Batwoman S0207 Recap
This Batwoman episode was an abrupt bump in an otherwise solid six-episode run. It was directed by showrunner Carolyn Dries (The Vampire Diaries) so…that explains a lot. The episode is structured around an extended flashback sequence that mostly tells us what we already know — but everything OTHER than the flashback is great! So let’s jump in!
The Start
We’ll start with the good stuff. Ryan is…Not Well. The kryptonite is really getting to her, ultimately infecting her brain. Sophie and Jacob track down the “thugs” who captured the map to Coryana in the previous episode. This is a good time to point out that, in spite of the “woke” gestures to the BLM movement throughout the season, the word “thug” is quite racialized and should not be used! Period! But they all keep saying it!
Anyways, Sophie knows better than to keep Batwoman out of the loop, and tells Mary and Luke that they might have a lead. Mary asks Sophie to get a flower from Coryana for Ryan, even if it means Jacob finding out about her involvement with Batwoman. That’s dedication! While Mary and Luke angst about it, Ryan steals the Batmobile to track down her ex Angelique, hoping that she can lead her to Ocean and a Desert Rose.
As Ryan speeds towards Angelique, she finds herself experiencing hallucinations due to the kryptonite infection. She sees her foster mother, Cora, who tells her to leave Angelique alone and to move on with her life. The tenderness in this scene was pitch-perfect. This flashback/prophecy proves correct: Angelique has wasted no time in moving on and is disinclined to help Ryan out when she’s dresses as Batwoman. So disinclined, in fact, that she pushes Ryan off of her fire escape.
Batwoman Flaws
Fortunately, Mary and Luke figured out where she went. Mary gives Ryan a lift back to the Batcave in the Batmobile, and easily the biggest flaw of the episode is we don’t get to see this because 75% of it is taken up with that useless flashback scene.
Speaking of which, let’s tie up that loose end now. Throughout the episode, Safiyah’s right-hand woman, Tatiana, has arrived in Gotham City to confirm that Ocean is dead. (Remember that Alice killed someone else and put a skin replica of Ocean’s face on the body. Ick.) Alice captures her and forces her to explain why her and Ocean’s memories were taken.
In what Tatiana thinks is a big reveal, she unravels the tale of how Alice and Ocean fell in love and tried to escape Coryana together. Safiyah was in love with Alice, though, and this betrayal is the last straw for her. Apparently, by taking these only good memories away from Alice, Safiyah truly turned her into the maniacal sociopath that Alice is.
At this reveal, Ryan tracks down Alice by pinpointing where Ocean was growing his magic mushrooms. In spite of hallucinations where Ryan brutally murders Alice, she falls short of her revenge. She realizes that if she kills Alice, she’s no better than her nemesis. She lets Alice go, but slips a tracking device in her boot, which should allow them to find Coryana when Alice accompanies Tatiana back to the island. And now, Alice has a new target for revenge.
Bat-Thoughts
Not much to add here except my frustration with Tatiana. In the comics, her character is called the Knife, and she hates Kate for leaving Safiyah alone…and that Safiyah was too consumed by Kate to turn her attentions to her. The Knife is cunning…and a powerful butch woman. It really burns me up that they cast some blond waif whose delivery is shockingly wooden.
I also wonder if this part of the storyline was initially meant for Kate, since that whole love triangle is from the comics. I like it for Alice, though! Give the lady something to do! This show would be nothing without Rachel Skarsten and Nicole Kang!
See you after the next Batwoman episode…
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