Batwoman (2×11) Arrive Alive Review

For our review of the last episode of Batwoman, click here.

Synopsis: With Batwoman and the CROWS each hot on the trail of the False Face Society, their efforts collide, and tension escalates. Alice seeks out Enigma, and Sophie and Ryan find some common ground. (TVGuide)

Will there ever be a reality where Batwoman stops talking about Kate Kane? She was an integral part of the series when it started but now that she is supposed to be gone, why is she still around? It feels so unfair to Javicia Leslie who isn’t getting her time to shine as Batwoman because the writers are still trying to focus on a character that shouldn’t be there, to begin with.

In any case, this episode focuses a lot on the False Face Gang. They’re painting the town red with their new cars hoping to find the final ingredient to making Snakebite. Getting to the gang is the only way for Batwoman to find Angelique so she attempts to track them down. After stopping one of the cars, Batwoman realizes that one of the drivers is actually Sophie who has been orchestrating a plan all along, a plan that Batwoman has now ruined. Since this is not Black Mask’s first rodeo, he makes sure that every time a driver is late, the phone with all the information stops working.

When Jacob learns of Sophie’s secret plan, he’s less than amused especially because he’s not Angelique’s biggest fan. He’s not exactly the man with a plan either given the fact that he is compromised by Snakebite. Desperate to help, Sophie gets some help from Ryan who decides to volunteer as a False Face Gang driver. Signing up as a street racer, Mary gives Ryan a car, and the plan commences.

It’s hilarious to see Sophie introduce Ryan to Luke and how they have to pretend not to know each other. But Team Batwoman works together, and whether or not Sophie knows what’s going on, they all operate as a team unit. The plan luckily goes through without a hitch and Ryan gets hired on by the False Face Gang to join their next race. It comes with its complications, however, because the gang makes it difficult to install a tracker on the car. But with Luke handling it via AI, it allows Ryan to use the fear toxin as a distraction to place the tracker. All the while, Sophie decides to interfere again and instead of waiting to hear that Ryan succeeded, she decides to go out and face the gang on her own. It comes as no surprise at all when Sophie is caught by Black Mask and apprehended.

While with Black Mask, Sophie hears him say that he told Batwoman about why he created the False Face gang. Sophie is a bit pissed at Batwoman as it is, so this new information may not be the best thing for their relationship. But let’s hold that thought for a moment because before we know it, Batwoman shows up, and together she and Sophie fight Black Mask. They can’t get away with much, however, because he does have Angelique, and anything they do could hurt her. All the while, Angelique has been working on making Snakebite perfect. She’s not entirely sure how to do it, but her plan is to help Black Mask find Ocean so they can get the formula right.

The only interesting part of this episode is the fact that Sophie finally realizes that Ryan is Batwoman. She manages to hack into the tech Luke place in Mary’s car and overheard Ryan talk about the Batsuit and such. Well, then, who else saw that coming? Alice has been up to her own shenanigans and pretending to be Enigma by talking to one of her patients. Just as Enigma shows up, Alice kills the patient. Typical Alice behavior. Enigma thinks that Alice wants her help to remember what happened on Coryana but really all she wants is to forget Kate. That’s easier said than done, as Enigma points out, and it’s probably not even what Alice actually wants. If Kate isn’t in her head in some manner, Alice will truly go off the deep end. Kate is her moral compass, after all.

Enigma hypnotizes Alice, who imagines having a conversation with young Kate. The attempts to forget Kate don’t work, and instead, it brings up all the desires that Alice harbors for Ocean. In the middle of Alice’s conversation with Enigma, Ocean rushes into the office, surprising Alice since she thought he was dead. Unfortunately for her, he’s very much alive and wants to know why she killed him. When he learns it was all for Kate, he seems to melt a bit.

There’s a bit of a scuffle between them but Enigma steps in and uses a code word to “disable” the both of them. She makes her escape all while causing their memories to come back, something Safiyah is going to be pissed about. But hey, we might be getting a love story now between them so perhaps it was all worth it?

Anything to stop talking about Kate Kate–please.

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Ariba Bhuvad