REVIEW: Batwoman, Season 2 Episode 18 'Power'

 REVIEW: Batwoman, Season 2 Episode 18 'Power'

Batwoman's second season finale had a lot of dangling plot threads to resolve. First there's the big bad of the series, Black Mask (Peter Outerbridge), and his growing influence over Gotham. Then there's Alice (Rachel Skarsten), and her redemption arc. Most importantly though is the arc concerning Kate Kane (Wallis Day), and her ongoing fight for control with the mind of Cerce. 

The latter, as you would expect, is the main focus of the episode, and whilst it does a serviceable job in fulfilling on its potential, it's not entirely successful. We get some very fun action sequences between Ryan (Javicia Leslie) and Kate/Cerce, and some wonderfully dramatic moments between her and her sister Alice, but it doesn't quite deliver on what we as the audience want to see from Kate's return. We get to see Kate in the batsuit again, but we never get to see her in the batsuit properly as Kate Kane. Instead she spends majority of the runtime believing she is Circe, and essentially acting like an imposter in the suit. It can't help but feel somewhat disappointing  given the build up over the previous few weeks, and it makes you wonder what exactly the point was in bringing back Kate in the first place.

We do get a lovely scene between Ryan and Kate, however, when Kate is 'Kate' once again. This essentiallt acts as a 'passing the baton' moment, with Kate giving Ryan her blessing to keep acting as Batwoman. It's a really nice moment that solidifies Ryan as someone who is worthy of the suit. As Kate says, Ryan wears the suit to 'survive', so if anything she deserves it more than anybody else. She knows what it's like to lead a tough life.

There's some more nice allusions to the Batman mythos here, as firstly we get Russel Tavaroff (Jesse Hutch) giving us Batwoman's take on Bane. He's injected with the same toxin as what made Bane the way he is, and he poses a significant threat for Mary (Nicole Kang) in particular. It works as a great reimagining of the Bane character, as both actor and script really sells the menace that a Bane-like figure brings. There's also a closing hint at Poison Ivy featuring in the third season, as we see her thorn stems grow out of the bottle that Black Mask had them displayed in. It will be interesting to see where that goes in the third season, as the idea of Batwoman fighting Poison Ivy could make for some great television.

This is also the episode where Luke (Camrus Johnson) becomes Batwing, and the reveal is superbly done. It acts as a really neat closure on his emotional arc regarding his Dad and how he wishes he could still see him, with his late father having made the suit he discovers. You understand the personal reasons behind Luke's decision to suit up and fight, as he's doing it as much for his Dad as he is to protect Gotham.

A particularly sentimental moment is when Gotham decides to light its windows with the Bat symbol in support of Ryan. It's maybe a little cheesy, but it's still a poignant sequence that speaks to the heart of the show as a whole. Sophie (Meagan Tandy) says it best when she speaks of how the suit isn't what makes Ryan the hero, Batwoman has been inside her all along. We may have seen this message used countless times in various media, but it works particularly well here given how Ryan's specifically been shown to have issues with self doubt, coupled with how Sophie herself was originally not too fond of her before discovering she was Batwoman.

On a more disappointing note is the absence of Jacob Kane. Given that he's the father of both Kate and Beth, who feature prominently in this episode, I expected him to show his face. However he's strangely nowhere to be seen, which feels somewhat wrong given that this is the episode where Kate becomes Kate once more. He really should have been present for that scene, and his absence leaves a gaping hope in an otherwise great sequence.

Overall, 'Power' isn't an entirely successful season finale, but it still provides a solid if somewhat underwhelming conclusion to the season's main plot points. Whilst we get some nice scenes between Ryan and Kate, and Luke's Nightwing reveal is executed brilliantly, it can't help but feel somewhat underwhelming when we never get to see Kate actually 'be' Batwoman properly again. Being Batwoman is more than just wearing the suit, it's the person inside who makes all the difference, and it sucks a little that when Kate is wearing it in this episode, it's as Circe rather than the good Kate Kane.

What are your thoughts on the eighteenth episode of Batwoman's second season? Let me know in the comments.