Speaking of, Ryan is absolutely killing with the media and getting ready for her next interview when Marquis comes over with an Avengers-style disguise. A hat. He just put a hat on. Sophie comes over in a panic because she can’t find Jordan, and we get the moment from the promo where Sophie introduces herself to Marquis as Ryan’s… “very good friend” according to Ry Ry. But while that might not be what we wanted to hear, Ryan informs PR Charlie that her girl comes first and goes off to look for Jordan.
In the Batcave, Luke’s still trying to talk to his dad via the suit, but it’s still not working. Batwoman radios in asking for help to find Jordan. Luke pings her phone, which is still on the floor of the event space. Meanwhile, Marquis comes over to Ryan with a tip on Jordan’s location.
Sophie and Ryan break down the door to the room Jordan’s supposedly being held in, and they’re met with a very literally frozen Jordan. Whatever was happening to that person from the opening, is happening to Sophie’s sister, and Soph is a WRECK. She immediately goes into “I got this” mode, but Ryan gets her to slow down before doing anything rash. She promises Soph that they’ll figure it out together. TOGETHER. Ahem.
They managed to get Jordan to the clinic where Mary is running tests and researching how they can save the younger Moore. Sophie breaks my entire heart when she pleads with Mary to tell her how to help her sister. And like a light when you’re surrounded by darkness, Alice cuts through the tension to ask if she should get a hairdryer to thaw out Jordan. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of characters being utterly confused by Alice’s presence in any given situation.
In this case though, Alice proves her usefulness by unveiling the people who did this to Jordan as the BeeGees.You know, the Black Glove Society? Obviously. The BGS found out Jordan was going to use her speech to expose them, so they decided to use Jordan and her friends as test subjects. Sophie wonders why Jordan wouldn’t tell her what she was working on, and Alice astutely replies that Jordan knew Soph would try to stop her. Sophie decides to take Alice to Jordan’s apartment to look for clues.
Back at the event, Ryan watches the coroner take out a dead body in pieces, right there in the open. Luke’s still on comms and mentions how convenient it is that Marquis was the one who got the tip on Jordan’s location. Ryan says as much to her brother, who actually came over to apologize for Jada’s behavior.
At that moment, Charlie comes over to inform Ryan of the news she missed while her phone was on silent. Girl, you live in GOTHAM, at least put that shit on vibrate!! Turns out, the Wayne stock is plummeting because Vesper reported its acting CEO has been diverting company money into her own accounts. Ooooo Jada girl, you play dirty!
Ryan’s investigating the hotel room, and Luke tells her that Jada actually didn’t make this one up; the money that’s being diverted is actually funding Batman/woman. The two realize the BGS was using heat lamps to thaw the bodies, and they follow a heat signature to another room where they find what’s left of another of Jordan’s friends.
At Jordan’s apartment, Sophie warns Alice not to make any comments because she lived in a sewer (LOL). This is not the point at all, but Jordan has an enviable collection of books, whew! As Alice searches for anything pointing to the BGS, she hallucinates the guard again and asks how his neck is, like some kind of Meagan Tandy. Alice is on the absolute edge, and the guard tells her, “Maybe if you knew what was real about yourself, Beth, the rest of the world would fall back into place.” I don’t usually include long direct quotes like this, but this one hit particularly hard.
For as long as she can remember, Alice has been playing pretend. It’s how she coped with her abduction and every other trauma after that. She’s built up so many personalities and walls to protect herself, that now, when she’s finally in a place where she can start to trust, she has no idea which part of her is Beth. And it doesn’t help that when she does lower those walls, someone is always waiting to remind her why the walls were up in the first place. Let Alice heal, is what I’m saying.
Alice finds the BGS files in the vent, and “Jeturian office!” is highlighted, which is fine. The same hat guy from earlier shows up with some cronies and Alice asks if they’re make-believe before handing the files over. They fight, and Sophie no joke flies into the room, takes down several bad guys, before the main guy knocks her out.
Meanwhile, Mary’s trying to re-freeze Jordan (while wearing the cutest hat!) and Luke calls seemingly just to lash out at her for not finding a solution yet. I see what you think you’re doing here, Luke, but I’m here to tell you that what Mary did is very much not the same.
Mary mentions her night in the park AGAIN, which reminds her of plants, which reminds her how plants survive the winter, which means they need to thaw Jordan from the inside out. Obviously.
Back at Jordan’s apartment, Sophie and Alice come to tied to chairs with a path of gasoline-soaked books leading right to them. Sophie starts to blame Alice for the situation, and Alice actually opens up to Soph about her delusions getting worse. The fire ignites, but before it can reach them, RYAN SAVES THEM. And y’all, the way Ryan and Sophie look at each other?!?!?! They’re really going to slow-burn this, and I don’t think I care. I am HERE for the angst.
We’re back at the clinic, and Jordan is completely thawed, but can’t respond to her sister’s love and relief until her body resets. Ryan pulls Soph aside to apologize for not catching the people who did this to her sister, and vows to go after them.
Sophie tells Mary that Alice’s psychosis is getting worse and Mary thinks the Arkham meds are contributing. So Alice suggests her good friends Ry Ry and Renee-nay (I cannot) authorize a work release to keep Alice out of Arkham for the time being. And guess who gets to keep an eye on her? SOPHIE MOORE, Y’ALL!! I cannot wait for the shenanigans that ensue with these two living together.
At Wayne Enterprises, Ryan struts in to find Luke and Charlie waiting with the news that while they know Ryan had no knowledge of the missing money, the stock price is still plummeting. They managed to get Argus to agree to a cover story (I see you, Diggle!), but the board still wants Ryan to resign.
Neither Ryan nor Luke can afford to lose the company. Not for monetary reasons, but because of what it means to them. Ryan refuses to let Jada take her calling, so Luke asks her if she’s going to stay and fight despite the odds. And before Ryan answers, it’s clear what she’s going to say. Because of anyone, Luke should know that Ryan isn’t the one to run from a fight. He was one of the people who doubted Ryan the second the put the cowl on and yet, here she stands.
Down in the Batcave, Luke reactivates the failsafe which brings his dad’s voice back as the AI. He asks the one question he needs his father’s answer to: is he ready to wear the suit? His father tells him that he’s not.
At The Hold Up, Ryan’s having a drink with Marquis (ummm, what happened to happy hour with Mary?) and she asks her brother if he still thinks the two of them can take down Jada. Because she refuses to let her have Wayne. I’m not entirely sure that I trust Marquis, but after seeing what his mother does next…
Jada is the mysterious client, that the hat guy was working for. He was able to get the device to freeze and unfreeze organic matter, but won’t answer any questions about his methods. And the first person Jada plans to use this on?? Marquis!!
Next week, the Wildmoore slow burn continues with Ryan bringing Sophie to dinner at Jada’s! Ryan in a jumpsuit! Sophie in a dress!! I’mma pass away, y’all.
