“Batwoman” Episode 209 Recap: New Rules

Previously, everyone and their cousin made their way to Coryana despite it being super hard to find, the Bat Team discovered Ryan’s favorite plant was actually Desert Rose in disguise, and Kate Kane was officially declared dead. In this week’s on Batwoman recap Wildmoore gets a new shipper as Sophie gets a new wingwoman. Read on!

I don’t ask for a lot. I’d just like one episode of this show where Mary doesn’t cry. It looks like I’m not getting my wish today, because Julia, Luke, Sophie, Jacob, and Mary are all at a cemetery holding a funeral for Kate while Ryan writes her one last letter. Ryan can’t go to the funeral herself, so she honors Kate the best way she knows how: with her words and her favorite miracle cure plant. Thanks to both Kate and the Desert Rose, Ryan got a second chance; and she’s going to use it officially be Gotham’s Batwoman. I have no idea what’s going to happen if and when Kate’s family realizes she’s not actually dead, but I do know that the Kate they knew and loved will live on in their hearts. May your memory be a blessing, Kate.

Oh and Black Mask has Kate prisoner and tells her that her family declared her dead. Surely that’s fine.

It’s one month later, and before he heads into a budget meeting, Commissioner Forbes is answering questions from Gotham’s one (1) reporter about the city’s Snakebite problem. Before he can demand more money to patrol Black neighborhoods (which is what I assume happens in those meetings), a young Black woman stops him to explain exactly what defunding the police means (spoiler alert — it’s not about taking away all of their precious money). Forbes would rather complain about graffiti on city buildings than actually have a conversation, and he tells the woman if she has a problem with the way he’s doing his job, maybe she should run instead. We love a Black woman in power, but WHY DO WE HAVE TO CLEAN UP ALL OF YOUR MESSES?! Ahem. Anyway.

When Ryan and Mary moved in together, this is exactly the scene I hoped we’d get. Two friends, bonding over sweet potato pancakes and having heart-to-hearts about leaning on each other when they needed it the most. Mary has had a Time since Kate’s funeral, and Ryan has been there for her, no questions asked; except maybe when Mary will replace the ice cream she ate. They hear a knock at the door and it’s Angelique, here to apologize? This definitely isn’t the point, but homegirl didn’t even wait for Mary to say “come in” before she just sauntered into the apartment, so if you weren’t already on notice Ang, that would have done it. Mary gives Angelique a very cute yet threatening stare down before leaving the two alone because while she respects their privacy, she will absolutely cut a bitch if they mess with her girl. I just love Mary so much, y’all.

Angelique apologizes to Ryan and tells her that even though she couldn’t fight to keep her in the past, she wants to do that now. Ryan holds her ground though; she’s finally turning her life around and the only way the two of them work is if Angelique gives up dealing. Ang promises she’s ready to do that while I give her my best side-eye.

And how’s Alice handling the “death” of her sister, you ask? Not well, friends. She’s back in the room where she was kept prisoner for all those years, reciting Humpty Dumpty: the I Thought My Sister Was Dead But Then Was Told She Wasn’t So I Went to Coryana to Kill Her Myself and Then the Queen I Have Sexual Tension With Told Me My Sister Was Never There and Was Declared Dead *Remix*. Before long, Alice is joined by young Kate, who she’s apparently invited there for tea.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner’s budget meeting is finally over and I guess so is his life, because a gang drives up and murders him on the steps of City Hall. They’re not alone though; the woman from earlier is in the process of tagging the building and sees the whole thing go down.

The next day, everyone’s favorite reporter is interviewing Lorna Corbett’s husband from Bomb Girls, aka businessman Roman Sionis, about the murder of the commissioner. Sionis has a makeup empire, which would explain his unsettling lack of pores. Like most white businessmen, Sionis thinks he’s the solution to the city’s problems, and offers his help to the Gotham police force against masked vigilantes.

Meagan Tandy had herself an EPISODE and y’all, Sophie is ON ONE right now. She storms into Crow Headquarters and demands all of the information they have on the murder. She had me scrambling for footage in my own apartment before I remembered none of this is real and also she works for The Man. Women in power. Whew. The Bat Team is watching the same footage as the Crows and they realize someone scrubbed five minutes from the tape. Ryan notices that someone was tagging the building as the murder happened and Mary found the artist faster than you could say “What’s a finsta?”

Quick pause to appreciate the wardrobe department for this episode. Thank you for your service.

While Luke does some clicky clack computing to find the artist’s identity, the team does a little gossiping about She Who Interrupts Roomie Breakfast. Mary does that loyal friend thing where she asks Ryan if “we” are taking Angelique back, and it’s all so cute and their friendship is really important to me, okay?! Luke finds the tagger; a woman named Jordan Moore. Yup, that Moore.

