Review: Harley Quinn “A Seat at the Table”

Overview (Spoilers Below)
Harley and the gang formally get inducted into the Legion of Doom. However, while Harley’s getting the star treatment, her gang is treated like ordinary goons and henchmen. Additionally, now that Harley is Joker’s equal, Joker attempts to reconnect with her. However, is it with good intentions, or is he still up to his dirty tricks?

Our Take
Well, this was rather surprising. Rather than the usual chuckles and ha-ha’s (although they’re still minorly present), we get a little more emotional depth this go around. It’s certainly an interesting deviation from the normal formula.

For starters, the majority of the episode has to deal with Joker attempting to reconnect with Harley. Admittedly, the portions with Joker were rather obvious as to what would inevitably play out. However, there’s one crucial moment really makes one sympathize with Harley. With the surrounding background music to the rapid flashbacks, it really drives the emotional impact deep within the minds of the audience. You honestly feel bad for Harley and her situation here.

Additionally, the ending was something that, admittedly, I should have seen coming, but didn’t. After finally receiving what she wanted all along, a series of events, unfortunately, screw that all up. It honestly makes me question how the rest of the season will play out. Harley essentially goes back to square one. Where on earth will she go from here? While you do feel bad for Harley, you really do feel bad for the others as well here. They all feel like they’re playing second fiddle to Harley’s Legion of Doom stardom. It’s unfortunate, as they all seemed to really connect with each other. I only hope things will resolve themselves in a happy manner by the season’s end.

Speaking of the ending, the very final portion (which I won’t give away here) is probably one of the most dramatic moments this series has pulled off thus far. It honestly took me aback! The last thing I was expecting from a comedy series was to wrap things up on a suspenseful note! It’s an exciting change of pace for sure. I additionally liked how the end credits didn’t use the typical rock-n-roll cover this time. While it’s a great track, it wouldn’t have meshed well at all with the suspenseful tension of the final sequence. This is yet another piece where I’m just left wondering with questions galore. Who’s behind the event, and what will end up happening next? It makes me excited to see how next week’s episode will play out for sure.

To conclude, a pretty decent episode all around. It treads some fairly-new territory while still maintaining the qualities that make the series likable. It’s a nice deviation from the norm, and one that I wouldn’t mind seeing explored further as the series progresses.