Harley Quinn season 1, episode 1 review: Till Death Do Us Part

DC Universe’s animated Harley Quinn series made an explosive debut, but did it live up to expectations?

Harley Quinn: A comic book character so unique to the genre she didn’t even get her start in comics. That’s right, she made her debut in the universally-acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series back in the early ’90s as The Joker’s devoted henchwoman/girlfriend, and has become a pop-culture phenomenon ever since.

That popularity led to her being adapted into the comics and, following that, she eventually hit the big-screen with Margot Robbie playing her in 2016’s Suicide Squad. But it was only a matter of time until she came home and it’s finally happened, as Harley headlines her very own animated series, aptly titled Harley Quinn, on the DC Universe.

After much anticipation, the first episode of the series has arrived, but is “Till Death Do Us Part” as wonderfully weird as it promised to be? Let’s find out.

A starring role for Harley

One thing that Harley Quinn is quick to make clear is the fact that this is very much a Harley Quinn series. It might feature The Joker, it might even feature Batman, but this one is all about Harley – much to the show’s benefit.

The premiere episode starts like any other Harley adventure (with a little more maturity obviously) in that she’s unequivocally devoted to her puddin’ Mr. J. However, over the course of that episode, she begins to see through his manipulative words and actions as he betrays her over and over again – leaving her to rot in Arkham Asylum for over a year. But it’s when a cleverly-orchestrated plot by her bestie Poison Ivy results in Joker choosing to save Batman over his so-called girlfriend that Harley finally has enough.

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Harley Quinn has spent her two decade-long life supporting others on the screen, and but in the comics, she’s been coming into her own as a solo character for quite some time now – so it’s nice to see the on-screen material reflecting that.

Though off-the-wall in its humor, “Till Death Do Us Part” attempted to highlight the importance of Harley seeing through her abusive relationship and, as a result, it portrayed her for the rich multi-faceted character that she is. Yes, it’s finally Harley’s time to shine.

“Was that over the top? I can never tell!”

Given that the show is focused on one of Batman’s most eccentric characters, it makes sense that Harley Quinn is highly exaggerated in tone. Its over-the-top humor lends itself nicely to the story its attempting to tell, highlighting that, sometimes, a city full of crazies actually is crazy.

You have to hand it to the writers here because some of the humor comes off really well, paving the way for plenty of genuinely laugh-out-loud moments. From Jim Gordon’s bizarre meltdown to Frank – Poison Ivy’s foul-mouthed plant – the premiere is rife with in-your-face and downright silly attempts at hilarity – which surprisingly work.

Sure, there are one or two occasions when it doesn’t come off quite as naturally as its attempting to and the violence in unnecessarily, well, violent at times, but for the most part, the eccentric tone is beneficial and makes Harley Quinn every bit as off the wall as it needs to be in order to allow its titular character to thrive.

Something a little different

We’ve seen countless animated Batman offerings over the years – many of which do their own thing while others never quite manage to find their footing – but we’ve never had something quite like this.

Not only does Harley Quinn feel like the spin-off show we never knew we wanted, it promises to introduce the Batman franchise (and countless of his colorful villains) to this new genre of adult animation. You’d think that the bizarre juxtaposition between mature humor and a traditionally child-friendly comic book hero wouldn’t work, but considering we’re seeing the story from an unhinged supervillain, it absolutely pulls it off.

Off-The-Wall Observations

• From Harley’s union with Posion Ivy to her own existence altogether, the episode is full of references to Batman: The Animated Series. It truly is amazing how influential that show was, isn’ it?
• The plot of The Riddler’s to make the Joker choose between Batman and Harley as the pair precariously hung above two deep dark holes was a clear nod to 1995’s Batman Forever in which Jim Carrey’s Riddler did the same to Val Kilmer’s Batman, forcing him to choose between Robin and Chase Meridian.
• Frank the plant is a show-stealer. A show-stealer!
• Overall, a very strong start to a really unique series – one that promises to take the Batman franchise into a new adult genre. Provided it knows where it should go and where it shouldn’t, we could be in for one heck of a ride.

Did you enjoy Harley Quinn‘s pilot episode? Are you looking forward to seeing more of the series? Let us know in the comments below!