Batwoman and Luke are on the trail of a villain targeting social media mavens. Sophie gets an unexpected visit from her mother, and Mary offers her expertise to assist Kate. Jacob Kane is approached to make good on a favor, while Alice focuses on her plans for retribution.
Tropes:
- Ax-Crazy: Duela Dent goes around carving up influencers with the same scars she inflicted on herself.
- Bait-and-Switch:
- Just when Batwoman and Sophie think that somebody is breaking into the latter's place, it's just her mother Diane for a surprise visit.
- Alice appears to have freed Duela for a Villain Team-Up. Turns out she just cut off her face to infiltrate Campbell's office.
- Bavarian Fire Drill: Although Sophie has been suspended from The Crows, Cartwright-As-Campbell doesn't know this, so she's able to interrogate him while pretending she's still on their payroll.
- The Beard: Tyler is fully confirmed as having been this; Sophie outright says that she was never in love with him.
- Beneath the Mask: Dr. Malone realises that beneath Alice's blustery threats of torturing Cartwright, she's actually terrified of facing her childhood abuser again.
- Big Damn Kiss: Kate describes her smooch as "a peck that lasted several minutes".
- Blackmail: Reggie Harris's lawyer threatens to air out the Crows' dirty laundry if Jacob doesn't call the judge and bump up his court case, since Reggie also saved him when he was shanked in the showers. Jacob doesn't bite right away, but he does look into the allegations and realizes the lawyer may be right.
- Bloodier and Gorier: The audience gets a look at the Facial Horror left behind after Duela is finished with her victims, and at Duela's own gruesomely skinned face, exposed muscle and all.
- Boring, but Practical: When her camera eyes linked to Luke's Facial Recognition Software comes up blank, Kate just tears out the page and shows it to Mary, who quickly identifies the woman whose picture Duela has circled.
- Brain Bleach: Or blood bleach in this case.Alice: After Nocturna drained your blood, you were on death's door. I found you and revived you with my own, meaning I literally pumped life back into your veins.
Mary: Ugh! I need a bleach transfusion. - Brutal Honesty: Luke is not shy to tell Kate that being in a relationship as a superhero is a dangerous, downright irresponsible thing.
- Camera Spoofing: Jacob finds a $50,000 compensation payment was made to the coffee shop where Lucius Fox was killed during a robbery, ostensibly for damage done during the arrest of the perpetuator. A coffee shop where the cameras were conveniently out during the robbery.
- Chekhov's Gun: The batarang projector Kate accidentally fires comes in useful for jamming the winch lowering a woman into the Acid Pool.
- Chekhov's Gunman: The Crow officer that Jacob accuses of tampering with evidence was the same one who found the video evidence of Sophie releasing Batwoman. As Jacob has now invited Sophie back to deal with the Crow's internal corruption, this cannot be good.
- Coming-Out Story: Sophie comes out to her mother, who doesn't take it well.
- Continuity Nod: It seems like Mary might be a potential victim for the mad slasher, but she points out that she shut down her social media site after her father was accused of murder.
- Dating Catwoman: Having been cut loose from both her husband and career, Sophie is swept up in the illicit thrill of this beautiful and mysterious vigilante. At the end however Sophie realises she'd just be exchanging one closeted relationship for another.
- Defiant Captive:
- Mouse towards his father, but when Cartwright shows him the news of Alice supposed death, he is shocked.
- After the initial shock, Cartwright himself acts pretty defiant towards Alice, telling her to Get It Over With.
- Did You Just Have Sex?: Both Mary and Luke mistake the spring in Sophie and Kate's steps for a sign that they had sex the previous night. It was just really good kissing.
- Disappointed in You:
- Diane doesn't approve of Sophie breaking up with Tyler, and expresses cold disappointment to her face when Sophie comes out of the closet.
- Alice enjoys rubbing Mary's face in how she is Batwoman's Secret-Keeper while Mary apparently isn't. Mary doesn't let it get to her, but does point out to Kate that she never questioned whether Kate could be trusted with her secret about the illegal clinic.
- The Dog Bites Back: Alice finally has the opportunity to get back at her tormentor Dr. Cartwright.
- Double-Meaning Title: Apart from the Glasgow Grins the Villain of the Week is inflicting, both Kate and Sophie start the episode with wide smiles.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Alice gets pissed at how brief "her" obituary is.
