Batwoman Season 2 Episode 18 Review: Power
Diana Keng
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To be perfectly honest, considering everything that has happened this season, I'm not actually sure what sort of finale I was hoping for.
But Batwoman Season 2 Episode 18 served up a good dose of closure, provided ample fodder for future adventures, and tipped a [top]hat or two to memorable visuals from Batwoman Season 1.
There were the usual loose ends. What did they do with Bane, er, Tavaroff? With Alice locked away, who's going to release Safiyah from her Desert Rose dagger stasis?
Is anyone going to wonder where Roman Sionis went? Or why Kate Kane now looks like the cover girl for Janus cosmetics?
Ryan's insecurity was some of the most genuine emotions we've seen and that saying something considering everything Javicia Leslie has poured into this role.
We've always needed a hero, Gotham. But, in this moment, maybe that's not me.
Ryan
She's been pretty on-point throughout her hero's journey, recognizing the issues in her past while trying to forge a future with that power she talks about finding.
Meanwhile, I was knocked a little sideways with Alice's whole, "You killed your mother by being born," thing.
Weird flex on her research skills. Especially since she does a 180 on that in her final scene where she reveals Ryan's biological mom is alive and well.
The science never gets any better on this show but at least we didn't have to watch Safiyah magically meld Poison Ivy's plant with Ryan's Desert Rose. Everything about that just sounds wrong.
Clever move to have Black Mask's Bane-gone-wrong Tavaroff trial end up solving the Kate issue for Mary.
Not sure how Gotham's medical board would feel about Mary promoting the spraying of Snakebite, but since she's not technically a real, certified doctor, I guess they don't get to have a say, do they?
Everything about Luke's Batwing suit discovery was so full of feels. From him finding his childhood sketches of the black Batman suit to realizing that his father had made his dream a reality, to the suit lighting up in response to his touch, to him not being very good at flying it...
My heart just wants to burst.
I look forward to seeing him figure out the ins and outs of superherodom. Also, still kind of hoping Stephanie Brown comes on board Team Batwoman to call the shots from the Batcave. It would save him having to hide his secret identity from her.
Not that he would be able to. She's kind of super smart.
I didn't expect Alice and Black Mask to end up in a physical fight. They're both pretty talky villains. It seemed more likely for them to battle wits.
And considering she created Circe's face for him, you'd think he'd be a little more diplomatic.
Black Mask: You want to know why you failed as a villain?
Alice: Yeah. Please. How did you know?
Black Mask: You can't be bad and have feelings. You can't hate Batwoman and protect her identity. You can't hate your sister and risk your life for her. See, it's confusing. You can't sell a confusing message.
Alice: Says the freak with two names.
Alice had a lot of functions here. She informed the team of Safiyah's time-out. She dealt with Black Mask. She administered the Snakebite spritzer. She helped resuscitate Kate.
Getting the chance to say goodbye to Ocean via Snakebite hallucination was a neat little plot wraparound considering Ocean was the original (and only reliable) Snakebite chef.
Closure for Alice is always so short-lived.
She gets her memories of Ocean back only to have him killed.
Do me a favor, Alice. You know this feeling that you feel? That's good. And now that you know you are capable of feeling it, chase it again.
Ocean
She gets Kate back only to be arrested.
And, seriously, GCPD? You come across two women resuscitating a third on a night that your city is basically burning in riots and you decide to recognize a soaking-wet Alice and arrest her instead of checking on the woman who was just brought back from drowning?
Not to mention, since we've been led to believe most of the GCPD works for Sionis, maybe picking up his back-from-the-dead daughter might be good for a promotion?
Kate's complete return to Kate-ness was a bit anti-climactic. (Admittedly, not as much as when I thought Tavaroff had just up and died.)
While it was heart-warming to see the young Kate and Beth living out the rescue that never happened, it would've been helpful to see the twins truly banish the Circe persona for good.
Sophie: So you and me and timing, huh?
Kate: Maybe, in another universe, we were meant to be together.
Sophie: But in this one?
Kate: In this one, I think we both deserve something a little easier.
But the long goodbye with Sophie was appreciated. Since we have no idea what Sophie's even doing for work these days, I give top marks for her cutting all the messy emotional strings and starting fresh.
Hmm, she did help rescue the mayor during the riots. Maybe she gets a City Hall appointment out of that?
Kate's quest to find Bruce leaves the door open for Wallis Day's return which I have no issues with. I like her and I like what she brought to the role of Circe/Kate.
I guess she gets to keep the bike?
I spent so long thinking that it was up to me bring Beth out of Alice. Turns out Alice brought Kate out of me. She's my twin. She'll always be a part of me. But until Alice wants to be Beth, I can't help her.
Kate
Will she get a cameo in National City? After all, there's only one person she'd be visiting there, right? Although it might be kind of hard to get ahold of Kara these days from what I hear.
And that leaves us with the aggressively-growing mutated plant in the room.
Who will come across all those wonderful and terrifying Rogues' Gallery toys scattered downriver from Gotham?
As you watch Batwoman online, riddle me this.
With Safiyah doing her Sleeping Beauty bit and Tatiana dispatched with a more permanent blade, would it not make sense for Alice to escape and take up the queen's invitation of sanctuary on Coryana? Perhaps AS queen?
Any thoughts on how they were able to recreate Ryan's suit so fast? We saw Circe/Kate cut it up at the end of Batwoman Season 2 Episode 17. With a giant shard of kryptonite. Wonder where that's gone... Is it something Kate took with her to National City?
It's been an unprecedented season and a helluva ride, folks.
How do you feel Gotham has fared with the tidal wave of villainy and a(nother) rookie Batwoman at the helm?
Will Ryan's biological mother be something Batwoman needs to be concerned with? Or just another emotional stumbling block?
What are your hopes for the future? Hit our comments with all your thoughts and predictions!
Diana Keng was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is a lifelong fan of smart sci-fi and fantasy media, an upstanding citizen of the United Federation of Planets, and a supporter of AFC Richmond 'til she dies. Her guilty pleasures include female-led procedurals, old-school sitcoms, and Bluey. She teaches, knits, and dreams big. Follow her on X.
