S03.E13: We Having Fun Yet?

[Trini]

In the explosive season three finale, Batwoman and a panicked Bat Team must race against the clock as Marquis's nefarious plan balloons into something Gotham would never have suspected...and won't see coming. Joining forces with Jada, Ryan, Mary, Luke and Sophie must call on every skillset they possess to save the city. As more about Marquis's shocking, twisted past unravels, a final stand-off between brother and sister puts Ryan's life - and new love - on the line.

And as Alice reaches her breaking point, an empathetic Mary makes another appeal on behalf of her sister for the Joker's buzzer, but everyone wonders - is Alice beyond saving?

Holly Dale directed the episode written by Nancy Kiu & Caroline Dries.

Airdate 3/2/2022

 

 

[Trini]

I don't know who or what that was supposed to be in the last minute (a zombie??), but I'm pretty sure this show doesn't have the budget for that.

I was expecting more casualties. The only who 'died' was the Lucius Fox A.I. I'm a bit disappointed we and Luke didn't get to spend more time with him -er, it.

Well, I knew Ryan and Co. would magically get back Wayne Enterprises and the Batcave. But now it seems like the Bat Team will also have the resources of Jada/Jeturian? I guess it depends on the fallout of Jada acknowledging Marquis' crimes. Speaking of: that little scene at the end didn't convince me that he's magically sane again, so to me it wasn't the happy ending they presented it as.

I do wonder what they would with Jada and Marquis for Season 4. Not sure if they have room for two more regulars with the way Luke has been shortchanged this season.

Who keeps letting Alice get out of Arkham?? Ugh. Anyway, I'm not totally sure where Alice was going at the end. The gist I got was that she was not going to the facility in Switzerland, but maybe I'm wrong. Letting go of the Joy Buzzer is a little bit of growth, but this entire season has shown that Alice can't stay sane by herself, so her ending wasn't as hopeful as they want it to be.

So they just never addressed who Ryan's father is for the whole season. I thought we'd at least get a tease in the finale.

LOL - how does one hide a blimp? I don't see how that would not be traced back to Bruce Wayne somehow.

Edited March 3, 2022 by Trini

[Cress]

this season has been very uneven, juggling Poison Mary, Poison Ivy, and Marquis as Joker. I thought about giving up on the show, then I thought, well, it's only 13 eps this season. Might as well stay to the end. I have no idea if they'll renew it again.

I did like some parts with Mary and Alice, but Luke has been very annoying. At least he's let go of the AI now and is fully Batwing. We never found out if Sophie has a new day job now. Is she just living off savings while working for the Bat team?

They never said where specifically they sent the blimp to blow. They said the area was relatively deserted, but it was still in the city wasn't it? I hope they didn't let the acid rain go over like slum parts of town and kill a bunch of poor people, because that'll mean we get more guilt on Luke and Sophie, and maybe Gotham will blame Batwoman. The new monster definitely looked like he must have been drenched in the acid. It looked like he had a boney leg and maybe claws.

[TiffanyNichelle]

Before I get my rant on I just want to say how much I enjoyed them all saying, with straight faces, the words "Bat blimp." Why did Bruce have one? I don't care, it's just hilarious that it existed.

Now this arc with Marquis and the joy buzzer was a joykill. It was hard to root for Ryan to get her brother "back" when she actually never knew the "real" him this whole time. And they never really built up the familial bond between her, Marquis and Jada in a way that made me want them all to be ok.

In regards to whether or not Marquis or Alice "deserved" the buzzer more, I say neither of them deserved it. You look at their stories and they are basically the same. Both are messed up as a kid, Alice with a lot more torture IMO, and then later on as adults do awful things and kill lots of people with Marquis killing his father young. If Marquis deserves to be saved because he wouldn't have done any of that without the buzzer, then should Alice deserve it also? And Alice doesn't deserve it because she killed Mary's mother then why should Marquis be saved when he killed his own father. Because he's Ryan's newfound brother? They were both awful people who did awful things and need to serve their time and not get a "get out of jail free" card in the form of the buzzer. Like is Jada even going to let Marquis go to jail for any of his actions? I see her whisking him away to another country because it's wasn't his fault, it was the buzzer! I was truly rooting for the buzzer to not work because it was such a stupid plot device.

I was also hoping the last scene to be Bruce coming back pissed off at everything that's happened for the past three seasons. Of course they could be mad at him for abandoning the city, lol.

[Quark]

It was a decent season. Nice to get away from all things Kate.

Looking forward to seeing where things go next season (if there is one).

[tennisgurl]

It would have been hilarious if they used the joker buzzer on Marquis and nothing happened, then they take him to a neurologist who was like "why did you possibly think that this would fix severe brain damage?" But of course it works, and I know that its all comic book science, but its still heavy on the silly side that a buzzer to the head not only makes a kid a psychopath, but that doing the same thing again would fix him, like turning your computer on and off again. 

A pretty good finale, I am always going to be happy to see a villain driving a giant bat blimp around to gas half the city, that is some classic Batman villainy. Much like the season as a whole, it was just way too busy, too many characters, too many subplots, there was so much going on that most of the plots felt underdeveloped. Especially as so much of Ryan trying to cure Marquis, I think they were trying to recapture that dynamic between Alice and Kate, with Kate trying to get through to her badly damaged sister and find the person she used to be, but Kate and Alice really did have a relationship and Kate spent her whole life since her supposed death obsessing over what happened to her. Ryan only just met Marquis and they never knew each other before this, she has no idea what he was like before he got buzzed, so while it worked out alright, it just didn't have that emotional core to it. 

I guess the judge at the criminal case will decide that being affected by joker buzzer is a good reason not to charge Marquis for any of his crimes, much like everything is all good with Alice. I appreciate that they are at least remembering all of the crap she has done, unlike some attempts at redemption arcs in this franchise, but it still feels like the narrative is bending over backwards a bit too much time find excuses, especially the nonsense about her mind being messed with on magic flower island. I am open to her becoming a good guy, but there is still work to do before I get really into it, even as she will slide into "snarky former bad guy" territory.

Even if Marquis was a supervillain, he was probably more qualified to run Wayne Enterprises than Ryan. At least now she'll have Jada to help out, and while I am decently interested in seeing how their family unit will work, I am also waiting for more drama when we find out who Ryan's dad is.

This season was pretty uneven, a lot of plots ended up going nowhere or went on for too long, they ended up biting a bit more than they could chew, but I mostly enjoyed it and I think they finally managed to really make Ryan feel like the main character and true Batwoman without as much Kate baggage. I am interested in where this next story is going and who the zombie is. Solomon Grundy? 

[Primal Slayer]

While this season is probably the best season of Batwoman....the 2nd half ended up being kind of a mess with a lot of let downs. 

After building up Ryan as this opposite of Kate Kane, she was poor, grew up without parents, in every foster house known to man, had the worst of luck...this season they just made her into Kate Kane lite. At odds with her uber rich mother, at odds with her crazy brother, acting like Alice doesnt deserve anything while Marquis does, Alice is just some crazy lady who didnt have as much, if not more of a traumatic childhood than her...

The driving theme of the season being former villain weapons that turn people into knock off versions is still something I think was fairly stupid so I'm glad it is done. The whole buzzer storyline has been ridiculous and Marquis being cured with a jolt to the brain was unsatisfying. 

There was no real change in status quo but for some reason Ryan is making out with Sophie in the office of Wayne towers in her suit as if no one could barge inside. Though it seems like we are back to Wayne E. having no employees, they all disappeared with Marquis. 

I'm glad that we are done with fake Fox. I dont need Luke to be talking to a glorified computer acting like it's his father. 

Batman having a Bat blimp was.....wacky. 

[thuganomics85]

Heh, a Bat Blimp!  Certainly never would have predicted that!  Pretty nice that the layout included a wide open area that two people can have an epic fight sequences in, just incase you ever have to have a showdown with a villain.  Bruce thought of everything!

Not surprised that Marquis would be the one to get buzzed, because even if Alice know actually wants to "fix" herself, I just don't see the show ever wanting to completely drop the Alice persona, but just to make her more of a snarky anti-hero instead of a villain.  Pretty much par for the course when it comes to main villains in the Arrowverse.  At least they're acknowledging her past misdeeds still and she isn't just going to be "part of the family" anytime soon, but it still feels like they are treating her with kid gloves.

I do wonder if Marquis and Jada will stick around for a potential next season.  I guess they can find some way to have them continue to play a part in all of this.

