TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Batwoman Season 2 Episode 11: Arrive Alive

After last week’s rather strong episode I was curious to see how things would progress in tonight’s episode. And while it wasn’t as strong, it was still mostly good outside of a few annoying things. Not the least of which was the overuse of the Fast & Furious trope.

Was it clever to use fast getaway drivers? Yes. Was it clever to time them in such a way that they’d be burned if they didn’t get a place in time to ensure the safety of the crew? Yes. But if you watched the final race/chase scene with Ryan behind the wheel, those streets (in a MAJOR city like Gotham) were WAY too empty, and they only “got busy” when Ryan was being chased by the Crowes who…just happened to find her car?

Honestly the best thing that came from this part of the story was Luke putting Ryan in her place about her driving. That was hilarious.

Anyway, the main storyline here was about Angelique and trying to get her back. Ryan is desperate to do so and Sophie feels guilty because she put her in harm’s way and couldn’t keep her safe from Black Mask. So both were on a path to get her back…and crashed right into one another. Which made it a bit more ironic that it was Ryan (not Batwoman) who got Sophie to try again with the undercover driver gig.

As noted in the last episode, I was curious to see where the Snakebite thing would take Jacob, and we’re already seeing part of the effects by him being angry at Sophie. Or perhaps “enraged” is a better term, something he wouldn’t have done pre-Snakebite. Sophie accepting Ryan’s offer was no doubt in part due to Jacob’s outburst and that helped solidify the storyline in certain ways. As was her desire to get Angelique back herself versus having the new “scorched earth” agent do it (which I was going to write something on…but I’ll wait a bit as he barely had any screentime this episode).

Black Mask has again been a shining villain (so to speak) in this season and tonight was no different. He was caught dead to rights yet had the foresight to get out of it and was also merciless and calculating when it came to handling both Sophie and Angelique. Very curious to see where his storyline goes, and don’t forget, he still has Kate.

Meanwhile, Alice was getting “treatment” from Enigma and it was…a bit of a mixed bag. When Ocean came into the office I thought for sure it was an illusion to dig up an emotional revelation…but it turned out to be real! Her admitting her caring for Ocean was nice though you honestly have to wonder what it would’ve been like if Alice had gotten what she wanted.

That mixed bag aside, the other problems of the episode stand out in certain major ways. I’ve already mentioned the F&F one, but let’s dig deeper into that. For someone who was so determined to get Angelique back, Sophie seemed more concerned about the operation than Ryan when she was introduced to Mary’s car. Cracking jokes instead of getting details about the job itself. Furthermore, her forgetting about the device in the car? How did both Ryan AND Luke forget about that? That was a dumb move in any context. Not just that, but notice how easily Batwoman got beaten up by Black Mask? Yet this was the same woman who beatup Alice and certain assassins…while poisoned. Inconsistent much?

Oh, and Ocean’s revelation about the “final flower” being around? That reminds us that SOMEHOW the flower that Ocean took ended up in Ryan’s foster mother’s hands. How does that work again? And if Safaiyah though Batwoman had it, why not send her army to get it back instead of Ocean…whom she would’ve known likely would’ve gone after Alice?  Exactly.

Still, those issues (and they are major issues) aside, “Arrive Alive” was a strong episode in its own right. Though having to wait 2 weeks for the next episode is getting pretty old.

Oh, and EASTER EGG, anyone notice the “Mister Bloom” van? That was a reference to a villain in Gotham that came when Jim Gordon was Batman. Look it up!