- Facial Horror: This episode is big on it in general, but the worst part comes when Alice actually cuts Duela's face off with her consent and wears it. The audience gets a lovely look at the aftermath.Duela: I'm finally perfect.
- False Confession: What Reggie Harris was apparently coerced into, in regards to killing Lucius Fox.
- A Friend in Need: Jacob calls Sophie for help, realising the corruption in the Crows goes deeper than he anticipated. He might not agree on her decision to work with Batwoman, but he trusts her integrity.
- Glasgow Grin: How Duela's self-inflicted scars look and what she does to her victims.
- Heel Realization: Jacob, though not directly towards himself, rather he realizes how deep the corruption runs inside the Crows.
- Hypocrite:
- After maintaining that all he's ever done is "protect" Mouse, Cartwright hooks his son up to a canister of Scarecrow's fear toxin and leaves him there for hours.
- Diane sees Batwoman as "a criminal who gets away with it", while having no problem with Batman, who apparently represents values she actually believes in. Sophie quickly zeroes in on the fact that her mother's problem with Batwoman is just homophobia.
- I Have No Daughter!: Diane disowns Sophie for being a lesbian.
- Internal Reveal:
- Cartwright tells Mouse that he shot "Alice".
- Alice reveals to Cartwright that she's alive.
- Sophie comes out to her mother.
- Is That a Threat?Jacob: That almost sounded like a threat.Lawyer: It is. Let's not turn it into more.
- I Resemble That Remark!: Alice gets annoyed at "her" obituary dubbing her "deranged", saying so with a wide-eyed, crazed expression. Later, when Dr. Malone points out her psychological defenses, Alice defensively replies that she doesn't have defenses.
- Irony: Cartwright is fooled by his own false face trick, not recognizing "Duela" as Alice.
- It's All About Me: Sophie's mother resents her daughter's sexuality because it gives people another excuse to discriminate against her.
- It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Batwoman attempts this with Sophie, but Sophie doesn't buy it as she can take care of herself. She's clearly forgotten the first time she supposedly met Batwoman was when she had to be rescued from Alice throwing her off a building. Of course neither of them are thinking with their heads at this point.
- It's Personal: Duela targets everyone she felt wronged by in her past, including her former friend Veronica May and even her own mother.
- Jumped at the Call:
- Mary drops some heavy hints that she can be of a lot more help in her stepsister's real estate investigations, but Kate just blows her off and gets Sophie's help instead, not wanting her stepsister to get involved. Mary is smugly pleased when 'Batwoman' has to come back for her help, which turns out to be quite useful.
- Sophie is clearly getting a thrill out of doing illegal vigilante work with a woman she's got the hots for, and suggests they'd make a great team. It's Kate who has to turn down the idea, pointing out the only way that would work is for Batwoman to take off the mask for Sophie, and they'd both have to face all the consequences of that.
- Kick the Dog:
- Alice kidnaps a therapist to get some advice on how to deal with Cartwright, then murders him after he is genuinely helpful.
- Sophie's mother coldly puts her down after Sophie comes out to her, treating her daughter's sexuality as an unnecessary difficulty and a good reason to be disappointed in her.
- The Masquerade Will Kill Your Dating LifeBatwoman: How do you see this playing out... dinner, movie, I take you back to my cave?Sophie: You live in a cave? (Batwoman smiles) I don't know. Guess I haven't really thought about it.Batwoman: If I were to tell you who I am right now, would you want to know? Because once that happens, I'm no longer a secret. I'm a face, a person, a woman, and I bring all the complications that come with that, so do you want to be in a real relationship, or do you want to be with someone you can keep secret? Because we can never be more than this, and that shouldn't be enough.Sophie: You're right. As long as I'm with a woman who wears a mask, I'll always be wearing one myself.
- Moment Killer:
- Luke pours cold water on Kate's morning after joy by pointing out that Batwoman can't afford to have a social life.
- A Batwoman/Sophie makeout is cut short by the unexpected arrival of Sophie's mother.
- Mythology Gag:
- Harvey Dent is mentioned by Luke as Duela's uncle and a respected ADA.
- Duela Dent has a Glasgow Grin like Heath Ledger's Joker.
- At one point Kate wears a Blondie T-shirt. Kate is a fan of her in the comics.
- "No" Means "Yes": Batwoman turns up on Sophie's balcony to find her waiting with the lights romantically dimmed and looking absolutely gorgeous. When she makes a half-hearted attempt to break off their impending romance, Sophie gets right into her personal space and tells her to go ahead and leave. Cue Big Damn Kiss.
