“Batwoman” Episode 213 Recap: Get a Clue

HamilWildMoore bring Stephanie back to the loft to examine the code on her body, and Ryan realizes that Stephanie is the one Sophie’s been protecting. She’s always been good at decoding his puzzles, but it’ll take her forever to decipher the code on her body by herself. Naturally, they bring in Luke to help! One of my favorite things to do is aggressively ship and support my friends’ relationships or situationships or flirtationships or whatever ships they may find themselves in, and watching Mary and Ryan excitedly cheer on Luke and Stephanie while they flirted was like looking in a dang mirror. THE SMILE ON RYAN’S FACE when she said “I think this is how nerds flirt” though! Anyway, the nerds figure out that the code on Stephanie’s body was a substitution cypher, so while they try to decode it, HamilWildMoore head to the old Quiz Bowl set to look for more clues.

Mary and Ryan are laughing

Me @ my friends always

When they get to the set, Ryan and Mary step up to a podium that turns out to be a weight-sensitive pressure plate that’ll explode the moment they step off. All of a sudden, a video recording of Cluemaster starts playing and tells who he assumes is Sophie, that they can earn more time in the game by answering his questions correctly.

Mary, Ryan, and Sophie spot something that freaks them out

“I was hoping for Levar Burton!”

Meanwhile, Stephanie and Luke bond over cyphers and MIT. Stephanie shares that she earned her dad’s affection through puzzles, but stops her story short once she realizes Quiz Bowl was a decoy and figures out where Cluemaster actually is. I’m not entirely familiar with hetero mating rituals, but I’m pretty sure knocking your crush unconscious isn’t the way to their heart. /shrug.

Back at Quiz Bowl, the Terrific Trio is KILLING IT at Gotham villain trivia. Ryan and Mary have an adorable handshake and everything! They get every question right thanks to Ryan, including the last question about Batwoman 2.0’s very first takedown. Ryan gets that one correct before any of the other options show up and Sophie gives her some serious side-eye before suggesting they call Batwoman herself for help escaping. Ryan is aghast that Sophie uses the Batsignal any time she wants an audience with the Bat, and manages to dissuade her away from that option. Mary and Ryan suggest, in unison, that they call Luke for help instead. Too bad, homeboy is still passed out. Listen, there is nothing I could type in this recap that will adequately capture the sheer brilliance of these three women together so I implore you, please go watch this scene repeatedly like I did.

Batwoman 213 recap: Ryan and Mary high five

I LOVE THEM

At Sionis mansion, Black Mask demands that Alice give him Batwoman’s name otherwise he’ll shoot her. Alice then reveals that she knows he’s Roman Sionis and offers to sew Circe a brand new face, you know, in case you forgot that Alice sews LITERAL HUMAN FACES.

Meanwhile, Mary tries to get Ryan to tell Sophie that she’s Batwoman before Sophie comes back in to let them know Luke isn’t answering. They review the latest clue again and Sophie comes to the conclusion that the only way for her is death. She and Ryan flirt, I mean bicker, yet again, with Sophie practically begging Ryan to trust her. Sophie finally reveals that she knows Ryan is Batwoman, and Ryan tries to play it off before eventually relenting and giving Sophie instructions to get into the Batcave. I know I’ve given Sophie a hard time here and there, what with her working for a white supremacist organization and all, but over the last few episodes, she’s really started to prove that she wants to be on the right side of history. I do believe that her heart is in the right place, and I can only hope that becoming an official member of the Bat Team will be the first step in her taking down the Crows.

Batwoman 213 recap: Sophie looks annoyed.

“They’re really just gonna…act like I didn’t just solve the Batwoman puzzle? Right in front of my…okay, then.”

While Sophie is gone, Mary and Ryan have some Real Talk. You see, Ryan assumes that Sophie hanging out with Mary was just part of an elaborate ruse to get Mary to spill the tea on Batwoman. But Mary isn’t having it. For one, Mary is a damn good time so of course Sophie would want to hang out with her, but perhaps more importantly, Mary accuses Ryan of being unable to see through her own Crow hatred that Sophie is actually a good person. This right here is why I need the show to follow through on Sophie taking down the Crows from within. I understand where Mary is coming from, but she’s getting dangerously close to “not all Crows”, and while that is true, an organization like the Crows thrives on the assumption that the “good ones” will stay quiet and in their place. The burden should not rest solely on Sophie’s shoulders, but if she manages to throw the proverbial first brick at the glass house the Crows built, then maybe there’s a chance to break down the systemic issues facing Gotham.

