1x02 A High Bar

[7.9/10] This was a lot of fun. I love the premise of Harley aiming to show up the Joker at a Legion of Doom shindig, only to discover that this “fancy gala” at the Gotham Mint turns out to be Penguin’s nephew’s bar mitzvah. It’s a good setting for hilarity, and everything from Mrs. Cobblepot politely asking the girls not to curse, to Harley ending up sitting at the table of the birthday boy’s very thirteen-year-old best friends, to her being brought out shackled to a chair like they’re dancing the horah is all great stuff.

But there’s a good bit of personal growth as well. Harley going overboard to try to fit in with the Legion of Doom, even barging into stupid settings and having to endure Joker’s put downs shows that she still has some growing to do. The way that she tries to prove her bona fides by stealing from the Gotham Mint, only to inadvertently disrupt the Penguin's big party game for his nephew is a laugh. Her managing to disrupt little Joshua’s assassination attempt by unraveling the kid psychologically shows how sharp she is even without her bat or his fists. And the way she gets the rest of the Legion of Doom faithful to turn on Joker by pointing out how he’s a bully that puts them down the same way he did her is a really nice way for her to get the win.

Plus, the LoD goon squad are all just a hoot. Bane in particular is a big laugh, with his ineffectual declarations of what he’s going to blow up. I am so here for sad sack Bane. And the dynamic among the rest of the group is great too.

But the secret winner here for me was Poison Ivy’s interactions with Kite Man. I don’t know why, but I just loved them together. Kite Man being a faux-slick D-lister with both too much and not enough self-awareness, and Ivy responding with dry disgust absolutely tickled my funny bone. Their dynamic was aces, and the goofiness of Kite Man’s wings knocking kids into punch on multiple occasions, his unavailing come-ons to Ivy, and his blithe checking of the weather before flying Ivy to get the antidote is a blast. The way she quietly warms up to him just a little on their flight back, with Kite Man going from pathos-ridden and remorseful to letting out a “Hell yeah!” turned out to be a genuinely sweet moment that I wasn’t expecting in a comic B-story.

There’s a nice fight at the end, and a nice instance of Ivy coming to Harley’s defense yet again. The tag with Ivy planting a peck on the thirteen-year-old boys to mitigate the poison’s effect is a laugh. And on the whole, this works as another winning chapter in the story of Harley Quinn staking out her independence.

Overall, this is another great episode with strong humor, a nice brick in the wall of Harley’s arc, and a tremendous B-story for Ivy, who continues to be great as well.