Harley Quinn, the critically acclaimed HBO Max animated series is hilarious, raunchy and never short of surprising…and after a far-too-long hiatus, it’s back! It’s been about two years since we saw Harley and Ivy memorably drive off into the sunset at the end of season two and we’ve all been wondering what’s next. (For a sense of what they’ve been up to, be sure to check out the in-universe comic Harley Quinn: The Animated Series – The Eat. Bang. Kill Tour on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE.) The recent trailers have lifted the veil a bit on the upcoming third season. We’ve seen Nightwing, the Joker’s mayoral campaign, the Court of Owls, and Ivy’s plot to wipe out mankind—WAIT WHAT?!
I probably shouldn’t be surprised. After all, Ivy is a super-villain. Her comic book counterpart has tried to wipe out humanity numerous times. Still, the Harley Quinn version of Ivy has always seemed like the voice of reason. Then again, it’s not hard to be the voice of reason when you’re hanging out with a giant walking shark, a mud-covered thespian and DC’s infamous Maid of Mischief, Harley Quinn. But Ivy’s sudden urge for genocide seems to have come out of nowhere…or has it? When you really think about it, Ivy’s been through a lot since the start of the series and maybe some of the events of the first two seasons have pushed her too far. What am I talking about? Well…
- Ivy was forced to escape from Arkham by using an orange seed from Riddler’s butt. Riddle me this, how depressing does your life have to be when your salvation comes from something fished out of Edward Nygma’s behind? (Episode 1.01 “Till Death Do Us Part”)
- Harley destroyed Ivy’s big screen TV and cell phone during a moment of anger. Those things are expensive, and I can’t imagine Ivy robbing Best Buy. (Episode 1.02 “A High Bar”)
- Ivy watched Harley continually ignore her advice, which got frustrating. (Episode 1.03 “So You Need a Crew?”)
- Harley broke two of Ivy’s glass coffee tables and nine of her televisions. Clayface also left mud all over her hairbrush. Harley’s crew eventually got Ivy evicted from her apartment. Yeah, I’d probably want to destroy humanity too after a week like that. (Episode 1.04 “Finding Mr. Right”)
- Ivy was attacked by an army of sharp-toothed demon children, and then her landlord tried to cremate her. Yeah, I’m beginning to see why she’s so ticked off. (Episode 1.05 “Being Harley Quinn”)
- An internet troll used an out-of-context picture to make his followers believe that Poison Ivy and Doctor Psycho were a power couple. (Episode 1.06 “You’re a Damn Good Cop, Jim Gordon”)
- Ivy and Kite Man went out on a date, which was already far out of Ivy’s comfort zone, but Kite Man made it worse by making a scene when their table wasn’t ready. (Episode 1.07 “The Line”)
- Harley chose the Legion of Doom over Ivy. This resulted in a heartbreaking fight that temporarily ended their friendship. (Episode 1.08 “L.O.D.R.S.V.P.”)
- Harley flaked on plans with Ivy to spend some time with the Joker. It’s becoming clear that most of those examples could’ve been avoided if Harley had just behaved herself. (Episode 1.09 “A Seat at the Table”)
- Ivy was kidnapped, strapped to a table, and had to endure her guard—an overly chipper kindergarten teacher. Urge to wipe out humanity rising. (Episode 1.10 “Bensonhurst”)
- A trip through Ivy’s memories reveals that nobody came to her birthday party as a child. (Episode 1.11 “Harley Quinn Highway”)
- The Joker impaled Ivy, seemingly killing her. Can this woman go one week without anything bad happening to her? (Episode 1.12 “Devil’s Snare”)
- On the plus side, nature healed Ivy and brought her back to life, but shortly thereafter the Joker triggered an earthquake, which broke ANOTHER one of Ivy’s televisions. This poor woman is never going to get caught up on Succession. (Episode 1.13 “The Final Joke”)
- Ivy gets shot twice while trying to save Harley from Penguin. (Episode 2.01 “New Gotham”)
- Our girl is forced to run in a giant hamster wheel while she’s wearing clogs. She also had to witness Jim Gordon farting as he drank beer in the shower. You tell me which of those was a more unpleasant experience. (Episode 2.02 “Riddler U”)
- This episode ended with Ivy dumping toxic waste down the throats of a group of crooked executives. Yeah, Ivy being an evil murderer was kind of right in front of us the entire time. (Episode 2.03 “Catwoman”)
- Ivy was forced to endure the rivalry between her fiancé Kite Man and Condiment King. If you’re engaged to someone whose rival is Condiment King, then it might be time to rethink your life. (Episode 2.04 “Thawing Hearts”)
- Ivy was cut from this episode in favor of two angry nerds who start Reddit flame wars. I would’ve been ticked too. (Episode 2.05 “Batman’s Back, Man”)
- The guards at Arkham burned Ivy with a flamethrower. (Episode 2.06 “All the Best Inmates Have Daddy Issues”)
- Ivy tries her hand at standup comedy during the prison talent show. The audience boos her. It didn’t help that she immediately followed George Lopez. (Episode 2.07 “No Place to Go but Down”)
- Ivy endures an awkward dinner with her fiancé’s parents, which is enough to turn anyone into a super-villain. (Episode 2.08 “Inner (Para) Demons)
- Ivy and her bridal party agreed to all get matching tattoos. Ivy got hers, but was annoyed to learn that everyone else backed out. You can’t rely on anyone, so the lesson is clearly to destroy all life on Earth. (Episode 2.09 “Bachelorette”)
- Ivy isn’t in this episode, except for a photograph. At least it’s a good photograph. (Episode 2.10 “Dye Hard”)
- Ivy’s $13,000 wedding dress is ruined by Doctor Psycho’s Parademons. (Episode 2.11 “A Fight Worth Fighting For”)
- Doctor Psycho used his powers to broadcast a video of Harley and Ivy having sex for the entire city. The little rodent got his comeuppance, but still, can you really blame Ivy for hating everyone? (Episode 2.12 “Lovers’ Quarrel”)
- Jim Gordon ruined her wedding. I know Ivy didn’t want to marry Kite Man, but ruining a wedding is still one of the worst things you can do to someone. It’s the principle. (Episode 2.13 “Something Borrowed, Something Green)
When you see it all laid out like that, it’s clear that Ivy has plenty of reasons to try to want to destroy humanity. I hope Harley can talk her down, though considering that it’s Harley we’re talking about here, we’re probably all doomed. Still, the couple just got together, and genocide is a really big obstacle to be dealing with this early in a relationship. I guess we’ll have to wait until Harley Quinn season three premieres on HBO Max on July 28th to see if the power of HarlIvy is enough to save humanity…or if we’re all as dead as Jim Gordon’s career.
Harley Quinn returns with its third season on July 28th. For more moments from its first two seasons, check out this new recap narrated by the girl herself, Harley Quinn!
Joshua Lapin-Bertone writes about TV, movies and comics for DCComics.com, is a regular contributor to the Couch Club and writes our monthly Batman column, “Gotham Gazette.” Follow him on Twitter at @TBUJosh.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Joshua Lapin-Bertone and do not necessarily reflect those of DC Entertainment or Warner Bros.
Source: DC Comics
