Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for HBO’s “Harley Quinn.”
HBO’s action-packed adult cartoon comedy “Harley Quinn” wrapped up its third season on Sept. 15 after airing each Thursday since July 28. The third season features the same outlandish vulgarity and cynical social commentary as in the previous two seasons accompanied by critical character development from each of the leading DC personalities.
The first two seasons follow former psychiatrist Harley Quinn (Kaley Cuoco) as she cuts ties with her infamously toxic ex-boyfriend Joker (Alan Tudyk) to form her own evil band of misfits and take over Gotham. As season two comes to a close, Harley Quinn confesses her love to Poison Ivy (Lake Bell). The two chaotically flee Ivy’s burning wedding to Kite Man (Matt Oberg) as Ivy realizes she can no longer deny her feelings for her best friend either..
The third season tracks the development of Harley and Ivy’s long-awaited relationship that confirms all of the previous speculation and romantic tension that has surrounded the two villainesses. The concreteness of the couple provides acknowledgment of and representation for the LGBTQ+ community, made especially important by the main character statuses of both Harley and Ivy.
This season primarily uses their queer relationship to propel the plot forward, rather than ignoring it or setting it aside. Embracing their queerness, Harley’s character won’t let the viewers forget she and Ivy are together, constantly exhibiting affection and admiration for her partner. Ivy’s love is much less pronounced, but nonetheless noteworthy — considering her only soft spot is Harley and she is altogether anti-humanity. She even sacrifices her evil plan that spans the season to save Harley’s life in the end.
Their relationship truly stands the test of this season’s events as they each go through immense changes internally. As the episodes unfold, the previously uninspired, not-so-evil Poison Ivy becomes driven to pursue a long-abandoned idea of terraforming Gotham into her own personal Edin. Ivy gets asked to lead the Legion of Doom, an organization of the most prominent villains in Gotham, whom she once openly despised. While Ivy becomes more evil, Harley’s once hardened heart softens as she strays more toward the vigilante side of crime fighting, joining forces with Batman’s (Diedrich Bader) group of superheroes to better the world, rather than take it over.
Outside of their relationship, other characters undergo similar, shocking transformations. The undeniably evil archnemesis of Batman, the Joker, finds himself running for mayor on the basis of promoting universal healthcare and free college education to support his two stepchildren and his new civilian girlfriend. Known for killing people as an agent of destruction, this season seems to show Joker in a new light. However, always seemingly returning to his beloved life of crime, Joker’s time as a caring stepfather might be on a ticking clock.
King Shark (Ron Funches) goes back to the ocean and becomes the true king of his kingdom, a role he resisted for many years, after his father’s death and murdering his own brother, and Clayface (Alan Tudyk) finally gets his shot to star in a movie after striving to become an actor in seasons one and two.
For both characters in Harley’s clan of villains, this season gives them new lives that may stray them from their dedication to causing mayhem in the streets of Gotham as they have new purposes to serve.
Batman faces the trauma of losing his parents which haunted him every day with help from Harley as his personal psychiatrist. Not only does this exhibit growth from the constantly brooding Bats, it also shows Harley in a heroic light as she learns his identity and understands that even though she previously wanted to take him down, Gotham really needs its heroes to balance out the villains.
The third season ends on a particularly high note, in comparison to the first season ending with the total destruction of Gotham and the second season concluding with Ivy’s wedding up in flames.
The character evolution in this season leaves promise for an interesting fourth season as HBO confirmed that there will be a follow-up to this tumultuous season full of growth. Harley and Ivy leave off on a heartfelt note, but standing for two separate sides of the law may prove too much, and their relationship will no doubt be tested in the upcoming season.
Starting with season four, Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker will pass off the torch of showrunner to Sarah Peters who will take on the role from her previous consulting producer position. She has written for the show since season one.
On top of season four being announced, there will also be a “Harley Quinn” spinoff “Noonan’s,” featuring Poison Ivy’s ex-fiance, Kite Man and his new girlfriend Golden Glider, as they run a bar for villains called Noonan’s. This series will be produced by Halpern and Schumacker along with Dean Lorey and Kaley Cuoco.
Although the dates for the fourth season and “Nooman’s” have not been announced, “Harley Quinn” fans are able to look forward to “Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special” releasing Feb. 2023. Announced on Oct. 7, this special will follow Harley and Ivy on their first Valentine’s day as a couple, which should hold fans over until the release of the full fourth season as well as provide a lens into what they might expect to come for their favorite DC characters.
Lillian Dunn is an Entertainment Staff Writer for the fall 2022 quarter. She can be reached at lbdunn@uci.edu.
