Batwoman’s third season has been taken up with family drama and the quest for various Bat-trophies. Now, some of that comes to a head as there’s a meeting of the Ivys, some tension between children and parents, and between lovers and friends, and a special guest star I had no idea was coming by. We get all this and a nod to a few classic horror movies in “Meet Your Maker.”

The show opens with two fishermen busily butchering their catches and utterly ignoring the signs about how they are supposed to fish. This gets taken care of as grasping vines reach out of the water and yank the men below the surface. A few moments later, we see the original Poison Ivy emerge from the water. She’s not looking great, and Montoya is clearly worried about her. Elsewhere but also worried, Ryan sits at her mother’s grave and expresses her doubts about what she’s doing. Considering how poor we keep hearing Ryan was, I’m not sure where the headstone came from. Those things aren’t cheap. Back at the new, temporary, and dingy headquarters, Luke works out, ignoring comments from Sophie. Clearly something is bothering Luke, and just as clearly, he’s not going to talk about it. Jada, in her office, gets a surprising visitor as John Diggle pops up, and there’s some sort of connection between the two of them.

Back in their hole under the wall, Ryan comes bearing coffee and a lot of attitude. She’s clearly got some problems with Sophie, not that I blame her, and after bickering about refreshments, the team moves on to discuss a spate of recent attacks that seem to fit Poison Ivy’s MO. Luke has a prototype worked up to possibly stop Ivy, but their search indicates that she’s hiding somewhere in a large national park, which isn’t good news. There’s some banter about Black people in horror movies, and Ryan gets in a great comeback. Diggle and Jada talk about her family mess, and his past with her company. When Diggle had time to work for her between the military and bodyguarding Oliver Queen, I’m not sure. There’s some dubious science (even by comic book standards) about how to possibly address Marquis’ mental health issues, and they talk about the string of Batman trophies that have been turning up lately. Added to the discussion are references to Clayface, Bane, and even Condiment King (a goofy villain from one of the cartoons), adding those three to the roster of confirmed Bat-foes in the Arrowverse. Diggle has also used his ARGUS resources to figure out that Renee Montoya is working that case, and suggests a visit.

Ivy and Montoya get a very strange scene on the lake shore involving candles and some weird theories about harmonies and spores, among other things. We do, at least, learn why Mary was infected by Ivy. Whatever they’re trying to do, it has some immediate results. In an alley somewhere or other, Alice is reading up on Ivy’s return in the newspaper, and does her best to hide it when Mary comes back bearing coffees. Mary quickly feels the effects of Ivy and Renee’s odd ritual, and Alice looks shaken and worried. Sophie makes an attempt at apology to Ryan, who doesn’t seem that interested, as they drive deep into the forest. Their bickering gets interrupted by the appearance of a desperate stranger, the loss of Sophie’s SUV, an Ivy attack, and a desperate run for a creepy old cabin. Luke battens down the hatches, or at least the door, as they try and see what they have to work with, and he makes a surprising confession that both Ryan and Sophie disagree with. Listening to his partners, Luke starts to get an idea on what to do next.

In a very large tent, Ivy and Montoya talk about Mary, Batman, and the Batwoman team. Montoya really seems to be trying to have things both ways, and Ivy isn’t interested. Montoya’s desperate plea not only gets ignored, but Ivy uses a very unfair method to end the argument and go do what she wants. Diggle and Jada do some breaking and entering, we get more hints about their past, and they want to have some words with Batwoman and company. Alice and Mary argue about where they should be going, with Mary having some vested interest in steering them where she wants to go, and Alice being really worried and resisting. Mary finally wins the argument, although Alice is clearly not happy about it. As is par for the course with these shows, Ryan and Sophie suddenly launch into relationship talk in the midst of everything going on. This gets interrupted by another attack which both proves Luke came up with a good idea, and exhausts their supply of what they need. A desperate dash outside is needed, and Ryan says she’s the one going, since she’s Batwoman and Sophie managed to get her suit out of the SUV before it disappeared. Which once again makes me wonder where the suit came from last episode.

Alice and Mary continue their road trip and bickering about Poison Ivy. Mary comes up with some very insightful comments about why their new friendship is working so well, and then shows she’s a lot like the original Ivy on at least some fronts. Diggle and Jada keep talking about her family mess, and then make a surprising discovery, adding larceny to their list of crimes for the night. Mary continues her search for Poison Ivy, but has a surprising encounter that sidetracks her for a while. As a father and son have what’s going to become an unforgettable bonding moment in the woods and make a discovery, Batwoman does her best to get what they need and remain undetected. Things are looking bad as several stories come together at once, and we get a last-minute save, a test of the Bat-suit, and an impressive explosion which screws up what Batwoman was after in the first place. So much for progress. In the aftermath, Luke makes a new friend and Ryan and Sophie have a moment together.

Through some unexplained means, the next scene is back in Gotham in daylight. I guess the improvised incident in the woods got them free of Ivy. Somehow. Luke visits his father’s grave and comes to an emotional decision. Diggle turns up there (how he knew where Luke was going to be, I’m not sure) and we learn why Diggle was in Gotham in the first place. What he’s trying to do is very interesting and hopeful for the future, but doesn’t make a lot of sense. Given what’s going on and how important it seems to be, I can’t think of a reason Diggle would go to Luke and not Cisco. As they part ways, Diggle leaves a message with Luke for Batwoman which I’m sure is part of the setup for next episode. Alice has a surprising awakening and finds something that bothers her, which is impressive given her past and deeds. Ivy and Montoya have another argument about their relationship which gets interrupted when Mary turns up and there are some real sparks between her and Ivy to end the episode.

What I liked: It’s great to see Diggle again. The reveal of why he was in Gotham has me really curious about what’s next for the character. Ryan and Sophie’s bickering was amusing. I’m surprised to learn that Alice really does seem to care for Mary. Luke’s worries actually make some degree of sense, and don’t seem to be coming out of nowhere like happens on some shows.

What I didn’t: As I said above, Diggle bringing this task to Luke and not Cisco doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. For that matter, why not J’Onn? The “science” behind Jada’s quest for the item she was after was weird even in this world. I’m not sure how the team lost what they were going after but still made it out of the woods with no further problems.

The episode had some good moments, but a few odd ones as well. I’ll give this a 3 out of 5.