On this week’s episode of Batwoman, Sophie races against the clock to find a nemesis from her past, with the help of Ryan and Mary. Meanwhile, Alice is still being held captive by Black Mask and Circe. Read on to find out what happened in “I’ll Give You a Clue.”
The episode starts five years earlier, and Sophie (who’s working her first day with the Crows) talks with an inmate, Arthur Brown (aka Cluemaster). He wants to know how she figured out his puzzle when no one else could, but she doesn’t tell him. The scene flashes to the present day, where a guard goes to Arthur’s cell to wake him up, but he’s unresponsive. The guard goes in and realizes it’s only pillows under the blankets, and Arthur comes up behind him and stabs the guard.
Batwoman fights with several members of False Face, seeking out one she managed to place a tracker on. She reaches him and asks about Black Mask but is interrupted by Agent Tavaroff and a few other Crows. Agent Tavaroff tries to get Batwoman to stand down, but instead she tells them why they’re bad at their jobs and brings up the tracker that could’ve led her to Black Mask. Despite warnings, she manages to get away before the Crows actually attempt to do anything.
Alice is strapped to a chair where Black Mask and Circe watch her. Black Mask brings up Batwoman, which prompts Alice to begin ranting about Batwoman, much to Black Mask’s annoyance. He wants to know Batwoman’s name, but Alice won’t tell him. In response, he sets up a device that digs into Alice’s finger, just under her nail.
Ryan comes home and finds Mary and Sophie drinking and talking, celebrating Sophie’s fifth year with the Crows. Though reluctant, Ryan eventually joins. The three play Never Have I Ever, revealing that Ryan and Imani (from episode 10) have sparked a relationship. They also bring up being saved by Batwoman, which leads Sophie to question when Ryan was, suggesting it couldn’t have been the new Batwoman but not revealing why. As they pour out more shots, a venomous caterpillar drops into one of the glasses, but just one isn’t lethal. Ryan thinks the bottle didn’t come from the Crows like Sophie originally thought. Ryan hands Sophie the card that came with it and finds out it’s from Cluemaster, who’s poisoned someone else.
Sophie tells Ryan and Mary about Cluemaster, who used to be the host for a TV game show called Quiz Bowl. She explains that he wants revenge for her figuring out his puzzle. Mary doesn’t think the card is much of a clue, but Ryan asks if Cluemaster has ever called Sophie “hot shot” before. She heats up the bottle of vodka, making a literal hot shot, and reveals a logo that Sophie recognizes.
Alice works her way out of the chair. She grabs and breaks a bottle of wine, which causes Circe to head to the cellar where Alice knocks her out. Alice uses Circe’s phone to call Jacob, who’s at the park and taken more Snake Bite, watching a young Beth and Kate swing. Alice tells him to trace the call, begging for help, but Jacob tells her she has the wrong number and hangs up.
Sophie, Ryan, and Mary arrive at the shooting range. Once they’re in, Sophie continues explaining how Cluemaster was planning to bomb a party. The only reason she knew was because she was working the tip line and an anonymous source called and told her. Sophie was promoted the next day, much to Ryan’s chagrin, but Sophie explains how guilty she felt. Mary finds a bottle of the poison antidote. She picks it up which triggers the floodlights to come on. Once they do, the three spot a woman trapped in a box, and Sophie IDs her as Stephanie Brown, Cluemaster’s daughter.
Sophie and Ryan go to examine the box. Just as they’re realizing they can’t just open it, Stephanie realizes Cluemaster poisoned her. Ryan and Mary go back to where Mary is, who’s found four boxes with animals on them, four bullets, and a gun. Sophie says that the boxes need to be in a specific order that coordinates with targets near Stephanie’s box. If they shoot the targets in the right order, they free Stephanie. Ryan eventually figures out the order, and Sophie effortlessly hits every target, freeing Stephanie. The game doesn’t end there, though, as they notice letters and numbers written all over Stephanie.
Circe has restrained Alice to the chair again, taunting her. She tells Alice to give up Batwoman’s name, but again, Alice deflects. Circe brings up a man whose eyes she gouged out, prompting Alice to say that she’s reminded of Circe Sionis, but she was trampled in a prison riot, so it can’t be her. Circe says that the man deserved it, and Alice realizes she’s talking to Circe. Alice tells her to get Black Mask; she’ll give up Batwoman.