Sophie, still high off power, is leaving Big Daddy Kane a voicemail and gets into her car without checking the backseat like some kind of amateur. Jordan’s in the backseat. HER SISTER JORDAN is in her backseat and admits to seeing the Commissioner get gunned down. Sophie’s ready to march Jordan upstairs to take her statement, but Jordan refuses. She knows it’s over for her as soon as the Crows know her name. A guy in a mask breaks the car window and before Sophie can shoot him, Batwoman shows up to save them, much to Jordan’s apparent awe.

They realize the False Face Society is after Jordan, and Batwoman knew where she’d be because she knew she tagged City Hall the night before. Like a Big Sister does, Sophie immediately chastises Jordan. I don’t have a sister, so this doesn’t necessarily speak to my experience, but Jordan and Sophie’s relationship feels so authentic. It reminds me of Jennifer and Anissa Pierce in season one of Black Lightning. There’s an ease and a love with which both sets of sisters crack on each other that is so fun to watch. Jordan says, “Girl, so not the point right now” in a way that you KNOW she’s said before. I promised myself I wouldn’t spend this entire recap yelling, “BLACK WOMEN THOUGH!!” but in this scene (and another later), we get three Black women sharing screentime, and two of them are queer main characters on a network superhero drama. I didn’t know I was allowed to want this when Black Lightning entered my life, and for it to be happening again? Teenage Nic is screaming right now.

Jordan tells Batwoman everything she saw that night, including that the driver of the getaway car was a woman wearing a babydoll mask (gross) and gold key bracelet. Angelique, you in danger, girl.

Back at Alice’s tea party, she insists that nothing happening is real and Fake Kate confirms it because reality is the last thing Alice wants right now. Alice created this version of Kate because when they were little, Kate is the one who got them out of the trouble Alice caused. And right now, the trouble Alice needs getting out of, is her pain.

Meanwhile, Ryan pounds on Angelique’s door and demands answers about who killed the commissioner. Rather than deny it, Angelique wants to know who else knows she’s involved. She claims she asked to leave and they wanted her to do this last thing even though she wanted nothing to do with it. Ryan wants her to snitch on the real killers and promises to protect her because she… knows Batwoman. Y’all, the breath I held when I thought she was about to reveal her identity. Angelique says she’ll think about it.

Luke is none too pleased that Ryan gave Ang time to think. If Angelique testifies though, Jordan doesn’t have to, and she stays safe. Dear sweet Ryan is convinced Angelique is going to do the right thing, but even Mary is hesitant this time because she’s been through this before with Kate who constantly justified Alice’s actions. She knows that even though Angelique isn’t Alice, “no one is ever Alice until they are because someone let them be.” The writing in this episode is some of the best I’ve ever experienced. Whew.

Next page: Girls night out! 

The team wants Ryan to be their leader and do the right thing by turning in Angelique. There were several moments in this episode where they doubled down on Ryan being the leader. It felt like the writers telling us, “Hey. We know you’re wary about us bringing Kate back. But Ryan is Batwoman. Let us prove it to you.” Maybe it’s the big ole heart I wear on my sleeve, but I want so badly to trust that this is true.

As soon as I had the thought that we were blissfully low on Jacob Kane appearances, he and Julia go over the crash report together. He doesn’t believe what’s in it and wants Julia to hunt down any evidence that might prove it wasn’t an accident. If she finds nothing, he’ll finally let it go.

*cracks knuckles* Okay, here we go. One of my favorite scenes to ever scene on the CW. Interior: gay bar. Two gorgeous Black sisters enter, looking for a safe space and a drink. They bicker while another gorgeous Black woman, this one behind the bar, cleans glasses and smirks at their banter. Last one, I swear… “BLACK WOMEN THOUGH!” Okay, I’m back. So Ryan offers the Moore sisters a drink and Sophie introduces Ryan to her little sister Jordan. Ryan was very Team Jordan until she started shit talking Batwoman and accusing her of being just another suit. But Jordan isn’t just talk; she has a plan for stopping crime in Gotham before it starts. Both Ryan and I are impressed, and Ryan comps them their drinks. Jordan clocks some major vibes and eye action from Ryan and tries to be Sophie’s wingwoman! The two have a very sweet moment where Jordan looks her sister in the eye and tells her that just because their mom needs time to accept Sophie’s sexuality, doesn’t mean she does. Shout out to Meagan Tandy for that shift in emotions on her face as Sophie realized she didn’t have to pretend with her sister.

And speaking of acceptance, Jordan’s ready to hook up her sister with that fire bartender, but Sophie shuts it down with a “not even an enemies-to-lovers maybe” that had me ROLLING. (Have I mentioned the writing in this episode because THE WRITING!) Look, I don’t want to ship it, but I am but a weak gay. Obviously Sophie is well-versed in fic lingo, she knows how these tropes work. I’m just saying, it would be hot and I wouldn’t survive it.

Before Jordan can grab her sister’s phone and start swiping for her, Sophie calls Luke because she noticed Batwoman’s interest in the getaway car driver’s key bracelet. Mary knows that Angelique is Ryan’s lesbian Achilles heel (!!) and thinks they should just let Sophie handle this. In a shocking twist, Luke is putting his faith in Ryan this time.

