Batwoman Season 2, Episode 17 recap: Wolf in the Sheep’s Pen

In Batwoman Season 2 Episode 17, “Kane, Kate,” Batwoman is on the search for Circe Sionis. Will Black Mask and his ‘daughter’ keep a low profile? Or will they make a grand entrance?

Team-Batwoman search all of Gotham for Kate in the penultimate episode of the season. Last we saw of Kate in The CW show, she was still mentally battling Circe Sionis. That battle isn’t easily won.

But Kate appears in the most unlikely—or is it likely—place. Her own bar, now run by Ryan. It’s a relief to have her back but Kate still doesn’t completely remember her family.

The only way for Kate to come back is through Alice. Nobody can reach Kate like her twin sister can. But Alice is dealing with heartbreak right now—Ocean is dead, and nothing’s bringing him back. Will Kate be lost, as well?

Batwoman Season 2 Episode 17 – Journals

Mary goes to convince Alice about the Kate situation. But once she finds Alice grieving over Ocean’s dead body, Mary has a surprising change of heart. She sympathizes with Alice’s loss because Mary’s felt that loss too—Alice murdered Mary’s mother in front of her.

But then Mary decides to tell Alice that Kate is on the mend. No mention of needing Alice’s help. Is this some type of revenge for the pain Alice has caused Mary? What about Kate?

Luke Fox decides to bring the journals that Kate used to keep when she first became Batwoman. While Luke is positive that he can bring Kate back in Batwoman Season 2 Episode 17, Ryan isn’t as sure. Kate’s gone through an immense amount of trauma—there’s no erasing that.

There’s something else. What does Kate coming back mean for Ryan and Batwoman? Kate was the OG-Batwoman—if she remembers her life, will that mean passing the mantle back to Kate? Nobody seems to be talking about it.

Of course, Luke’s big heart is no match for Gotham’s hideousness. Kate takes her old bike—courtesy of Luke—and heads out to the town. And straight to Roman Sionis.

This isn’t Kate! It’s still Circe. And now she’s handed over Kate’s journals—all about being Batwoman with information about the Batcave—right into Roman and Safiyah’s hands.

Batwoman Season 2 Episode 17 – New Recruits

While Circe keeps Team-Batwoman busy, Roman has his own agenda in Batwoman Season 2 Episode 17. He’s currently recruiting ex-Crows and GCPD officers, including Tavaroff.

Of course, Tavaroff needs a bit more convincing than the other recruits. He wants something for himself—power, of course—and Roman is going to help him get it.

It’s up to Batwoman to get this information and stop Black Mask. But first, Ryan needs to deal with a terrible setback. Luke and Mary are so delighted to have Kate back that they don’t notice that Ryan has packed up and left.

Sophie tries to convince Ryan to stay with her, but Ryan is too proud for that. Ryan decides to go back to her old van to live in and examine the files Batwoman stole from a False Face Gang accountant.

Instead, the GCPD show up at Ryan’s van, plant Snakebite on her and arrest her. Gotham really is beyond saving.

Of course, this is just a setup for Roman to ambush Ryan. He gives her the usual villain spiel—Roman is trying to give Gotham its soul back and he wants Ryan to help him. Ryan understands Roman’s pain and rage about his daughter, but she’s definitely not on his side.

Unsurprisingly, Roman refuses to see reason. It’s his way or the highway. And he’s going to make sure Ryan never stands in his way again. How is Ryan going to get out of this?

Meanwhile, Sophie is desperately trying to rekindle a spark with Kate. She even shares Kate’s last letter to her. Sophie doesn’t know that it’s actually Circe she’s talking to—it’s no surprise that Circe has little reaction to Sophie. Can Team-Batwoman figure out who she is before it’s too late?

‘Kate’ has been talking about becoming Batwoman again throughout this episode. With Ryan in GCPD custody, the team has no choice but to turn to Kate.

The moment Team-Batwoman bring Kate into the Batcave, it’s obvious they’ve doomed themselves. Kate reveals herself to really be Circe and tranquilizes Mary, Luke, and Sophie. How is the team going to get out of this one?

Batwoman Season 2 Episode 17 – Belief

Ryan’s parole officer in Batwoman Season 2 Episode 17 appears to be the most unhelpful person. She’s so busy berating Ryan, she won’t listen to Ryan’s real fears that Black Mask is going to kill her—and will probably succeed. It comes to such a point, that Ryan reveals that she’s Batwoman.

It takes some convincing, but the parole officer finally believes Ryan and tries to stop the GCPD from taking Ryan away. There’s no need to convince her any further when the GCPD pull a gun on the parole officer and Ryan has to take them all down.

With the parole officer’s help, Ryan manages to escape the GCPD and heads back to the Batcave, only to find her entire team trapped in the elevator. There’s a joke in here somewhere, but we aren’t laughing.

But before Ryan can save her team, Circe decides to use the Bat-gizmos against her. This is after Circe finds a hazardous material in one of the many unused rooms in the Batcave. Is that Poison Ivy’s ivy?

Ryan and Circe face off but Circe gets a few very close shots at the team while they’re still trapped in the elevator. It actually helps, despite being terrifying. Sophie and Luke use the titanium arrows to open the elevator doors and escape. But so does Circe.

Meanwhile, Alice cremates Ocean and immerses his ashes in the harbour. Only to be found by Safiyah. There’s no peace for Alice, apparently. But Safiyah does want peace—she’s got her revenge on Alice, now Safiyah wants to bury the hatchet and end their war.

Safiyah may want Alice to return to Coryana, but is there even a Coryana left? What’s Alice supposed to return to? Turns out Safiyah has a plan to keep her island thriving and to grow more Desert Rose—a clipping of a very special ivy from Poison Ivy that a ‘friend’ is procuring for her. We were right! We wish we were wrong.

Unfortunately for Safiyah, Alice isn’t very forgiving. She stabs Safiyah with her desert rose laden knife. Safiyah will remain dead till the knife is removed. We know Safiyah will be back but Alice has a plan to make her former mentor suffer. This isn’t going to be pretty.

Roman’s doing well, though. Thanks to Circe, he’s got a bunch of bio-weapons that Batman had confiscated from his enemies, including Bane’s venom. Whatever Roman has planned isn’t going to be pretty either. Team-Batwoman are scared, and they should be. There’s a bad storm coming.

Final Thoughts – Batwoman Season 2 Episode 17 Sets Up An Epic Finale

I can’t believe Batwoman Season 2 Episode 17 is the penultimate episode of the season. It has been a wild and fantastic ride. This episode had a little of everything—great character moments, a ton of suspense, betrayal, reconciliations, and the makings of a grand finale.

Roman Sionis has been a thorn in Team-Batwoman’s side all season. Now with Safiyah and Tavaroff joining him, he looks unstoppable.

But Alice may be the key to Team-Batwoman’s victory. If she can bring Kate back, that could help turn the tide for the heroes. We also know that Luke is going to suit up as Batwing in the finale. That’s firepower the team will desperately need.

We’re used to finales of superhero shows ending with neat resolutions—bad guys behind bars, and the heroes celebrating their victory. But I’m not sure this time. Things look stacked against our heroes. Next week can’t come soon enough!

What did you think of the Batwoman Season 2 Episode 17? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Batwoman Season 2 is airing weekly on The CW.