"Harley Quinn" Season Five Talkback (Spoilers)

[Frontier]

Well, I can take some solace that Frank was able to at least own his own funeral and be prepared for everything...with exact specifications for everything he wants his funeral to be like, knowing exactly how everyone would act, and setting the stage for his rebirth as Frankette !

Appreciated Frank's bro and his plant lady friends were there for his funeral

Well, people wanted Harley and Ivy as parents...so I guess this is facilitating that. Even though they almost immediately ditch the kid onto Bane who is slowly growing into the most stable and reliable character and dad .

Honestly kind of a little done with Shawn the Shark at this point .

I just find it really funny that Harley and Ivy are supposed to be two smart and clever women but they have such low impulse control and tunnel vision that they basically screw themselves over and keep making stupid mistakes. I guess that's part of the reason they're supervillains .

Was Goldilocks in that dutch class because Bane wanted to speak her too? I don't think moral schools teach dutch. But I love Bane coming in like Bane and immediately calling out the teacher while also in dutch .

Brainiac so depressed and insane that he keeps breaking the 4th wall...and goes on a mass killing spree. Seriously though, how many people died in those vaporized buildings ?

Surprise surprise you can never trust a Luthor! All they ever want is absolute power and control over Metropolis, which Lena secures because she's crafty, quick, and far more on the ball than Harley and Ivy. She played everybody and got everything she wanted, without breaking a single nail .

Dang, didn't think Ivy would actually contact Frank's spirit but I guess she needed a kick in the butt to step up and acknowledge her new kid! Also, this might be the last time we hear JB Smoove .

Its a very human reaction but wow that teacher really just ran away and abandoned all the kids !

Aw, baby's first F-Bomb! They're already corrupting her and turning her into girl Frank .

Honestly not sure Lena even needs to worry about Harley and Ivy at this point, it's not like either of them is really in much of a position to do anything to her or her drones, but I guess better safe than sorry by kidnapping their baby and turning Ivy against Harley so they can't make a united front against her .

This has got to be the most mad Ivy's been at Harley in a really long time .

I wonder if their only chance of really stopping Lena is getting through to Brainiac and making him realize he has to stop her and "redeeming" himself .

 

[Yojimbo]

Welp, it was in fact the most obvious culprit. And to make matters worse, Harley and Ivy were too impulsive, Harley wasn't her usual speedy with the bat to head and Lena is in control of the Skull Ship and drones. Didn't think to take away the teleporter, Vril? It was also odd Harl didn't just opt to bash the console to pieces either come to think of it.

I'm on the fence, usually getting rid of someone from the original cast and bringing in a little girl 'version' is a jump the shark moment of a show but idk, Frankette was cute and it was fun seeing Ivy eventually coming around and Harley's analysis of why she was ignoring her at first, lol.

Bane mostly cared about Goldi but it was interesting to see him be kinda heroic and grab all the kids as the school gave way. Yeah, Shaun is starting to wear thin...

Ron Funches busy with another project when this season recorded? Surprised they didn't get Psycho in, well yet maybe. Not really the old crew as advertised but a minor quibble.

Idk, kinda getting old that Ivy gets pissed at Harley at the end of a season only to make up. Well, we'll see how it resolves in 3 episodes. Harley saving Frankette would do it.

Considering the title of the season finale, the solution entails convincing Brainiac not everything has to be perfect to be right and getting him out of his funk. But got a feeling Metropolis will get bottled but restored then further messed up for comical effect i.e. Skull Ship crashing into the heart of the city and causing a huge explosion, prompting Harley and Ivy to go back to Gotham and Superman is elated to be needed because its chaos.

