Batwoman Recap: Everything You Missed in Season 2 Premiere

After being away from our television screens for the better part of a year, Batwoman is finally back. The hit The CW series made its return on Sunday night, officially ushering in a new era for Gotham’s crimson caped crusader. Following the exit of series star Ruby Rose after Season 1, the series will be pivoting away from telling the stories of Kate Kane, and instead following a new character named Ryan Wilder (Javicia Leslie). This week’s season premiere, “What Happened to Kate Kane?”, brings Ryan’s origin story to life, while also continuing a lot of the plotlines that the series set up in the tail-end of Season 1.

If you need to catch up on the most essential details and storylines from Batwoman‘s Season 2 premiere, we’re here to help. Here are the biggest reveals and Easter eggs from “What Happened to Kate Kane?” Obviously, spoilers for the Season 2 premiere of Batwoman, “What Happened to Kate Kane?”, below! Only look if you want to know!

Who Is Ryan Wilder?

The episode opens with Ryan Wilder sleeping in her van, which is parked on the outskirts of Gotham harbor. Suddenly, a plane crashes in front of her — the plane that we eventually learn Kate Kane was on, traveling back from National City after meeting up with Kara Danvers about the shard of Kryptonite. Ryan spots the Batwoman suit in the rubble, and takes it.

As the episode goes along, we get flashbacks and details to Ryan’s pre-Batwoman life — her mother died in childbirth and she spent much of her life in foster care, but she was inspired to turn her life around thanks to her adopted mother. The two of them moved into an apartment to start their “new life”, but were immediately ambushed by a group of squatters in the apartment, who ended up being members of Alice’s Wonderland Gang. The gang members murdered Ryan’s adopted mother and beat up Ryan, before Alice showed up and instructed them to disperse — a moment that Ryan will never forget. In addition, we learn that Ryan previously went to prison for drug possession, something that seemingly was a result of the corrupt members of The Crows.

In a dramatic scene, Ryan dons the Batsuit and uses it in a fight against the False Face Society, but isn’t immediately used to all of the suit’s features and gadgets. Luke and Mary are able to track the suit down to Ryan’s location, and they ask her to return it, but she refuses to, arguing that she needs it to help properly take on Alice. Luke and Mary are both hesitant to trust Ryan, but Mary develops a bit of a kinship to her, especially after researching her past. Meanwhile, Ryan does similar research into Kate’s history, and realizes that she was able to be a hero both inside of and outside of the suit.

What Happened to Kate Kane?

As soon as word of Kate’s plane crash goes public, everyone in her orbit begins to speculate wildly different theories about exactly what happened. Luke believes that Kate died and blames himself for it, because he was part of the reason why she went to National City to research the Kryptonite. Mary holds a slightly more hopeful outlook, reassuring that Kate could still be alive, but she also privately cries while holding the Batsuit.

Alice is distraught about Kate’s potential death from a completely different angle — because she’s upset that she didn’t get to be the one to kill her. Jacob resigns himself to believing Kate is dead, especially after the trauma he went through after already “losing” Beth.

This culminates in a scene between Alice and Jacob, in which Alice blurts out that Kate was Batwoman. Jacob initially refuses to believe it – joking that if Kate was Batwoman, then he’s “the Joker” – but Alice helps him connect the dots, and points out that Kate could have very well died believing that Jacob hated her for being Batwoman. This profoundly impacts Jacob, ending in a scene where he cries while turning on the Bat-signal.

Reports indicate that the plane’s explosion was due to a recalled part, but Sophie suspects that Safiyah targeted the plane. The episode’s final scene seems to imply as much, as Alice receives another ominous message from Safiyah saying “consider us even”.

Sophie also gets a message as well — from Kate’s safe, which Julia was tasked with unlocking after the disappearance first became public. In a letter, Kate reveals to Sophie that she’s Batwoman, and that she remained in love with her long after they had broken up.

“Bruce Wayne” Returns

In and amidst Kate’s disappearance and Ryan taking the Batsuit, Luke and. Mary have to deal with another bombshell — the apparent return of Bruce Wayne, who is really Tommy Elliot in a face-changing disguise. Luke quickly gets suspicious of Bruce and his unexplained absence, but “Bruce” argues that “for every Alice Kate had, [he] had twenty”, and he needed to shut Luke out in order to throw off the scent of his various villains. Luke shows “Bruce” the Kryptonite, and he takes it for himself, and also argues that he’s going to get the Batsuit back from whoever is holding it.

Tommy takes full advantage of Bruce’s life – particularly, as a womanizer – which Alice sees as just a distraction. Later on, “Bruce” goes to the Crows office and crosses paths with Jacob and Julia, the latter of whom drops Alfred’s codename and provides fake intel regarding Alfred’s whereabouts, something that “Bruce” doesn’t blink an eye at. Julia manages to get a fingerprint sample and confirms to Luke and Mary that it is really Tommy Elliot — just as Tommy walks into the Batcave and blows up one of its walls to access the Batmobile, which was discreetly hidden inside, and uses it to track down the Batsuit.

A New Batwoman

Luke and Mary alert Ryan to Tommy’s plan, and Ryan uses her van to try to outrun Tommy and the Batmobile. After a lengthy car chase (during which Tommy sings the “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells” song), Ryan changed into the Batsuit and engages in a hand-to-hand fight with him. Tommy shoots Ryan with a Kryptonite bullet, but she manages to survive and punches him in the face until his Bruce Wayne face peels off. Tommy gets taken back to Arkham, and Ryan seemingly makes it from the fight okay, albeit with a huge (and inexplicably non-fatal) injury from the Kryptonite in her shoulder.