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Plot
When a familiar foe descends upon Gotham, Ryan and Mary find they must rely on each other more than ever. Alice has a has a new mission and gets an unexpected ally to join her, as Luke Fox makse a decision with the assistance of John Diggle.
Influences
Batwoman: Rebirth and the new 52 Batwing title.
Performances
David Ramsey has a brief but commanding performance as John Diggle.
Wallis Day has a commanding turn here, as both Circe Sionis and Kate Kane trying to break free of her programming.
Artistry
The nightmare sequences of Kate's mind being trapped in the Cartwright basement with Circe Sionis are truly horrific.
Technobabble
Jacob Kane uses a DNA scanner to confirm Circe Sionis is Kate Kane.
Luke has a tool for unsealing sealed digital court records.
Dialogue Triumphs
(Roman Sionis is watching the news with Safiyah on a monitor in his office.)
Roman Sionis: I expose Kane as the godfather of a fraudulent security racket, and now these cloying half-wits in the fake news are crowning him a hero.
Safiyah: Haven't you done enough, Roman? You imprisoned the man's daughter, then brainwashed her into your own.
Roman Sionis: He murdered my Circe.
Safiyah: So toying with Kane's daughter is your way of... feeling better about him killing yours?
Roman Sionis: I apologize, Your Royal Highness, but when you gave me the details of Kate Kane's flight out of National City, you knew exactly what I had in mind for her.
Safiyah: Speaking of you owing me a favor, I was hoping to employ your daughter's services to settle my affairs in Gotham. I have reason to believe that Circe's unique attributes could benefit us both.
Roman Sionis: Whatever it is, I don't want her involved. She's finally got her life back.
Safiyah: Last I heard, she was running around with a tree stapled to her face.
Roman Sionis: Oh, she's ready to make her grand reentry into Gotham's influencer life. After all, my P.R. team covered up the incident that landed her in Arkham to begin with and her death, yada yada. They've put together a very millennial cover story to explain her disappearance. Three words... Malibu Rehab Retreat. This is the crown jewel.
(Roman clicks a remote control. The monitor switches to a make-up commercial. Circe is the model and the voice over artist.)
Circe: A life lived but once is a life lived not at all. The newest line from Janus Cosmetics has arrived... Rebirth.
Roman Sionis: It wasn't enough that she believed she was my Circe. Between the new face and a strict regimen of Janus restorative burn cream, she now looks like her, too.
Safiyah: I know Enigma gave her Circe's memories, but who gave her Circe's face?
Roman Sionis: If you can believe it, that rambling sewer rat Alice.
Safiyah: You brought Kate Kane and Alice together? When was this?
Roman Sionis: Two days ago. Why?
Safiyah: Alice is Beth Kane, you idiot!
(Jacob's DNA scanner confirms Circe Sionis is Kate Kane.)
Jacob: Heh. My god. It really is you.
Circe: You've got me confused with a dead girl.
Alice: No. You've got you confused with a dead girl.
(Alice and Ocean are walking away after Ocean politely introduced himself to Jacob while dropping off a bang full of Kate's belongings.)
Alice: This "Mr. Kane" thing is definitely weird for me.
Ocean: I want the guy to like me. Call me old-fashioned.
Alice: If you told me I'd be in the Crows headquarters with my father, my sister, and my... boy toy and I wouldn't be the one in cuffs...
Ocean: No one ever accused you of being predictable.
("Circe" describes being trapped in the same cell Alice was locked in as a child.)
Alice: That's the basement I spent my childhood in. You've been there. Do you remember?
"Circe": It's... it's more of a feeling. I'm... I'm screaming, but I can't get your attention.
Jacob: That... that's not what happened.
Alice: Maybe it's a metaphor. Circe's subconscious is a cell, and Kate needs me to free her.
Jacob: How can you be sure?
Alice: Because it's all I ever wanted.
Batwoman: Are you Kate Kane?
Kate/Circe: Can I get back to you on that?
Tavaroff: Buddy, Gotham City is our town, and the House always wins.
(Tavaroff reveals his cards. The crowd cheers. It's a good hand.)
Luke: I mean, people do say that. It's true. The House does win a lot because it cheats. But then sometimes, I mean, the House is just so damn stupid that it can cheat and still manage to lose.
(Luke reveals his cards. The crowd groans. It's a better hand.)
Diggle: Heh. The man made a straight.
Luke: What no applause for that... for that gut-shot straight draw? I mean, and the speech? No style points for that?
(Luke is answered with stony silence from the cops.)
Luke: Okay. Whatever.
Diggle: What you have to remember is that we all end up in the same place eventually, man, and you'll see your father soon enough. What changes with time is what you get to tell him you did while you were on the earth.
Luke: Okay. So... I'm just supposed to ignore the fact that I'm still angry as hell?
Diggle: No, brother. Don't ignore it. Use it. You carry the torch for the great Fox family. You stand for justice. You're gonna need anger to win that fight.
