Batwoman 2x2 : Prior Criminal History review

 

Be warned there will be *SPOILERS* involved in this review. With that being said let's get into it.

Episode 2 of Batwomans second season opens up with Alice in her sewer hideout. Alice has a plan in motion to draw out Sofiyah as we saw at the end of of last weeks episode. Also at the end of last week we saw the lifeless body of Mouse. Turns out little Mouse still has a role to play and it is that of being a vessel in which hundreds of poison filled bats can pass through. After all what do bats like to eat?? rats. And it is a rat that Alice places inside of Mouse as bats swarm into position kicking off the episode. We're then brought back to the past where it is Halloween night. We see Ryan Wilder complete with a Catwoman like outfit. She is being followed by masked men who end up chasing her into what looks like an abandoned car park. Ryan tries to fight back but she is far from the woman she is in present day at this point. It's not long before Batwoman swoops in and saves her. This is obviously supposed to be Kate Kane under the cowl but we never do see her face (of course) Batwoman grapples off with Ryan yelling thank you to her as she does so. We're then brought to present day where Ryan who after last week is still feeling the effects of the Kryptonite infused bullet wound. She is shopping for something to dull the pain but of course is in the wrong place at the wrong time as she usually is. The shop is in the process of being robbed by armed men wearing masks. Ryan takes it upon herself to fight back and manages to get rid of the attackers but ends up getting arrested and questioned by Sophie. What's surprising is that Sophie and Ryan have already been introduced..a number of times as Ryan's record for being arrested and questioned is quite high. Ryan is soon let go as the camera footage from inside the shop is shown which proves her innocence. There's more questioning going on too in this episode as Sophie and Jacob question both Mary and Luke who we know were very close to Kate and knew that she was Batwoman. After learning of this last week Jacob now seems more intent than ever in not only finding his daughter but also he wants to know who was close to her. Mary and Luke avoid and evade questions with Luke even throwing some shade right back into Sophies face which was great to see from him!

Upon leaving the interview room a bit earlier Sophie had let a tiny detail slip to Ryan. She mentioned how Commander Kane didn't want to kill Alice rather he had sympathy for her and was trying to save her. This doesn't sit well with Ryan who later turns up at Mary's clinic just as Mouse is rushed in. Dead to the bone but complete with bat bites and scratches his body begins to shake about as Ryan, Luke and Mary watch on in horror. Bats soon come barreling out of him scarring Ryan in the process as she screams that she is afraid of bats. Bats are only one of the Gotham's worries now as there appears to be a Batwoman rally being held outside of City Hall. A large crowd has gathered which can only mean good news for Alice's plan but bad news for everyone else. With no real plan in place and the real Batwoman presumably KIA Ryan says putting on the cape and cowl last week was liberating and made her feel important, she says she can do it again. Luke funnily enough responds with look at you..BLACK! which was hilarious. Ryan soon gets the go ahead with no other options available. It's not long after when Ryan who is fully suited up stands atop of the building which looks down on the rally below that had formed. She perfects her Batwoman pose complete with flowing cape, hands on hips and the like (not really that's just a joke much like Mary and Luke make) she tells the crowd to disperse as it's not safe to be there. She soon gets labelled as a cheap knockoff  by not only Jacob Kane but by Alice who turns up behind her on the roof. Ryan's intent is right away very clear it's that she wants to kill Alice and unlike Kate Kane before her she has no problem doing so. Luke manages to talk her round as the bats begin to invade Gotham City leaving mass panic and hysteria as the fly through the streets infecting people as they try to get to safety.

The episode draws to a close with Ryan Wilder's first true outing as Batwoman. Taking to the bat-mobile she has Luke in her ear as she leads the bats on a chase throughout the city using a sound device which attracts the group of creatures. Back at Mary's clinic and in fact all Hospitals throughout Gotham for that matter people are being brought into care with all manner of affects mostly including poison by the bats. Mary who is under severe pressure gets paid a visit by Alice who gives her the means to cure people in an antidote. But can one lot of blood which contains the cure be enough?? Mary doesn't think so and leaves to go and synthesize the cure through Hamilton Dynamics which turns out to be successful. But before the city can be cured and rid of the poison Ryan still has the bats to deal with. While driving round the city in the bat-mobile while thinking up of a plan she comes up with a plan to lead the bats onto a Crow bus. Threatening the bus driver to get off the bats are lead inside as Ryan gets out the back, the bus soon enough is blown to pieces. The following morning is something of relief and calmness in Gotham as not only did this new mysterious Batwoman save the day but Hamilton Dynamics came threw with a cure for the bat infested poison scenario. The episode ends with a couple of things. Firstly back at the bat-cave we see Ryan who tells Mary and Luke that putting on the suit gives her so much purpose to continue to fight on. She also mentions how she knows criminals a lot more than Kate Kane ever did. Her case is pretty strong all things considered as not only does she make some good points but after been giving the green light to don the cape and cowl going forward Ryan comes across Kate's journal. Inside it she comes across a letter Kate wrote to Bruce on Halloween. She mentions what we saw at the beginning of the episode. She says that the girl she saved reminded her of herself, wanting to fight, wanting to protect. Ryan responds to this by beginning to write her own letter (possibly letters) to Kate starting with ''Dear Kate'' I really thought this was a nice touch! but the episode doesn't end there. It ends with a warning of what is to come from Sofiyah to Alice. Alice got what she wanted. She got the Desert Rose's attention and soon enough Sofiyah will see Alice die by her hand. The episode ends as Alice is knocked out cold by a follower of Sofiyah. So a war is coming and it's going to be interesting to watch unfold. That was episode 2 of Batwoman. It was a bit corny at times and overall it wasn't as good as last week but as a whole it wasn't all bad. Not a bad start for Batwoman so far this season as Javicia Leslie continues to shine as our new Batwoman.

★★★