Season Review: Harley Quinn Season Four

Overview:

Harley, Ivy, the Legion of Doom, and the entire Bat Family are back and Gotham City may never be the same. A cathartic year of communication, change, and closure has left Harley and Ivy at the opposite extremes of the criminal spectrum. Ivy and Harley may not be aligned when it comes to matters of justice, but the two have never been healthier as a couple. Harley and Ivy have greater confidence than ever to be their best selves. However, a chaotic bid for power in an unstable Gotham has the potential to make or break everything that Harley and Ivy have been working towards. Heroism, villainy, vigilantism, and everything in between have never been more complicated.

Our Take:

Harley Quinn has been at the top of its game since its debut, but season four may go down as its best. This is a very strong return that’s just as confident, hilarious, and brutal as it’s ever been, yet somehow feels the freshest yet. Harley Quinn actively gets better and combats apathy during a period when most shows begin to regress and get lazier. This DC animated property continues to tell stories and explore the theme of labels, expectations, and the possibility of growth in a world that thrives upon stasis. It’s exactly the type of introspection a comic book show needs, especially one that’s four seasons in. Oh, and King Shark is a dad now.

Harley Quinn picks up hot on the heels of season three’s cataclysmic fallout that literally changed Gotham’s landscape in groundbreaking ways. Poison Ivy, now Head Bitch In Charge at the Legion of Doom, pushes a new brand of “socially conscious crimes” as she leads a robust regime change. This season includes many fun examples where Ivy’s environmentally-friendly deeds come from good intentions, only to turn into convoluted acts of evil.

Additionally, this season unpacks some really excellent Big Ladies of Evil moments where Ivy butts heads with Gotham’s latest girlboss, Talia al Ghul, who sets her sights on Gotham, Wayne Enterprises, and maybe even Ivy. Talia al Ghul gleefully fills the power void that’s now present after Bruce’s incarceration following season three’s events. It’s hard to miss Bruce with Talia and so many other fresh developments afoot that make Harley Quinn better than ever.

Harley is now fully in hero mode as she helps out the Bat Family and actually learns that she’s a great detective with indispensable information on Gotham’s criminal underworld.   Rich, rewarding growing pains develop as Harley struggles with the Bat Family’s “no killing” policy as she fails to ditch old habits. This season’s moving subtext continually reinforces that Harley Quinn is actually a hero, not a villain, and by the end of these episodes she’s no longer able to hide this truth from the world or herself. This season transforms this internal struggle over Harley’s duality into a physical fight as these two sides of her literally come to blows. It’s a fitting conclusion to a tug of war that’s been in play since the series’ start. There’s also lots of tension between Harley and Ivy as they officially fight on different sides of the law while still engaging in a loving relationship together.

This season even gives Alfred a lot to do and the oft-neglected butler gains richer depth through his stories this year. There’s an exceptional misunderstanding that puts Alfred in the best type of “fish out of water” scenario that contains some of the series’ strongest use of the character. It’s even better than Alfred’s previous Macaroni madness. Harley Quinn deserves lots of praise for knowing when to leave certain characters behind or let them recede into the background rather than play a tired tune. Many satisfying new players step into Harley and Ivy’s lives and it’s wild to think of how nearly the entire original supporting core cast is gone and changed.

Harley Quinn’s new episodes also feature lots of new DC rogues that are handled incredibly well in the series’ rapidly-growing world. There’s a surprisingly disturbing serial killer showcase for Professor Pyg that’s one of the best interpretations of the character and the darkest episodes of the series that shows that Harley Quinn still has plenty of fresh this to say when it comes to DC’s many ancillary oddballs. On that note, Harley Quinn remains extremely violent and wince-inducing. Stray teeth, eyes, and skull fragments fill every episode in explosive displays of brutality that somehow find a way to double as pitch black comedy. 

Superhero and comic book fatigue is reaching a fever pitch and yet a series like Harley Quinn continues to evolve past its initial premise and blossom in beautiful ways. Harley Quinn’s continued innovation and success is proof that any character can trigger emotionally resonant stories with the right passion and support. DC Comics’ pin-up girl psychopath is now the best source of challenging, compelling character-driven comic book storytelling.

Who’s laughing now?

Season four of ‘Harley Quinn’ premieres July 27th on Max