwoman and their father.
Batwoman will return in "Crisis on Infinite Earths," which begins Sunday, Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Supergirl, then continues in Batwoman on Monday, Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and in The Flash on Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. After the winter hiatus, the crossover will conclude on Tuesday, Jan. 14 in Arrow at 8 p.m. ET/PT and in DC's Legends of Tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET/PT.