 

[Neo Ultra Mike]

"Frankette" - You know it says something when this show handles the death of Frank the Plant a hell of a lot more respectively and purposely, jokes and all, a HELL of a lot better then Dick Grayson's from last year. And yeah I know Frank meant more to the Harley Quinn team just something to observe. Which I guess is a weird note to start out on but again this show when I guess it can't instantly continue on the scene from one week to the next does have some pretty weird transitions on how things move from episode to episode. I guess season 2 is still the obviously worse example of that but yeah still feels pretty wonky going from Frank's death at the musical to the funeral. I will say this though; actually having that uh "sample" from Frank and Ivy to create Frankette to have that be the new child to me at least shows "okay we actually are more serious about killing this character off if we are having someone else come to replace them and literally have the ghost of the old character give the blessing." Like especially having Frank's origin and then an earlier episode have him worry about getting older it does make it feel more like this was planned out more and I do like the arc this puts Ivy through. Like her desperate rush to get revenge for this happening and not actually thinking anything out she goes into trying to take on Braniac without a plan and gets distracted enough for Lena to get away before Frank reminds her to focus on saving the kid still alive actually does flow well. You could argue this is still a very transitive "we build up this one character now we want you to like this newer cutuer off spring of it" but how it's handled especially the ending of this one fits well. Granted Frankette isn't really much of a character yet but she isn't just an obnoxious off spring either and I do buy Ivy wanting to protect her and forging that connection which is the important part.

I will also say this; this one really works in building up Lena as yeah the obvious big bad of the season and does so in a very natural way. I did say when we found out about his origin a few weeks ago that it's clear this team didn't want to go with a pure evil Malice Brainiac like we so often got so I did still think "okay well maybe he can be bargained and reasoned with but until then he's still going to be the main villain" but yeah that doesn't happen. Instead he is driven in such a state of depression realizing he is crazy and doesn't even have Koko anymore he just wants to destroy Metropolis as Lena is able to get Ivy and Harley to try taking him out... with them only later finding out SHE was the one who killed Frank to properly motivate them. Like other people guessed that which I do kind of feel bad for not guessing as well since even I said "wait a minute why would Brainiac specifcally target Frank that doesn't make any sense" but no that was Lena getting Harley and Ivy to essentially take out the baddie when she couldn't really use him anymore. I will say I did get more last week why she didn't go as much to other heroes as she wanted to go to someone to solve this problem that wouldn't result in her being found out for her part in this to try and stop Brainiac but still didn't go about that in a really clever way. Here she did really step it up in terms of more proper manipulation and really sold herself as a threat. Granted only due to convenient timing on the whole Frank spirit that Ivy didn't gut her but I do really like her actually making that deal with Harley to stop the city's destruction and then actually taking Frankette knowing it will split up or at least divide Harley and Ivy's focus. Again we know the main couple won't properly break up but this builds up on Ivy being a lot more narrow minded focused not on the bigger picture when more emotional and Harley having to be the one to realize something's a miss that would lead to conflict as well as them not able to more properly fighting her. And I also like with Harley having tricked and shrunken down Brainiac (that was actually a good use of the play stuff) of her taking over the controls of his ship to now have power over the town. It's not nearly as cool as the Brainathor hybrid we got for the Season 2 finale of JLU but I do like this being a new sort of combination of a Brainaic and a Luthor and her talking about now having that power while she got his connecting roots was a well done scene.

And you know even the subplot little bits were amusing. I do think they shouldn't use Shaun as a deus ex eat in now like nearly every other episode but the actual fight against those Brainiac bots especially when combined were well done and I appreciate getting to see Bane more properly cut loose helping out Ivy and Frankette first using her powers. And it was amusing seeing Bane get so defensive of Goldilocks being punished "just right" and Harley and Ivy ending up in Brainiac's ship and not having idea where they were going and how super out of it Brainiac was in this depressive state. I admit the "oh I'm a video recording yet can still super predict what you will say" is getting to be an old gag but Frank having planned out rambling on for 3 hours to get things ready for Frankette was at least a solid pay off as well as him doing that ghost voice just for dramatics. I will say in terms of story and turnaround and esclation this was a solid ep. Some issues but honestly I feel last week was the real down point of the season and certainly had a more solid end then "Big Pasta Dinner" so yeah best since Brainiac's whole focus even though yeah it's now clear he's not the big bad of the season but hey how we got there and who is does make it worth it.

