Batwoman: Double Your Poison

The previous week's chapter of Batwoman's Poison Ivy storyline ended with Pamela Isley (OG Poison Ivy) revived and freed by the very woman who still carried a torch for her, Renee Montoya. As it turned out, Renee's use of Batwoman for her secret mission was all done so she could find Pam and release her from the desiccated state that Renee herself put her in a decade prior. In this episode, the aptly titled, "Meet Your Maker," we see Pam emerge from a pond, where she takes down a pair of fishermen, but she is still not at 100%, as far as her power is concerned.

We see the past get brought up, of course, as Pam carried two things: thoughts of Renee and a grudge over Renee's actions 10 years prior, with Renee actually expressing guilt--even though she did what (many would say) she had to do. Mary Hamilton gets mentioned, with Pam wanting and needing Mary's presence to recharge her, as Pam also stated that her vines infected Mary for that purpose.

Speaking of Mary, we see her and Alice at an alley when Mary develops what she originally believes is brain freeze from the Frappuccino; when it's actually Pam reaching out to her. After this is concluded, Alice voices her concerns over the two Poisons meeting, and it's at this point that I can't help but continue to be amazed at how accurate that Alice has been in regards to her warnings. In this case, it's a fear that a meeting between the two Poisons may not end well, and we even hear Alice use the alternate version of Beth Kane (from Season One) as an example. Despite this, Mary remained insistent that she should meet the very women who created her, and we see that same insistence from Pam, as she even used her power to tell Renee not to leave her tent.

Pam's vines take down a hunter, and nearly capture Batwoman, but we later see Renee fire a tranquilizer dart at Mary, as she didn't want her near Pam. The following day sees Pam and Renee facing each other, and the confrontation is not a pleasant one. Renee states that she and Pam are in a toxic relationship with each other, with Pam accusing Renee of not loving her as she is, while claiming that all she cared about was Renee (that is clearly not the case). It's at that moment that Mary arrives, and we get that moment: the two Poisons together. After Mary voices her gratitude to Pam, the women embrace, and the result: Poison Ivy is at full power.

Starting from the end, the meeting between Poison Mary and Poison Ivy was quite epic; brief, but epic. And there's more to come, as next week's episode will see them together as Ivy plans more havoc now that she's at full power. But I have to talk about Pam and Renee's relationship; it is definitely toxic, but that's understating it. I hate to say this, and I realize how strong it sounds, but honestly, this has all of the makings of an abusive relationship. It was clear from OG Poison Ivy's first appearance that she was too far gone, but the vibe I got from tonight's episode was that not only was Pam far gone, she didn't care who was hurt while she remained in the proverbial rabbit hole, and that included Renee.

And speaking of Renee, how hypocritical does she sound? She told Ryan that when it came to Mary, she had grow up and make the hard decision to desiccate Mary when she had the chance, with the added claim that Mary was far gone. Yet when it came to Pam, Renee wasted no time reviving her and helping her get better out of a desperate need to believe that Pam can change. I realize the heart wants what it wants, but one thing I cannot stand is the "Do as I say, not as I do" hypocrisy that we've seen from Renee in back-to-back episodes. And yeah, while Renee did stand up to Pam (which included the reveal that she injected herself with a special toxin in case Pam used her mojo on her) regarding her conduct, it came too late for me. Renee knew what Pam was all about, she was much deeper than Mary in regards to the Poison persona, but her mentality: "take down Mary, but spare my Pam." Sorry, Renee, that's not how this works.

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