"The law's not perfect, I'll give you that. Doesn't mean you get to rewrite it in blood."
"You trust the law so much, why are you wearing that suit?"
Kate Kane and Bertrand Eldon on their views on the law.
"I'll Be Judge, I'll Be Jury" is the sixth episode of the first season of Batwoman, and the sixth episode overall. It aired on November 10, 2019.


A disturbing death has Gotham reeling and the city reaches out for their new vigilante hero. Luke confides in Kate, while Sophie asks Jacob for a special assignment. Alice continues her nefarious plot against the Kanes, with Catherine being a conduit to part of her plan. Batwoman pays another visit to Mary.[src]



Guest starring



Assistant District Attorney Angus Stanton is going to his car and says that he's confident a jury will make the right decision. A man in an executioner's hood cuts down an electrical pole onto the man's car and then cuts the cap off a fire hydrant. The water spreads to Stanton, who tries to climb a fence, and he's electrocuted when the water touches the fence.

Meanwhile, at the Crow's headquarters, Jacob tells Kate about Cartwright and how all those years Beth was being held prisoner by a madman with a medical license. He also reveals that the deed to the house was under someone named Dr. August Cartwright, who vanished without a trace. Kate isn't impressed by his apologies, and Sophie comes in and says he'll want to see a news report. A reporter on Channel 8's Gotham City News is talking about Stanton death, and there's footage of the Executioner. The reporter also mentions how Stanton was seen by many as a hero to Gotham, one who brought justice to the victims of some of the city's most notorious criminals. Amongst them being Jack Napier AKA the Joker. While watching the news, Kate notices that Stanton's killer is seen wearing in security footage that Crows Security the Crows got was wearing what looks to be an old fashioned executioner's hood and an axe.

The GCPD has already put up the signal for Batwoman, and Jacob says that she's a symbol of false hope that hides behind a mask. Kate leaves and Jacob tells the Crows to get the Executioner, and Sophie sees Kate go. Sophie asks Jacob permission for a special assignment, this time concerning who is behind Batwoman's mask.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Gotham, Alice is working on a human face mask as Mouse looks on. He chuckles when she shows off her efforts, and puts the mask on him along with a wig. Alice then has Mouse show off the mask and she says that it's a perfect match for the captive Dean Deveraux, who works at Hamilton Dynamics. Alice wants to steal what she calls "Catherine's shiny new toy that she's too stingy to share". Mouse wonders why they don't just kill Dean, and Alice says that Batwoman is watching her like a hawk and trying to bring the old Beth back. Her ally says that Kate has changed Alice, and Alice asks Dean if he trusts her because she needs a new partner. Mouse says that he'll go along with her, and Alice tells him that she needs him to steal Catherine's weapon.

At Wayne Tower, Luke is happy at the idea that the City has called for Batwoman's help for the first time. Whereas, Kate feels like a lot of pressure is on her to not mess this up. Luke also goes onto say that this is good news for her since Commissioner Forbes must trust her since it seems like the Gotham City Police Department has her on speed dial.

Luke also confesses to Kate that Stanton was the one who put away the guy that killed his dad in armed robbery the night of his high school graduation. They were celebrating the fact that Luke got into MIT but they ran out of ice. His dad went out, and the next thing he knows two cops are asking him to ID the body. They were waiting on him to cut the cake.

He goes on to find a file on Medlock and confirms that he got 30 years at Blackgate Penitentiary rather than execution. He finds footage of Medlock, aka The Fist, vowing in court to kill Stanton. Due to overcrowding, Medlock was paroled a few weeks earlier. A newscast coming in is heard saying that Medlock has barricaded himself in a building with hostages.

Jacob gets the information on the Medlock as well and tells his people to get there and show Gotham they can keep the people safe. When Jacob arrives, he's informed Medlock will only speak to Detective Donnelly, who agrees to go in.

As Batwoman enters the building via the basement, Sophie finds her. They hear a woman scream and run up and discover that the screaming is coming from loudspeakers. Donnelly comes in and sets off automated guns, killing him as Batwoman tackles Sophie to the floor. Sophie is hit and calls Batwoman "Kate" before passing out.

Batwoman takes Sophie to the clinic and Mary tends to her. When asked why she didn't take her to the hospital, since Sophie can afford it, she explains that the clinic was closer than a hospital and that Mary can't let Sophie leave.