- Not So Above It All:
- Batwoman is shown checking her appearance in a dirty car window while waiting to meet Sophie in an alley.
- Sophie is wearing an uncharacteristic grin the morning after snogging Batwoman and while fleeing her former colleagues on the Batbike.
- Oh, Crap!: Dr. Cartwright, when Alice does a Dramatic Unmask of her Duela face.
- Rage Against the Reflection: A teenage Duela smashes her mirror and uses the shards to carve up her own face.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Mary decides to keep her knowledge of Kate's secret identity to herself, at least until Kate feels like she can trust her enough to share it in her own time.
- Sequel Episode: To both "I'll Be Judge, I'll Be Jury" and "Take Your Choice", picking up the Executioner and Reggie Harris plot threads, respectively.
- Sidekick: Mary offers to be a side...person for Kate, pointing out the usefulness of her medical skills and knowledge of the social media scene.
- Skewed Priorities: After just being rescued from being dumped into a pool of acid, Veronica May wonders if anybody got all of it on camera.
- Slashed Throat: Duela cuts her mother's throat to escape from Batwoman.
- Spot the Imposter: Cartwright might have changed his face, but Alice recognises his Distinguished Gentleman's Pipe as the same one used by her childhood abuser.
- Take That!: Sophie's mother's statement was that she preferred the times when Batman kept Gotham safe compared to Batwoman was a clear and unsubtle jab at the early backlash at the news that the show was being spearheaded by a lesbian lady, which Sophie picked up on immediately, as well as the outcry for Batman not being in the lead at all this time.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Kate quips that she got her information from "Bat-sources". Suspecting that she's continuing to see Sophie despite his advice, Luke asks if those Bat-sources were the "tall, dark and girlfriend-material variety".
- Two Lines, No Waiting: The Duela storyline ties into the overarching season plot, as her plastic surgeon was Cartwright disguised as Dr. Campbell.
- Two Scenes, One Dialogue: Sophie and Mary have a conversation about Sophie's recent hookup with Batwoman, intercut with Kate and Luke discussing the same thing.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Dr. Malone gives Alice some genuinely helpful advice on how to deal with Cartwright, but she still has him killed so he won't tell anyone she's still alive.
- Vigilante Woman: While Sophie has been suspended for the Crows, she still helps Batwoman to solve the Duela Dent case for the same reason as Batwoman: not for money as before, but because it's the right thing to do.
- Villain Has a Point: Deranged though she may be, Duela's comparison between her self-mutilation and Veronica's plastic surgery and name change is somewhat valid, as they were both trying to change their outward appearance to fit who they are on the inside. Duela's point loses a lot of its weight, however, when she doesn't recognise why she was institutionalised for cutting her own face open.
- "Well Done, Daughter!" Gal: Sophie has been trying to earn the approval of her conservative mom Diane for most of her life. Naturally, when Diane learns that Sophie is homosexual, she shows nothing but cold disappointment.
- "Walk on the Wild Side" Episode: Sophie is clearly enjoying the thrill of breaking the rules; witness the big grin on her face as she roars off on the back of Kate's Batbike with her former colleagues in Crow Security in pursuit.
- Wham Shot: The final scene shows Mouse struggling in an oxygen mask as the camera pans over to what it's hooked up to: a tank of fear toxin.
- What Does This Button Do?: Luke tells Kate to press the Big Red Button on her right gauntlet to activate her cowl-cam. She does and a batarang slams into the wall.Luke: Sorry. Your left gauntlet.
- What Happened to the Mouse?:
- We don't find out what happened to Duela's mum after her throat is slashed. Kate stays to give first aid, but there's no mention of whether she survived.
- Kate's dialogue when she finds the abandoned makeover truck implies there were other people in it, but there's no indication of them even existing afterwards.
- You Know Too Much: Alice has Dr. Malone killed at the end of their coerced therapy session. Duela however she lets live, likely because she's so crazy no one would believe her if she said Alice was alive.
- You Owe Me:
- Reggie Harris's lawyer approaches Jacob due to this reason.
- Alice also pulls this card on Mary due to donating her blood, which disgusts Mary more than anything else.
- You Talk Too Much!: We get a bemused Reaction Shot from Kate as Mary is rattling off her ideas on the case.