Angelique calls Ryan and says she’s ready to talk to Batwoman. Ryan lets Luke and Mary know and starts to get a safe house set up for Ang, but when Ryan gets to Angelique’s apartment, the place is tossed, there’s blood everywhere, and they realize False Face has her. Angelique is face to face with a very bloody member of False Face and Sionis tells her that’s what happens when you try to leave.

The Bat Team pings Angelique’s phone and gets her location. Real quick — remember when Batwoman could barely land on her feet? Well now she sticks each and every landing and it warms my heart every time. Members of False Face attack Batwoman, and Javicia Leslie shows us what bo staff training looks like in action. She did this entire fight herself and it was epic. The goons knock her out though and she comes to on a conveyor belt with a chainsaw attached, just like ye olde comics. She watches Sionis murder one of his own people as he explains, “it’s an HR matter, what are you, OSHA?” (LOLOL) Batwoman bargains for Angelique’s freedom, and the two banter about changing the system. Ryan’s doing her best with what she has, but Sionis tells her that her best isn’t good enough. How many times has Ryan been afraid of that very thing? Kate left a very large (and very white) shadow for her to step into and until recently, she was constantly reminded that she might be trying, but she wasn’t Kate. It was a “blink and you miss it” kind of line, but it hit me in a way that showed this show knows what it means to have a Black Batwoman.

Apparently Black Mask’s daughter was killed by Kate, so Ryan promises to find out what happened to his daughter if he lets her and Angelique go. As the chainsaw gets closer, Sophie arrives to save the day! She shoots some goons and stops the chainsaw before it tore her future girlfriend in two. They free Angelique and Batwoman instructs Sophie to protect her.

Back at Crows’ HQ, Angelique confesses everything. Despite Sophie’s best efforts at offering her a plea deal if she gave up the real murderer, Angelique takes the fall for a crime she didn’t commit.

Sophie goes to the loft where Ryan is waxing poetic about how skilled of a drinker Jordan is, but Sophie isn’t there for her sister. She tells Ryan that Angelique confessed because Black Mask threatened to kill Ryan. I’m never going to applaud someone going to prison (abolition is now), but on some level, I think we needed to see Angelique make a move like this to prove her loyalty to the woman she claims to care so much about.

Jordan appears in the loft and the Moore sisters bond over how broken the system is. I can only hope that a little sisterly prodding will get Crowphie to put the Crows behind her for good. They really gave Sophie a whole activist abolitionist sister and I cannot wait to see more of these two together.

At Crows HQ, Julia calls someone to talk about the crash, but the man on the other end of the phone is confused because the two of them already had this conversation. Julia has no memory of it so did something happen to her memory? Was someone impersonating her? I don’t know but there was a mysterious third loader involved in National City and I. Have. Questions.

Alice isn’t the only one remixing songs in this episode. Ryan has put together her own take on Dua Lipa’s “New Rules” with her version of Bruce’s Bat code. #3: Support—they always have each other’s backs. #2: Accountability. #1: Legacy—they must stand for something bigger than themselves. It’s not just about taking down bad guys, even though that’s a big part of it; they’re going to help Jordan build a community center to stop crime in the city before it starts.

I can’t help but remember when Ryan first found the suit and insisted there’s a big difference between putting on the suit and wearing it. She was a Black child caught up in a system that failed her; a Black girl doing her best to survive; and a Black woman who didn’t think she was worthy of protecting anyone. She put on the suit, but she wasn’t wearing it. In the last few months as Batwoman, Ryan has proved that not only can she wear the suit, not only does she deserve to wear it, but she also understands just how important it is to be a hero without the suit on.

Lest you have forgotten about our dear Alice, she and Fake Kate dig up what Alice assumed to be her dead cat, but who is alive and well. You see, this is an experience Alice has had before. When her emotions get too big and too hard to handle, Alice creates a world in her head that makes things easier to digest. She’s never actually had to deal with grief because her body and her mind protected her from that pain. But this pain is more than any she’s ever felt before and Alice isn’t ready to feel the rush of grief for her sister. So she decides to forget Kate ever existed. I don’t know why I’m surprised anymore, but the care with which these writers have approached grief this season is so beautiful. Grief looks different on everyone and every character connected to Kate has experienced their grief in a unique way. It makes sense that Alice, Kate’s twin, would feel this pain so deeply that she would completely dissociate. My heart breaks for her and I’m terrified to see how forgetting about Kate will affect Alice.

Also attempting to erase the memory of Kate from the world? Black Mask and a very attractive Enigma. Yes, that Enigma who wiped Alice and Ocean’s memories. She’s going to help New Face Kate say goodbye to the old Kate Kane.

That was a big, fun, and intense episode and have I mentioned how much I love Black women?! We’re off next week, but as always, drop a comment below with your thoughts!