Batwoman Season 2 finale recap: A Purge in Gotham City

Batwoman Season 2 finale, “Power,” Black Mask gives the people of Gotham his masks and endorses anarchy. This is a war, and Gotham’s the loser.

The CW show has been all about disparities this season. Black Mask railing against the system because his evil daughter died is ironic.

Meanwhile, Tavaroff undergoes a procedure using Bane’s venom. Black Mask made some modifications but it seemingly ends up killing Tavaroff. Oops?

That didn’t work, but the rest of Black Mask’s plan might. He’s going to get rid of the top brass in the city, then Roman Sionis will swoop in and kill “Black Mask”—some poor employee who’s wearing the mask, of course—while Roman gets to be the savior of Gotham. Somebody stop him!

Batwoman Season 2 finale – Gotham’s Masks

Black Mask’s “daughter,” Circe, dons her new suit in the Batwoman Season 2 finale—a mask from her father with an improvised Batsuit, which used to belong to Ryan.

This has put Team Batwoman in a very bad situation—not only is there no power in the city, but they also have no way to find Circe or Black Mask. The focus needs to be on Black Mask, according to Luke Fox. He’s the primary threat, Circe has to be put on the backburner.

This doesn’t sit well with everyone. Ryan is hurting from getting a beatdown from Circe. Sophie is furious that she bore her soul to Circe thinking she was Kate. But they need to do something to help the city.

And then, Alice arrives. That woman is like a bad rash—you just can’t get rid of her. Alice doesn’t care what’s happening in the city—she just wants her sister back. Not a priority, Alice!

But there’s already mayhem outside, and even the Mayor’s out for the count. Sophie is best equipped to protect the city, but Ryan has other plans. She and Alice are going to wear some of those masks Roman’s left around the city and get Kate back.

The plan isn’t solid especially since Ryan hates Alice. Now that Ocean is dead, though, Alice realizes the pain she’s caused Ryan. It doesn’t matter—Ryan will never forgive Alice. They argue but still manage to stick to the plan.

And promptly get their behinds handed to them by Circe and Black Mask. Circe escapes but Black Mask sticks around. Alice and Ryan need to improvise. Ryan goes after Circe; Alice remains to fight Black Mask.

Meanwhile, Mary opens up her clinic for a very tough night—and one of her patients turns out to be Tavaroff. He was dumped in the garbage but is somehow alive. Pity. But as Mary examines the venom and Snakebite injected in Tavaroff, she realizes that it can help with Kate’s memories.

Batwoman Season 2 finale – Gotham’s Heroes

With no electricity anywhere in the Batwoman Season 2 finale, Luke retreats to his father’s old office. He also equips the team with walkie-talkies. Old-fashioned and they only work a short distance, but they work.

While Luke studies his father’s old files he comes across some drawings he’d made as a child. Even in this darkness, the memories make Luke smile—it’s been a while since we saw that. But there’s more here—the drawings get more detailed and have notes.

As Luke looks around the cramped office, he comes across a metallic suit covered in a dusty cloth. This is young Luke’s drawings come to life and the moment Luke touches the suit, it activates.

Lucius and Luke’s relationship has been such a joy to learn about; it makes the heart ache that we didn’t get to see Lucius in his prime with his genius son.

And Luke manages to deploy the Batwing suit just in time—Mary’s attempts to keep Tavaroff under failed. And without the Snakebite, he is volatile, to say the least.

Mary is no match for him, so it’s a good thing Batwing swoops in to save her. The suit stops working midway and they fall to the ground but it still counts as a save.

Suited up and feeling some degree of control, Luke takes on Tavaroff, the man who shot him. Tavaroff has Bane venom running through his veins, but Luke is the justice Gotham needs.

Batwoman Season 2 finale – Gotham’s Heart

As Ryan realizes she’s coming to the end of her tenure as Batwoman in the Batwoman Season 2 finale, she sends a letter to the people of Gotham through Vesper Fairchild, urging them to become their own heroes.