Jacob: Yes, she's my daughter, and her name is Beth. She's not a monster. She's a victim of evil men and women who stole her childhood and manipulated her mind, of a father who... who didn't come through for her when she needed him. Beth has had the hardest life of anyone I've ever known, and yet... she has this humanity inside of her. I can't imagine ever having that strength, so if Gotham is angry at me, then so be it. I ask only this of them as a father. When you judge Alice for her crimes, remember Beth.
Safiyah: There's nothing left of Coryana. Your scorching was thorough and complete. Nine villagers perished in the blaze, so if you have managed to maintain a list after all these years, do include them in your grand total.
Alice: (defiant) You told me you had my sister. What did you expect?
Safiyah: If I'm honest, that. A tantrum Because at the end of the day, Alice, you're just a spoiled child who believes she deserves more than she's earned.
Continuity
Batwoman saves a man with a briefcase from being killed by a ninja. The attack occurs at a rooftop lot above Harper's Plaza. The ninja gets away with the man's laptop.
Batwoman has to call 911 herself since Luke isn't manning the comms. Luckily the operator is a Batwoman fangirl.
Luke says he's going to need some more time to recover from his recent trauma before he can help in the Batcave again.
Russell Tavaroff is released on bond, making him a free man until he faces trial on charges of falsifying evidence to justify shooting an unarmed man.
Jacob Kane is being hailed as a hero in the local press for speaking out against the culture of corruption in the local police. This annoys Roman Sionis, who was trying to expose Jacob as the head of a fraudulent security company.
Roman Sionis is confirmed to have been working with Safiyah.
Roman was informed about Kate Kane's flight to National City in the Season 2 premier, thanks to Safiyah.
Safiyah wants to recruit "Circe" to do a job for her, but Roman says he's trying to get his daughter back into her old life as an influencer and he's making her the face of his new make-up line: Rebirth.
Roman Sionis confirms that it has been two days since the events of 214 and Alice making a flesh mask for "Circe."
Roman had no idea Alice was Beth Kane; a fact that Safiyah informs him of, when he reveals that Alice was responsible for creating the mask that made Kate Kane into Circe Sionis.
Alice and Jacob Kane work together to kidnap "Circe."
Ryan breaks into a government safehouse, with Mary guiding her in place of Luke. She notes with disgust the safehouse has a bidet in the bathroom, yet she couldn't get hand soap built into the new community center.
The man Ryan saved earlier in the episode was a lawyer who worked with judges to place people in Witness Protection and relocate them into new lives. The laptop the ninja stole was full of top-secret information on the relocated witnesses
Sophie helped Mary with a few of the particulars, such as hacking the phone records of the lawyer to determine who he called to warn that their identity was compromised. The safehouse Ryan goes into belonged to the first man on the list.
Ryan determines the first witness on the list was blind.
Ryan finds the first witness dead, with a sword still stuck in him. She also finds the ninja, who she recognizes this time as Tatiana, who tells her to stay out of this as it isn't her fight..
Ocean delivers a bag of Kate's personal belongings to Crow's HQ, where Alice and Jacob run a DNA test confirming that she's Kate.
Alice explains that since they don't know the key phrase Enigma set up to deprogram "Circe" they will have to slowly job Kate's memory with familiar objects.
Jacob learns that Enigma transformed Kate into Alice and removed her capacity to love.
Mary and Ryan identify the blind man Tatiana killed as Ezra Castellanos - the man whose eyes were gouged out by Circe Sionis five years earlier - an incident first mentioned in 213.
The case around Ezra and Circe's incident was sealed by the courts, but Mary is able to use a tool Luke has to get around the seal. Circe was a model who claimed self-defense after being assaulted at a party. She was sent to Arkham and Ezra, fearful of retaliation from Roman Sionis, went into Witness Protection.
Ryan asks Mary about Alice asking her if someone named Circe had come after her in 215.
Luke uses a fake GCPD ID to get into a private club for police officers and security personnel
Luke confronts Tavaroff, whom he notes won the Crow's Hold 'Em tournament for two years in a row He says he just came to play some poker.
The altercation between Tavaroff and Luke is witnessed by John Diggle; ARGUS agent, former vigilante and Oliver Queen's brother in arms.. Diggle was last seen in F610.
Kate liked punk rock as a teenager.
Jacob shows "Circe" a bag which he found a joint in. He grounded her for the entire summer, but it turned out to be the best summer of her life.
Alice tells "Circe" about how Kate had a huge crush on a girl named Jenny Goldberg because she was a skateboarder.
Alice gives "Circe" a mug with "MIND READER" spelled out in rainbow letters. It was a gift from when Kate was struggling to cell her sister that she was a lesbian but Beth had already figured it out and made the mug to let Kate know she knew and was okay with it.
"Circe" says that she's having visions of being locked in a basement room that smells of formaldehyde Alice recognizes the description as August Cartwright's basement lab.
.Kate's mind emerges briefly after Alice takes her hand and says she's going to free her.
Ryan calls Luke to ask for his help, but he says he's busy with the poker tournament.
Luke says he wanted to die and that he's too depressed over the state of the world to want to live in a world where he gets shot for no reason and the gunman gets out of jail in a day and is confident the charges will be dropped.
