BATWOMAN 2.15

 

RECAP - BATWOMAN  2.15:  "Armed and Dangerous"  

Things are most certainly changing in Gotham.  With Black Mask cloaking the city in his own brand of Snake Bite filled darkness, the Bat Team has had their hands full.  On top of that, they now have to deal with a renegade group of Crows who're taking a much more staunch vigilante approach to justice than even our own Scarlet Knight.  And now, they've struck at the Bat Team's core:  Luke Fox.  Luke was shot by Agent Tavarov last week, and is now hanging on for dear life.  How will this affect all involved with this circle of chaos.  And let's not forget...Alice is still floating around, but will she continue HER quest to get Kate back from Black Mask?  Or will she follow Ocean to who knows where? 

Luke is fighting for his life in this installment, as Mary and Ryan figure out how they're going to save him.  Mary is hunkered down in the Cave, using some of the Desert Rose to concoct a serum to keep him alive and help him heal.  Meanwhile, Ryan gets info from Mary about how Luke was shot, and  how he was trying to stop Eli, the car thief they met in the jail cell a couple weeks back.  Ryan wants answers, and she's in NO MOOD to mess around.  Jacob is conducting an investigation into the shooting, and Tavarov lies straight to Jacob, saying that Luke was armed and dangerous, and pulled a gun on him, so he acted in accordance with the law.  Jacob wants to review the bodycam footage.  Batwoman is out on the prowl, and she manages to catch up to Eli, who'd stole yet another vehicle.  She gets him to tell her about who shot Luke.  She then knocks Eli out, to ensure he's picked up by the police.  

Ryan is back at the Batcave, working feverishly over the computer to get information about Tavarov.  Turns out, he's got quite a track record of bad and excessive behavoir.  Ryan recognizes him as the Crow who stopped her from beating down False Faces, and that he had shot at the Snake Bit zombie addicts in the abandoned church.  She eventually catches up with Tavarov, and the two fight.  Batwoman has him subdued, until his cronies in a vehicle aim at the Scarlet Knight, and Tavarov breaks free of her just enough to push  her into the path of the vehicle, and they drill her.  She's down and out, and Tavarov beats a hasty retreat.  

Luke's situation hasn't improved, and Mary can't gain access to deliver the Desert Rose to him, because there are two Crows guards stationed at Luke's door, and she can't get it.  Even using her influence as Jacob Kane's daughter isn't enough---since they said HE was the one who ordered them to not let ANYONE gain access.  Mary has to think of a Plan B.  Luke has entered what looks like his father's office in his subconcious  as he fights for his life.  He tries to talk to his dad, but he's stopped by Bruce Wayne, who says that Luke has a choice:  live and fight on----or talk to his dad, and never wake up to rejoin the living.  Mary came back to offer yet another distraction to the guards, as Wolf Spider climbs his way into Luke's room using his equipment and skills to quietly enter the premesis, deliver the inoculation to Luke, and leave before the guards notice.  Evan reappears with Mary, and they take off...having accomplished their mission.  

Ryan is frustrated that Luke is in this position, and she feels guilty about calling him out about his upbringing.  Sophie is there to try and be supportive, and it's honestly the first time that the two have finally connected...finally realizing they're on the same side.  Sophie and her see the news report that shows Luke pulling a gun, and him getting shot from Tavarov's body cam.  Knowing the footage is fake, the duo work out a plan to obtain the original footage from the Crows' archives before it's deleated forever.  Before they enact their plan, Sophie pleads to Jacob to look over Luke's case.  She tells him that there is NO WAY Luke could be guilty of what he's being accused of...and that Tavarov is dirty.  Jacob says he'll think about it.  He then questions Tavarov about how he believes that Luke could go from upstanding image to Grand Theft Auto in no time flat.  Tavarov covers his tracks, and says that Luke WAS in jail with a car thief, so it doesn't surprise him.  Jacob isn't buying it, and puts Tavarov on suspension, and wants his gun.  Tavarov then strikes Jacob, knocking him out.  Him and his goons then take Jacob out of his office...looking get rid of all the questions and doubts.  

Batwoman is inside Crow headquarters, and has worked her way into the archive room, and hooked up to the hard drive, ready to find the real cam footage.  But she tells Sophie she's stuggling to find it.  Things go from bad to worse, as Sophie---monitoring everything from the Batcave---sees on the security cameras that Tavarov as Kane, and that they're going to kill him.  She warns Batwoman, and our hero reluctantly goes after Kane, knowing they just had a chance to clear Luke's name.  She crashes into the room where Tavarov has Jacob.  She ends up cleaning house, and beating down all of Tavarov's men....and Tavarov himself.  She frees Jacob and tells him that this HAS to end.  If he doesn't put an end to this...he's no better than Tavarov.  She's given him the gas and the match---it's time for Jacob to burn it down. 

