Batwoman stars, boss break the latest Kane family 'fracture'
Warning: This article contains spoilers from Sunday's episode of Batwoman, titled "Do Not Resuscitate."
Well, Jacob and Mary's alliance didn't last long.
In the latest episode of Batwoman, titled "Do Not Resuscitate," Jacob (Dougray Scott) finally found out about Mary's (Nicole Kang) underground (and definitely illegal) clinic when DC villain Amygdala (RJ Fetherstonhaugh) kidnapped them and held them hostage there because he wanted information on the Desert Rose. Whereas Mary's mother Catherine Hamilton-Kane (Elizabeth Anweis) was proud of her daughter's side hustle before she died, Jacob had the opposite reaction and was horrified. In fact, the Crows commander shut down the clinic because he was concerned Mary was heading down a slippery slope that would lead to her crossing ethical lines like her mom, whose company was responsible for Amygdala's unstable and violent mental state because it experimented on him.
"I think the reasons that he gives in episode 6 about shutting down Mary's clinic [are] honest and accurate, for reasons of morality, for reasons of legality," Dougray Scott tells EW. "The other reason is he just doesn't want to put her in harm's way. She's the only family member he has left. And when you operate within that world of darkness and of nefariousness and you're part of a volatile and dangerous world, the chances are that you're going to get hurt. And I think he wants to protect her."
Katie Yu/The CW
Naturally, Jacob's decision severely hurts Mary's feelings because the clinic was one of the last things that connected her to her mom. In the moment, she coldly tells Jacob she wishes they could go back to a time when he didn't even know she existed.
"To have Jacob, her father, take away the one identifying factor, the one thing that Mary says is her sense of purpose is maybe the most devastating blow of all," says Kang. "And he delivers this final blow, and she's had enough. I think we see her reacting differently at the end of this episode than she ever has before. And I think she grows up after episode six and that's how impactful, important, and shaken she is after her encounter with Amygdala — she has to look out for herself now. Sometimes the Bat Team isn't there, sometimes her own father, her own family isn't there. Her mother certainly isn't there anymore. And when she looks around, she has to look out for herself and what's going to be the best for her."
"When she kind of throws that emotional bombshell at him, I think he's affected because he never really thought about it like that," says Scott. "He never thought that he was neglecting her. And for him, she was always his daughter, but he's got time to reflect now, 'Maybe I didn't do enough. Maybe I didn't see enough. Maybe I didn't understand the emotional trauma she went through when she lost her mother, my ex-wife.' So I think Jacob's kind of getting it from all sides in season 2. And so he's got a lot to deal with emotionally."
Katie Yu/The CW
Showrunner Caroline Dries teases that this will have a profound impact on Jacob and Mary's dynamic moving forward. "This is going to create a fracture in their life, in their relationship that ultimately will be pretty detrimental to Jacob as he's trying to cope with news he gets about Kate and Alice continuing to be a problem. And it's going to affect him very, very personally," says Dries.
Given how central the clinic is to Mary's identity, is there hope that we'll see it again?
"Gosh, I hope that there is hope for the clinic, but honestly, I don't know," says Kang. "She suffers a huge loss, so I'm hoping that Mary will take it back and find her way back to the clinic. She's going to need it. As you can see in episode 6, in episode 7, and moving forward, Ryan has a huge medical secret that she is going to need all the help she can get. And certainly, Mary is the most qualified person she has, for the better, for the worse. So without the clinic, Mary is working at such a disadvantage herein not only her contributions to the Bat Team but in hopes of saving Ryan's life."
Yes, things aren't looking for good for Ryan (Javicia Leslie) at the end of the hour because the Kryptonite poison has gotten worse. Now, it's up to Ryan, Mary, and Luke (Camrus Johnson) to find a way to save Ryan in the next episode.
"I think [the Kryptonite poisoning] does bring them closer together because they have to start to depend on each other," says Leslie. "At the end of the day, there's genuine love amongst the team, and whether or not Ryan is Batwoman, they don't want to see her die. And so you can really watch them all go on this beautiful group journey, to not only save Ryan, but to also continue to find Kate."
Dries adds about episode 7: "It's a pretty dark episode for Ryan, as she has to come to terms with the fact that this could be one of her last days on Earth."
Check back Monday morning for the latest installment of On Set with Batwoman.
Batwoman airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
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