BATWOMAN 2.12

 

RECAP - BATWOMAN  2.12:  "Initiate Self-Destruct"  

Things have gotten PRETTY interesting in Gotham City.  And strange alliances are being made for the sake of a common cause.  But will they last?  And, at last, we learn the fate of Kate Kane...and it's not good...for the good guys.  Black Mask is looking to get his shipment of Snake Bite back on the street, and Agent Tavarov & the Crows are thiiiiiiiiiss close to finding out Batwoman's secret ID.  Can Sophie...who also knows...be able to spare Ryan MORE prison time?  Let's see what shook down THIS week...

Black Mask has been slowly plotting his takeover of Gotham City, and now has plans on getting his Snake Bite back on the street.  But, having Angelique isn't enough---he needed the actual cook of the product:  Ocean.  He went MIA (actually, back to the island to face his sister, but then back to Gotham to retrieve the last Desert Rose---which is in the Batcave), and the False Face Society was on the hunt.  They scored big when they caught Alice getting ready to sneak out after her little tryst with him.  She was knocked out, and Ocean was kidnapped.  And...at gunpoint...with cameras rolling...they filmed Ocean and Angelique making the Snake Bite---that way Black Mask would be satisfied with the product....and eventually bump the two off since he'd then have the formula for making it.  But there was also is OTHER little project:  Kate Kane.  With Kate's face disfigured, he decided that he was going to mold the former Batwoman into his own late daughter, Sersi Sionois.  It was kind of a lame reveal when Black Mask removed his mask to reveal he was Roman Sionis (yeah, like we didn't telegraph THAT reveal a few exits back).  So, he had Enigma wipe Kate's mind, and replant memories of the late Sersi into Kate...making her believe that she was, in fact, Roman's daughter.  He then gave her a mask to cover her face until she heals.  He now had his plan to kill Batwoman.

Speaking of the Scarlet Knight, she was putting her own life at considerable risk this week....and not just in the usual way of fighting bad guys.  With Sophie having discovered that Batwoman was Ryan Wilder, she was armed with this secret, but she knew that Agent Tavarov had collected her blood spatter sample from her fight with Black Mask.  They were running that blood sample through the system to see if they got a hit.  Sophie had tried to reason with Jacob on the matter, but he's been to jacked up on Snake Bite, that he blows her off, and orders her to leave.  She takes it upon herself to warn Batwoman about what's going to happen.  Batwoman understands, but isn't going to rest until she finds Angelique.  Sophie warns Luke and Mary (whom she later discovers works with Batwoman), that once the blood sample is done, once they get a hit on Ryan...it's all over.  And try as the duo might to warn Ryan about the consequences, and trying to preserve the legacy of the Bat...Ryan isn't having ANY of it.  She's finding Angelique and that's that.  

While going after some False Faces....she happens to run into Alice...who offed a few trying to get information as to where Ocean is.  Both realize where Angelique AND Ocean are at, so they reluctantly team up to go rescue their loved ones.  It's kind of fun to watch Alice interact with Ryan...as they both find ways to get under each other's skin.  Plus...Alice looked SO excited to be riding in the Batmobile.  They make it to Black Mask's hide out, and they wait until they plan a distraction...Batwoman handcuffs Alice to a beam, while she goes in to rescue Ocean and Angeliuqe.  This is Batwoman still not willing to let Alice slide on the fact that her gang killed her mother, and she doesn't even remember.  Either way, Batwoman does arrive in time to rescue Ocean, who's been injured, and Angelique, and sets them off to get out of the building, when Kate attacks.  Her and Batwoman are evenly matched, but Kate gets the best of her.  Alice joins the fray, however, and the two try to get the best of Kate, but to no avail.  Eventually, Kate DOES get ahold of Alice.  And as she is prepared to kill Alice, Batwoman decides to take off.  Alice had brought up to the hero earlier that she can't save everyone---those words come back to bite Alice in the ass, because those are the words Batwoman throws right back in Alice's face as she leaves.  Even though Alice pleaded by saying she remembered the death of Ryan's mother...it fell on deaf ears.  Alice is captured by Black Mask, and actually wants Kate to do the honors of killing her.  As Kate has the gun to Alice's head...Black Mask changes his mind.  He says he's got plans for her, and has her taken to the dungeon or whatever cage he has set up for her.  But now she is in the clutches of the vile gangster, and we'll see how she works out of this one...and whether or not the fraternal twins will actually make a connection, or is there too much Sersi immersed into Kate now?  

