‘Batwoman’ Still Doesn’t Know What It Wants To Be

It felt strange in last week’s episode of Batwoman to see the Poison Ivy arc that the season had been building to since the beginning fizzle out. It seemed as if Poison Ivy (Bridget Regan) was going to be the big bad guy in the finale, or at least share the spotlight with the deranged Marquis Jet (Nick Creegan). Instead, Marquis became the focus and, consequentially, will most likely be the main threat as the season reaches its climax in just two more episodes.

While the first half of the season dealt with an ensemble of villains, the Poison Ivy and Marquis Jet plot lines were escalating side by side. The Poison Ivy side of things revolved around Mary Hamilton’s (Nicole Kang) character arc, which gave it purpose as Mary and Poison Ivy could be seen as reciprocals of each other. The problem with Marquis Jet is that they are trying to position him as Batwoman’s (Javicia Leslie) Joker. His motivations fall flat, though. What does he really want? The Joker, for all his flaws, always tried to make a point. If Marcus’s character is going to finish off the season strong, a bigger endgame has to be in play for him other than just trying to embarrass his sister.

There are other side plots that are still acting as the glue of the season. One is how Mary is coming to terms with her acts as Poison Ivy’s sidekick. Another is seeing Alice’s (Rachel Skarsten) redemption arc come full circle as she seeks to rid herself of violent tendencies. Then there’s Sophie (Meagan Tandy) and Ryan’s relationship, which finally came together in the last scene of the episode. And let’s not forget Luke Fox’s (Camrus Johnson) rise to Batwing and Ryan’s problems with her mother (Robin Givens). Whether or not any of these side stories will be strong enough to pull the weight of what appears to be weak final villain has yet to be seen.

Batwoman airs Wednesdays on The CW.