There is reason to believe that the Court of Owls may be the secret villains of Batwoman season 1. Beyond being responsible for some of the recent troubles in Gotham City, the Court may be the reason why Bruce Wayne abandoned his home town, necessitating Kate Kane becoming the hero the city needed in his absence.
Though a relatively recent introduction to the mythology of Batman, the Court of Owls quickly developed a prominent position in the rogues gallery of the Dark Knight. The Court became a major part of the story of the television series Gotham and had a cameo in Young Justice. It is also rumored that the Court will be the chief antagonists of a new Batman game being made by Rocksteady Studios.
The first three episodes of Batwoman dropped hints regarding Beth Kane being kidnapped after her apparent death and Kate Kane's stepmother Catherine Hamilton-Kane being involved in the plot. There was also evidence that Catherine was working for someone who is concerned about the possibility of Batman returning and the terrorist Alice being confirmed to be Jacob Kane's long-lost daughter. Confirming the existence of the Court of Owls in the world of Batwoman would explain this, as well as many of the series' other mysteries.
The Court Of Owls In The Comics
First appearing in Batman #3 in October 2011, the Court of Owls were a secret society said to have run Gotham City from behind the scenes for centuries. The Court, which was made up of the oldest and wealthiest families in Gotham City, oversaw an extensive criminal cabal that used bribery and murder to maintain control of those political and social organizations not directly run by Court members. The Court of Owls built their operations into the heart of Gotham City, with "nests" on the hidden 13th floor of every major building, including Wayne Enterprises.
Part of the Court's power lay in their special assassins, the Talons. Chosen from several elite bloodlines and trained extensively before brainwashing, the Talons were unfailingly loyal to the Court and would not rest until they slayed their intended targets. Traditionally, the Court only employed one Talon at a time, requiring an aspiring Talon to defeat their predecessor in ritual combat. However, in modern times the Court found a way to resurrect dead Talons as nigh-unstoppable revenants, utilizing a unique alchemical mixture that could only be neutralized by a poison known only to the Court.
As a young boy, Bruce Wayne thought that the Court (whom he had heard of through a local nursery rhyme) might be responsible for having his parents killed. He found no evidence of the Court existing, however, and didn't think about them until years later, when the Court decreed that Bruce Wayne must die. This was because of Bruce's efforts to rebuild and reshape Gotham into a better, more equitable city in defiance of the Court's edicts.
Alice's Motivations & Agenda In Batwoman
The chief antagonist of Batwoman, Alice, has several seemingly conflicting motivations for the acts of terrorism she and her Wonderland Gang inflict on Gotham City. Many times it has seemed that there is no motive for Alice's actions beyond spreading chaos, like Joker in The Dark Knight. Yet there is a method to Alice's madness, even if those motives weren't immediately apparent.
After Batwoman's pilot episode, it was revealed that Alice was either the long-lost Beth Kane or she was doing a phenomenal job of playing the part. It was made clear that Alice had a grudge against Jacob Kane and that her attacks were meant to undermine his position in Gotham City by making the agents of his security company, the Crows, look incompetent. It was also made apparent that Alice hoped to win over Kate Kane and turn her against her father.
The second episode, "The Rabbit Hole", saw Alice delivering a speech with a populist twist, raging against the city's rich elites while describing Jacob Kane's Crows as "bullies paid for by richer bullies, all with the goal of sweeping us into the shadows to be forgotten." Of course it's entirely possible this was all bluster and that Alice's "eat the rich" rhetoric was just one more affectation intended to recruit more people to her side and more unfortunates into her Wonderland gang. However, an action Alice undertook in episode 3, "Down, Down, Down", suggested she had a target beyond Jacob Kane and his Crows.
Catherine Hamilton-Kane's Secret & Alice's Cards
The action of "Down, Down, Down" saw Alice breaking into the Kane family's penthouse apartment, while the rest of the family was occupied with a party at Tommy Elliot's new penthouse. While she was there, Alice called Jacob Kane while playing the cello; specifically playing a piece by Bach, which Jacob had once told Beth Kane was their song while he was teaching her how to play the cello. She also left three playing cards on Catherine Hamilton-Kane's dressing table; the Two of Hearts, the Eight of Clubs, and the Three of Diamonds.
It is worth mentioning that these cards seem to deliver an interesting message, when their symbolic meaning is considered in terms of cartomancy; the belief that playing cards can be used to tell the future. The Two of Hearts represents love and marriage, but can also mean bad news or an untrue lover. The Eight of Clubs represents success following hardship, but can also mean that a woman is working against your interests. The Three of Diamonds represents material success, but can also refer to working with a relative.
Regardless of the message behind the cards, Catherine's reaction to them is revealing. Rather than telling her husband about the cards, she hides them. Catherine is also quick to dismiss the idea of Alice being Beth when Jacob mentions that Alice had been playing his and Beth's song and wonders out-loud if she really might be his daughter.
This is not the first time Catherine has been quick to try and destroy the idea of Alice being Beth Kane. In episode 2, "The Rabbit Hole", it was revealed that men in Catherine's employ posed as members of the Wonderland Gang and jumped Kate Kane to steal a knife that had Alice's DNA on it. A flashback to 15 years earlier in the same episode explained that the physical evidence which finally convinced Jacob Kane to stop searching for Beth - human skull fragments discovered at Miller Farm - had been uncovered by detectives in the employ of Catherine Hamilton.
Related: Batwoman Confirms Riddler Knows Batman's Identity In Arrowverse
Theory: Catherine Is Part Of The Court Of Owls
It is clear that Catherine Hamilton-Kane is involved in some kind of conspiracy that has a vested interest in manipulating Jacob Kane and maintaining the status quo in Gotham by any means necessary. While this doesn't directly indicate that this conspiracy is the work of the Court of Owls, it would fit the methodology of the group from the comics and Hamilton, as a member of an old-money Gotham Family, would be a likely member of the Court if they existed in Batwoman's reality. If nothing else, employing a team of Crows to protect the Owls would fit the Court's bird motif quite well.
This leaves the question of how Catherine knows that Alice is Beth Kane and what Alice's relationship is to the Court of Owls. In the original comics, Beth Kane was brainwashed into becoming an agent of the Religion of Crime - a cult of criminals who worshiped evil. It wouldn't be much of a change to the classic mythology for Beth to have been recruited to be a Talon instead and for Alice to have turned upon her handlers, inspiring her attacks on the rich elites of Gotham City.
Bruce Wayne Left Gotham To Escape The Owls' Influence
The involvement of the Court of Owls might also offer two explanations for one of the biggest mysteries at the heart of Batwoman; what made Bruce Wayne abandon his city? Luke Fox said that Beth Kane's disappearance obsessed Bruce and that he never stopped searching for his lost cousin or trying to figure out what happened to her. Perhaps Bruce accidentally discovered the existence of the Court of Owls and, realizing the power they had in Gotham City, went into hiding somewhere they had less influence.
Another possibility is that Bruce left Gotham in order to pursue a loved one who had fallen under the Court's influence, such as his adoptive son, Dick Grayson. In the comics, it was discovered that Dick Grayson had been singled-out as a potential Talon before he became the first Robin and he's currently taking up the Talon identity in the pages of Nightwing. It's all too easy to see Bruce dropping everything to try and rescue one of his proteges if they had been brainwashed into becoming villains. This would also explain the mystery of why there was no Robin or Nightwing to take up Batman's role in protecting the city after Bruce left Gotham, facilitating the rise of Batwoman.