 

[Frontier]

Welp, it was in fact the most obvious culprit. And to make matters worse, Harley and Ivy were too impulsive, Harley wasn't her usual speedy with the bat to head and Lena is in control of the Skull Ship and drones. Didn't think to take away the teleporter, Vril? It was also odd Harl didn't just opt to bash the console to pieces either come to think of it.

I feel like by then Brainiac was so out of it that he probably just didn't care to even bother...

Bane mostly cared about Goldi but it was interesting to see him be kinda heroic and grab all the kids as the school gave way. Yeah, Shaun is starting to wear thin...

I don't think Bane has done anything legitimately villainous since...season 2 ?

Ron Funches busy with another project when this season recorded? Surprised they didn't get Psycho in, well yet maybe. Not really the old crew as advertised but a minor quibble.

I can kind of see Psycho not showing up because he never really cared about any of them (unless I'm forgetting an episode where he and Frank got along well). Clayface didn't even show up and he's actually been in this season .

I've actually seen people speculate they might be developing a King Shark spinoff (which might be totally off-base for his sporadic appearances this season, but you never know).

 

[Yojimbo]

I've actually seen people speculate they might be developing a King Shark spinoff (which might be totally off-base for his sporadic appearances this season, but you never know).

2/27: That tracks. Other than Bane, no one else really comes to mind for a spin-off. (and speaking of, he did blow up the pasta company last season). edit: Well, I suppose Catwoman could. They could spin Barbara off into a Birds of Prey show.

2/28: Did some rewatching and saw as Harley and Ivy enter Bane's house, you can briefly see the address above the doorway - 9301. A nod to his first appearance in the comics, Batman: Vengeance of Bane (January 1993) and in the letter, the Dutch Teacher signs her name as Mrs. De Brock, a nod to Harley Quinn/Kite Man/Creature Commandos editor Annie De Brock.

 

[Frontier]

I do find it kind of funny that we've had back-to-back seasons where a Luthor has been the main villain (and that's not counting Kite Man where Lex was one of the main trio of villains).

 

[Yojimbo]

Episode 8 (54) "Family Feud" - March 6, 2025

With tensions between them at an all-time high, Harley heads to Bensonhurst for a family emergency, while Ivy vows to take down Lena once and for all.

 

[AlwaysInTheZone]

It's a shame that kill wasn't directly by Harley's hands

But after 5 years I'll take it

 

[Yojimbo]

Ha, Paula Pell as a middle aged lady android. lmao. Priceless.

What a fast episode. Feels like digital Emation put their a-team in charge of animating this one, seemed better quality animation for once.

Nick continued to be the worst right until the end. Not only would he kill his own daughter but made sure not to waste the chance to make more money.

Wondered if they would have Lex at all this season but makes sense he's the object of Lena's hatred.

The teal, the salt store, mini horse idea, trying to sign in on a tablet, typing in the password, Sharon having problems with the chair were amusing bits. And the kisses on unconscious Lex's face, lol. Though we know why, funny Bruce had Clark in his contact list. And Nick's grave is by Clegg's who got killed off last season by Ivy by accident.

Only real critiques was Bruce being down in the dumps again and Ivy being all up in Harley's face about her mistake. Yeah, it was the grief talking but c'mon. Harley should have called you? C'mon.

So how to get to the Skull Ship. Bet Lex has a rocket or ship. Be funny if they pull an "Alive!" from JLU and use the Hall of Doom to fly into space. edit: Wouldn't it be rando if they forget Sharon on the Skull Ship and she shacks up with Vril at the end of the season?

