‘Harley Quinn’ Season 4, Episode 5 Review — A Lack Of Laughs
by Frank Martin
This season of Harley Quinn is moving along. Not every episode can be ridiculously funny or move the plot along in any meaningful way. That’s not to say it was a bad episode. The writing is still strong. The show delivers great one-liners and provides unique versions of DC Comics characters that fans can’t catch anywhere else. That alone means that fun is built right into the premise of the series. However, the show still has a plot and characters arcs. Sometimes they just aren’t as solid as they could be, as in the case of this week’s installment.
As with most episodes this season, it’s divided into two story lines involving Harley (Kaley Cuoco) and Poison Ivy (Lake Bell). Harley tries to fit in and prove her dedication to the Bat-Family. Because she’s not used to fighting in the shadows, her eyesight in the dark is not great. So she has Lasik surgery in the hopes it will help. Unfortunately, Batgirl (Briana Cuoco) goes missing and Harley must attempt to find her. Meanwhile, Ivy is looking to mentor other women at the Legion of Doom. But Lex Luthor (Giancarlo Esposito) gives her his PR team, which boosts Ivy’s ego and causes her to neglect the very women she was trying to help.
There are three types of jokes in the show: the hilarious one-liners, silly versions of characters, and the hilarity that comes about because of the plot. The first two are baked right into the premise and this episode certainly had them. It’s absolutely ridiculous to see Jim Gordon (Christopher Meloni) abandon retired life at the drop of a hat in order to work security at the Legion of Doom. At the same time, this episode lacked the plot-driven comedy we’ve seen previously. It is funny to see Harley get surgery to see in the dark more like a bat, but it just didn’t rise to the level of laughs that other Harley Quinn shenanigans has achieved.
Harley Quinn streams Thursdays on Max.
