Hello and welcome to our Batwoman recap of episode 311 aka The One Camrus Directed aka The One Where WILDMOORE DID THAT. Anyway we have a lot to cover so let’s dive in, shall we?

The “previously on” starts with the Wildmoore kiss, so you already know we are IN. FOR. IT. We’re also reminded that Poison Mary killed a guy and Marquis is awake.

As Batwoman speeds through Gotham in the Batmobile, we hear Vesper Fairchild telling her listeners that Batwoman is responsible for the recent resurgence of Batman villains. Luke radios in to tell Ryan that the sewers are backed up and flooding the clinic. He also refers to The Hold Up as the “Batbar” and I remain delighted by every addition of “bat” as a prefix to perfectly normal and existing words.

Ryan and Mary (yay!! Mary is helping the team again!) survey the scene at the clinic and instead of finding a desiccated Marquis in one of the beds, they are greeted by the creepiest doll I’ve ever seen. Marquis programmed the doll to threaten everyone Ryan cares about. Again, dolls are inherently creepy; you didn’t need to GIVE THIS ONE MOVING EYES AND A VOICE BOX.

Third week in a row that something on this show reminds me of Pretty Little Liars

As Ryan considers their next move, Mary explains why she blames herself for everything that’s happened. She killed a whole man, she gave up Ryan’s identity; homegirl is STRUGGLING. She looks like our old Mary on the outside, but this Mary is carrying new wounds and trauma from a situation she only sort of had control over. Rather than acknowledging the complexities of Mary’s struggle, Ryan doubles down on blaming the infection. And I really do get this impulse to hide behind Ivy as the reason for what happened, especially considering Mary is standing there looking so destroyed. I just wish the jump to “Forget about it! It wasn’t you!” wasn’t so swift.

At the Batbar, Ryan, Luke, and Sophie examine the joy buzzer and unfortunately, its damage is too extensive for even Luke to fix. (Real quick – Sophie’s high pony though?!) Luke asks about his dad’s A.I. and poor Mary admits that she gave it to Marquis at the party. WILL SOMEONE HUG HER, PLEASE?! Never one to be left out of Batdecisions, Alice pops in and suggests they go to the person who made the buzzer in the first place: Kiki Roulette aka Joker’s toymaker. They find someone matching Kiki’s description (and glasses prescription) at a halfway house, so Mary volunteers to check it out. Ryan suggests that Alice goes with her since Marquis still thinks they’re Batenemies and most likely won’t hurt them.

“Really? Two lesbians standing here and neither of us makes a ‘joy buzzer’ joke?”

As Ryan walks away, Sophie follows her upstairs to the loft. She is determined to get Ryan to talk about what’s going on between them, even asking if she should tell Marquis that Ryan pushed her away after their kiss so he thinks they’re on the outs too. Ryan counters that she didn’t push Sophie away, so Soph uses that as her opening to find out what exactly is happening in Ryan’s head. Ryan starts to open up, but immediately shuts down her feelings like she’s in the Book of Mormon, and focuses on their need to keep the city safe. I don’t think you get to be a queer couple on television unless you’re constantly being interrupted, and Luke obliges in this moment, sharing that Marquis is holding a press conference.

“We don’t talk about feelings, no, no no.”

Outside Arkham Asylum, Marquis speaks to a bevy of reporters and threatens to reveal Batwoman’s identity. No shade, but who’s left that doesn’t know that Ryan is Batwoman? Like, in this moment…Jada? But by the end of the episode?? It’s low-key hilarious compared to, I don’t know, Supergirl, for example. Marquis doesn’t out Ryan though, instead he and his admittedly impressive Joke smile vow to restore sanity to Gotham by pouring millions into improving Arkham.

Something isn’t right here…

Back at the loft, the team debriefs about what Marquis might have planned for the city. Ryan doesn’t understand why he wouldn’t just give her up, but then she realizes that it’s because Jada must have something on him.

Sophie just remembered she used to be married to a man.

I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but Marquis is making some POINTS with the guard walking him through Arkham. Joker 2.0 wants to institute his version of a work release program, which will probably involve some evil deeds, but he does question whether locking up these criminals like animals is actually helping anything. I don’t agree with what’s about to happen, but Marquis is a prison abolitionist, is all I’m saying. He makes his way to Victor Zsasz’s cell (remember him?!) and recruits him for what I’m sure will be a totally chill assignment.

