TV Review: HARLEY QUINN: Season 1, Episode 1: Pilot [DC Universe, NYCC 2019]

NYCC 2019 Harley Quinn Pilot Review

DC Universe‘s Harley Quinn premiered its pilot episode at 2019 New York Comic Con. The show is created by Justin Halpern, Dean Lorey, and Patrick Schumacker, and it stars Kaley Cuoco, Alan Tudyk, and Lake Bell. This iteration of Harley Quinn’s story uses a classic animation style and introduces a new look, and a new life, for Harley Quinn.

The episode begins with some classic Harley Quinn. Harley appears in her red and black full-body jester outfit to steal from the rich and murder them in grotesque ways. She’s accompanied by her boyfriend, The Joker, who totally steals the spotlight with his own jokes and personalized weapons. It’s clear from the beginning that there’s an imbalance in this relationship, though it’s uncertain whether that’s just comedic tension or something more sinister. Batman is quick to arrive at the scene, arresting Harley and imprisoning her in Arkham Asylum along with other DC villains like Poison Ivy and The Riddler.

The Joker promises Harley Quinn that he’ll break her out of jail within days, but he doesn’t come. Of course, nothing about this show, from its gore to its characters, feels at all real, which is part of the fun. But that’s also what makes it so jarring to watch just how real Harley’s continuing attachment to The Joker is during their time apart. Perfectly portraying the dynamic of so many real relationships, Harley undergoes complex mental gymnastics in order to prove to herself that The Joker still loves her and that his abandonment of her has a good reason. Her endless forgiveness for objectively awful boyfriend behavior gets on the nerves of Poison Ivy, with whom she becomes closer and closer during their time in Arkham. (Yay for strong female friendships, but these scenes come nowhere near passing the Bechdel test.) I’ll leave the rest of the plot a surprise, and trust me, you’re going to enjoy it.

The irony in all of this is that Harley Quinn was formerly psychiatrist Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a brilliant woman with a knack for on-the-nose diagnoses. Her ignorance of her own unhealthy relationship dynamics is quite compelling, and it brings a welcome level of complexity to a character who absolutely deserves it. Fans of Harley Quinn know that this woman has great zingers and is a total boss in combat (at one point in this episode we see her tear apart someone’s tendons with her teeth; blood spurts ensue). But those fight scenes aren’t nearly as interesting without the character development to back them up. All of Harley Quinn’s fighting in this episode is very much about her exploring her identity, both individually and as part of a couple. The classic villain/hero fighting is far less important than the story of a woman who changed for her boyfriend and is now working hard to figure out who she is.

Be warned: the violence is pretty brutal and there’s a lot of swearing. Of course these elements are to be expected with Harley Quinn, and at least the animation style makes it a bit easier to separate some pretty gross images from the viewer’s reality. For fans like me who close their eyes through those scenes, there’s plenty of other entertainment value that takes forms like Poison Ivy’s opinionated plant Frank, cameos of other beloved DC characters, and a whole new look (and weapon) for Harley Quinn. Overall, the show has a strong balance going between DC’s history and new terrain for Harley, and it offers a spectacle and a story that are not to be missed.

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