2x04 - Fair Skin, Blue Eyes

[Tim]

We got a good look at Ryan's background.  Sadly, what happened to her is true.  Because she was black, she slipped beneath the system.  Still, it was nice that she took down that evil candy lady and was able to save that boy.   

Kind of knew that the woman that Sophie and Alice surprised would be Ryan's old friend. 

So, Ryan has moved in with Mary.  At least she has a place better than that van now.

Loved the Sophie and Alice scenes. 

[Trinity]

I really enjoyed this episode.

Candy lady was brutal. I can see how she messed up the minds of the young ones. The scariest thing about the Candy lady wasn't just the rotting interior disguised by the suburban veneer, it's how practiced she was at what she was doing.

I wonder if the Kryptonite is causing Ryan to hallucinate.

Ryan is supposed to know martial arts why did she have to throw that old lady down the stairs and punch her 3 times to arrest her.

The show is making the world so small, Angelique was the one that was fighting Sophie and Alice, and is working for Ocean. Angelique was the one that Ryan was covering for that caused her to go to prison.

[Melinda Halliwell]

This week's mission was about finding a boy's brother who'd been missing 2 months then whilst stopping a drug called Snake Bite doing the rounds on the side.

Racism played a part again because the child being colored made Gotham PD think he was just a runaway. This lead to more backstory of Ryan's past when she was in a children's home which I enjoyed seeing.

She and Mary teamed up again to find out what happened to the boy thus bonding better as women especially which resulted in Ryan moving in with Mary at the end.

So Green Lanterns exist on Earth-Prime and have a comic book of their own then. I wonder if any of the known ones' Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Kyle Rainer, or Guy Gardiner will show up in any of the Arrowverse shows perhaps?

We met a candy lady who grabbed kids and brainwashed them before being sold selling into gangs afterward which happened to Ryan obviously which was a nice nod as to who took Kevin.

The lady was creepy and good making Ryan feel worthless and that no one would look for her because of the color of her skin.

Alice and Sophie worked together again to try to find a man named Ocean whom it seemed may have had a thing with Alice when she was on Saffiyah's island and Jacob offered a reward to anyone who could find Kate.

He asked the Crows to look for Saffiyah whom Sophie had told him about last week.

The after effects of the Kryptonite bullet still hurt Ryan which's spreading and will have some future consequences if she doesn't get it seen to which I wonder what it'll be?

Maybe part of the proposed Superman and Lois crossover which has now been canceled would've dealt with that then?

Of course, the woman Alice and Sophie was surprised by was Ryan's ex who worked for Ocean.

I liked the updated Batmobile with the red Batwoman insignia and added on colors.

Ryan's getting better using the Batsuit now and her speech to Kevin about looking for him because he mattered was important just as was telling Jacob people of color should be searched for also.

And I'm continuing to like Alice as a character and all her levels of crazy. Rachel plays her well.

Look forward to episode 5 Sunday.

[Tim]

The show is making the world so small, Angelique was the one that was fighting Sophie and Alice, and is working for Ocean. Angelique was the one that Ryan was covering for that caused her to go to prison.

Perhaps they're all linked somehow.

[Colton]

I did like that Ryan's background is helping her solve cases. I hope they stop piling on, but I do like that she's becoming an asset even without the suit or high tech gadgetry. It's important that she's not just an interchangeable stand in, but has something to offer the team that comes from herself, not just the magic of the batcave or the support of the team.



I think Mary really wants a sister, so part of the move in was for the fun of it, from her perspective. I mean, yes, obviously it was to help Ryan get housed. But I also think Mary genuinely is lonely. She also lost a parent and a sister recently, that's so hard for her. 

[Tim]

That could be it.  I mean, apart from Jacob, Mary's only other living relative, as far as she knows, is Alice.

[Melinda Halliwell]

With Kate missing and the fact, Mary lost her mother plus her and Jacob rarely talk it makes sense Mary would feel lonely and want someone around her to take the edge of and how it helps Ryan be rehoused as well of course.

I see what you mean Colton about not wanting every plotline to be something Ryan knows of or something she was involved in as a child which can get boring but maybe the writers think that makes her more relatable to viewers than Kate was perhaps.

[adzpower]

I enjoyed the episode quite a lot.

Candy lady was very sinister, the sad thing is that this really does happen, kids get taken off the streets and indoctrinated into gangs and trafficked to other parts of the world, scary. Glad Ryan made it out in one piece.

I feel like the writers are making Ryan a little *TOO* connected to everything else, she just happened to know Victor Zsas, she also met the girl who she went to jail for at her foster home, who was her ex, and then linking Alice to the death of her mother. I can buy a coincidence or two, but this seems to be going a bit too far.

I liked the undertones here of racism pointing out how people won't bother to get up and go looking for a black girl BUT I feel the way it was done was....immoral and rather untrue.
Let me explain.
In the episode they compared Ryan being missing to Beth being missing, but you really can't compare the two. Angelique is white and it didn't seem like anyone was looking for her after she was taken either, not to mention Beth had a family, a rich family who were looking for her which Ryan doesn't have.

I understand what they were going for here, but it missed the mark for me because they took two completely different cases both with totally different histories, backgrounds and contexts and put the two side by side for comparison.

People were looking for Beth because she is part of a famous, rich family who were offering rewards, Ryan was not.

[Melinda Halliwell]

I see your point Adam about comparing what happened with Ryan and Beth being different and the fact Ryan does seem very well connected with everything's that's happened so far which can be boring like I mentioned also then.

We'll see whether Batwoman veers away from that or stays with it obviously.

[Tim]

Wonder if the writers have some plan here.