Batwoman Season 2 Episode 3 recap: The hero maketh the suit

Batwoman Season 2 Episode 3, “Bat Girl Magic!” sees Ryan Wilder finally come into her own as Batwoman while also making a life for herself following the losses in her past.

Team-Batwoman hasn’t worked like a well-oiled machine in this season of The CW show—Kate’s disappearance looms large in every interaction.

But as much as Luke insists that Ryan is a placeholder hero till Kate’s return, in a heart-breaking scene, Mary reveals the harsh reality to him—the chances of Kate surviving a mid-air plane explosion are minuscule. They have to accept that Kate is gone, and Ryan is the new Batwoman.

The Hamilton-Kane family has been through so many tragedies, and it’s devastating to add one more to the list. But Mary is really pragmatic and mature about the situation—she’s grown up so much, and it says a lot about how well-written she is.

On the other hand, Luke is still unable to accept Kate’s loss, showing how much of an optimist he is. And that’s what this season, the Hamilton-Kane family, and Team-Batwoman need right now, as well.

Against the backdrop of all this personal realization, Batwoman Season 2 Episode 3 delivers an action-heavy, polished story that will have every DC Comics fan excited for the rest of the season.

Batwoman Season 2 Episode 3 – Safiyah’s Island

We’ve heard the name—now we finally get to meet the woman. Safiyah Sohail has had both Julia Pennyworth and Alice quaking in their boots, but why is that?

At the end of the previous episode, Tatiana/ The Whisper had drugged and kidnapped Sophie Moore and Alice. They wake up on Coryana, Safiyah’s secret island, where Alice has a lot of history.

As Tatiana watches and goads Sophie, Alice is granted an audience with the queen herself—and we get some heretofore unknown details about Alice in Batwoman Season 2 Episode 3, as a result.

It turns out when Alice escaped captivity, she was found by Safiyah, who trained her to become a warrior.

Safiyah took a particular interest in Alice—which was why she was heartbroken when Alice not only escaped Coryana, but stole the precious desert rose flower and distributed it to Gothamites.

Technically, Alice isn’t at fault. She didn’t give the desert rose to Gotham—but Alice did hand it over to Mary to synthesize an antidote for the bat-toxin that Alice herself infected Gothamites with. So, there are some gray areas.

Either way, Safiyah isn’t happy. And she expresses this by insisting that she had nothing to do with Kate’s plane crash—until she reveals that she has Kate’s necklace. How? Because Kate is in Safiyah’s custody, not on Coryana, but somewhere close. Safiyah is willing to give Kate back, but she needs Alice to do her bidding in Gotham.

In the meantime, Sophie manages to hold her own against Tatiana, but she needn’t have bothered. Safiyah has supposedly developed a ‘crush’ on Sophie, which means she will be keeping a very close eye on Sophie from now on. What has Kate’s nearest and dearest got themselves into with Safiyah?

DC Comics readers will notice many similarities between Alice’s story with Safiyah and Kate’s past in Batwoman: Rebirth. How many of those comic elements will be adapted for the show?

Batwoman Season 2 Episode 3 – Fashion Advice from Zsasz

Another reason for comics fans to be thrilled—Batwoman Season 2 Episode 3 introduces viewers to a new iteration of Victor Zsasz (Alex Morf). He’s quirky, talks a lot, is looking forward to retirement, has impeccable taste in wine, skin cream, and furnishings, and understands what makes heroes tick.

Zsasz does a lot of killing in this episode—notching each kill on his skin, as per usual—but it’s up to Team-Batwoman to find out who his targets are.

Batwoman manages to break into his apartment and steal a hard drive full of names. The confrontation with Zsasz doesn’t exactly go as planned, though.

Kate’s suit is great—for her—but on Ryan? Not so much. The shoes don’t fit right. The wig doesn’t work for her. She keeps mistiming her hits as a result.

Zsasz notices, and he has some advice. Right now, there’s more Batwoman than Ryan. What she needs is to put more Ryan into this Batwoman. That’s… actually excellent advice, and Ryan definitely takes it to heart.

Whatever the situation with Kate, Ryan is Batwoman now, and she makes some much-needed updates to the suit, so it matches her personality.

The next time she runs into Zsasz—after he’s killed Mary’s assistant and is gunning for Mary—Batwoman is much better prepared and makes short work of him.

Batwoman Season 2 Episode 3 – Good News, At Last

Batwoman’s new suit and her exploits against Zsasz make headlines in Gotham. With Mary acting as Batwoman’s publicist, the Gotham papers get a great shot of the new Batwoman. A Black Batwoman fighting for Gotham is exactly the hope that Gotham needs right now.

And in the meantime, Ryan gets some good things going in her life in Batwoman Season 2 Episode 3. She manages to convince her parole officer that she’s got a job at Kate’s club, the Hold Up. And Mary actually hires Ryan for the job, so that’s helpful.

With a job in hand and Batwoman soaring ahead, all Ryan needs is a home, and she’s one step closer to getting her life on track.

In Crows HQ, Jacob Kane gets Kate’s phone from the wreckage. It takes an entire team to unlock the phone because Mary is busy with Team-Batwoman and Sophie is with Safiyah, but he finally gets in.

Amongst the endless pictures of the sky and trees—Kate liked nature, apparently—he finds a text with ‘Safiyah?’ written over a painting by Jack Napier.

Jacob wants to know what connection Kate has with the painting, but Sophie arrives with more important news—Kate might be alive.

Final Thoughts – Batwoman Season 2 Episode 3 Hints at More Villains to Come

Batwoman Season 2 Episode 3 has been the most accomplished installment in an already excellent season. It’s astounding that this was shot during the pandemic—it is so well-written and shot, with some fantastic action scenes.

There are plenty of DC Easter Eggs that will have fans very excited. The desert rose from the Batwoman comics will have a part to play this season—not only did it cure the bat-toxin but also one of Mary’s patients’ cancer. Could it be the key to curing Ryan of the kryptonite poisoning that’s still in her system?

The Scarecrow fear-toxin was also mentioned in this episode—it’s being used alongside a new drug that’s becoming popular in Gotham. This city is such a mess.

It’ll be interesting to see how Jack Napier’s painting plays into the season. Napier was revealed as the Joker’s name in certain Bat-properties, and he has been mentioned on Batwoman before. We also know that Batman killed Joker, so who is Napier in this show?

And finally, there was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it mention of Black Mask and the False Face Society.

Could we be seeing all these villains in upcoming episodes or on subsequent seasons of the show? Gotham’s got its hand full with Alice and Safiyah—but what if they bring in reinforcements? Either way, this season is shaping up to be engaging and unpredictable. What can we expect next episode?

What did you think of the Batwoman Season 2 Episode 3? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Batwoman Season 2 is airing weekly on The CW.