It’s hard to put a finger on exactly what Batwoman Season 2 Episode 15 is paving the way for, but there’s definitely a multi-pronged game plan in play.
First and foremost, Luke’s decision and subsequent survival are strongly reminiscent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 6 Episode 1 when Buffy is resurrected, tearing her away from happiness in Heaven.
Will Luke remember his choice upon full recovery? Will he resent his friends for saving his life? How will that play out when he resumes his seat at the Batcave controls?
Speculation has been rampant about Luke’s possible evolution into Batwing. It kind of depends on a lot of things falling into place, of course.
Batwing was trained up by Batman who not only had the physical prowess but the technological genius.
As Luke is the de facto techie on Team Batwoman, it’s not like Ryan and Mary can really take on that mantle.
Of course, Stephanie Brown was introduced on Batwoman Season 2 Episode 13. She’d make a heckuva addition to the team.
I wonder a bit about Luke making his decision to stay with his father without a single hesitation, considering his mother is still alive. What does that say about their relationship?
Will Luke’s mother finally appear on-screen now that he’s recovering from his… death?
I sincerely hope that we don’t lose the curmudgeonly Luke to some dark, broody Rise of Batwing character development.
Curmudgeons for the win.
Next on the Gotham renovation plan is the dismantling of the Crows.
Of all the moments where this show has asked us to suspend our disbelief (usually around medicine and biology-related stuff), this was a rather utopian turn that I’m more than happy to entertain.
Unfortunately, the reality is that the Crows’ absence on Gotham’s streets won’t be a vacuum for long.
I imagine the GCPD may be overwhelmed by an influx of well-trained but highly-entitled recruits soon.
Also, I wonder if Roman Sionis may not feel like stepping into the position of Protector of Gotham.
This development also puts Jacob at loose ends in a sort of self-imposed retirement.
Although it’s hard to imagine that he’ll jump at the chance to team up with Alice, if she manages to convince him of the truth of the whole Circe/Kate persona, this might be the adventure that’ll put his Snakebite regrets to rest.
I feel like his disbanding of the Crows is the whole reason Alice came to him.
After all, the last time she reached out to him, he was high on Snakebite and reliving his life as the father to two young girls who were not dead, crazy, not vigilantes.
Alice has been looking for loyalty in strange places this season.
With Mouse gone, she really has been adrift in terms of a team or partner. She started with Hush. She sort of roped in Sophie. They both went their own way eventually.
She thought that Ryan/Batwoman wouldn’t hang her out to dry. That didn’t play out well, although it did land her in front of Kate.
With Ocean and their restored memories, she may actually have found her rock.
I know you’re in love. And maybe, if you’d seen it earlier in your life, you might not be the monster that you are today. As much as I hate you, Alice, everyone deserves love.
Mary
He’s unbelievably steadfast despite a thorough understanding of her crazy.
It really does border on the masochistic.
I betrayed you. I killed you. I even chose my sister over you. And yet, still, I haven’t fully pushed you away. So, either you’re a masochist, or you hate yourself, but which one is it?
Alice
But in a landscape filled with unlikely alliances, Ocean supporting Alice while she teams up with her unemployed, drug-addict father isn’t even the oddest to emerge.
And how coincidental is it that she turns to her father, a Snakebite addict, when her boyfriend is the only reliable Snakebite cook in Gotham?
Oh, and I LURVE the fact Alice flat-out points out the ridiculously consistent car ambush strategy she’s been using forever.
The fact that I’ve broken into this parking structure more times than I can count says the Crows maybe weren’t all that great at security anyway.
Alice
Now, while I suspect the focus will turn next to dealing with Black Mask and deprogramming Circe/Kate, I want to see how the show deals with the inevitable fall-out as the GCPD proves unable to police the city with the Crows supplemental resources.
It’s a city used to various levels of anarchy, but this might be unexplored territory.
It would dovetail well with my Roman Sionis theory if he does decide to turn his public image into one of the law and order… cosmetics baron(?)
I gave you the match and the gas can, Commander. It’s up to you to do the rest. Burn it down. Or you’re just as bad as them.
Batwoman
In an extension of the utopian premise of disbanding corrupt law enforcement agencies, Jacob could divert his resources into programs like Mary’s clinic and the community center Ryan is helping to develop. Wouldn’t that be a ray of sunlight in Gotham’s customary gray and gloom?
I know that Sophie’s only been out of the Crows for a day, but what exactly is she going to do for a living now?
Another thing that caught my attention was the explicit reference to The Riddler and how Enigma was his daughter.
Are we to expect that he’ll be the next Big Bad to appear?
If dead moms were the theme up until now, revenge-seeking dads seem to be closing the gap.
With only three episodes left in the season, be sure to watch Batwoman online, and let us know in the comments where you think this season will wind up!
Will Black Mask survive the finale? Will Sionis Security be a thing?
What will Luke’s recovery be like? How will he move forward?
My dearest wish is that we can wrap up without having to worry about another romantic entanglement for Ryan. Please?
Diana Keng is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.