 

[Neo Ultra Mike]

"Family Feud" - You know this probably isn't the worst episode of the show, but it's the one I do have the most moral objections to what it's point is. Which boils down to "Family is the most toxic people you know and hate that you still have some sort of complicated relationship with that you should always try ending on a good relationship in case they die so you don't have unresolved issues with" which just yeah doesn't work. I wasn't really even that fond of the season 1 episode "Bensonhurst" that dealt into Harley's abusive family but that one actually had the much better message that Harley was better off not associating or bothering trying to relate to her parents anymore after how awful they were to her. So to bring them back, have Nick somehow go even worse but then try and play off some sort of complicated morale relating to Harley and Ivy's relationship just... no, no a thousand times no. There's a difference between a couple who has issues and personal beef with one another they have to work through that still do really care for one another deep down and just outright scum you SHOULDN'T have in your life regardless of how they might be related to you. And quite frankly I was already feeling that way to Harleen's parents after they sold her out in season one so trying to relate it to the main relationship of the show here just doesn't work. I guess it was also an excuse to bring back Lex Luthor even though like... Lena hadn't really even brought him up that much let alone in a "I need to be better then him" light till now. Again that's the problem with though likely having a somewhat grand plan also giving room for each writer in this sort of arc to add in too many of their own ideas; they don't really gel with what came before and just feel there to add in new complications or twists to the story.

And you know the more I think about it the more I think the writers themselves don't realize that Ivy on this one woman quest for revenge is far more in the wrong. Maybe I thought that's what they were going for in the first half considering how Ivy's plan didn't go anywhere but if that was the case they should of had HER apologize and go "you know I realize I'm awful at these plans of revenge and going in hot without any thought put into it at all that doesn't get me anywhere" which no still tying into Harley's whole parental issue which again isn't even how relationships on this show were forged before. Like sans "Bensonhurst" or even the Kite Man spin off dealing with Chuck and Lisa's parental issues, didn't this season have Ivy get over Jason Woodrue who she by defintion could of had a complicated relationship with and the lesson wasn't "oh you can't cut that person out of their live just because they wanted to kill you because of your complicated history". So why are we doing this exactly here with Harley and her parents? Just to have jokes about her mom lusting after Lex or not knowing how to work the car door which... like in theory maybe if i liked or got behind Sharon more I could appreciate but it's just the situation and what they've shown to be okay with that just doesn't make me care about her or want to see her around at all. Seriously there's a difference between family is complicated but deep down they are always down for you and "family is awful but just because they're family they should be in your life in some way at all" ... yeah sorry seems like I can't get past that point but it's just such a big one and I just wanted to rant about how much I didn't like it.

Honestly not like the rest of this one has a lot to make up for it. GAIL though having a decent joke of Ivy admitting how useful this dottering old woman distracting you could be as security wasn't worth like the super long build up for it and again maybe if they had a different actor then "I play Batman/Bruce best when I'm the straight man" Dedirch Bader lamenting his loss of Lena (I mean didn't this Bruce just reconnect with Dick and Damian why have him just total pathetic meloncholy now anyway?) but that isn't really that funny. I guess the guy who was going to cut up Harley wanting five stars for his job and talking to Nick while Harley was trying to escape was sort of funny but... yeah that was it really little bitty laughs like even the ending cliff hanger of Lena bottling Metropolis doesn't have the impact it should when it feels like things happen so haphazardly. Like I just realized that Lena now is fine killing Harley and Ivy but like she's going through so many hoops when she has these murder drones (I guess the thumbs up joke with Brainiac was fine but not salvaging the episode fine) that feels like she should be using better but isn't and yeah how she's even rearraging metropolis isn't leading to interesting bits of story or character really. So like a pretty bleh episode. Again season 5 did start out fairly strong but it does feel once we got Brainiac's backstory that made him too sympathetic to be the main villain this one has been finding new and different ways of whiffing and I don't know if there will be a solid follow through to end this season.