Speaking of Batwoman's issues, Luke and Mary give Sophie a drive to stick into the mainframe of the Crows' database....to wipe it clean once Batwoman's blood sample is done uploading.  Their previous plan to steal the blood sample fell flat, as the sample was being heavily guarded.  But what Sophie find out once she hacks into Jacob's computer (which is the only highest clearing computer access in the whole building), is that she CAN'T erase Batwoman's blood sample---this drive would wipe out ALL of the known criminals with whom the Crows captured...and if they lose that, the criminals go free.  Sophe has an idea though, and puts it to use.  Her plan works (though now she has to delete her digital trail in the process), and when Agent Tavarov goes to get the sample...there's nothing there.  A kind of "suck it" for Sophie for having been thrown off the Black Mask case, but she managed to preserve Ryan's secret ID.

And we had a tiny bit of family time, as Mary had to distract Jacob, and get him out of his office, while Sophie did her espionage act.  She showed her dad the upgrades she did to her secret clinic.  Just trying to buy time.  He actually okays it, and then feels the need to hurry off.  Later on, Sophie asks if she's noticed anything weird with her Dad when she distracted him today, and she didn't.  Sophie had found the syringes for Snake Bite in his office, and gave it to Mary...to see if Jacob was on it.  Mary doesn't want to believe it...but we know she's going to run tests to find out. 

Finally...Angelique comes to see Ryan, and wants Ryan to go with her into FBI federal protection.  Ryan says that Gotham is her home and she can't leave.  Angelique says that Gotham is a mess, and they can start over together.  Ryan says that she owes it to the kids in this town who're left without families or guidance to ensure they have a safe place to go.  Angelique realizes that this is it for her and Ryan, and they hug as Angelique takes off.  

This was a solid episode, as we got to have some funny and poignant interaction between Alice and Batwoman.  They both know how to tug on each other's strings.  So much so, that Alice kind of likes their banter.  However, Alice got a taste at just how cold blooded Ryan can be, as she left Alice to her own fate at the hands of the masked Kate/Sersi.  Ryan let it be known in her own way that she didn't care about Alice living or dying, and didn't feel she was worth saving.  Now, we can only imagine what will happen with Alice in Black Mask's company.  Will Enigma try to wipe her mind again, or will she be able to resist?  And will she discover that Sersi is actually Kate?  

Ryan was willing to throw the Bat legacy away in order to rescue Angelique.  A noble cause, but still reckless.  Kate would never be that reckless, and neither would Bruce.  As much as she tries to do what's right and be a good leader, she's also still learning.  Thankfully, she has Mary and Luke, but she still tends to not listen to them...and that's not a good thing.  Now with Sophie knowing her secret, it's going to be interesting how THAT dynamic changes.  It could be advantageous to have a member of the Bat Team on the inside, making sure they can stop the bad guys together.  But I have a feeling there are some SERIOUS bumps in the road before we get to that point. 

And will Mary run the tests on the syringes, and discover her dad is hooked on Snake Bite?  And if she does, how can she get him into rehab?  Because he has let his failures consume him, and the Snake Bite has allowed him to escape.  But it's also CLEARLY clouded his judgement.  Sophie notices the change, and it won't be long before Mary finds out the truth.  

The wheels keep moving in Gotham.  What did YOU all think of this week's installment?  Have they exceeded last season?  Do you like the interaction between Alice and Ryan?  Subscribe and drop me a comment below.

Until next time...The Signal is OFF!