Harley’s gonna save Ivy no matter what.
What They Say:
Darkseid agrees to give Psycho the world if he brings him the head of Harley Quinn, so Psycho controls Ivy to set her against Harley.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
I’ll admit, I’m not a fan of certain types of properties that go so big in story that it just feels out of place. Though I’ve enjoyed a lot of the second season, the events that lead to it at the end of the first just didn’t click too well for me. And as we get closer to the end of the second season, it’s gone just as big again with Psycho and Darkseid making plans, parademons everywhere, and now the return of the Justice League as well. It makes me miss the smaller episodes and the hilariously awkward banter that involves Kite-Man. The show is still fun and hits a lot of really great moments with its humor, but it’s spiraled into a size that just doesn’t feel right for a Harley title – even knowing it’s been done many times. It’s just not what works for me with her as a character.
There’s a lot of chaos at the start here with everything going on as Psycho is in control of so many, such as Ivy who is smacking Harley around only for Kite-Man of all people to save her. Psycho’s still got to bring in Harley for Darkseid and Darkseid is getting impatient waiting for this. But it’s also getting dangerous for him because they’re finding out that the Justice League is back and that’s going to make this even harder for him to handle. Amusingly, Harley’s smart enough to figure out what they need to push back against Psycho’s mind control and it involves Sy and his anti-mind control device that was implanted in him decades ago. There’s a lot of fun in this little group dynamic since Kite-Man has to build the devices now while not being great at it and that has Harley wanting to go and rescue Ivy all the more – but having to deal with the Justice League since that’s who Psycho is putting up against them.
As events get more intense, we see how Harley does her best to save Ivy even as the League is taking her down hard. It doesn’t matter the mind control since they’ve been away for so long and are just operating under their normal circumstances. There’s a lot to like in how Harley makes clear her feelings for Ivy but Psycho was waiting for this moment to use Ivy to use hallucinogens on the League, which has hilarious results. The whole thing goes as big as you’d expect but the reality is that it all comes back down to Harley and Ivy and that’s what I wanted out of it. Kite-Man has some good bits but Harley going up against Darkseid works only in the context of this series and its design but it’s great. And Harley’s final pleading to Ivy over her feelings toward Ivy is the best since it’s about to blow up in some way here thanks to Psycho.
In Summary:
Psycho’s last gasp here really does make it clear what kind of person he is as it’s basically revenge porn broadcast to all of Gotham. The reactions are, in the context to the show, amusing in how everyone reacts to it but it leaves us waiting to see how the core trio here will deal with it. This episode is full of the action and just runs at it hard and constant, almost to the point where it’s a little overwhelming with how much they have to accomplish and get through to put things in the right place. The slowdown toward the end is welcome even if it’s more psychological material than anything else with how it impacts everyone. There are too many good moments here but Harley’s demanding to be sent to the phantom zone along with Ivy results in the best reaction from Superman.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: DC Universe
