Batwoman season 2, episode 17 review: Kane, Kate

Episode 17 of Batwoman season 2 is the penultimate one and, as such, brings the season to a boil.

This week was the penultimate episode of Batwoman’s second season and it really turned up the heat on everything, not just our heroes. Last week, we witnessed rebirths in a sense; Luke got a pep talk and primed himself to become Batwing while Kate returned to her old self – or did she?

Rebirths in Batwoman season 2

There was also the appearance of David Ramsey, back as John Diggle in his first round of cameos in the Arrowverse in 2021. Sadly, we didn’t get a payoff to the mystery of the glowing green box at the end of Arrow’s finale to go with it, at least not yet.

Safiyah reemerged too and showed she is as deadly as ever. In league with Black Mask, she may have conversely made the single biggest mistake of her long, shadowy career by sending her people to kill Ocean. Thinking about getting even with Alice is one thing; being misguidedly bold enough to do that is something else.

She got ya good!

But, anyway, Kate’s back for real. Or so we thought. They pulled a swerve in episode 17 that I certainly didn’t think was coming.

It starts with everyone thinking Kate’s all right again so they want to give her back the keys to everything in her life – the loft, the bar, the suit, the cave – starting with her bike. All looks fine until she takes a ride and pulls into a warehouse to meet Black Mask.

Surprise! Kate still thinks she is Circe Sionis and was playing everyone to get access to the cave and its many gadgets. More specifically, she raided the trophy room full of weapons used by Batman’s many villains to be tools of her “dad’s” new order.

Where do they keep those wonderful toys?

This heist included a Bane tease that promises to be a huge part of the season finale, which has been done before, let’s be honest.

Despite that, I really question why Bruce feels the need to keep that stuff in a vault when a break-in like this happens, but at least they took a twist in the right direction instead of the usual neutralizing of one.

Kate really shouldn’t get over her brainwashing too quickly nor re-inherit the Batsuit as of yet. Reconnecting with who she is while regaining the trust of her family and allies is a ripe subplot for season 3 that could define its first half. It shouldn’t be thrown away after a week to get to the next thing the writers have their hearts set on.

A New Day is upon us

Wallis Day shined brightly this week, short of stealing the show behind Rachel Skarsten. You could say she proved herself worthy of taking over for Ruby Rose, but she already did that when they had her wearing the wooden mask and swinging daggers a few episodes ago at Alice and Ryan.

It’s been a chaotic road to get to this point but Day has grown into the role almost overnight, and to the point that Rose might not be missed as much in the long run. The only thing she’s not ready for yet is assuming the title of Batwoman.

Javicia Leslie plays Ryan Wilder to the hilt and has made the Scarlet Knight identity her own. Wilder is cemented as the one true hero Gotham needs in the show. It’s hard to see anyone taking that status away from her after only one season.

How’d you like this week? Next Sunday at 9 PM ET is the season finale of Batwoman. Tell us what you expect or if you will tune in. Check back here afterward for our review.