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Harley Quinn: Til Death Do Us Part (Pilot)

“All I’m saying is that you can do better than Joker. You’re smart, you’re strong, you’re in control of your own destiny.”

First, a disclaimer.

This might be the most violent and gory thing I’ve ever seen. It’s disgusting and there’s no way around that. If you can put up with a ton of animated blood and viscera, go ahead and give the show a try. If you’re at all squeamish, give this one a pass. A big pass.

In related news, they swear constantly. Constant use of the word “fuck” is actually a pet peeve of mine when it comes to television. It loses its punch when it’s used for punctuation. Breaking Bad was famously allowed one “fuck” a season and each time it was used it leant serious gravitas to what was being said. I’m sure I sound like a prude complaining about this but I’m not. I’m just easily bored by repetitive language.

Aside from those two facets of the show, I found everything else pretty damn enjoyable. Harley Quinn seems to take the characters from the animated series and use their relationships there as a jumping off point. Ivy and Harley are friends, Joker’s awful to Harley but she’s still in love with him, Joker’s obsessed with Batman, etc. Suicide Squad’s Joker/Harley origin story seems to be in the mix (Ivy mentioned Harley being dumped into a vat of chemicals) but their relationship isn’t problematically romanticized like it is in that film.

No, Joker is a class-A sleaze bag and there’s nothing in any way attractive or romantic about him, to everyone but Harley, that is. She has faith in her Puddin’ until Ivy snaps her out of it and we see Harley reclaim her identity separate from Joker. She drops her B:tAS harlequin outfit for shorts and a crop top and her now-iconic Suicide Squad hair.

The series shows promise but I am BEGGING the DC Universe Powers that Be to let Ivy and Harley be a romantic couple like they are in the comics. Do I think it will happen? No, no I do not. The show seems to be angling hard for the male audience and conventional wisdom (which I honestly think is wrong) would suggest that the typical male, comic-reading audience would be put off by wlw doing the crime thing and then going on a cute date or something. Even if that wasn’t bullshit, girls watch these kind of shows. Gay girls watch these kind of shows. It would be nice if, on occasion, media conglomerates acknowledged that. (Don’t counter me with Batwoman. I haven’t seen Batwoman.)

The show boasts an impressive lineup of voice talent like Alan Tudyk as Joker, Diedrich Baker as Batman, The Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuoco as Harley, and Lake Bell as Ivy. Jim Rash is recognizably the Riddler and if you take a look at the show’s IMDb page we have a lot of heavy hitters coming up in later episodes.

Quotes

Commissioner Gordon: “You’re a cancer, Quinn. Spreading from Gotham’s lymph nodes into its spleen and God help us if you get to Gotham’s bladder.”

Riddler: “Harley, riddle me this. What did Nadia Comaneci do when she scored a perfect ten on the uneven bars during the 1976 Montreal Games?”
Harley: “Win a medal?”
Ivy: “Not menstruate til her 20s?”

Harley: “Wow, how do they not find these lairs?”

Harley: “Ivy! You saved me from the acid!”
Ivy: “Actually it’s just margarita mix.”

sunbunny

5 comments:

  1. I guess I'm not part of the typical male comic reading audience, but I think it would be awesome if they made Harley and Ivy a couple. I think they are perfect for each other. One of my favorite Batman tas episodes is Harley and Ivy! I'm a longtime comic reader and I prefer Harley with Ivy instead of Joker.

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  2. Hcckdude, clearly you are a man of wisdom and breeding. It's not that I think that men don't want to read about/watch Harley and Ivy as much as I think the folks in charge think that, you know?

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  3. I am actually part of the typical male comic reading audience and I'm kinda perplexed what kind of "fan" would be put off by Harley x Ivy since that has been canon in different continuities for years now. It's not that there aren't sexist or homophobic comic book fans (lord knows those are sadly a thing) but none of those would be caught dead watching watching this show in the first place, they hate modern Harley by default. I hope the showrunners just shows some real courage in future episodes .

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  4. I'm male and I hope that Ivy and Harley get together. I feels like the series is doing a slow burn with it. In the end I think it'll make the relationship feel earned instead of an attention grab.

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  5. Finally started watching and you are totally right about the gore and swearing, neither of which bother me much. I simply love the animation style, the clear positive message of self interest and the over the top humor so far (I'm two episodes in). It feels like B:TAS if they were allowed to show violence and swear. I'm hoping the quality keeps up, and from what I've heard it does. I'm also hoping that Harley and Ivy get together, they have great chemistry.

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