Luke is quickly recovering, and in his subconscious, he's still weighing his options.  Bruce informs him that he's going to wake up...unless he chooses to stay with his dad.  He wonders why Bruce left, and why he keeps going on, when the world is just getting worse.  Luke makes the decision to stay and be with his dad.  He goes to talk to his dad....but he ends up waking up from his mini-coma.  

Jacob holds a press conference, and talks about all the things that have occurred with the Crows.  Everyone is watching, and Jacob says that things need to change.  So, effective immediately, the Crows are dead.  He also made sure to thank Batwoman for saving his life.  Reporters are shouting questions and cameras flash, as Jacob walks off---taking time to read a text from Mary, expressing how proud she is of him.  As we see him clear out his office, Sophie comes to see him, and she tells him he did the right thing.  He thanks Sophie for always being by his side.  He then leaves his office, kills the lights, and exits the building.

IF you thought I'd forgotten about Alice this week....you're mistaken.  We find Alice in Enigma's office, rummaging through her files, and finding files on her family:  Kate, Mary, Catherine, and Jacob.  It appears that Black Mask really has it out for the Kane family.  Ocean comes back to get rid of Enigma's body, and we discover (to no surprise, really, considering her cane and her name), that they killed the daughter of The Riddler.  Alice then enters Wayne Enterprises, where Mary cuts her off with a gun, and asks what she wnats.  Alice gives a warning to Mary that Black Mask is out for her and their dad.  Alice goes to leave, but Mary tells her that she knows she's in love.  And though Mary LOATHES her, she says that even Alice deserves love. 

Alice returns to Ocean, and he's packing to leave.  Alice is still planning on getting Kate back, but Ocean feels it's a lost cause, because all Kate did was cause her pain.  She's free now, and can go anywhere and do anything.  Ocean can't turn off how he feels anymore than Alice can.  She's not trapped or confined anymore.  But Alice tries to tell him that she loves him, and that if he loved her...he would know that getting Kate back would make her happy.  At the end of the episode, as we see Jacob Kane leave the Crows building for the last time, he finds Alice in his car.  He's really not in the mood for her games, but she tells him that Kate is alive---and in Gotham City.  And she says that they will stop at nothing to get her back from Black Mask. 

This show has gotten BETTER.  And changes are happening all around.  With Tavarov out of the way, and the Crows offically DONE, it takes care of one aspect of the show that I felt was bringing it down. It does makes you wonder what happens next for Jacob, but at least he finally got the point that Batwoman is not the source of all the evil in Gotham...at least we hope so.  But it seems he doesn't get to rest on his laurels much, as Alice now has him roped into whatever plan she has to get Kate free of Black Mask's influence.  That will be a tough task, because she feels she's Sersi Sionis.  And IF they get Kate free...will Alice finally take her chance and kill both her father and sister?  Finally gain that sweet ounce of vengeance that has plagued her all these years?  And what of Mary?  I wonder if he will tell Mary before they manage to get Kate back.  

Also with the Crows disbanded....where does this leave Sophie?  She quit, but what will she do for work?  I think we can finally say that she IS a part of the Bat Team now.  And the emotional moment when Ryan broke down for feeling guilty about Luke led to a tender moment between her and Sophie.  These two have broken down A LOT of walls recently, and it's good.  But again...with Kate being the big focus here....I wonder how everything will play out for these two as well.  For Sophie...the love of her life returns.  Can they regain what they lost?  And for Ryan---is this the end for her time as Gotham's resident Bat hero?  While we ask these questions, there's also the matter of Black Mask himself.  Will he finally be unmasked and taken down?  There's still a fight ahead, and I'm looking forward to it.

It was pretty cool that they brought Evan/Wolf Spider back to help out with Luke.  He's a cool character, and having him pop in every now and then is nice.  The other surprise was in Luke's subconscious....as we got to see Lucius Fox in his office...though his back was to us, and we didn't really see his face, had NO dialogue, but was just a body in the background.  Having Bruce Wayne in his dream was pretty nice as well.  It keeps that Bat connection allive, and I wouldn't see this guy dress up in a bat suit at some point.  

Overall, it's been a MUCH MORE fun ride this season...and I'm eager to see how all these storylines play out.  What did YOU guys think of this week's installment?  Subscribe to the blog and leave me a comment below.  Good or bad, I wanna hear from YOU.  

Until next time....the Signal is OFF.