Jacob calls Mary and tells her that Kate is alive and with him at Crow's HQ.
Jacob also tells Mary that Roman Sionis is Black Mask and that he brainwashed Kate into thinking she was his daughter, Circe.
Mary tells Jacob they think Circe is connected to Safiyah somehow, just before Tatiana and the False Face Society storm Crow's HQ.
Jacob is captured by the False Face gang.
Alice tells Kate/Circe to run. She escapes, but is captured by Tatiana.
Mary calls Ryan while she's enroute to Crow's HQ and tells her that her father matched Kate's DNA to "Circe" and that she's been hypnotized to believe she is Circe Sionis.
Mary makes reference to the skull fragment evidence Julia Pennyworth had that Kate was dead from 209.
Ryan finds Kate and brings her back to Wayne Tower.
John Diggle introduces himself with his real name and says he's from Star City, in town on a contract for ARGUS.
Luke is able to win the final game and clean out Tavaroff by pulling a straight.
Jacob is taken before Roman Sionis. He reveals that he knows he is Black Mask.
Roman Sionis, in turn, reveals that he knows Beth Kane is Alice and that he intends to reveal that to te press.
Roman also reveals that his False Face society includes several GCPD officers, including the two in the room, who arrest Jacob with aiding and abetting Alice's escape from the police
Roman threatens to kill what family Jacob has left after making them suffer greatly if he tries to reveal anything about the Sionis family to the press.
Tavaroff attacks Luke in an alley after the poker game, but is stopped by John Diggle.
Kate/Circe told Ryan about how Jacob and Alice were trying to jog her memory at Crow's HQ before the False Face goons and Tatiana attacked.
Mary greets Kate/Circe in Kate's office, but isn't recognized.
Kate/Circe does recognize Sophie Moore, who arrives shortly after that.
In Kate's mind, Circe Sionis begins to threaten the teenage Kate.
Mary injects Kate with a syringe full of benzos - something she's taken to carrying on her as it's a handy weapon in Gotham City.
Ryan, Mary and Sophie guess that Tatiana probably captured Alice to take her to Safiyah, so she could get revenge for the destruction of the Desert Rose fields.
Ryan says she will give up the last Desert Rose in the Batcave to save Alice's life, if Alice really is the key to restoring Kate's memories. This still leaves them with the problem of finding Safiyah.
Diggle heard of Lucius Fox's case and put together some hints as to who Luke was during the poker game.
Diggle tells Luke about how his father was a marine who died while deployed overseas when he was a boy.
Diggle tells Luke he understand what it's like to lose a father and be angry about injustice, but you have to do something to make Earth a better place before you can go be with your dad. He advises him to take his anger and use it to help others.
Luke notices that Diggle seems pained. Diggle confirms that he's had some fogginess and dizziness lately. When Luke offers to call in a contact at Gotham General's world-renowned neurology lab, Diggle says he's already got an appointment with them the next morning.
Diggle notices that the Bat Signal is blinking in Morse code. He and Diggle both recognize the message - NEED FOX HELP.
A news report reveals that Jacob Kane was arrested and word has been leaked that Beth Kane is Alice.
Jacob tells the reporter Dana DeWitt that Alice is his daughter and that she's the victim of evil me who manipulated her and that nobody can judge her.
Luke is informed that Kate is still alive.
Luke is able to track down where Safiyah is in Gotham.
Ryan goes to Safiyah as Batwoman and offers her Desert Rose plant for Alice's life. Safiyah agrees to the trade.
Ryan tells Safiya about how the plant is the last connection she has to her adoptive mother. When Safiyah asks why she would trade it for Alice, Ryan says that revenge is short-lived and she owes Kate Kane a debt for the symbol she created and the chance it gave her at a better life.
Safiya has never met Kate Kane before.
As Ryan and Alice leave, Alice gloats that she's gotten away with everything. Safiyah merely says again that Alice believes she deserves more than she earned. It is then that Alice notices Tatiana is not there.
Sophie stays with Kate, as Circe takes over her body again. However, Circe is beginning to realize she's not in her own body
Alice ditches Ryan to go find Ocean.
Alice finds Tatiana and kills her, before finding Ocean's body.
Mary talks to Jacob on the phone. He tells her the judge granted his petition to be transferred to a prison in Metropolis and to change the venue of his trial to Metropolis as well.
Jacob tells Mary not to bother trying to help him win his case as Roman Sionis has the deck stacked too heavily against him. He also tells her to work with Alice so they can maybe get Kate and Beth back.
"Circe" escapes and returns to Roman Sionis, demanding to know why she has Kate Kane's memories, DNA, finger prints and how she knew where she hid the booze in her office.
Safiyah appears and threatens to tell "Circe" the truth, if Roman doesn't.
The Bottom Line
An amazing episode, despite being packed full of exposition and a need to reveal various secrets to various characters and catch them all up on what we, as the audience know. Still, there are a lot of great character moments, some effective horror imagery and, for extra added pleasure, a John Diggle cameo kicking off a new Arrowverse storyline.
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