Review: Harley Quinn “Bachelorette”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

In order to give Ivy the best bachelorette party ever (as well as get over the weirdness between them since escaping The Pit), Harley books a trip to Themyscira, island of the Amazons, which as gone under some change in management since Wonder Woman’s disappearance and become more like a giant day spa resort run by Eris, who is incidentally the goddess of chaos. But because Harley and Ivy don’t have a ton of female friends to join them, they bring along Catwoman, Nora Fries (Mr. Freeze’s widow), and Jennifer, Ivy’s friend from childhood. Harley has been way into making everything up to the exact specifications of pleasing Ivy, but her desperation to act normal is still pretty obvious. Still, everything seems to be going according to plan…until they get too drunk and sleep together.

Meanwhile, Kite Man, Clayface, Frank the Plant, and King Shark are doing their own dinky Bachelor Party are visited by Sebastia-ER I MEAN Samson the Crab, who has come to bring King, or rather Nanaue, back to the Shark Kingdom in order to fulfill his arranged marriage to another shark named Tabitha, who’s just as un-enthused as he is. And while he’s ready to tell his father off and refuse outright, he ends up caving and agreeing to marry, if only to keep his and her families from warring. But as he explains to the boys, he’s still looking for a soulmate.

Back on Amazon Prime Island, Ivy tries hiding in her room for the rest of the weekend, but Harley lures out of the proverbial closet by promising the other part of her plan for the trip: Eris has actually brainwashed Queen Hippolyta and is planning on turning the island over to Lex Luthor (who unsurprisingly survived the Legion of Doom’s destruction), who is going to tear the place apart by throwing a huge music festival, so they’re going to kill Eris and save the environment. As expected, Ivy loves it and the newly formed Cobb Squad (don’t ask) reclaim Themyscira for the Amazons, followed by another huge party!…that leads to Harley and Ivy sleeping together again. Ivy once again hates that it happened, but Harley gives her pitch to try it out. After some thought, Ivy decides that it couldn’t last and commits to marrying Kite Man, leaving Harley in tears.

OUR TAKE

Once again, this show displays how it knows how to play with the toys in its box like none else. Going on a bachelorette trip to Wonder Woman’s home and turning it upside down in cacophony of sex, booze, and murder is probably not something that would even be considered if not for the series focusing on a villain/anti-hero like Harley. DC is apparently pretty protective with its hero characters (though you could’ve fooled me with putting out stuff like BVS, but I digress), so it’s only through the warped and kooky lens of the Clown Princess of Crime that these more hallowed settings can be messed with in this way. I mean, unless it’s done on something like Robot Chicken, which should really do another DC Comics Special. And another Star Wars Special, now that I think about it.

But while this is all super novel and funny on paper, how does it play out in execution? Well, I personally enjoyed just about every little gag that played out in Harley’s plot, from the birds fatally smacking into the invisible vehicles, to the obviously fake social media lingo, even the griping about bottomless drinks. Though what I think held it all together was that it was based in strong character writing, along with this show’s usual rapid fire joke salvo that it likes to hit us with every week. And a few very well detailed animation moments didn’t hurt either. On the other hand, King Shark’s plot feels a bit blasé in comparison, but even that still manages to have a strong and persuasive energy to it, even in the “I can’t believe Disney doesn’t sue Warner Bros the next morning” song by not-Sebastian about pooping in the ocean. And it shows that extra bit of thought in the writing that both plots follow an overlapping theme of settling versus staying open to love until you find your soulmate, which looks like it isn’t done being explored just yet.

Ivy seems to give a pretty definitive answer at the end of this episode, turning down Harley’s invitation to take their already amazing friendship to the next level, but with four episodes remaining in the season, I have a hard time thinking that this is the last we see of their chemistry, especially with the title for the finale kind of a giveaway about where this might be headed. But hey, as long as this series continues its stellar track record of episodes, I’m all for seeing wherever it may go.