“Gore on Canvas” is episode five of season two of Batwoman.
Someone heads to a building on a zipline, then climbs the spire. A glowing emoji appears at the top as Kane is meeting an informant on the streets below. The commander wants to know thew location of the Jack Napier painting. The man says it belongs to one of the Collective, a private club. Kane wants in. The other is telling Kane that the members are his clients when he’s stabbed from behind. Kane’s gun is knocked from his hands but he brought two Crows with him. He’s telling the other to tell Safiyah he wants his daughter back, but the other Crows are quickly killed. Then Ryan hoists the killer into the air. Kane explains Safiyah but Ryan thinks she has a better shot of finding Kate.
In the morning, Vesper Fairchild is talking about the exploits of the Wolf Spider and a sighting of Kane with Batwoman 2.0. Angelique, revealed to be Ryan’s ex in the previous episode, “Fair Skin, Blue Eyes”, turns it off. And it appears ‘ex’ may no longer be accurate. Angelique wants to apologise for Ryan spending 18 months inside because of her. Then notices Ryan’s Kryptonite injury. Ryan explains it’s a work injury and she doesn’t want to affect her new job. She’s not talking about tending bar. Angelique tells Ryan to get it looked at and she does go to see Mary. Ryan doesn’t want to take time off and give Luke more reasons to second guess her.
Which Luke is currently doing about the man she captured. He thinks they’ve not got the time to starve the man. He’s also determined the killer was after the person he killed, not Kane.
Kane tells Sophie they have a new lead, an old friend of Kate’s. Known in the art world and caught with dodgy art material. A likely member of the Collective. The person, Evan, explains how Kate helped him come out. But he doesn’t seem to want to help find the Napier. Which is blood from the owner that the Joker smeared over an existing painting. Sophie suggests, after Evan leaves, that they reach out to Batwoman. Kane isn’t going to grovel to her. Sophie will, or at least ask nicely. Because Alice will do a lot worse than grovel to find Kate first.
Alice found a key card in Ocean’s place and has gone to the motel it’s from. She’s trying to work to why she’s having memories of Ocean, who she’s never me. She heads into a bar and impressively scares away a man who tries hitting on her. Ocean claps and Alice asks if she can join him.
Sophie summons Ryan with the Batsignal and explains the deal. The Wolf Spider overhears. Ryan goes and tells Mary and Luke. She doesn’t want to work with the Crows. Luke follows and suggests they swap Crows stories. Ryan had taken Angelique’s stash to stop her using, was provoked by the Crows and got arrested with said stash. 18 months inside. Luke says the Crows killed his father.
Sophie and Kane are allowed access to the prisoner. Who accidentally lets slip that the painting leads to Coryana, which they did not know, then kills himself. Afterwards, Sophie tells Ryan they’ve heard the Collective is holding a special auction to sell the painting. They need someone not connected to the Crows to infiltrate.
Alice pushes Ocean a bit too hard. She ends p asking if there are really so many women that want him dead that she has to be specific; he critiques her assassination style. Both seem to have memories of each other, despite not seeming to know each other. Ryan does not enjoy working with the Crows.