"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Deep Freeze" & "Batgirl Returns"

Batman The Animated Series

We did it. No, we aren't at the end of this journey, but we are on the end of season two. It's a return of a villain made iconic by the series: Mr. Freeze and the return of the red-headed Caped Crusader, Batgirl. Without further adieu, let's get to it.

[Walker reveals his plan for "Oceania", a utopia ruled by him while the rest of the world is frozen]

Grant Walker: "My world will have no crime, violence or pain."

Robin: "You can free will to that list, too!"

Grant Walker: "A small price to pay for order."

Batman: "Your order, for your select few."

Grant Walker: "Excuse me, but I fail to see the problem with that."

Mr. Freeze is chilling in his cell when he's busted out, but he wants nothing to do with it. Batman figures it out right away and with some help from cybernetics guru, Karl Rossum, they are led to Oceania. Oceania is an island theme park founded by theme park guru, Grant Walker. Walker wants to harness Freeze's tech to be immortal but does he have other motives? And can Batman & Robin convince Freeze to do the right thing?

Worst snow globe ever.

This is the first episode to feature Mr. Freeze since the iconic, "Heart of Ice" and it's easy to understand why. B: TAS re-invented Mr. Freeze and took him from a joke to a real threat to Batman. At the same time, it infused him with empathy, so why detract from that with a string of episodes that while could be good, but would inevitable detract from that. So, is this episode as good as "Heart of Ice?" Well, no. But it does enrich the B: TAS Mr. Freeze mythos and set up some pretty big things for him in the future.

The opening sequence is great. When you've done as many prison/asylum breakouts as B: TAS, it's difficult to make them original and exciting. They definitely do it here. Who doesn't love a robot crashing through the wall of his cell and depositing a clearly terrified Victor into its midsection? Going along with that, why is Batman the only one able to deduce that Freeze was taken against his will? I get Batman is the World's Greatest Detective but the Worlds Most Mediocre Detective would have been able to figure this out. I guess, except Robin. He clearly hasn't been paying attention to that part.

It was nice to get a check in with Karl Rossum. He's one of my favorite side characters on the show and we were graced with a Bat Mite appearance. That is some fan service that I can get behind. We are introduced to Rossum's less successful rival, Grant Walker and that's when things really start to come together. It's not the most original plan. Make this island, fill it with cultists and then cause an environmental disaster, but Walker's plan is not the point of the episode. 

The point is Freeze. It's a interesting wrinkle that the accident that gave Freeze his powers has basically made him immortal, which is what Walker wants. We receive the revelation that Freeze's wife Nora is still alive, which is how Walker gets Freeze to go along with his plan. Freeze would do anything for his wife, but he sees what Walker is doing is wrong and helps the Dynamic Duo foil his plan. He decides to go down with the ship with Nora. I really enjoy the scene with Walker "enjoying" his newfound immortality at the bottom of the river. 

This episode adds more wrinkles to the character of Freeze and the reveal that he's survived with Nora sets up the next B: TAS movie, "Batman/Mr. Freeze: SubZero."

Grade: A-

Thug: "Hey Kitten. How's about spending one of your nine lives with me?"

Catwoman: "Crawl back into your litter box, creep."

While Bruce works on an important merger in Paris, it's up to Batgirl, Robin... and Catwoman? to investigate the theft of a jade cat. Everyone thinks it's Catwoman but she is adamant that the theft doesn't have her finesse. Batgirl believes her and they team up to try to track down the actual thief. Can this unlikely duo succeed and avoid Robin or will Catwoman prove she can't be trusted?

Bat, er swan dive.

The Barbara Gordon iteration of Batgirl is my favorite Batman character so I'm always here for an episode that features her heavily and this is the first time she's came back since her introduction int the "Shadow of the Bat" two-parter. While the episode starts off a little icky, (we don't need Babs having sex dreams about BATMAN. This is why we got that whole, awful "Killing Joke" animated movie subplot. And she ends up dating Dick. Come on you guys!) it gets much better in relatively short order.

I love that Batgirl is not portrayed as being inept or ineffectual. It's clear that she is more than capable of being a part of Batman's team. In fact, Robin kind of comes off as a condescending tool in this episode. He jumps to conclusion, fucks up and then blames her for it. Typical man.

Batgirl and Catwoman are a great team. Watching this episode, I was curious if Adrienne Barbeau and Melissa Gilbert were in the recording booth at the same time. There is just this playfulness that comes through that makes it feel like they were playing off each other while recording. I would watch a ton more episodes with the two of them and I was a little bummed Batgirl didn't take Catwoman up on her offer to become a permanent team. They'd be amazing. It's clear that Catwoman has a ton of respect for Batgirl even after Batgirl turns her in. She admits that Batgirl did nothing criminal and then steals the cop car.

One other thing I love about this episode and B: TAS in general is that it acknowledges it's history. These things don't happen in a void. When Catwoman and Batgirl realize that Roland Daggett is involved in all this, there are a ton of callbacks to his previous appearances in the series, including his creation of Clayface.

All in all, this is a great way to end the second season of B: TAS and Batman isn't anywhere to be seen.

Grade: A-

We did it! We finished season two. Before we jump in to season 3 or "The New Batman Adventures" we are going to take a look at the second B: TAS movie, "Batman/Mr. Freeze: SubZero," which is basically a sequel "Deep Freeze."

What did you guys think? Did you enjoy Freeze's second appearance? Was it a let down? Were you excited Batgirl was back? Did the Batman sex dream freak you out? Let me know in the comments.