Legacy, accountability and support. These are the three tenets for Ryan Wilder and Team Batwoman as we move forward.  This week we got to return to the Gotham City we know all too well, a city full of drugs, darkness and criminals around every corner.  This was refreshing to see given that this season we have not seen much of Gotham yet. 

Most of the season thus far has focused on Safiyah, Coryana and what happened to Kate Kane. We haven’t gotten much of Batwoman fighting Gotham’s crime problems.  This week was also the midseason finale of The CW’s Batwoman episode 209 titled, “Rule #1”.  So what is it like now that we have learned of Kate Kane’s death?  Keep reading to find out!

Moving Forward 

The episode opens with Ryan narrating a letter she writes to Kate in her wake, while the rest of the characters attend her memorial, well everyone except Alice.  Thanks to the investigation of Julia and their time on Coryana; Mary, Luke, Commander Kane and Sophie all get closure on the biggest mystery of the season thus far.  With this revolution it seems Ryan will finally get the chance to be the hero Gotham needs, and we will get more forward movement on the plot. 

This episode felt a little slow and almost like another restart.  The first eight episodes of this season were spent wrapping up last season. It was an audition of sorts for Ryan to be the replacement for Kate.  This episode seemed too slow to be a midseason finale.  Usually a midseason finale has a massive cliffhanger. Although we did get a cliffhanger, it seemed a bit anticlimactic after the reveal in the news last week about the recasting of Kate Kane.

A New Villain

All that aside, this week Team Batwoman’s biggest enemy is the False Face gang and their involvement in the production and distribution of Snake Bite, a drug causing a lot of terror in Gotham.  Two worlds once again collide with the events of the episode.  One of the citizens tangled up in their business is Ryan’s ex, Angelique, and then we learn that Sophie’s sister saw the murder of Comission Forbes by the False Face gang.  Angelique goes to confront Ryan and apologize for her behavior and express to her that she wishes to get out of business with False Face. 

However, just as she decides to let Batwoman help her, she gets kidnapped.  Due to her kidnapping we of course see Ryan go to her rescue, but is out of her league.  Thanks to the help of Sophie, Batwoman is rescued as is Angelique.  Ryan wishes for Sophie to show mercy to Angelique for her crimes, but Angelique confesses instead.  Turns out the gang threatened to hurt Ryan, and she could not let that happen, so instead, it’s off to prison for her. 

A Little Bit Of Superhero Clichés

It is through this we get the very common superhero trope, of the significant others being put at risk.  We learned of Sophie’s sister and learn of her dislike of The Crows and the justice system in general.  It is through her character that we get the return of the social and political commentary that puts this show ahead of most.

For the most part, everything else was a bit quiet this week for the rest of the characters.  Alice is trying to cope with losing Kate and has a vision of a younger Kate helping her through the pain.  Did she help though, or just help Alice again hide it all away?  Luke and Mary struggle to trust Ryan and work as a team, but then finally learn to let her take the lead. 

Once the problem of the week is solved is when Ryan creates her three rules for Team Batwoman going forward.  She also tells Mary and Luke about her hopes to have them help Sophie’s sister in the opening of a community center.  As for the mystery of Kate Kane?  Kate Kane as we know is dead, but we got some new reveals at the end that may stir things up a bit when the show returns.  

A New Chapter

As happy as I am that we got closure for the Kate Kane storyline, I know it will not be the end of that..  I just really wish the show would let Ryan’s story take the forefront, and her experiences in Gotham.  I want to see more of this then relying on the past to continue forward in the show.  My favorite part of this show is when they focus on Ryan, and Gotham rather than Kate Kane’s no longer being around. So what will happen when the show comes back?  You’ll have to check it out for yourself when it returns!  This week’s episode is now available on the CWTV app or on CWTV.com.