Batwoman, season 2, episode 9: “Rule #1”

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[SPOILERS ahead, I recommend that you watch the episode before you continue!]

[SPOILERS ahead, I recommend that you watch the episode before you continue!]

[SPOILERS ahead, I recommend that you watch the episode before you continue!]

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You can watch it LIVE on the CW (Sundays at 8 PM) or watch it also for FREE on the CW website (link) and on the CW app (if you live in the US)!

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“General”:

My highlights from this episode (without particular order):

1 – Kate’s funeral! – We know she isn’t dead, but all the loved ones on the show are now convinced that she is dead. I think the scene was done very well. I knew before the episode that there would be a time jump. And I think that was the best solution as all that grieving shouldn’t be overdone as the audience know that she is still alive. The score worked well with the slow-motion shots and the narration from Ryan.

2 – Black Mask enters the show! He was mentioned before, but now we finally see him! With his first appearance, we also see quickly that he is behind Kate’s disappearance! She was heavily wounded as his men snatched her from the plane. He also mentions that her loved ones will “believe in life after death”. That is verrry interesting! He has some sinister plan with her, after all, he doesn’t want her dead. But what is his plan with her? What is she supposed to do when she re-enters Gotham? I’m very excited about where this is going! And hopefully, we will soon see Wallis Day. So far, with these heavy bandages, that could be anyone.

3 – Alice back in Wonderland! Well, sort of. We don’t know where she actually is, but her mind is creating a sort of fantasy with her sister Kate. Logically she sees the young version of Kate. The Kate from the day they had the car accident. And after all, she couldn’t see the grown-up version as Ruby isn’t on the show anymore. Alice has no real plan or goal right now and she tries to deal with the situation in her very special way. The scenes were interesting and showed how Alice is ticking. I wonder how this will go on for her? I’m sure she will soon be back in Gotham with a new plan, so she can participate in a new storyline.

4 – Batwoman back at 100%! I’m glad she isn’t affected by the Kryptonite anymore and can now get back to her night job in full strength. She had two really good action scenes in this one! After the lack of action in the last episode, I am very happy about it 🙂 .

5 – Batwoman in action….and in peril! The fight with the Black Mask gang showed that Batwoman could use more gadgets for situations like that. She was surrounded by all these goons and was fighting against them, just with her staff. Luke needs to provide gadgets for situations like that. Well, maybe she could have retreated from that position with her grappling gun to get into a better position. But she could really use gadgets to attack multiple goons at the same time. If Sophie wouldn’t have shown up… it would have been her end. But it provided a really thrilling situation. Black Mask was really sinister in that scene and I enjoyed his discussion with Batwoman a LOT! The fact that Batwoman 1.0 had killed his sister….was odd. When did that happen? How? I hope that will be clarified. Also, his saw trap was really brutal! Didn’t expect that to happen. But a good way to show his brutality. Looking forward to see more of that crazy guy 🙂

6 – Julia and her memory loss! Julia was always a pretty mysterious figure and I think there are still a lot of mysteries to uncover. The trailer for the next episode hints at what could have happened, but I won’t “spoil” that here, in case you don’t wanna see the trailer before the episode. Julia is investigating and had completely “forgot” that she was talking to that guy who provided her with info on the plane crash. At the end of the episode, Enigma is showing up. So she isn’t just working for Safiyah as it seems. Unless Safiyah is working with Black Mask…. We know that she is a specialist in making people “forget” certain details. So, it seems that Enigma has screwed with Julia’s memory! Had Julia uncovered a secret that she shouldn’t have? I think yes. Of course, Black Mask could have had her killed….but I guess that she is somehow important to him and his plans. Looking forward to finding out more about that!

 

Aspects I didn’t like in this episode:

>>> Actually there wasn’t one real issue that bothered me in this episode! A good sign. Ok, the fact that Jordan could see Angelique’s bracelet and its details with that distance…might be a stretch, especially during a shooting. But ok, nothing completely impossible….so, no real issue.