At Hamilton R&D, the disguised Mouse comes in as Devereux and passes the facial recognition security scan. He enters the lab and spots the weapon, and Catherine and his team notice him. After a moment they applaud and Catherine congratulates Devereux for succeeding at making the coil accelerator. She asks Mouse a technical question, and Mouse says that he can't reveal it because it's proprietary information. Catherine says that it's powerful enough to penetrate the Batwoman suit and walks away.

At the Batcave, Kate tells Luke that Sophie knows who she is. She says that she'll convince Sophie not to talk after she catches the Executioner. Kate figures that the Executioner is using methods of capital punishment to kill his victims and Luke determines the third method Gotham has used to kill criminals is a gas chamber. There's only one warehouse in Gotham that stores the hydrogen cyanide gas.

At the warehouse, Batwoman approaches a guard and says that she needs information. He tells her that no one has gone past him, and Batwoman fades back into the shadows as the guard offers to buy her a drink. Batwoman calls Luke, who says that they've got a report of Medlock elsewhere.

Medlock runs down the street with the police in pursuit, and the Crows finally tackle him and drag him away.

Luke tells Batwoman that the Crows have captured Medlock, and Batwoman prepares to go check on Sophie. A truck slams through the warehouse door, knocking Batwoman down, and the Executioner gets out and hacks open the chemical storage cage. He takes a canister of the hydrogen cyanid gas and gets into his truck, and drives off as Batwoman wakes up and tells Luke that the Crows have the wrong guy.

Back at the Batcave, Luke tells Kate that the truck's license plates had mud on them, making it impossible to identify. But he remembers that the suit's carbon fiber ribbing is designed to absorb any impact. So any deformation in the fibers is recorded in the suit's data. This was originally designed to track damage caused by bullets and blunt-force trauma. As a result, he gets a partial ID on the license plate from when it hit Batwoman. The truck as it turns out belongs to a man named Bertrand Eldon, who worked at Blackgate for 20 years as their executioner.

Sophie wakes up and Mary tells her to stay down. She says that Batwoman brought Sophie in, and Sophie takes in the clinic. Mary explains that she's usually there trying to help serve the people that Gotham hospitals turn away. She insists that Jacob can't find out about the clinic. Sophie discovers that she's handcuffed to the bed, and Mary explains that Batwoman did it. Mary says that she doesn't want to know who Batwoman is and that frankly, she doesn't want that kind of responsibility. Thus, Sophie says that she does in fact know and that's why Batwoman won't let her leave.

Batwoman breaks into Bertrand's home and finds no one there. She finds Bertrand's service awards and locates the hydrogen cyanide capsules on the coffee table. There's no sign of a trap, and Luke warns her not to grab it. She does anyway and nothing happens, and she confirms that there's nothing inside but a flash drive.

Back at the Batcave, Luke plays the video that is on the flash drive. Eldon says that he's guilty of sin, but isn't the only one. Bertrand, in his confession, mentions how he discovered that the same three corrupt law enforcement officials were involved, supplying coerced evidence and planted weapons. He realized that the people he executed were innocent and the officials turned him into a murderer. He goes onto say that everybody who sat in his chair started to look the same: black, brown and poor. Moreover, in 20 years, he never once juiced a rich white guy. Luke says that he knows racial profiling is a thing in Gotham, but also that Stanton spent countless hours with his family trying to find justice for Lucius. He warns that his father's killer could use the information to get a new trial, and Kate asks if it's still justice when there's a possibility that innocent people are behind bars.

The Crows take Medlock to the police station, and Batwoman yanks Medlock up to the nearby roof. She throws a Batarang into a police van with Bertrand's confession.

Somewhere else in Gotham, Devereux and Alice play checkers, and he's close to winning but says that she can just win. She angrily tells him to take his turn, and he jumps three of her places. Alice slaps the board away in frustration. She then gets a call from Kate asking her why she sent Mouse into Hamilton Dynamics. But it turns out that it was really Mouse using his mimicry abilities to get the truth from Alice. As a result, he finds out that Kate is Batwoman. Alice is angry at him saying how she doesn't like to be toyed with. To which, Mouse replies that he doesn't like traitors and asks Alice what is wrong with her. Alice then tells Mouse that she's still protecting Kate because she is still her sister. Mouse reminds her that he protected her in any way he could. Moreover, that he was actually there and Kate wasn't. He angrily accuses her of keeping secrets from him and kills Devereux with the weapon he stole earlier. Mouse tells Alice to keep that a secret if she can and walks off.