 

[Yojimbo]

And you know the more I think about it the more I think the writers themselves don't realize that Ivy on this one woman quest for revenge is far more in the wrong. Maybe I thought that's what they were going for in the first half considering how Ivy's plan didn't go anywhere but if that was the case they should of had HER apologize and go "you know I realize I'm awful at these plans of revenge and going in hot without any thought put into it at all that doesn't get me anywhere" which no still tying into Harley's whole parental issue which again isn't even how relationships on this show were forged before. Like sans "Bensonhurst" or even the Kite Man spin off dealing with Chuck and Lisa's parental issues, didn't this season have Ivy get over Jason Woodrue who she by defintion could of had a complicated relationship with and the lesson wasn't "oh you can't cut that person out of their live just because they wanted to kill you because of your complicated history". So why are we doing this exactly here with Harley and her parents? Just to have jokes about her mom lusting after Lex or not knowing how to work the car door which... like in theory maybe if i liked or got behind Sharon more I could appreciate but it's just the situation and what they've shown to be okay with that just doesn't make me care about her or want to see her around at all. Seriously there's a difference between family is complicated but deep down they are always down for you and "family is awful but just because they're family they should be in your life in some way at all" ... yeah sorry seems like I can't get past that point but it's just such a big one and I just wanted to rant about how much I didn't like it.

I think it's all messily, ironically, going to be tied into the grand point they think of to sway Vril which also is the title of the season finale. Basically, nobody's perfect and the examples are the various families - the Quinzels, even Vril's had dysfunction with him and his son, the Luthors, King Shark's one parent household and Shaun, etc. - but it's okay they/you're not perfect. Even Bane and Betty's isn't with Goldilocks getting detention but they are the closest and it doesn't matter, they're a happy family regardless. And that's why they played up Ivy as Frank's mom more directly, far from perfect and then her coming to terms with Frankette and wanting to rescue her for Frank's wishes. Come to think of it, they did abandon plans to revisit Ivy's parents but dropped it in season 3 or 4 but I digress.

Bringing Sharon along was odd to me in the sense of why she gets a free pass. Harley basically cut herself off because both Nick and Sharon tried to kill her in season 1.

Idk, anything would be better than season 3 imo, but the only thing I'm hoping for is a hilarious comeuppance for Lena and unexpected outcome Vril like I speculated in my post.

 

[Frontier]

Well, I'm glad they spaced out the big HarleyIvy fight this season so that when it did happen it had actual weight to it and it made sense why Ivy would be so ticked off even if Harley thinks she was as justified as she could be in this scenario. Good drama .

Gotta be honest, much as I love Charlie Adler, did not expect to see Harley's parents ever again. A part of me had an inkling that her dad was just manipulating her again to try and get her to come...though there was actually a plotline where her mom had cancer so maybe that could be it...but no, her dad is still a manipulative and cheap jerk who only sees his daughter as a means of mooching off of even if she dies in the process. Repetitive? Yes. Consistent, well yeah .

Also, here's Harley's mom buck-naked in a tub !

Remember when Bruce actually acted like a Superhero and did...Superhero things instead of whining and getting depressed over his failed relationships? He hasn't really felt like Batman in like 3 seasons. Like, I get it, this isn't a Batman show and we don't want him to get in Harley and Ivy's way, but like...does he not care about the citizens? Or anything ?

This was the episode about Ivy dealing with her favorite thing in the world...people! Especially people who need her emotional reassurance .

I honestly should've seen the Colu finger jokes coming but it was still hilarious

If Lena constantly bringing up Lex in her attempts to revamp HER Metropolis weren't enough indication that she's obsessed with her brother...ready her journal. Kind of makes Lena come off childish and obsessed with her image over Lex at all costs. She even managed to do what he couldn't in terms of taking full control of Metropolis .

Only in Gotham would the Hello Tech guy also be capable of dissecting and dismembering people! I liked him though, shame his last five star had to come at the expense of Harley killing him .

Honestly, I doubt Nick would have ever changed, but he seemed to actually be reflective while Harley was reading him the riot act while taking down those guns. Guess we'll never know how he really felt .

Harley honestly seemed ticked off enough to finally kill her dad, but she probably wouldn't have actually done it. So a stray bullet during a fight will have to do. And, yeah, he was a terrible person who treated his family terribly...but he was still family and they loved him .

