BATWOMAN 3.11

RECAP - BATWOMAN  3.11:  "Broken Toys"  

With Poison Ivy off the canvas now, and heading towards Coryana with Renee Montoya in tow, the Bat Team now has to face another problem entirely:  Jada Jet's request for Batwoman to turn herself in, as SHE believes that that the recent rise in crime, due to the Bat villains weapons getting loose on the streets is all on the Scarlet Knight, it puts Ryan in a bad position, as now public opinion is going to be swayed against her.  And this also makes it harder to cure her brother Marquis, who still needs that help from the joy buzzer to get him back to normal.  Meanwhile, Mary is going through the motions with having known she killed somebody, and is trying to figure out how to deal with it.  Alice's future is up in the air, as her deal with Montoya expired the minute Montoya let Ivy loose.  Luke seems to be more ready to rejoin the Bat Team as Batwing now that he's gotten through his PTSD, and then there's finally the issue between Ryan and Sophie....are they an item or not?  

While Mary has been apologizing for putting the team in dire straits, they're in her clinic going to get Marquis for Jada, but all they see is a doll---and know that he's on the loose.  Mary feels bad, but Ryan assures her that they'll get the joy buzzer and fix Marquis before he causes trouble.  Alice mentions that there IS one way to get the buzzer fixed...by the person who made it:  Kiki Roulette, who used to make all the Joker's deadly toys.  And while Sophie wants to talk about the kiss, and what happens next, Ryan is feeling that they should park the convo until they resolve the situation with Marquis.  And they don't have to wait long for him to make an appearance, as he's on every channel in Gotham, having a press conference outside of Arkham Asylum, saying that the REAL criminal is out on the streets:  Batwoman.  He says he's made a deal with the heads of Arkham to help improve their facility, and he hopes that Batwoman will be put there so that she can "get the help she deserves".  Ryan KNOWS that he had EVERY opportunity to blow her secret ID to the entire public, but he didn't.  Mary and Alice decide to take a trip to that last known location of Kiki Roulette, and Ryan heads over to Jet Industries to confront Jada about the information she has on Marquis in order to stop him before he really does something bad.  

Meanwhile, it looks like Marquis is going through all the inmates of Arkham, as if he's looking for new foot soldiers.  And he just so happens to stumble across Victor Szasz, with whom he offers some work for.  Since he's bringing in a "work release program".  Victor's just first on the list.  

Mary and Alice arrive at the home that Kiki was last living at, and Mary is still feeling guilt over the death of the man she killed in the forest.  Alice tries to tell her to bury those feelings deep.  They approach a woman at the home and inquire where Kiki is, and she says that Kiki is no longer there.  But Alice knows better...and pulls a knife on the woman...calling her Kiki.  She admits that she gave up that life, and has tried to lead the straight path.  They tell her about the joy buzzer and that it needs to be fixed.  She's reluctant to do anything with it, since she said that the buzzer took away Marquis' empathy...but one zap from the buzzer could reactivate it.  So, they have to go to her old hideout to get the tools needed to get the buzzer working again.  

Ryan goes to see Jada, and appeal to her to take the video footage she has of Marquis to put a stop to him before it's too late.  He's hot for revenge, and they're top of his list.  And that's all too true, as Victor enters Jada's office, having killed his guard, and says hello to Ryan, which gets Jada's attention.  He says that unless Batwoman shows up within the hour, he's going to kill Jada.  Victor says that now would be the time for the two women to clear whatever air they have.

Meanwhile, Luke and Sophie break into Marquis' office at Wayne Tower to find the A.I. of Lucius Fox.  Luke teases Sophie about Ryan, and she admits she had a crush on Ryan before she ever became Batwoman.  They find the A.I., and they also take the time to break into Marquis' laptop to get some info that he may have there.  But....they're caught by Marquis and his goons.  

Jada finally admits to Ryan that she didn't abandon her---she had given $2 million to the family that was supposed to adopt her, but the doctor pocketed the dough, and left her on a doorstep.  This is all news to Victor to find out Ryan and Jada are daughter and mother.  The deadline passes, and Batwoman doesn't show.  Victor is about to kill Jada, but Ryan tells her to duck, and Ryan takes a letter opener from Jada's desk and nails Victor with it.  They fight, and Ryan goes into Batwoman mode and beats his ass.  Jada finally realizes that the reason Batwoman didn't arrive on Victor's deadline was that she was there the whole time:  Ryan.  