And speaking of Sophie, our girl is in the Batcave, looking around in awe and y’all, the camera lingered for an extra second on the Batsuit and the way my heart leapt when I thought she might try on the suit. COULD YOU IMAGINE?!

Meanwhile, Stephanie is in front of her childhood home when Cluemaster shows up and gives his villain speech. Stephanie tells him that she’s actually the one who put him in prison, so naturally, he gasses her and locks them both in his car. Back at the loft, Luke comes to, deciphers Stephanie’s notes, and gets to the house just in time to save her and quip that just because he didn’t go to MIT doesn’t mean he didn’t get in. TELL HER, LUKE.

Back at Quiz Bowl, Ryan tells Mary that she was right about her not trusting Crowphie. Turns out, she was jealous about the two of them hanging out without her. Mary reveals that Sophie thinks Jacob is on Snakebite, so she came over to make sure Mary was doing okay. Sophie gets back with the Bat grappling hook right on time, Ryan grabs Mary and they all fly out of there like Charlie’s Angels, right as the explosion goes off. AND THEN RYAN AND SOPHIE SHAKE HANDS.

Ryan and Mary sit on the floor, defeated

“Can we go back to Coryana? This dude is wild’n”

Ahem. Back to the heteros that somehow I care deeply about. While Stephanie laments over the loss of her relationship with her father, Luke reminds her that she doesn’t owe him anything and that in time, she’ll find her people. Blood doesn’t necessarily make a family, and Luke has been lucky enough to find people of his own. Stephanie kisses Luke and he and I have the exact same grins on our faces.

At the clinic, Mary is leaving a voicemail for Snakebite Jake when one of her assistants wheels him in. He starts coding and foaming at the mouth, and Mary’s cries might be the thing that forces me to care about Bad Dad, dammit.

Meanwhile, The Hold Up is nearly empty save for two beautiful Black women on a date. Yeah, it’s a date. I said what I said. Sophie explains to Ryan how she figured out Batwoman’s identity, and it could have been my Wildmoore goggles, but Ryan looks slightly impressed. She isn’t completely on Sophie’s side yet because she knows up until a few days ago, Soph thought Ryan was an ex-con with no future. Sophie actually acknowledges she was wrong about that and apologizes to Ryan. RYAN TELLS SOPHIE TO PROVE THAT SHE’S SORRY, and Sophie explains that she already has. Y’all, these two are going to be the death of me, I SWEAR.

Batwoman 213 recap:Ryan and Sophie share a drink.

“So this is loooooveee…mmmhmmmmhmmmm”

We end again this week with Alice, but this time she’s sewing Circe’s mask despite knowing very well that the woman sitting in front of her is NOT Circe Sionis. It’s not until she holds the mask up to this woman’s blue eyes that she realizes the person sitting in front of her is her sister, Kate.

Alice is furious.

“Look with your special eyes.”

This episode was SO MUCH FUN to watch so I can’t imagine how much fun it was to film! What were some of your favorite moments?

It looks like next week is going to be a heavy BLM-themed episode, but I have a good feeling these writers are going to treat it with the utmost care. Until next week, friends!

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Nic

Nic is a Senior Product Manager at a major Publisher and lives in Astoria, NY. She is way too attached to queer fictional characters and maintains that buying books and reading books are two very different hobbies. When she's not consuming every form of fiction, you can find her dropping it low on the dance floor. You can find Nic on twitter and instagram.

Nic has written 85 articles for us.

15 Comments

  1. Upfront comment: I’m generally not into polyamory, but if it’s Ryan, Mary, and Sophie? There’s a throuple I could get behind! (so to speak ;-p Especially w/ Mary, since it’s now pretty much official she is NOT getting together w/ Luke)

    • “I couldn’t help but notice CirceKate’s knife twirling”

      I couldn’t help noticing CirceKate’s fishnet stockings—and while Yes: Serve!—still couldn’t help feeling for OUR Butch Kate: she’d never be caught dead in those. :-X

      • “we learn that Ryan accidentally sexted Mary”

        Sigh, I still wish it was accidentally on purpose. We DID learn that Imani, last seen going hard for Ryan, seems to have met some success! [But of camera, of course. {sideeyes the CW}]

    • “because Ryan’s a felon, climbing fences comes easily to her:

      Tell me I’m not the only one who did the Stop/Backup/Watch Again here, because Snakebite’s not the only thing that’s sweet, sweet and juicy! [Dat Ass] Musical accompaniment: https://youtu.be/giFUoBzpqg0?t=140

      • To conclude: terrific ep, great recap! Loved every minute of both (except the fingernail torture—I f-f’d through that).