And for once, Gotham listens. The people of Gotham have taken Roman’s masks, but they’re not wearing them. They’ve put them in their windows with candles so it looks like Gotham is lit by thousands of bat signals. Who’s cutting onions here?

This is the motivation Ryan needs—she doesn’t need a suit to be Batwoman. Ryan is Batwoman. Circe might be strong, but Ryan can still take her and save Kate. It’s not going to be easy, though.

Ryan’s aim isn’t just to fight Circe; she also needs to use the aerosol Snakebite on her to bring Kate back. Hard to do when you’re fighting. Fortunately, Alice, arrives just in time. While brawling with Black Mask, Alice sprayed him with Joker toxin. Having escaped, she grabs the Snakebite and sprays Circe.

This only enrages Circe more and the two fight each other and topple over the side of a bridge and fall to their imminent deaths. Ryan can only helplessly watch from afar.

Mary had warned Ryan that the aerosol would affect anyone close by. Circe isn’t the only one to get dosed—so does Alice. She’s sent into a Snakebite-induced dream—with Ocean. This is Alice’s chance to say goodbye to him, the goodbye she couldn’t have in real life. But at least she now has feelings.

For Kate, the memory is always the same—down in that awful basement when she was but a door away from Beth. But in this dream, Kate doesn’t walk away. She opens the door and finds her sister. So many onions today.

Alice comes to but Kate doesn’t. Ryan performs CPR and gets Alice to help her. It seems like nothing’s working but finally, Kate is conscious. “Beth,” is Kate’s first word.

In GCPD’s inimitable style, they arrive just at that moment and drag Alice away from Kate. Alice’s sobs as she and Kate desperately hold on to each other mean nothing to them.

Gotham at least prevailed—they refused to overthrow the government, they stood up with Batwoman, and they now insist she remains their hero. All this helps Ryan take a strong stand at her parole hearing. And she is finally freed from parole!

And what about Kate? She’s happily catching up with Mary and Luke, but she also knows that there’s work to do with Alice. Kate finally answers a question fans have had for a while—Ryan is indeed Gotham’s Batwoman. Ryan knows how much the suit means more than anyone.

Sophie gets a moment with Kate, but it’s only a moment. Kate is leaving Gotham. She needs to see her dad in prison, and then Kate is going to National City to see a friend—Supergirl? After that, Kate plans to search for her cousin Bruce Wayne. Is he gone or is he missing? Kate needs to know. She refuses to make the same mistake she made with Beth.

Team Batwoman has a new mission—they need to track down all the missing items from the Batcave. These could really hurt the city— in the show’s final moments, we see Ivy’s plants are growing.

Ryan is relieved to get justice for her adoptive mother. She gloats at Alice’s state in Arkham Asylum. But here’s a shocker—Ryan’s bio mom might be alive! What a cliffhanger till next season.

Final Thoughts – Batwoman Season 2 Finale Delivers an Impactful Conclusion

I was not emotionally ready for the Batwoman Season 2 finale! I was so hoping for Kate and Beth to be twins again but that’s not happening. The Sophie and Kate ship has well and truly sunk. Someone get Sophie a loving girlfriend next season, please.

But I am mightily relieved that Javicia Leslie will remain as Ryan Wilder/Batwoman. She has been a wonder this season, imbibing the role with so much nuance, emotion, levity, and relevance. Leslie’s Batwoman is the hero we deserve.

I am very excited at the thought that Poison Ivy may join next season. All signs point to it and I cannot wait. Poison Ivy is one of the most underused DC villains and she has so much potential. And she’s a queer character which makes her perfect for Batwoman.

I loved this finale and this entire season. The writers upped their game and the performances were dynamite. The relationships have very firmly been set and that will make Season 3 even stronger. It’s going to be such a long wait but till then, we’ll be thinking about this season till October 13, when Season 3 arrives.

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

Batwoman Season 3 will air on The CW from October 13, 2021.