Lucius A.I. is gone now, so it looks like Luke will really need to fly solo in that suit now!

Not sure what to make of that final tease.  Except it kind of sucks if that reporter is dead, because it was fun how she was always there throughout the show.  I would never want to work in Gotham!  Or live there.  Or even fly over it....

The season was okay overall, but definitely became overstuffed at times and squander a lot of potential.  I thought they had some intriguing ideas with the Bat Rogues items creating new versions of the iconic Bat villains, the whole "Poison Mary" concept, and the casting of Bridget Regan as OG Pamela, but they just couldn't deliver due to some of the writing choices there.  But I hope they get another season to try again.

[Lantern7]

Fun finale. I know that there was a lot of disbelief asking to be suspended (the idea that an amped-up buzzer to the head can cure insanity, Mary being on decent terms with the woman that killed her mother, nobody outside the main cast and Jada trying to stop Marquis even as his "I'm Crazy As Fuck" signs kept getting larger), I felt the show stuck the landing for the finale. As much as I would like one more season, I could live with this being the end.

Yeah . . . we should make the Bat Blimp a big deal this weekend. "Yeah, The Batman was lit AF . . . but where was the Bat Blimp?!?" Oh, Bruce Wayne, you lovable broken man-child, you.

I'm hoping this isn't the last we see of Jada and Marquis. I wouldn't want things to be whitewashed, what with Marquis doing bad things and Jada unable to corral him.  Robin Given brought her A-game, and I'd be good with having Jada back.

Poor Alice. Yes, I know she doesn't deserve total redemption, and that she'd still have blood on her hands even if she was "cured," but I still felt for her. The character does walk a fine line . . . is she better as a witty psychopath? Or does she have a shot at getting wings and a halo. This is a dilemma that has sunk a lot of characters. Looking directly at you, Sylar. Take off those pointed ears.

On 3/3/2022 at 1:45 AM, Trini said:

I was expecting more casualties. The only who 'died' was the Lucius Fox A.I. I'm a bit disappointed we and Luke didn't get to spend more time with him -er, it.

The family of the blimp pilot would disagree with you. Also, I'm thinking any people where the bombs went off would probably plague Ryan psychologically next season . . . if there is a next season, of course.

Oh, and we got Penguin's hypnotic umbrella. Aside from the old series, has that ever been used in TV or movies?

[Trini]

Re-watch thoughts:

I really liked that taking down Marquis and (mostly) saving the city was a team effort; and everyone had a little part to play. It makes more sense here than on some other shows.

I hope we learn more about Lucius Fox and Luke's family next season; I feel like they mentioned him too many times for it not to be a hint at something.

I've said this before, but I really think we needed to see more of Marquis if they were making him the final 'big bad' of the season. The emotional weight wasn't really there for the fights between him and Ryan. They needed to build up that relationship more beforehand; as it is, there were only a few scenes in the season where they actually felt like and acted like brother and sister. -- Which isn't really surprising since neither knew about each other before they met, essentially.

Nick Creegan was great as Joker 2.0, but the writing was iffy in places. It made some kind of sense that he would want to punish his mother and take out the Black Glove Society (in the previous episode), but he didn't really have a compelling motive to bomb the city. He was just continuing the first Joker's plans. And what about the aftermath? I'm not so sure Marquis is cured, but whether or not he is, is he going to pay for all the murder, etc.?* And Jada did implicate him in his father's death; so I'm just wondering how much of that will get handwaved.

 

*(It's the Arrow-verse, so I know the answer is 'no', but let me dream.)

[BeautifulFlower]

I like Mary. You all already know how felt about the Alice/Mary relationship this season. With that said, I was annoyed at them having Mary advocate for Alice to receive that buzzer. She's a doctor and should've known it wouldn't have worked on Alice. Especially since the buzzer didn't  create Alice.

I was so happy when Luke brought up "she killed your mom" I was like " FINALLY SOMEONE WITH SENSE BROUGHT THIS UP!!!" But noooo These writers basically had Mary go "yeah, so?"

I did not like Mary getting mad at the team because they didn't wanna give Alice the buzzer. "You're not listening to me" Okay, but you're not listening them either Mary. They made good points. They have tried to help Alice. Hell, Mary tried to help Alice by offering a better facility for her to go to. Honestly, that is what Alice needed. Yet, she just decides to advocate for the buzzer??