After that spur of the moment kiss last episode that totally didn’t mean anything, by the way, Harley is ready to put the “evil” into “evil supervillain” by breaking into the big time and taking over the whole darned world by pledging fealty to Darksied and getting an army of vicious parademons to do her bidding.
Meanwhile, newly sober Commissioner Gordon is tasked by the president to take down Harley Quinn once and for all and Ivy finally meets Kite Man’s parents.
What we got here is an episode about being true to yourself and everything in the episode plays towards that theme. On one side, you’ve got Harley who, having discovered that she has got some serious feelings for Poison Ivy, does everything she can to cream those feelings down, becoming the super evil world-conquering warlord that she just isn’t. In a way, you can look at her sudden transformation as Harley denying who she is, casting off her Apocalypse vestiges and control of her army as a means of accepting that which she’s been fighting. The tragedy here is that, even after admitting to herself that she’s in love with Ivy, Harley still hides it away… precisely because she’s in love with Ivy and doesn’t want to spoil her chance at happiness with Kite Man.
Even though I love Kite Man as a character, I’ve never been a fan of the romance with Ivy because, let’s face it… it’s not going to work out. I did, however, enjoy the dinner with Kite Man’s parents and the subsequent dressing down that Ivy gave his parents for not accepting him as the caring, amazing person she sees him as. In a way, I think that Kite Man accepted himself because of this as well…
…so, I don’t dislike all of the Kite Man romance, I guess.
Jim Gordon, who started his journey of recovery last episode got a lesson in being true to himself because, despite his incompetences, he made a pretty convincing leader.
Finally, Doctor Psycho accepts himself as well, concedes that Harley is not and will never be super-evil, and leaves off on his own.
I just love it when an episode is this well-developed that just about every scene goes towards fleshing out its theme.
In addition to being very well written, the episode was funny, touching, and reveled in poking fun at DC’s tropes. Darkseid, voiced by Michael Ironside who I always loved in the role, was effectively a big presence and, at the same time, a target for ridicule because of his endless talking.
I have to say, though, that I am disappointed that the show has never taken advantage of the No Man’s Land plot. Aside from Two-Face and his gang becoming warlords, No Man’s Land is barely a thing… Heck, until this episode, I forgot that Gotham wasn’t part of the United States anymore. I mean, come on… how many nice Mexican food places are there in a ruined wasteland?
Still, this is the strongest episode of the season. Maybe I should accept that Harley Quinn isn’t meant to be taken that seriously.
Jason Gaston 