        Inasmuch as I hate Jacob-is-the-Worst: Mary’s not wrong that his life sucks (a bunch of which he doesn’t even deserve—and let’s not forget he was non-consentually violated w/ Snakebite in the first place). Alice really is Daddy’s Little Girl, in the sense of how much BOTH of their lives suck. These two could really heal together . . . IF their luck (the torture inflicted by the writers!) would ever freaking change!

        Back to my first “throuple” comment: even if that’s just my headcanon, the real love triangle WILL happen when Kate re-enters the picture. Or will Alice drop that tasty little bomb at the worst possible moment (worst for Ryan, I’m thinking, since she’s her CURRENT #1 Hatee, whereas Kate was the FORMER).

  2. This episode was so much fun – probably because the next one looks like it’s going to be very somber.

    “Hetero Mating Rituals”

    And now I’m envisioning a Discovery channel special, filmed in a mall or a club, narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

    Obviously it would be a part of a line up of shows. Lesbian Mating Rituals would be filmed at a roller derby or an axe throwing venue, right?

    Cluemaster was a one note villain with a comic accurate costume, but an effective vessel for a great team up. I hope Stephanie returns, though. She’s fun.

    After watching this episode, the creative team on Supergirl was shocked… a redhead character, with a FIRST and LAST name, here as more than a villain of the week or a sacrificial lamb?

    …who do you think suggested playing “Never Have I Ever”?

  3. Trust Alice to point out the VERY OBVIOUS fact staring them all in the goddamn face that Circe Sionis has a fully different eye color!!! A. DIFFERENT. EYE. COLOR.

    Couldn’t Enigma spring for contacts or something lmao.

  4. I loved Ryan and Sophie and Mary having so much time together as well!!! Every moment was a delight.

    Next on the wish list: Sophie quits the Crows and joins the Bat Team. Stephanie joins up too! We are all happy and nothing hurts.

  5. I really need Sophie to get going on taking down the Crows from within! I feel like it would be 1) really interesting to watch and 2) just so inherently necessary for the build up they’ve created and the truth to what’s needed in real life. The only reason I think the writer’s would be hesitant is because narrative-wise, it’s useful to have someone a bit separate from the team and in a job where they have access to info and a bit of public authority, but I think they should make Sophie a Private Investigator or some kind of detective Sherlock Holmes situation where she’s her own boss or just working independently in a similar capacity and vibe but not as a part of a terrible white supremacist system…I just can’t believe we have to wait a week between episodes and that there’s a CW show that is genuinely really enjoyable and important and I don’t want them to screw it up! They’re doing so good! I will ship Wildmoore to the ends of the earth and I love/hate all this tension and anything that gets more of Meagan Tandy and Javicia Leslie on my screen.

  6. I also closed my eyes for the fingernail scene and when I next looked Alice we magically free. I will never know how that happened 🤷🏻‍♂️.

    I hadn’t really noticed til this episode that Crowphie is so much taller than Ryan and Mary—like, of course it was them asking for a boost up that fence (that and who wouldn’t want Sophie helping them in any capacity).

    It was nice to see Luke have a little fun and to see how much Ryan and Mary were for it.

    I loved this episode. Except when are they gonna stop breaking Alice’s heart?? She even called herself Beth on that phone call! Aside from that tragedy (which otherwise wasn’t so bad since Alice figured her own way to stay alive) I really enjoyed the fun of a one and done villain episode.

    • “I hadn’t really noticed til this episode that Crowphie is so much taller than Ryan and Mary”

      I heard an interview w/ Rachel Skarsten where she said that she and Meagan were the only two tall people on the set.

  7. Can we talk about the fact that Cluemaster used his daughter’s BODY for more clues? That he wrote on his DAUGHTER’s body all these symbols? How creepy is that?! I find it so encroaching and such a violation of physical boundaries. Of course in addition to poisoning his daughter, being fine with her dying, and attempting to kill her at the end. But that “body covered in symbols” was all red flags to me, and had a vibe of molestation.

    • Thank you, I came to this recap after watching to see if somebody was saying this. So very creepy and boundary crossing and gross!!

  8. Glad you brought back to snippets under the pictures. i LIVE for the snarky comments/phrases.

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