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More interesting aspects for me:

— The producers and showrunner are certainly not shy about bringing issues like the “Defund the police” and other big real-world topics to the show. As I don’t live in the United States, it isn’t a big topic for me and my surroundings, but it is certainly an interesting issue! I am actually not 100% sure if Jordan was ever mentioned in the show, I think not. I like the move to introduce her like that and also putting her on the “other side” in comparison to her big sister that is working for the Crows. Will be interesting if she will be in more episodes. I guess not, but maybe.

— It was also nice that Jordan was supporting her big sister as she knew about Sophie’s coming out with her mother. It was interesting that Jordan saw a connection between her sister and Ryan. I still think that this will become a “thing” and Sophie will fall in love with Ryan and/or Batwoman. Just a hunch 😉

— The scene with Mary and Ryan was well placed to show how Mary and Ryan were dealing with the grief about Kate’s “death”.

— I am wondering what Roman Sionis is planning? As Black Mask, he has his evil masterplan, but his alter ego Roman has clearly a plan as well. But what is he up to? Perhaps he wants to get some control over the Gotham police? That would fit his business proposition as he mentioned that he would help. Or perhaps he wants to install a puppet as the new police chief? Someone who wouldn’t interfere (that much) with his drug dealing?

— Mary’s skills in social media were very useful again as she could help to identify the witness to the murder. Quite funny how she presented that to a baffled Luke…

— For a second I thought Ryan confess to Angelique that she is Batwoman. Ryan doesn’t know (yet?) that her girlfriend is the masked crime fighter. Even there were some hints 2 episodes before… as Batwoman landed on Angelique’s fire escape. But I’m glad that Batwoman didn’t tell her…. only very few people should know that secret.

— I enjoyed how Mary and Luke agreed on having more faith in Ryan and supporting her (and Batwoman’s) decisions. After all, that’s how a team should work. These 3 are now really starting to work as a team.

— The fact that Angelique took the fall for the murder she didn’t commit to keeping Ryan out of Black Masks crosshair….surprised me a little, but it shows that Angelique is really doing everything for her. Now she is in the same position in which Ryan was as she got into jail to protect Angelique. I am pretty sure that she won’t stay in prison for long and that they will figure out something.

— It’s good that the Bat team now has a goal to work for during the day. Helping in building that community center is a good task and is something to further help the city.

— I am very thrilled about Enigmas’s role! Clearly, she will mess with Kate’s memory. Perhaps Kate will even completely forget who she is…. and Black Mask will perhaps create a persona that will play a part in his evil masterplan, whatever that is. But even if that happens, I think Enigma could be “persuaded” to undo these changes? Hard to say how her abilities work and what is possible to achieve with them. Soon we will know more!

 

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>>> Rating “General:” <<<

4,5 out of 5 – Batwoman back at 100%, Black Mask enters the show + all the mysteries with Kate and Julia. A really strong episode!

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“Mask”:

Batwoman screen time:   07:40 – long cut

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“Mask action” (blue colored if yes): – attempted unmasking  – forced unmaskings (incl. a witness) – self unmaskings (without witness) – self unmaskings (with a witness) – unmaskings  – mask damage – “mask talk” (incl. “secret identity talk”) – additional masked women – close calls with opportunities to unmask Batwoman

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 Who knows her secret identity by now (Ryan Wilder Batwoman)?:

For sure: 2.9 – 0.9 of these are villains

Mary

Luke

Alice knows the name of Ryans’ dead foster mom now. Shouldn’t be too hard to find out Ryan’s name.

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Sexy “mask-related” -scenes:

As Batwoman was tied up, this made quite a nice peril scene! Black Mask was pretty close to her, I was wondering if he would use the opportunity to unmask Batwoman before killing her. But he wasn’t interested in that (that fool 😉 ).

>>> Rating “Mask”: <<<

3 out of 5 – A good Batwoman screentime, well-made action scenes, and Batwoman was in peril! Plus Ryan nearly confessed to Angelique that she is Batwoman.

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Pictures:

(click to enlarge)

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And here are my special Batwoman cuts from this episode:

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What are your thoughts on the episode?

Feel welcome to leave a comment below!

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