Sophie, Ryan, and Mary bring Stephanie back to Ryan and Mary’s place. Stephanie tells them about how Cluemaster used her to gauge the quality of his puzzles, adding that his “masterpiece” he’s working on would take five years, hence his reemergence. Soon, Luke arrives and tells them the writing on Stephanie is a cryptogram, cueing some very nerdy flirting. As Luke continues to examine her, he notices the phrase “you’re stumped” on her back, sharing that the cryptogram is a substitution cipher. Mary asks where Cluemaster could be, and Sophie thinks he could be at Quiz Bowl. Sophie, Ryan, and Mary head there, while Luke and Stephanie stay behind to work out the cipher.
Sophie, Ryan, and Mary arrive at the Quiz Bowl studio. Mary steps on a small platform that triggers the lights. A pre-recorded video also starts playing, in which Cluemaster reveals that the plate Mary, and later Ryan, stepped on is an explosive pressure plate. The video shuts off. They only have five minutes until the plate explodes, and the video returns. Cluemaster says that they need to play a game of trivia to win more time. Meanwhile, Luke and Stephanie try to work out the cipher, and after a few more minutes, Stephanie realizes Quiz Bowl was a decoy. When Luke asks where her father is, she knocks him out.
Ryan, Mary, and Sophie are breezing through the game, with the last question about Batwoman prompting Sophie to ask how Ryan answered so quickly. They end with a total of 45 minutes. Sophie wants to call Batwoman, and Ryan tries to change the subject. She says they need to replace her and Mary’s weight with an exact counter and should call Luke, who doesn’t answer. (I mean… obviously.)
Black Mask is again demanding Alice give up Batwoman. Instead of answering, she reveals that she figured out Black Mask is Roman. She offers her help in another way, saying she can create a face for Circe to replace the mask.
While Sophie tries multiple times to call Luke, Mary thinks Ryan should come clean about being Batwoman. As tension continues to build, Sophie finally admits she knows that Ryan is Batwoman, but Ryan tries to avoid confirming this. She can’t trust Sophie, but Sophie just wants to save Ryan and Mary and needs to know how. Eventually Ryan gives in, telling Sophie how to get into the bat cave to retrieve an item that will help. After Sophie leaves, Ryan is worked up about Sophie’s motives with the drinking earlier, thinking she was trying to make Mary talk. Mary points out that Ryan’s distrust is the issue, as she’s more willing to protect her identity despite being on, ya know, an explosive pressure plate. Mary insists Sophie truly is a good person, and she’s the reason they’ll live.
Stephanie finds Arthur at her childhood home. He explains that he wants to weed out ignorance and stupidity with Stephanie’s help. Stephanie tries to tell him that it wasn’t Sophie who figured out his puzzle, but he doesn’t believe her. She then confesses to being the one who solved the puzzle and called the tip line. Feeling betrayed, Arthur sets off some sort of gas. Soon, he locks them in his car, intending to kill them with the gas. Luke, who figured out the cipher, arrives just in time and frees Stephanie from the car.
Still waiting for Sophie, Ryan apologizes to Mary, saying that Mary could’ve talked to her instead of Sophie. Mary shares that Sophie thinks Jacob is on Snake Bite. She says that Sophie showed her the syringe and that Jacob has been acting strange. They check the clock and only have seconds left. Sophie returns, tossing the item to Ryan, who uses it to rappel her and Mary to safety after Sophie has cleared the area.
Back with Luke and Stephanie, EMTs have arrived and are taking Arthur to the hospital. Stephanie and Luke watch, and Luke tells her she’s nothing like her father, but she disagrees. Luke reminds her that she saved his life (despite decking him with a bottle); she knew Arthur was dangerous and protected Luke from him. Luke says she’ll find her people, and before she heads out, she kisses him.
Mary is at the clinic tending to some minor wounds. She’s on the phone, leaving a message for Jacob. Moments later, a couple of doctors rush in a patient who was found in the park – Jacob, who overdosed on Snake Bite. Mary panics and rushes to help him as he begins coding.
Ryan and Sophie talk at The Hold Up. Ryan asks how Sophie knew she was Batwoman, and Sophie explains. Sophie apologizes, and Ryan reminds her that doesn’t mean she’s trustworthy. Sophie continues to explain how she deleted Ryan’s case file so that Batwoman couldn’t be traced to her. She wants to earn Ryan’s trust and hopes this is a start.
Alice finishes up Circe’s new face. Roman is getting impatient and annoyed, so Alice sends him to find concealer for the finishing touches. Alice still isn’t convinced that Circe is Circe, because she was one of the inmates who trampled Circe. But Circe insists she’s who she claims. Alice tells her the mask won’t be perfect – this Circe has different eyes. As Alice places the new face on Circe, she looks into her eyes and has a startling revelation. She’s looking at Kate Kane.
Batwoman airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on The CW, available the next day on The CW app and cwtv.com. Find our previous recaps and the rest of our coverage here.
