Meanwhile, Alice tries to make small talk with Ryan about her “mommy.” She asks why Ryan keeps pretending not to care about what Jada’s like because she’s sure as a kid, Tiny Ryan probably wondered every day. Ryan tells Alice that Jada is absolutely incredible, but she doesn’t want or need her in her life.

The trail ends at a sewer grate and Ryan makes Alice go first because she still doesn’t trust that her motives are anything but selfish. And here’s part of why Rachel Skarsten is so damn good. She turns on an emotional dime and reminds Ryan that she WAS that little girl and she won’t give up on Tiny Rapinoe the way everyone gave up on her. Hard outer shell with a gooey center is my absolute favorite character trope, and Rachel and these writers are so good at reminding viewers just how complex Alice is. It’s not all quips and facial expressions over here.

“Being a little girl who needed saving is my whole entire thing.”

The duo discovers a bunch of meat hanging in the sewer and realize someone else is hunting Croc 2.0: his father.

I am VERY gay, but I’m also not blind and Luke Fox can GET IT. Mary understandably short-circuits upon seeing Luke’s abs and attempts to take his vitals. Luke’s heart rate starts to skyrocket the closer Mary gets to him and honestly, relatable. Despite mounting evidence to the contrary, Luke insists the problem is with the suit and he’ll just override the failsafe.

I can’t believe this screenshot made it in.

Back in the sewers, Croc 2.0’s father explains that his son, Steven, cut himself on what turned out to be OG Croc’s tooth and that led to an infection that caused good ole Stevie to croc-out. Father Croc tried to chain up his son, but much like Troy and Gabriella, Steven broke free. Ryan tries to convince Father Croc that they just want to help, but he doesn’t believe them, and uses one of those electricity pole things (I’m sure it has a wonderful name, don’t @ me) to electrocute Batwoman.

Meanwhile, Sophie’s monitoring her girl and sees a power spike in the suit. She’s so worried about Ryan, y’all!!

Croc 2.0 shows up and drags his father away. White people family dynamics are wild. Anyway, Alice grabs the device and short-circuits her ankle monitor before skipping away.

Ryan informs the rest of the Bat team that Alice escaped, and asks Batwing to help track her down while Batwoman goes after Croc.

As Alice starts to leave the sewers, she hears the little girl crying out for help so she doubles back. Once she realizes Tiny Rapinoe is just going to slow her down, she decides to teach her the lesson she wishes she knew. That the only person she can count on is herself and no one else is going to save her. She insists Tiny Rapinoe will thank her for this advice before leaving her alone.

“Look! Look with your special eyes!”

And look, in some ways Alice is right. The only thing we can control in this world is ourselves, our actions, and how we react to situations we’re in. But does that mean we ignore everyone else in the process? I had a conversation with a friend recently about how we’ve swung so far to the side of “self-care above all!” and “I’m just going to do me!” that we’ve inadvertently swung back around to the brand of selfishness that harms other people. Alice has been let down so many times by people who were supposed to care for her, so I get why she’s reluctant to trust anyone. But let’s break that cycle, girl. The line is very thin, but you can save yourself without isolating everyone else.

Meanwhile, as Ryan searches for Steven, she expresses how lucky he is to have a parent who cares so deeply about him. But she’s too late; Father Croc is already dead.

I’m not sure who’s running things at City Hall, but can we get Montoya some better lighting in her office?! Another detective comes in and tells Renee that they lost Alice’s tracker signal.

“Would you believe this office is a step up from what I’m used to?”

Alice almost manages to escape (still skipping, by the way), but she’s stopped by Batwing. The two engage in some beautiful fight choreography before Batwing injects Alice with nano bites that will track her every move. GOT ‘EM!

The moment you realize you got got.

Back in the sewers, Tiny Rapinoe is still trying to drag herself out (bless her heart) when Croc finds her and Batwoman finds them both. Ryan shoots a batarang net at Croc 2.0, pins him to the wall, and carries Tiny Pinoe to safety.

At the scene, Montoya congratulates Batwoman on finding Croc 2.0 and is about to go in on her for losing Alice, but Ryan points out that Alice is waiting in the car. Waiting to be taken back to Arkham and can we PLEASE stop locking Alice up?? Has it occurred to any of you that the more you jerk her around and use her, the more trauma she experiences?? Not to be all Mad Hatter about it, but #FreeAlice.

If you thought Supergirl was the only show with a Feelings Balcony, you would be INCORRECT because it’s time for another scene I had no idea how I would recap. Sophie apologizes to Ryan for telling her about Jada. Ryan doesn’t blame Sophie at all; she’s so hurt that the woman who gave birth to her spent millions of dollars to hide Ryan’s existence. Sophie gently reminds Ryan that, before she judges Jada too harshly, they have no idea what Jada’s options were at the time. Ryan maintains that she doesn’t want to know, but Sophie says that she’s very familiar with laying bricks in a wall built to protect herself. It’s okay to peek out from behind the wall and be vulnerable. And if Jada doesn’t want anything to do with Ryan? Well, that’s Jada’s loss.

“I’m hooked on all these feelings.”

Check.

Meanwhile, Luke tries to talk to his dad via the suit, but it doesn’t work. They deduce it’s because they removed the failsafe. Mary figured out that the pain the suit was detecting was psychological, not physical. Luke’s body may have healed from his gunshot wound, but that doesn’t mean his whole self is healed.

At City Hall, Montoya is evaluating what they believe to be Poison Ivy’s vine. She decides to test it with some water and her theory is correct; it’s not the real thing. How does she know? SHE’S SEEN IT UP CLOSE! How close, Montoya? HOW CLOSE WERE YOU? Ahem.

And then… BLACK WOMEN!!! Jada’s in her office staring into the middle distance like Rachel on Orphan Black when Ryan gives her a taste of her own medicine and barges in to see her (looking FOINE, I might add). Ryan honored Jada’s request to stay out of her business, but this meeting is personal. She tells Jada that she’s her daughter and not for nothing, Jada looks genuinely shocked by this. Is she playing Ryan? Is she just surprised that Ryan actually knows?!

Mate.

Next week we meet Ryan’s brother and the business outfits continue!

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