(Also this oddly reminded me of a Harley Quinn novel where she's inadvertently responsible for her abusive dad dying and takes it about as hard).

Honestly, she may have been an annoying but effective security system robot with deadly weaponry...but I actually liked GAIL! She had a lot of personality! And she made for an amazing shield .

Being mad at someone doesn't mean you love them any less .

So Ivy already knows Harley's mom? Really curious about when Harley introduced Pam to her fam .

Harley's mom has joined the team! And she is as insufferable as you would expect! But she gets the job done when she gets her seat in the right position .

What is it with this show and horny widows almost immediately after their husband passes away? At least Harley actually called it out .

So jury's out on whether they actually got Giancarlo back for Lex because he's voiceless so far. Guess they could bring back Amuche Chukudebelu .

 

[RoyalRubble]

It was nice I guess seeing Harley's messed up family again and she did get some kind of closure. Her mom was slightly more tolerable than her dad and was kind of fun. But Ivy versus the security system was more entertaining. I also liked the realization that Lex was the key to defeating Lena, and how the jail break played out (even if we didn't see everything going on inside).

 

[Neo Ultra Mike]

I think it's all messily, ironically, going to be tied into the grand point they think of to sway Vril which also is the title of the season finale. Basically, nobody's perfect and the examples are the various families - the Quinzels, even Vril's had dysfunction with him and his son, the Luthors, King Shark's one parent household and Shaun, etc. - but it's okay they/you're not perfect. Even Bane and Betty's isn't with Goldilocks getting detention but they are the closest and it doesn't matter, they're a happy family regardless. And that's why they played up Ivy as Frank's mom more directly, far from perfect and then her coming to terms with Frankette and wanting to rescue her for Frank's wishes.

Look I don't have a problem with "look these people will make mistakes and get on your nerves a lot but at the end of the day you still have a strong connection with them you shouldn't throw away and work through things even if it's hard." However that lesson SHOULDN'T be confused with the "no this relationship and every facet of it is totally toxic and you would be better off NOT having this person in your life whatsoever no matter what connection you have had for them for so long." And like it doesn't matter if it's family either since "Bensonhurst" was about how Harley had every right to distance herself from her parents for how awful they were that it does feel they're backtreading on now which yeah I'm not okay with. Seriously if something like say the movie Dog Man knows better about relationships of flawed people who can work to be better and cutting away just plain toxic people then this show, that IS a problem. Like the whole basis of the initial Harley Quinn series that made up the big arc of season one was Harley moving away from needing anything from The Joker. Which I guess technically they still interact every so often but not in a meaningful connection sort of way of any kind which is for the better.

 

[RoyalRubble]

Episode 9 (55) "Bottle Episode (But Not a 'Bottle Episode')" - March 13, 2025

As Harley and Ivy attempt to save Metropolis from complete destruction, Bruce, the Joker and Lois form an unexpected alliance.

 

[Yojimbo]

Oops, Harley's psychiatry was too good and now Lex and Lena plot to rule the universe together. Shrug.

Wow, they recast Lex yet again with Wendell Pierce. Giancarlo is a busy guy but really?

Ivy calling Batman a corporate schill was my favorite bit. Or Joker pretty much auto-killing drones as he goes on about signatures. lol. Joker and Lois dunking on Bruce throughout was the best, heh heh.

5 seasons and oh yeah, first time Ivy was in the Batcave in the show. Comments on the Jason Todd Robin costume, too. heheh. And Lex immediately flexes he has a bigger penny.

lol, the Bat-Radia. Nice grab from the comics. And the Superman watch at last. Nice swath of name drops in DC and pop culture. Bane mentioned Fawcett City. Clayface quoted from Richard III. Harley's password was Riddler's site in The Batman. The bit about Thomas and Martha making sure Bruce was the only child made me think of Thomas Jr. from the WF comics in the 70s, they put him in an insane asylum. Hmm, wonder if the Luthor butler Nigel was a nod to Nigel St. John from Lois & Clark.