Meanwhile, Mary and Alice pull up to the halfway house and Mary is still in her head about her time as Poison Mary. She asks Alice if living with the wrongs you’ve caused ever gets easier, which leads Alice to infer that the Bat team’s been saying none of it was Mary’s fault when the truth is, it was. And then Alice gives Mary some advice from the Lena Luthor School of Tiny Boxes. Stuff all those feelings down, she says. Pretend they don’t exist. But Mary doesn’t want to shut the feelings off; she doesn’t want to be a sociopath. And the look on Alice’s face when Mary says that, seems to imply that maybe she doesn’t want that for herself either.

“Hey, being a sociopath has its perks!”

The two go up to the house and ask the woman who greets them about Kathleen. She claims that Kathleen left them a while ago and they were just glad to see her go. Alice doesn’t buy it though, and she holds her butterfly knife to the woman’s neck until she admits that she is in fact, Kathleen aka Kiki.

“Okay, but tell me what it was like being on Scrubs. Could you save yourself if I slit your throat right now?”

At the loft, Luke is preparing to break into Wayne Tower to find the A.I. and he tries to sideline Sophie. Soph tries to play off the kiss as “not important” and not even she believes her own bullshit. The speed with which she switches from “doesn’t matter” to “let me list every way I’m qualified to help y’all and every way Ryan has blown me off” is HILARIOUS. Luke listens, relents, and gives Sophie the line launcher.

Pretty sure this image is next to “sunshine” in the dictionary.

There are several ways this show proves its love for us, and right now, it’s in the wardrobe choice for Ryan as she struts into Jada’s office. The hair?! The blazer?! The pants?! *chef’s kiss* And honestly…Jada too. The mother/daughter power blazer combo is an inspired choice. Sorry, there’s actual plot happening here. Ryan is here to get whatever it is Jada has on Marquis and beg her to stop protecting him. Before they can have an actual discussion, Victor Zsasz shows up, shoots a guard, threatens Jada, and gives Ryan a cordial hello.

It’s giving 1980s Whitney and I AM LIVING.

I forgot how fun Zsasz is to have in a scene. I mean, for another bald white male comic villain, anyway. Jada gives Zsasz the tape of Marquis which he promptly destroys. Nothing Jada offers will change Victor’s mind. Marquis hired him to kill Jada, and that’s what he’s going to do. In the midst of their negotiating, Jada reveals that Ryan is her daughter and Zsasz hilariously goes into “hot goss” mode. Aw, remember when he was all about Ryan and Angelique? He’s gonna be thrilled to find out about Wildmoore. Anyway, he gives them one chance to escape, that is, if Batwoman comes to save them within the hour.

The blazers be blazing.

Back at the halfway house, Mary tries to convince Kathleen that they want to use the buzzer to help Marquis, not hurt more people. Kiki tells them that yes, in theory, another jolt would work, and as she says this, you can see a plan formulating in Alice’s head. Kiki is being very contrite, but Alice claims she can see through it despite Kiki insisting that she just wants to make up for all the damage she caused.

Imagine sitting across from these two?!

Meanwhile, the clock is still ticking over at Jeturian and Jada isn’t convinced Batwoman will even show up because they have bad blood between them. Which is funny, because Batwoman literally IS her blood…get it? Anyway, Jada reveals that she didn’t actually abandon Ryan; the $2M was supposed to be for the family who adopted her. It was a different time, and she hoped this would give Ryan the life she deserved. She didn’t know the doctor took the money until Ryan found her. She tried to push Ryan away in an effort to protect her from Marquis. While Zsasz is touched by this impromptu therapy session, the time is up and he gives Ryan the chance to share last words with Jada. So she does. She calls her “Mom” before telling her to duck, throwing a letter opener right at Victor. The two fight as Jada cowers in the corner, slowly realizing that her daughter and Batwoman are one and the same.

Huh. Didn’t see that coming.

When the daughter you gave up comes back to find you and you make her life miserable and then you find out she’s Batwoman.

Kiki’s got her glasses back on and leads Mary and Alice down to her former workshop where dust collects on a plethora of Joker’s playthings. It’s a comic fan’s wet dream. Alice is taking her own trip down memory while Mary asks Kiki how she moves on from all the bad she’s done.

Kiki admits that you don’t move on; you live with it every day. A little thing she learned from her therapist. See, I told y’all the Bat team could benefit from therapy! Kiki’s incredibly smart therapist also told her that the first thing she needed to do was accept responsibility for her actions.

“Therapy, you say?”

Sophie is apparently out to challenge Ryan’s “best superhero landing” title, because she uses the line launcher and lands perfectly on Wayne Tower. Even Luke comments that Ryan would be impressed, but Sophie uses it as an opportunity to reiterate just how hard Ryan is to read. Sophie Moore woke up this morning determined to process her feelings no matter who it’s with or what situation they’re in and honestly, I respect it.

“NOT TODAY, SATAN.”

