Batwoman season 2, episode 9 review: Rule #1

Ryan Wilder is back from the dead in the latest episode of Batwoman season 2, and so is Kate Kane, but there’s no time to rest. It’s back to Gotham, a city that never sleeps and where crime never dies.

Kate Kane is back! That was the cliffhanger at the end of last week. Though we didn’t get a look at her face, we know she is being played by former Krypton cast member Wallis Day in a surprise recasting.

Our new Batwoman Ryan, meanwhile, seems to have solved her poisoning issue, which is good. That subplot, being dealt with since the Arrowverse show’s season premiere, was getting played out.

Much the same can be said for Ryan’s love life, but thankfully they throw us a couple of new twists there that’ll help fit things into the direction of this half of season 2. We’re also introduced to Sophie’s long-lost sister and the next big villain causing trouble for everybody, including Kate Kane.

The new face of False Faces in Batwoman season 2

This episode introduced the season’s next big villain in Black Mask. He stays true to his torturous roots and the signature facial accessory looks good, though there are a few minor departures from the source material.

First, there is his new reason for his grudge against Batwoman and all Bat-people. The man behind the mask, Roman Sionis, had a daughter that died in prison after the Scarlet Knight caught her. This is a twist for a guy who killed his own parents in the comics to inherit their estate and the family business, and who couldn’t keep a fiance.

It’s an odd twist, but neat and workable if they play it right. His company Janus Cosmetics, which was previously bought by Wayne Enterprises in the DC Universe, is still in business and, what’s more, Sionis is on TV promising to do great things for Gotham out of the goodness of his philanthropic heart.

Like Lex Luthor or Kingpin over at Marvel, they’re going with the classic humble-businessman card. Roman’s not a criminal; he’s just a simple purveyor of beauty products (nudge, nudge). I’m intrigued by that and want to see where it goes.

I know I’ve seen his face before

Black Mask is played by award-winning Canadian actor Peter Outerbridge. Even if you don’t recognize the name, his face will look familiar.

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Outerbridge has graced screens big and small for decades, featuring in all sorts of hit TV shows from 21 Jump Street and Highlander: The Series to Monk and The Commish with Michael Chiklis. His biggest roles to date came in Saw VI, Orphan Black, and two TV versions of Nikita – one of which was made for The CW.

Black Mask has been portrayed by a handful of actors already, but Outerbridge’s performance will inevitably be compared to that of Ewan McGregor in Birds of Prey. Outerbridge displays some of McGregor’s flamboyance. However, in his case, it’s a cover, a mask, for his true likeness and personality: A sadist with bigger plans. Contrast that with McGregor’s Sionis, a quirky germaphobe who’s a bit bumbling by nature – hardly, at times, the fearsome and powerful master planner he’s made out to be.

With his air of menace and duplicity, it would be a shame to see Batwoman waste its Black Mask the way they did Hush. Sionis appears to serve a baddie named Enigma, who sounds like an alternate for The Riddler, so there is a risk of him becoming another third wheel.

In all, though, this episode had a lot to offer and promises a verdantly interesting story for the rest of the season that’s true to the spirit of our noirish crimefighter’s usual adventures.

How did episode 9 of Batwoman season 2 grab you? Are you hyped for Black Mask and what’s to come with Kate Kane? Let us know.