99.9% hope is lost but there's still the 0.1% of the Morse code reaching Superman, Frankette is still somewhere in that room, they might get Vril to finally do something, and well, Lex betraying Lena could still happen despite the reconciliation because it's Lex.

 

[RoyalRubble]

Lex and Lena teaming up to take over the universe. Sounds plausible enough but we'll see how long it lasts.

Some good gags, too. The signatures, Joker and Lois making fun of Bruce, Lex commenting on the Batcave, or Lois' way of private messaging Superman via Morse Code. I'm guessing he'll return for the finale.

Also liked the Bat-Radia (built by Joker's daughter?), and Bruce just remembering he owns the Daily Planet.

 

[AlwaysInTheZone]

and I thought MY sister hated me for petty reasons, this Lex seems like a whole nother' character with that voice, so kind of hoping they kill him off next week in the finale

Also they look like they're setting up Bruce to rebound with Lois, Batman/Lois/Superman love triangle incoming?

 

[Neo Ultra Mike]

"Bottle Episode" - You know maybe if the larger structural issues with this episode were solid I could ignore some of the smaller things that are bothering me about this one but they aren't so yeah going to rant on the small stuff before building up to the larger problems.

- I do remember a complaint someone had about Brainiac doing a 4th wall breaking gag earlier in the season and it feeling off which I could certainly see but at least I could personally take it as a "well the guy has obviously gone crazy and still may think he needs to talk to someone else so just assumes there's an audience even if there isn't" and not be the most bothered by it. But did they have Poison Ivy really make a "the people online would complain if we actually broke up" joke? Sorry but as out there and goofy as the Harley Quinn show is, the main characters in it aren't supposed to be on that sort of meta level about it. Observant of tropes and mocking of things? Yeah but not literally ones who are going to reference the fanbase. Like honestly feels like they threw that line in as a reference to the fan and also gripe on "we know if we actually broke up the couple you people would get antsy so we're saying we won't even though to us that robs potential tension" but yeah that is just one of the most immersion breaking bits of the entire episode that totally took me out watching it.

- You know let's ignore whether or not Joker should remember Batman is Bruce Wayne which he obviously doesn't at all because you know what fine that was something never fully confirmed either so let's play the game he doesn't know at all... how in the hell is neither he nor Lois putting it together NOW seeing Harley talking to Bruce in the batcave or you know Harley at least telling Ivy more directly the truth? Like didn't they make a whole point about not keeping secrets anymore? Like isn't the whole Bruce Wayne is Batman a secret why in the hell is that still a major thing? Kind of feels like that's a producer's note at this point like "you can't have any of the other villains or characters who were villains but aren't on this show at least anymore know that Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same" even though this is the last place and time with these characters to be caring about THAT secret. I also think the whole justification of Bruce wanting to work on himself is a pretty lame rationale for not being Batman. Maybe if they build up to it more naturally and didn't have the last season finale have this whole point about Bruce needing to be Batman again and now saying "oh nevermind he actually didn't" but guess if they can't follow the plot from episode to episode within the narrative of this season wouldn't expect them to do so within a whole other season of this show.

- Which yeah brings like the whole larger point in how sporadic so much of this feels like. It was only last episode we were building up the idea of Lena really having any resentment towards Lex at all and now framing it as this big thing of her wanting to kill him but now finding out that was because she wasn't able to play with his toys and that building to wanting to just crush everything but... then like Harley gets them to talk for two minutes and now they're suddenly fine sharing the power and working together? I admit I do like the idea of the therapy actually working the opposite way and showing "yeah sometimes it's the WRONG CALL to try and talk things out" but again it just feels like even between scenes of this own episode the series isn't properly connecting the dots together. And you know I was sort of fine having Lena as the main antagonist because she is at least a different flavor of Luthor but yeah the people who complained "oh we're getting too much Lex having him be a big bad of the last season and then Kite Man and now this" well yeah you guys certainly have a point with him now having to be dealt with AGAIN. Hell I don't even get why they really needed to even have Lex brought on anyway since if you are able to get a ship and get to where Lena is with the Brainiac drone head, get some freaking plants as well to give Ivy something to take down those tendrils and kill her there. Like I don't think the characters should all be so stupid they have to believe the best plan was Harley's plan of getting Lex to plan. Though that also brings another problem we haven't really delved into but yeah is evident here

