‘Batwoman’ Recap: Season 3, Episode 2 “Loose Tooth”
This week on Batwoman, Killer Croc wreaks havoc on Gotham. Meanwhile, Jada Jet and Ryan finally meet, and Luke is keeping a secret of his own. Read on to find out what happens in “Loose Tooth.”
See You Later, Crocodile
Killer Croc strikes first at a pool, sparking the investigation. As the Bat Team looks into him, they uncover a few key pieces of information. First, this isn’t the Killer Croc of yore. That Croc is no more – except for a single tooth. And thanks to the infection, the tooth was just enough to create Killer Croc 2.0. Next, Croc’s saliva functions like a paralytic agent; that’s how he manages to take his victims. His sights are set on a new target: a young girl named Whitney.
Alice shares some ideas on how to track Killer Croc. So, she and Batwoman track him down to find Whitney. While they’re in the tunnels, they encounter a man who turns out to be Killer Croc’s father, and Killer Croc’s name is Steven. He shares that they found the tooth while fishing. Steven got a cut that eventually became infected. Thus, Croc 2.0 was born. Batwoman tries to tell the dad she just wants to help Steven, but he won’t hear it. Unfortunately for him, Steven’s Croc instincts are out in full force. Eventually, he takes and kills the dad.
Later, Whitney wanders the tunnels but can hardly walk. Just as Croc finds her, Batwoman saves the day. She traps Croc. Whitney reunites with her mother, and Croc is apprehended. Another villain trophy checked off the list.
Oh, and speaking of villain trophies, Renee gets hold of Poison Ivy’s vine. Only… it’s definitely not Poison Ivy’s vine. The real thing is still out there.
Always in Sight, Always in Mind
Picking up from last week’s episode, Alice is indeed released from Arkham. But her release is conditional, of course. She must wear an ankle bracelet and always be under supervision. And who better to supervise Alice than Ryan. Renee makes it clear that should Alice pull any funny business, she and Ryan will receive the consequences.
After the incident with Killer Croc’s dad, Alice uses the cattle prod he had to deactivate her ankle bracelet. She leaves Batwoman and is ready to experience real freedom. When she hears a young girl crying for help, though, she stops. Alice finds Whitney, who has a broken leg. Rather than bring Whitney to safety, Alice imparts some very bad advice and goes on her way. She doesn’t get far. Batwing finds her. After they fight, he injects her with nanobites that track her whereabouts. Finally, she’s returned to Renee’s custody and sent back to Arkham.
“It’s Batwing.”
Luke officially picks Batwing as his superhero name! The only obstacle now is fixing the glitchy suit. With Mary’s help, they realize the suit’s failsafe keeps activating because it thinks Luke is hurt. Luke insists he’s fine. Mary insists she examine him, just to be safe. She does but finds nothing physically wrong. (Hamilfox shippers, how we feeling about that scene?) It’s clear that Luke isn’t telling her the entire truth. By the episode’s end, Mary figures the suit was reacting to where Luke got shot. But it wasn’t reacting to any physical pain; it’s reacting to psychological pain. While Luke hesitates to believe her, there’s no doubt he’s still deeply affected.
Jada Jet, Jeturian Industries
This episode also sees Ryan come face to face with her birth mother, Jada Jet, the CEO of Jeturian Industries. After the security breach, Jada decides to pay a visit to Wayne Enterprises and speak to the (acting) CEO – which is Ryan. She, Mary, and Luke question what Jada wants. Sophie, however, quietly panics. She’s the only one who knows the truth. Before Ryan gets ready to meet Jada, Sophie tells her.
As Ryan preps for the meeting, Sophie gives her the SparkNotes version of Jada’s career and the growth of Jeturian Industries. Soon, Ryan and Jada meet. Jada brings up the security breach but doesn’t reveal what information was accessed. Instead, she emphasizes that Ryan stays out of her business. So, does Jada know she’s talking to her daughter?
Ryan doesn’t shake the meeting so easily. When she and Alice go find Killer Croc, Alice decides to antagonize Batwoman about meeting Jada. Batwoman shares that she admires Jada’s confident and unapologetic nature. Despite this, she’s adamant that she doesn’t need Jada.
At the end of the episode, sadness about Jada hits Ryan hard. Sophie finds her, suggesting Ryan go talk with Jada. Ryan doesn’t want to – is afraid to. What if Jada rejects her again? Eventually, Ryan pays Jada a visit anyway. And Ryan tells Jada that she’s her daughter.
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.