Jacob watches Brandon's confession video, and Kate comes in. Her father says that he doesn't believe that Judge Calverick is a fraud. He points out that Batman destroyed their lives. Kate tells Jacob that Beth became Alice because they stopped looking for her, and angrily says that Jacob gave up and blamed Batman because it was easier. She goes onto say that now an innocent man is going to pay the price for Jacob not listening then or now.

Sophie manages to free herself and tries to sneak out. Mary comes in and Sophie says that she's trying to keep Batwoman from getting killed. When Mary says that Sophie betrayed Kate, and she saw what it did to Kate. She gives Sophie ibuprofen and asks her not to tell Jacob about the clinic once more, and maybe think about whether she wants to hurt Batwoman.

Calverick is in his office burning papers when Batwoman comes in. She figures that the judge is burning the fake confessions, and says that he'll get free protection at Blackgate. Calverick runs out into his courtroom and the Executioner attacks him. Batwoman grabs the Executioner's axe and tells Calverick to run. Once he does, the Executioner says that he no longer trusts the law. Batwoman tells Luke over the radio to get back-up to get Calverick into protective custody.

Batwoman and the Executioner fight, and he finally gets the upper hand. Jacob and one of his men arrive and Jacob shoots the Executioner. He sends the other men to sweep the building, and Jacob tells Batwoman that he doesn't see a difference between her and the Executioner. Jacob insists that he's accountable and asks Batwoman who she's accountable to. Batwoman disarms him and they fight, and a timing device goes off on the Executioner's belt. Jacob realizes it's a dead man's switch linked to the Executioner's heartbeat. Gas pours into the room and the door seals.

Luke confirms that the oxygen levels are dropping, and Jacob warns that the Executioner triggered the lockdown procedure. Batwoman asks Luke for ideas, and he says the hydrogen cyanide is flammable. However, Batwoman has to let the gas fill the room once to get full saturation. Batwoman tells Jacob to stay low to the ground, and he insists that he won't see the Bat symbol as the last thing before he dies. He says that the symbol let his family die, and Batwoman tells him to let his hatred fuel him into staying alive. Jacob explains that he has to blame the symbol because otherwise, he'll have to blame himself. Batwoman ignites the gas when it reaches saturation level, and the cyanide burns off. Jacob is unconscious but fine.

Later, Vesper says that Batwoman got things right and Medlock was exonerated. The DA is reopening all cases tainted by the cabal's actions.

Batwoman visits Mary and asks where Sophie is. Mary tells her that Sophie's boss is Mary's stepdad, and she's not going to let him shut her down. Batwoman thanks Mary for saving her life, and Mary tells her that Sophie knows who she is and is probably going to tell Jacob.

Later in Jacob's office, Kate looks over the information Jacob has on Alice. She realizes that she's been blaming Jacob for not saving Beth, but it was her as well since she crossed off the farm where Beth was all along. Jacob comes in and says that they're going to get Beth back and he won't ever give up. They both break into tears and Kate hugs him. Sophie comes in behind Jacob, exchanges looks with Kate and leaves.

Alice finds Mouse and says that she's never wanted to replace him. He asks why she wants to protect Kate, and Alice says that she's saving Kate a seat at her tea party. Alice explains that she needs Mouse's help to make her and Kate whole. When Mouse says that he doesn't want to share Alice with Kate, Alice assures him that they'll be sharing Kate. Mouse asks what happens if Kate doesn't want to pay, and Alice says that then it's good they have the accelerator. She offers him the stuffed Mr. Pandy doll Mouse gave her in return for the accelerator, and he makes the trade as they both look at Wayne Tower.


  • Luke mentions "Mayor Cobblepot" referring to Oswald Cobblepot.
  • A street named Rucka Avenue is mentioned, referencing American crime novelist Greg Rucka, who wrote six novels featuring bodyguard Atticus Kodiak before crossing over into comic books with Whiteout and going on to write a highly respected run on Wonder Woman and several Batman and Superman titles.
    • Most relevant here, though, is that he wrote Batwoman: Elegy, from which Batwoman draws much of its material.


  • While the stated combustion ratio for the hydrogen cyanide is more or less correct, the amount present in the room is well beyond a lethal dose and would likely be instantly fatal.