Luke tries to read Sophie by saying it’s clear she has a type, but Sophie is like “nah, I was into Ryan before I knew she was Batwoman.” Um, EXCUSE ME?! How long have you been into Ryan, Sophie? HOW LONG?! Was it before or after you insisted it wouldn’t even be an “enemies to lovers maybe”?? You’ve been running your mouth about her ALL DAY and NOW you want to clam up?! It’s rude, and I won’t stand for it. (I’m kidding, you’re perfect, I love you.)

Anyway, Sophie finds Luke’s dad’s A.I. and it’s still working! Before they leave, they spot Marquis’ laptop on the desk and decide to hack it because why not, I guess.

Back at Jeturian, Zsasz is taken out by guards and Jada asks Ryan where they go from here. Ryan is understandably still salty and assumes Jada will reveal her secrets to the world. And finally, Ryan gets to tell Jada every single way she’s hurt her since they’ve been reunited. She’s hurt her as Ryan and as Batwoman. She tells her everything she wanted in a mother; it’s the same list that Ryan told Sophie at the beginning of the season. Jada does that thing where she tries to justify what she did because look how good Ryan turned out and look at the havoc Marquis is wreaking on Gotham. Whatever you need to tell yourself, Jada.

“You’re right about one thing. I did turn out great.”

It’s not lost on me that Ryan stands in her vulnerability twice in this episode. It’s terrifying for her to bare her soul to Jada, the woman who she’s wanted nothing but love and acceptance from. But she does it anyway, and she does it while literally standing over her mother. It’s such a beautifully acted scene by both Javicia and Robin. Before they can continue, Sophie calls Ryan to warn her about Marquis’ plan to use Arkham inmates, including Zsasz, as his personal security. And she knows this because she hacked the laptop and oh yeah, also broke into Wayne Tower. Ryan is livid because she asked Sophie to lay low, but Sophie is done being told to stand down. They soon realize that Marquis has been in contact with one, Kiki Roulette.

And speaking of Kiki, she’s just about fixed the joy buzzer and informs Alice and Mary that there’s only one buzz left. Also Marquis doesn’t actually leave them alive. You see, she’s been working with him this whole time. Alice tries to shoot Kiki, but the gun she grabs is the infamous “BANG!” gun!! They’re then joined by the aforementioned Arkham inmates, all equipped with actual guns.

Oh, they will, don’t worry.

While this is happening, Marquis catches Sophie and Luke at Wayne. He calls Kiki who tells him about the one buzz. Remember when Kiki said she went to therapy to learn how to live with her past? Well! Her therapist was the one and only Harleen Quinzel. Reader, when I tell you I SCREAMED. Anyway, Batwoman shows up at the workshop so Kiki puts Marquis on speaker with his sister. He continues to threaten to out Ryan, but Ry knows he won’t do it. So instead, he threatens to hurt Luke and Sophie (by height order, if he has to…LOL).

“Yeah, I’m tall. AND?!”

Sophie reminds Ryan that she can in fact take care of herself, and she and Batwing fight off their attackers while Alice, Mary, and Ryan take down theirs. In all the hubbub, Kiki runs off with the joy buzzer.

“Good morning, Charlie.”

Back at Jeturian, Jada is waiting on the roof for Ryan. Ryan apologizes for letting Marquis get away with the joy buzzer, and Jada takes responsibility for failing both of her kids. She did and does love Ryan, but she buried those feelings deep down. Turns out, Jada puts up walls when she doesn’t want to get hurt. She implores Ryan not to let that be her life; to let herself feel and feel deeply.

“I need to talk to Sophie.”

Luke is back talking to his “dad” about figuring out that he didn’t need the suit to actually be a hero. Lucius tells Luke that he’s proud of him, and the smile on Luke’s face is everything.

Down at Joker’s workshop, Marquis is surveying the scene and cackling away when he meets up with Kiki. They decide to team up and hopefully answer the question of who will get that last buzz.

I was so confused about why Alice was down in the sewers again, forgetting that she’s a whole ass fugitive. Mary finds her sister and tells her she wants to do the hard work of making amends with the people she’s hurt so she doesn’t end up like Kiki. The bag she has with her is for Alice so she can get as far away from Gotham as possible. But Alice isn’t ready to go. (Okay legit, their faces were SO CLOSE, I thought they were going to kiss. I know they’re really playing up the sister thing, but !!!) She doesn’t want to be a sociopath anymore and wants Mary’s help to fix her…by using the joy buzzer on herself instead of Marquis. Low blow using the sister card there, Alice.

It’s so hard not to ship them when Rachel has chemistry with EVERYONE.

