Welcome back to Gotham! For a city with its fair share of problems, things seem to be getting worse as the power of the False Face Society grows. So what the city needs is another colorfully costumed villain holding the city at bay. The thing is, this particular scheme is the best that a rogues plan has to offer, featuring wordplay and complicated death traps. Sophie might be in trouble, but who doesn’t love a good scavenger hunt? So don your cape, grab your expandable zip line, and join us as we give you five thoughts on season 5, episode 13, “I’ll Give You a Clue.”
1. Sophie’s girls night goes awry
While “I’ll Give You A Clue” follows some of the threads of the larger season, it’s primarily a stand-alone episode that not only gives Sophie a lot to do but shows that the questioning Crow can be a lot of fun. The episode starts with Ryan crashing what appears to be a fun girls’ night between Sophie and Mary. As the three get to know each other, things take a turn when the bottle of tequila given to Sohpie as an anniversary present contains the first clue of a new puzzle from Cluemaster, a deranged ex-game show host hellbent on revenge.
There are so many fun little dynamics going on between Ryan, Sophie, and Mary. Sophie knows Ryan’s secret. Ryan hates Sophie for sticking with the Crows even as she learns more about what they represent. Mary is there for a good time but also knows how to keep them calm. All three of these actresses play off of one another well, and it was fun to see them bantering with one another while ultimately coming out on top.
2. Spoiler alert! Everything is better with Steph
As “I’ll Give You A Clue progressed,” I couldn’t help but think that the name Cluemaster sounded familiar, then Steph showed up. Stephanie Brown (codename Spoiler) is a great member of the Batfamily, and here is no exception. The character is a joy throughout. She is dorky and clever while bringing a sassy joy to the episode. Morgan Kohan does a good job bringing the character to life. Much like her comic counterpart, Steph struggles with who raised her and who she is supposed to be, a classic case of nature vs. nurture.
Thankfully, Steph has a guiding light with Luke, who gets some fun stuff to do this week. It doesn’t hurt that the two of them are pretty dang cute together. The scenes where they are trying to figure out the cipher are funny and sweet, which especially makes her betrayal of Luke that much more challenging. (But also, it’s worth noting that’s classic Steph.) Hopefully, this is not the last we see of Steph; knowing the Arrowverse, she’ll probably be back for the finale. In any case, Spoiler left a significant mark and felt like a natural to keep coming back.
3. A deadly trap worthy of the Saturday Morning Cartoon
As Steph and Luke attempt to decode the cipher, Ryan, Sophie, and Mary head to the old studio where they taped Cluemaster’s show. Wouldn’t you know it? It’s a TRAP! It was pretty thrilling when “I’ll Give You A Clue” went full Saturday morning cartoon. Mary and Ryan are on a pressure point rigged to explode, which the Cluemaster gleefully quizzes them on Gotham’s rogues’ gallery. There are questions about Riddler (of course, mocked by Cluemaster as a discount version of himself.) Mentions of Gotham baddies like Penguin and the Iceberg Club are thrown around, as is Mr. Freeze and his tragically dying wife. In many ways, this scheme feels more akin to the Batman cartoon of the 90s (in the best way possible.)
Of course, this also gives a chance for our heroes to bond a little bit more AND for Ryan to drop admit to Sophie that she’s Batwoman. The season-long discussions of who is and is not worthy of trusting continues, but here it’s fun and far more interesting considering that Sophie already knew. Not only is the scheme gloriously cartoony, but the escape is as well, with Ryan using her compact zip line to zip line away from the explosion.
Continued below4. Alice’s final betrayal and crucial discovery
The only two threads continued in “I’ll Give You A Clue” are Alice and Jacob. Jacob continues to use Snakebite to try and escape his past. In a particularly dramatic scene, Mary admits to Ryan that her father is probably using, and she can’t blame him. Jacob has suffered a lot, and the drug gives him a chance to escape. The problem is that it’s possible Jacob killed the last chance of saving Beth after refusing to save her from Black Mask’s home. It seems that Alice, who had been teetering between anti-hero and straight-up villain, needed that final push to remind her who she is. A villain who makes skin faces and creates chaos in the streets of Gotham.
Alice agrees to help Black Mask give his daughter a new face, but Alice being Alice knows how to leverage it against him. Circe Sionis died at Arkham, so Alice learns that the person in Roman’s employ is not his beloved daughter. She’s not quite sure who the mysterious woman is but is willing to find out. The episode’s final twist is when Alice realizes that the new Circe has blue eyes, their father’s eyes because it’s Kate. Who knows where this story will go from here. Who knows what side of the conflict Alice is going to land. In any case, her story continues to take weird turns and is particularly interesting to watch.
5. The Batwoman that could have been
Perhaps this is unfair to say, but this episode feels like it’s what Batwoman could have been from the beginning. “I’ll Give You A Clue” was an absolute blast, an elaborate and over-the-top villainous scheme that made the team use their skills and wits to defeat the enemy. Plus, it was just a lot of fun. So many of these Arrowverse shows can go too serious, even if they can have the occasional moment of fun. This episode, however, felt like reading an issue of a comic book. It had its silly moments, sure, but there was some excellent character work, a new team forming in the most difficult of circumstances, and it was a fun standalone episode to boot!
It’s not to suggest that it’s a perfect episode, but I had a lot of fun watching it, and it’s been a while since I’ve had fun watching this show. Gotham is often the darker side of DC, sure, but over-the-top stuff happens there all of the time. “I’ll Give You A Clue” brought the fun, a little self-aware winking to the camera, and told an exciting adventure. At the end of the day, that’s what you want out of your superhero show.
So there you have it. Cluemaster is gone, and a new hero might rise from his training. What did you think of the episode? Sound off below!
