A new heist is underway but the complications pile up.
What They Say:
Harley Quinn has finally broken things off with the Joker and attempts to make it on her own as the criminal Queenpin of Gotham City. In this adult animated action-comedy series which also features Poison Ivy and a whole cast of heroes and villains, old and new, from the DC Universe.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the season crossing the halfway mark here, Harley Quinn has definitely been a fun show as it’s worked through some solid storylines. The general “growth” of the show in how it operates has been fun as Harley has largely broken free from the Joker, she’s gotten herself lightly involved with Ivy, set up her new base of operations, and gotten herself a crew. She still doesn’t quite have a nemesis even though Robin will fit in a pinch, but she is for the most part on a good path for a villain. She’s able to run some solid jobs, her people follow her for the most part, and it’s not a bad crew to be a part of – especially when you’re hard-pressed by in a crew in general at this stage of things.
The main opening here involves Harley looking to put the group to get a weather control machine from Kord Industries that would earn her a position in the Legion of Doom. That gets sidetracked when she sees that her friend the Queen of Fables, the one stuck in the tax codebook, is being freed from said book. The problem is that when Zatanna does release her from the book she’s re-arrested to finish out the remainder of her term in Arkham. With Harley finding this to be a travesty, she rescues her from the transport truck and recruits her to help with the Kord job. Queen of Fables is amusing in that she’s a cruel villain type that can draw out fables from her book but she definitely torments them when showing it off, such as creating Humpty Dumpty and then making some tasty egg meal out of him.
Amid all of this we get Ivy trying to deal with things with Kite-Man as she kind of owed him a date and is going through with it. This subplot is hilarious as it unfolds because she’s clearly embarrassed but at the same time he’s doing a lot of things right. Even the opening bit with him giving her roses has her saying it’s like giving her a bouquet of baby heads. But he actually has them fully stemmed and planted so it’s pretty thoughtful. The whole thing is amusing to watch because she doesn’t want to be there but he’s so honest and earnest about it. When he realizes that she’s actually embarrassed by it, it plays out as you’d expect and you feel bad for everyone involved. Watching it all come out the other side with them dating may frustrate some that want to see the Ivy/Harley relationship take off, but I’m definitely enjoying this strange little romance.
Harley does eventually manage to get the weather machine, after she passes on working with Queen of Fables because of her ways, but Queen of Fables can’t help but to want it once she’s out on her own a bit more. The problem is that while she’s a threat, a survivor from one of Queen of Fable’s big murder sprees survived and has now come for revenge. It’s a horrible villain origin story when you get down to it but the whole thing works so beautifully as the last survivor of Praxis is angry and full of power. It’s a bloody mess of a story as it unfolds as it wants to split its attention so many ways, but it does give Harley and her crew extended time with Queen of Fables in order to understand what a really dangerous and unhinged villain is like and that they definitely don’t want to be that type.
In Summary:
There are, once again, so many gags going on throughout this episode that you find yourself laughing more and more than you expect. Just the bits with some of what Queen of Fables generate, such as the pigs or the mercenary mouse, really hit a sweet spot in making you laugh. There’s a lot going on here, especially with the whole Praxis Family Reunion, but it comes together well. Just really, really, busy. The entire subplot with Ivy and Kite-Man is utterly delightful though and while I am all on board with Ivy and Harley as a couple, I really want to see how this plays out.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: DC Universe