- Even for a comedy you are making the characters too on the same note and not have anything to contrast against. It isn't Teen Titans Go "Five Idiots on the same flavor level with occassionally Robin having to whip the others into shape" but man it is really getting there. At first I did kind of like the idea of Lois's superior penmanship impressing Joker or her having jabs on Bruce's plan as they were going along but it just felt like the same sort of character bit of "we are smarily not taking the situation seriously at all and that is the joke" over and over again. Quite frankly the show before had so many characters have specific ticks in how seriously they took something and that was the fun of it but it really has been seeming they've been writing so many the same lately it actually does detract even from the level of comedy. Like between editor Perry Clayface and Bane getting super drunk and Sharon constantly butting in and even Lois having this whole rant about being upset about not actually being able to seriously contact Superman it all felt very samey and not really that funny to keep piling on. Seriously they do try to have this more somber ending moment of Harley breaking down after being bottled relating to Brainiac's ideas of perfection but like... they had too many honestly jarbs and it just felt things things with just rambling on without a solid note of structure that it couldn't hit that at all. Hell feels like ignoring relationships or characterization just led to weaker jokes. Instead of Luthor noticing Ivy had reder hair because he always cares about hair, wouldn't it have been funnier with Ivy awkwardly asking Lex what happened since they twharted him and he related the whole Kite Man spinoff anti life equation plot and how messy that got? Hell like when Ivy and Harley get to Brainiac's ship there's a brief mention of Frankette but we don't even see her at all and feels like an afterhought despite how important that was in the last two episodes so again just a characterization mess.

I guess there were some jokes I did like every so often; Lex wondering who Sharon was and why she was in the rocket, Lois having the telegraph as a way of having sexted Superman/Clark in the past and Joker smarily annoyed that the project his daughter was working on was this weapon rocket and now messed up an idea that is but... yeah otherwise just a mess through and through. And I know "The Mess Is the Point" and that's next week's finale but you know it's suppose to be in terms of character relationships and fall outs and unique reactions to the insanity not the writers just throwing half cooked ideas at the screen and not even that amusing banter normally balancing it out. Again I had problems with season 4 but I do remember that though the middle of that season had some thuds it did really pick up by the later half compared to this one that yeah has just been having some many whiffs.

 

[Yojimbo]

- You know let's ignore whether or not Joker should remember Batman is Bruce Wayne which he obviously doesn't at all because you know what fine that was something never fully confirmed either so let's play the game he doesn't know at all... how in the hell is neither he nor Lois putting it together NOW seeing Harley talking to Bruce in the batcave or you know Harley at least telling Ivy more directly the truth? Like didn't they make a whole point about not keeping secrets anymore?

They thought Bruce's lie that Batman is on his bankroll sounded on par and didn't question it any further.

When it comes to keeping Bruce's secret from Ivy. Yeah, that's a big one. Doctor-patient confidentiality is one of the few rules Harley holds higher than the no-secrets-policy. Hmm.

I also think the whole justification of Bruce wanting to work on himself is a pretty lame rationale for not being Batman. Maybe if they build up to it more naturally and didn't have the last season finale have this whole point about Bruce needing to be Batman again and now saying "oh nevermind he actually didn't" but guess if they can't follow the plot from episode to episode within the narrative of this season wouldn't expect them to do so within a whole other season of this show.

Felt like a case of we'll set this up and mine it next season then as they worked on this season, decided to keep mining and threw in some heavy referencing of Jason Todd. Red Hood almost showed up in season 1 and he is in Harley's cell phone. So if there is a season 6, maybe they'll finally conclude this arc of Bruce's by throwing Red Hood in the mix.