Review: Harley Quinn “A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special”

Overview:

Harley spirals down a destructive path when the mounting pressures of Valentine’s Day bring out her most codependent and dysfunctional habits in an effort to prove to Ivy how much she loves her. The ebb and flow of Harley and Ivy’s tricky relationship dynamics carry over into the rest of Gotham’s caped crusaders and fearsome foes. Loneliness and insecurity tightly grip Gotham like some sort of Kryptonite as DC’s finest fumble through romance. 

And Bane gets big!

Our Take:

“What’s not to love about Valentine’s Day?”

It’s always satisfying when a strong program’s success allows it to produce some extra installments for a particular holiday, whether that’s Halloween, Christmas, or Valentine’s Day. It’s an easy excuse to tell a seasonal standalone story and it’s an exercise that makes even more sense for an animated series that has comics for its source material. Harley Quinn is a series about superheroes and villains, but it’s really a show about personal relationships and inner growth, which can become a pressure cooker during Valentine’s Day, in particular. “A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special” is Harley Quinn at its Harley Quinn-iest and it sets an impressive standard for DC relationship stories to come.

Holiday anthologies that tackle a multitude of diverse relationships are common in cinema, but it’s also a major staple in comics when big holiday annual issues get released. “A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special” leans into this celebratory and care-free aesthetic and it really feels like this could be a “Valentine’s Day Annual” DC crossover comic. Harley and Ivy’s relationship is the centerpiece, but this special is effectively structured in a manner where dozens of DC relationships are earnestly examined. Harley Quinn checks in on Superman and Lois, Kite Man and Golden Glider, Killer Croc and Enchantress, and so many more. Selina even finds a way to smuggle some holiday chocolate to Bruce while he’s in prison. Oh, and the Riddler and Clock King are engaged. Did you get your “Save the Date” yet? 

The structurally frenetic aspect to the special that allows it to touch base with such a wide net of characters is also, in some ways, its biggest deterrent. There’s certainly a disjointed feeling at times and some of the therapy transition sequences feel more natural than others. None of this is ever much of an issue and the story moves along fast enough. There’s certainly a tighter, simplified version of this episode that could still work quite well, but it’s honestly more rewarding that Harley Quinn gets a slightly larger canvas to experiment a little more. Alternatively, it’s also not hard to imagine a version of “A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special” that with some slight alterations would succeed at feature-film length. 

It’s equally brilliant that Harley would orchestrate an elaborate fake recipe rampage that levels a small corner of Gotham all in the name of love. To that point, the writing in “A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special” is structurally satisfying, but the dialogue and gags remain at the top of their game. Bane makes the funniest and most satisfying Dark Knight Rises joke that’s humanly possible. The banter and exchanges are so funny that even someone without any reverence or knowledge of DC Comics will still be consistently laughing. On top of this, there are also gallons of blood spilled from over the top violence, much of which works as graphically gruesome gags.

There’s such a glut of superhero content, both animated and otherwise, that a respectful adaptation has become the baseline. Harley Quinn has never disappointed with its cavalcade of comic references, but the show’s secret weapon is its emotional maturity and that these comic caricatures are treated like real-life people with nuance. Harley and Ivy’s relationship has matured and gained depth since the very first episode and “A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special” crystalizes their past struggles as they prepare for unknown territory. The path that both characters head down in this interlude between seasons three and four is consistent with Harley Quinn’s past work, but it also showcases just how well this show understands its characters. Every relationship that’s elaborated on here hints at different aspects of the human condition and these emotional character arcs are more satisfying than any grandiose act of villainy or heroism.

“A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special” covers a lot of ground in its extended 44-minute runtime, but it’s appreciated that it gets back to the series core issues and that it’s ultimately about Harley finding confidence–both in herself and in her relationship–so that she can implicitly trust Ivy. It’s raw and scary, but that’s what true love really is and this special episode of Harley Quinn captures that sentiment, despite all of its superhero silliness. “A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special” could arguably be tighter and there’s a case to be made that all of this could be condensed into a standard-length episode, but it’s hard to begrudge something that’s this humorous and heartfelt. It’s the perfect treat to keep fans in love with Harley Quinn until season four premieres.