Batwoman Recap With Spoilers: Duela Dent Attacks Gotham in "Grinning Ear to Ear"

Batwoman's freshman season is trucking along, and this week's episode just might be the strongest [...]

By Jenna Anderson

Batwoman's freshman season is trucking along, and this week's episode just might be the strongest one yet. Fresh off of Kate Kane/Batwoman (Ruby Rose) and Sophie Moore (Meagan Tandy) sharing a kiss on a rooftop, their partnership as crime-fighters and potential lovers evolved into some interesting directions. At the same time, Batwoman introduced a new take on a fan-favorite Gotham villain, with a sort of feminist twist that's perfect for the show. Here's what you need to know about this week's episode, "Grinning Ear to Ear". Obviously, spoilers below! Only look if you want to know!

***

In 2011, a young woman named Duela frantically puts makeup on her face, but sees a grotesque reflection in the mirror. She breaks the mirror and uses it to scar the sides of her face into a smile.

In the present day, both Kate and Sophie are independently grilled by Luke and Mary about the kiss on the rooftop. By text, Batwoman invites Sophie to meet at Sophie's apartment. Later, Batwoman meets Sophie on her balcony, and tells her that they should walk away from a relationship before either of them get hurt. Sophie understands, but goes to kiss Batwoman anyway -- just as she hears someone enter her apartment. Sophie goes to investigate and finds her mother, who is making a surprise visit.

A social media influencer named Kimberly gets attacked while at a photoshoot, leaving her with scars on her face. The next day, Kate and Luke investigate the attacker, who is dubbed the "Slashionista". Kate goes to visit Mary about the attacks, and Mary argues that she's no longer famous enough to be a target. Mary points Kate to Dr. Ethan Campbell, a plastic surgeon who worked on Kimberly. Mary volunteers to help Kate investigate, but she turns it down.

Sophie's mother confronts her about separating from Tyler, and asks how she's going to work after being suspended. She also tells Sophie she doesn't agree with Batwoman's values -- or particularly, that she's gay. Sophie later tells Batwoman about this, and Batwoman tells her about the lead on Campbell. Sophie visits Campbell, and they both determine that the woman in question might be inflicting her same scars onto other women. Campbell reveals that he worked on a woman with those scars eight years ago -- Duela Dent, the niece of Harvey Dent.

Batwoman visits Duela's room to find potential clues, and Luke enables a camera on her Batsuit to take pictures of potential evidence. Batwoman goes downstairs to find Duela's mom tied up with scars, whose throat Duela promptly slashes before escaping.

Batwoman brings a page from Duela's yearbook to Mary, who helps her identify her next victim, Veronica May. She tracks it to a makeup truck in the city, which Duela has already hit. Sophie follows Batwoman to the truck, warning her that the Crows are fast-approaching, and they escape via motorcycle. Duela kidnaps Veronica and tortures her over a vat of chemicals. Sophie confronts Duela and fights her off, while Batwoman rescues Veronica.

After the fight, Batwoman asks Sophie if she can really see the two of them in a relationship, or if they would just be a secret. Sophie agrees, and decides she needs to figure out some things with regards to her bisexuality. The next day, Sophie meets with her mom, and officially tells her that she likes women. Her mom tells her she's disappointed in her, and leaves.

Meanwhile, Mary meets with Kate, who appears to be in a bad mood. Mary thanks Kate for trusting her enough to keep her "double life" a secret, and hopes she'll one day feel the same way about her.

Other tidbits from the episode include:

  • Alice reads the obituary about Beth's death, and finds it unremarkable. She tries to figure out how to enact revenge on August, and starts to dig into his practice as Campbell in the process. Alice and her gang go to Mary's clinic to loot for supplies, during which Mary asks if Alice knows Batwoman's secret identity. She confirms as much, which makes Mary sad.
  • Alice visits Duela while she's tied up, and offers to help them both get revenge on August/Campbell. Alice steals Duela's face - which Duela thinks finally makes her "perfect" - and uses it to visit Campbell and attack him. She takes him captive and rips off his face, confirming that it's August. Alice asks about Mouse's location, but August begins to laugh -- because he's dousing Mouse with Scarecrow's fear toxin.
  • Jacob is confronted by the lawyer of the man who helped him in prison, arguing that his client is still innocent. He confronts one of the Crows about it, who reminds him that the man allegedly gunned down and killed Lucius Fox in a convenience store, despite all of the evidence suggesting as much being destroyed. Jacob calls Sophie, suspecting that the Crows are destroying evidence and betraying him.

***

Batwoman airs Sundays at 8/7c on The CW.

Trending Now: