Batwoman 2x9 : Rule #1 review

 

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

Batwoman's mid season finale has come and gone and with it we got plenty of reveals, the introduction to Black Mask and a dilemma for Team Bat to contend with. The episode begins with the funeral of Kate Kane. Everyone who was close to Kate attends apart from Ryan who is seen at the bat-cave writing her final note to Kate Kane. Ryan talks about Kate's inspiration to everyone she touched. The cure for her Kryptonite poisoning is indeed a Desert Rose stem that was smuggled into Gotham by Ocean which just so happened to end up in Ryan's possession. She also says that she is no longer in her shadow anymore as Batwoman. She signs off as everyone at the funeral service pays their final goodbyes to Kate Kane..if only they knew. The following morning outside of City Hall the GCPD commissioner gets quizzed by the media on if the Police Force is working with Batwoman or not. He gets interrupted by a young woman who tells him that things need to change in Gotham. She mentions things like De-funding the police and how tagging various buildings in graffiti hasn't done much to get the attention of the GCPD. Her words fall on deaf ears however and she leaves. Later on as the commissioner is leaving the building a car rolls up with 3 masked people inside. Two get out and gun the commissioner down killing him in cold blood. The same woman from earlier sees the whole incident go down and gets spotted. A chase ensues but she manages to get away. The following morning we get our first look at Roman Sionis who appears on the news much to the dismay later of Mary who calls him spoiled and entitled. 

Speaking of Roman Sionis we actually get our first look at Black Mask before we meet the man under the mask. I assume he is the one under the mask just like the comics unless it is somebody different under the mask which is entirely possible. Anyways we see Black Mask walk up to Kate Kane's almost lifeless body which we saw at the end of last weeks episode. He mentions something about bringing the dead back to life, so it's obvious he has got something planned for the former Batwoman. Back at the Crows HQ and after leaving work and getting into her car we're introduced to Jordan Moore. Sister of Sophie Moore and the same woman from earlier who had seen the commissioner shot in front of City Hall. She was tagging the side of the building at the time and will be a key witness going forward. With the False Face Society hot on her tail she and Sophie are soon greeted by various thugs wearing masks. Batwoman comes to the rescue however and tells the goons to tell their boss that the girl doesn't know anything. At the beginning of the episode Angelique turned up at Ryan and Mary's place all shaken up and feeling awful about what happened between her and Ryan. The two speak about things and it's clear that Angelique wants to change but she's really in deep with drugs most important the drug Snakebite which is getting out of hand in Gotham. Angelique tells Ryan that she will change however as she only wants one thing..her!

The episode draws to a close at the bat-cave where Team Bat argue over the handling of Angelique. Ryan wants to help her and stay by her side while Mary and Luke are against this. Ryan takes it upon herself to save her friend and former lover but as she turns up at her apartment someone has already gotten to her, but why? well it turns out that Angelique was actually the driver of the car that fled the scene once the commissioner was shot in cold blood. Ryan finds this out and is left devastated. This all happens before Angelique ends up getting kidnapped. At her apartment it looks like Ryan is about to tell her that she is Batwoman but instead she tells her that she knows Batwoman and she will help her. When she turns up no sign of Angelique can be found like I mentioned. So who took her?? upon getting a black hood removed from her head Angelique is met with a dead body right in front of her. ''This is what happens when someone tries to leave the False Face Society'' the voice says as Black Mask can be seen standing behind Angelique. With her life in apparent danger Batwoman goes against Mary and Luke and goes to save Angelique. A fight ensues and Batwoman ends up being strapped to a moving platform with a giant saw barreling towards her. Black Mask is present here too and shows just how ruthless he can be by killing the guy that Batwoman had threatened earlier on. He gets killed by a giant sawblade much like the one that lay hanging by Batwoman. Of course Sophie comes to the rescue and stops the sawblade just as it is about to hit Batwoman. Angelique ends up getting taken into custody as Black Mask gets away. Back at the Crows HQ and instead of telling on the False Face Society and getting placed under protection Angelique confesses everything to Sophie. Back at her apartment and Ryan is stunned to learn of this as Sophie tells her that Angelique would sacrifice everything but what she wouldn't sacrifice is Ryan as if she told on Black Mask and his operation he had threatened to kill Ryan. There's also a little tidbit of information that I found very interesting. As Batwoman was held strapped to a moving platform Black Mask mentions how Batwoman killed his daughter. But not Ryan rather the other Batwoman. Kate Kane killed the daughter of Sionis and that is why he seeks revenge and intends to corrupt and destroy Gotham City. The episode ends with two final details. First back at the bat-cave and Ryan sets out 3 Team Bat rules. Mary and Luke agree to these rules with accountability and support being major parts of the rules. The final and most important detail however is once again we see Black Mask with Kate Kane's body. A woman walks into the room as the two look over her lifeless body. Black Mask leaves leaving the woman to get to work. She begins to talk to Kate and says that her name is Engima and that Kate Kane is now going to be a thing of the past. What?! this same Engima woman is whom Safiyah had mentioned a few episodes back. She contorted and twisted Alice's mind which aided her in becoming Alice. Just what could she have in store for Kate Kane?! and that was the episode. Overall it was really solid and I did enjoy it as a whole. The ending was great and Black Mask actually came across as quite a threat with his fingers in a lot of different areas of Gotham. A Crime Lord has arisen. Batwoman now takes a week hiatus and will return with the second half of the season on April 11th. Until then Team Bat!

★★★