We end up back at The Hold Up, but this time Ryan is calmly pouring two drinks (while looking FOINE, I might add) as Sophie huffs in ready for another lecture about staying safe. Everything about Ryan’s energy says that’s not what this is, though. She calmly looks Sophie in the eye, hands her a drink, and FINALLY decides to get real with Ms. Moore.

This framing with the Pride flag in the background is BEAUTIFUL.

Ryan says out loud what her actions have been saying for weeks: she’s scared. She’s scared of loving and losing; she’s scared of caring and getting her heart broken; she’s scared that the moment she lowers her walls everything good that has come into her life will disappear. It’s what she’s used to right? When something that has protected us for so long is suddenly no longer serving us, it’s terrifying to consider letting it go. For Ryan, that something is the wall she’s had up since she was in the foster system. For Sophie, it was being a Crow. For Alice, it’s being a sociopath. For Mary, it’s hiding behind the infection. For Luke, it’s the idea that he’s not a hero. For me, it’s the idea of being undeserving. For you, it could be literally anything else. The power comes in identifying it, naming it, and trusting that taking steps to move beyond it will bring you peace.

“Are you feeling it too?”

What’s so beautiful is that Sophie listens to Ryan and immediately says she won’t keep pushing her into something she isn’t ready for or comfortable with. But Ryan’s face goes soft, she figuratively and literally leans into her peace, tells Sophie she won’t have to push, and pulls her in for a kiss. (I did chuckle at the fact that she needed to stand so that she was standing over Sophie for once.) The music in this scene is UNMATCHED, whew!

“Got me feeling like I’m infinite”

Neither Sophie nor I can believe what is happening, but in the pause between kisses, the two make eye contact and everything else melts away. It’s just them. They stumble into the loft, kissing the whole way, and their joy is so palpable y’all. That’s honestly what stood out to me most in this scene; they seemed excited and relieved to finally be in each other’s arms. So excited that Sophie accidentally knocks over Ryan’s lamp in her attempt to remove her shirt. So excited that Ryan can’t even undo Sophie’s belt. (No I will NOT be ignoring Sophie’s TOP BEHAVIOR, are you KIDDING?! She FLIPPED THEM. Ahem.) It’s adorable and real and awkward and I loved everything about it.

“Who’s the top, now?”

Super romantic and sexy love scenes have their place, don’t get me wrong, but there’s a different kind of intimacy that comes with seeing two people enjoying each other while also fumbling through the experience. It’s perfect in its imperfections. And have I mentioned their joy?? Y’all, they are so happy. THEY ARE HAPPY. They GET to be happy.

It’s blurry but their joy sure is not!

“Girl, you’re sexy as hell, but this damn belt!”

One of my favorite things about this is that it didn’t feel rushed or like it came out of nowhere. We have spent almost two full seasons (three for Soph) getting to know Ryan and Sophie individually as fully fleshed out characters, while also watching their relationship (platonic and romantic) grow. Ryan has dipped her toe in the pool of vulnerability with Sophie multiple times, but when it got scary, she retreated back to what felt familiar. Her conversation with Jada finally gave her permission she didn’t even realize she needed (a thing Carmen said to me as we debriefed) to start to lower those walls for Sophie.

“C’mere”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to write, direct, or participate in a sex scene, but every single person involved with this knocked it out of the park. On directing the scene, Camrus told TVLine, “I’m just so incredibly blessed and happy that everyone trusted me so much to do the scene because this is the most pivotal moment of the season, and of the series in many ways.” I could feel the weight of what we were watching, and it’s beautiful to know that Cam took that weight seriously and treated it with such care. I honestly don’t think I’ve fully processed what this show has given us. This is one of the longest on-screen sex scenes between two Black women on non-cable television. ON THE CW. ON A SUPERHERO SHOW. They DID THAT. Whew, ngl, I’m tearing up as I’m writing this because this Black nerd who loves women and comics and stories and television is overwhelmed by the reality of what they did.

From ankle rubbing on PLL to THIS. We are truly blessed.

My wish is for every other show to treat Black queer women the way Batwoman has. Thank you Camrus for your care in directing a moment that you knew would mean so much to the fandom. Thank you Javicia and Meagan for your gorgeous portrayals of these women. Thank you writers for giving us fully formed characters to root for and fall in love with.

We’ve got two more episodes left this season, y’all, and while I know this is preaching to the proverbial choir… RENEW BATWOMAN!! We need it and we deserve it.

Before I go, please enjoy my unfiltered live reactions to The Scene(tm).

Aaaaand part deux #Batwoman pic.twitter.com/7jQdVDivFZ

— Nic 🦇🇬🇩 (@njnic23) February 3, 2022

See y’all back here in a few weeks!

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