With Alice, Mary, and Kiki at Kiki's old hideout, Kiki begins working on the joy buzzer, as Mary asks her how she dealt with the deaths she caused---she says she endures, but never gets over it.  She talks about her therapist letting her know that it took hard work to walk the straight and narrow, and gain some semblance of peace of mind.  Alice is admiring Kiki's old toys.  Kiki fixes the joy buzzer, and it's good for one buzz.  But, she turns the tables on Mary and Alice and they're captured.  Kiki says that her therapist was Harleen Quinzell...and she wasn't interested in doing the hard work.  And she seems to be working with Marquis.  

As Victor is taken away, Jada says that it seems the best thing she did was give up Ryan, because she grew up strong and able, and she coddled Marquis.  She felt she let both her kids down.  Sophie calls Ryan, and says that Marquis has plans on using the Arkham inmates for his private army.  But that's when Marquis comes in with his goons, and they're trapped.  

Batwoman goes after Alice and Mary, and ends up talking to Marquis.  He says he can blow her secret ID and hurt her, but she says he won't do it.  Because all it will prove is that she accomplished what SHE did with NOTHING, while all he accomplished with EVERYTHING was nothing.  She rescues Alice and Mary, and Kiki manages to escape.  Meanwhile, Sophie and Batwing take down the goons at Wayne Tower, and Marquis bails.  

In the aftermath, Ryan goes to see her mother, and Jada says that despite everything, she always thought about Ryan.  Ryan tells her that Marquis has the buzzer.  Jada says she let down both her kids, and that she doesn't want Ryan to become her.  Luke finally gets the A.I. of his father back into the cowl of the suit, and Lucius finally shows pride in his son, for finally realizing that he DIDN'T need the suit to be a hero.  

As for Ryan and Sophie....they finally talk, and Ryan says that she's always kept everyone at arms length, but she won't with Sophie anymore.  And finally...the tease ends, as the two women finally hook up and make love.  

Marquis and Kiki prepare for his next phase of his plan for Batwoman and Gotham....with the joy buzzer ready to go.  More than likely ready for Batwoman. And then, we finally end the episode with Mary bringing some of Alice's clothes to her, and telling her that now is the time for her to bail Gotham and go be free.  But apparently, noticing Mary went to the funeral service for the man she killed.   Alice said that she doesn't want to be a sciociopath anymore, and convinces Mary that she has a sister that could use the joy buzzer.  

Well...we got the return of Victor Szasz this installment, albeit brief, but it shows what Marquis' ultimate plan is:  to let the inmates run the city...and make it the asylum.  And he will no doubt try to use the joy buzzer on Batwoman to get her as crazy as he is.  And with Kiki Roulette at his side, he'll have A LOT of explosive toys to play with.  But I also know that he'll want his revenge on his mother as well, so I wonder---with two episodes left---whether or not Jada Jet will even survive the experience.  But we DO know that the joy buzzer Kiki fix is only good for one zap----and while Jada and Ryan want to use it on Marquis---it now appears that Alice has convinced Mary that SHE can use it.  And Mary...having the possibility of having Beth instead of Alice...might be taking her up on the offer.  So, it's going to be interesting to see how this race for the buzzer happens.  

Jada finally realized that her daughter is a superhero, and that seems to ease SOME tension between them...and maybe a full reconciliation.  But again...I worry about Jada's lifespan the next two episodes.  Luke got his father's A.I. back, and now he's fully ready as Batwing to help Batwoman in the field.  It looks like Mary is going to be going through the motions of extreme guilt over what she did, and it's hard to say whether or not she'll get over it.  

And FINALLY....FINALLY....we got Ryan and Sophie to hook up, and apparently, the CW was allowing this to get REAL steamy.  But I think it's safe to say that these two will officially become an item now.  

Overall, another solid episode, and they've built the stakes and storylines well to see how it all comes together is going to be fun over the last two episodes.  Camrus Johnson helmed this episode as director, and he did a fantastic job.  This show has gotten better with each season, and I think it's found it's legs finally.  What did YOU all think of this episode?  Subscribe and drop a comment or theory or idea below....would LOVE to hear from ya!

Until next time...the Signal is OFF.