Weekly TV Reviews: Batwoman s2 ep9

 

The death of the commissioner comes with a twist when both the Bat crew and the Crows discover that the video was erased in parts. It's quickly discovered by Mary (thanks to social media) that a tagger was a witness ... and that witness is the sister to Sophie. Batwoman having learned just in time shows up to save Sophie and Jordan when masked men attack their car. Elsewhere, Angelique shows up to have a conversation with Ryan about their relationship which leaves her conflicted.

1.) Ryan

It's always nice to see more into Sophie's life and her conflicts which have been explored since the beginning. Jordan thankfully doesn't see any faces but she does see a bracelet which leads Ryan to understand who the driver was. Angelique was the driver and this leads Ryan to confront her ex about her part in an attempt to get her to tell the cops. This leads her to reveal that she ... knows Batwoman. We have to note that at the moment where Ryan COULD have told her ex about her identity, she chose to instead lie about just knowing Batwoman. Ryan wants to protect Angelique even after everything between them, while Mary points out that her ex is a blind spot in the same way Alice was for Kate. Angelique decides to come clean only to be kidnapped but Ryan is quick to rescue. 

2.) Sophie & Jordan

This is the first time we're seeing Jordan and Sophie together, and we're loving the sister dynamic. They're two very different people. Both are passionate and strong-willed women. But the two have very different ways of going about achieving a safer Gotham. Jordan is against the whole cop system and is working with grassroots organizations that are trying to prevent crime in Gotham while Sophie joined the Crows. 

The plotline also is a reminder of how dark and brutal Gotham has always been. In every version of the city, Gotham is always sadistic and dark with the series on Fox being one of the darker ones. The man in charge of the gang believes he's doing this as a symbol for liberation and kills anyone that disappoints him ... by putting them in a wood chipper or killing them with a saw. Gotham is always a violent city no matter what one it is and just as Ryan is about to get sawed in half, Sophie comes to the rescue. In a shocking turn, Angelique confesses to the murder and refuses to give up the gang members ... sending Sophie to deliver her bracelet to Ryan. Angelique chooses to take the fall for a murder she didn't commit so she could protect Ryan. 

3.) Alice

Alice is struggling with the death of Kate, after realizing that she only wanted her sister back, and this creates an imagined version of her sister. The imagined Kate leads Alice to dig up a coffin for a cat that is very much alive and learns that she's having a psychotic break to adjust to the death of her sister so she's made a world for herself. Alice realizes that if her grief can make her believe she's petting a dead cat (that's not dead), she can learn to live in a world where her sister never existed. The episode ends with the discovery that Black Mask is the one that has Kate and her face was damaged when his men pulled her from the plane. 

Elsewhere, Julia learns that she calls someone for information only to learn she's already done so. The episode opens a new path for Ryan as she delivers three rules for the Bat Cave: stand for something bigger than themselves, held accountable, and support each other. Ryan is determined to bring down Black Mask and his gang but plans to help Jordan with her community center and wishes to do so with her team. 

Quotes:

"Gangs in the city are stupid but not kill the Commissioner stupid." - Luke

"Am I so mentally disturbed that my imagination created you to rub it in?" - Alice (talking to her imagined younger Kate)

"Not even an enemies to lovers maybe." - Sophie