Batwoman 2x11 : Arrive Alive review

 

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

Batwoman returns with a new episode and it kicks off with Angelique who last we saw was abducted by Black Mask's False Face Society. We see Angelique with Black Mask. He is tasking her with developing new batches of Snake Bite as Ocean is no longer around the stock has been minimal to say the least. If Angelique doesn't comply she will be forced to bathe in the acid like batch of Snake Bite that remains. Back at the bat-cave and Ryan is seen talking with Sophie over the phone. Sophie tells Ryan to stop pursing Angelique and leave it to The Crows. Of course Ryan won't let that happen and as Sophie hangs up the phone dons the bat-suit and heads out into the city after getting info from Luke about False Face Society members robbing then delivering supplies to Black Mask. We're shown this as 3 people drive cars at high speeds throughout the city but Batwoman soon arrives and literally rips one of the people out of a car. Perhaps she should not have done this as because not only is the person a Crow undercover but it's none other than Sophie. Sporting a new hair style she was playing deep into the False Face Society and Batwoman has just messed it all up within seconds. With no real info now going forward Sophie is taken off the project and replaced with an agent that in her words is reckless and only wants to see the False Face Society burn. Maybe Ryan can help?

Not knowing that Ryan is Batwoman Sophie takes it upon herself to go and meet Ryan and attempt to get her to take her place in these almost street races through Gotham at night. Sophie has Ryan interviewed by Luke of all people as what follows is truly the best scene in this episode as the banter and conversation between Ryan and Luke is hilarious. With the interview process done Sophie leaves the room leaving Ryan and Luke to 'properly' talk. We find out that Ryan actually hasn't been driving the batmobile all this time. At least not as smooth as she thought as Luke gives her a AI to place in the car that Sophie has prepared. He also gives her a tracking device that is to be placed in a Fear Toxin canister which in turn will lead them straight to Angelique's location. 

The episode draws to a close as Ryan passes her driving test and so begins her first job as a False Face Society member. With Luke on communications and helping Batwoman drive the batmobile she places the tracker inside of the Fear Toxin canister. They all soon arrive at their stop as the supplies are unloaded. With Angelique's location now in sight Sophie asks both Ryan and Luke to meet her. They go to meet but Sophie isn't there rather she is going after Black Mask and his False Face Society by herself. She shows up at the location and immediately gets captured by Black Mask. The two have a chat where Black Mask talks about how poor communication and formation is between The Crows and even Batwoman. Speaking of Batwoman she soon shows up and a fight breaks out between her and Black Mask. The villain has something up his sleeve however and that is Angelique. She is shown on a screen in front of everyone in the room and if he isn't let go by Batwoman she will be killed in cold blood. Batwoman makes the choice and lets Black Mask go. He is soon seen with Angelique once again who has cooked up a new batch of Snakebite but it's a more deadly formula as without Ocean it is missing a key ingredient. Speaking of Ocean is he actually alive and well and back in Gotham. Thought to be killed by Alice he shows up and confronts Alice as she is in the process of having her memories of Kate Kane erased. Enigma plays everything off at first but once Ocean arrives she says a word which leaves the two on the ground in pain. Enigma makes her escape leaving Ocean and Alice in Gotham and with the False Face Society and Black Mask now seemingly on their tails. But the episode ends with a rather big reveal. We see Sophie inspecting the car Ryan had been driving. Turns out Ryan forgot to remove the communications device from the car as Sophie takes it and begins to inspect it. What she discovers is audio from Luke and Ryan talking where Ryan talks about putting on the bat-suit. ''Oh my god'' proclaims Sophie as Ryan's secret is now outside of the core team of her, Luke and Mary. And that was the episode. A step up from last week for sure but it still was lacking in some departments. Black Mask is a great villain and besides Alice is easily the best on this show. Sophie finding out Ryan's big secret is an interesting development and just what has Enigma truly got planned? all in all this was a fine episode just not the greatest this season. Batwoman now takes a week hiatus and will return on May 2nd after the season 6 premiere of Legends Of Tomorrow. Until then Team Batwoman.

★★★