After acquiring Firefly’s flamethrower in last week’s hilarious heist, Harley and the gang head back to Mr Freeze’s ice fortress in an attempt to tick another Gotham villain off their list. This time it’s personal as Harley’s out for revenge following Mr Freeze putting her on ice for months, in a surprisingly moving episode spotlighting a somewhat different side to the rogue scientist.
In typical Harley and crew style, once they infiltrate the almost impenetrable icy lair, they find themselves quickly taken out by Mr Freeze and his freeze ray. Waking up behind bars, they become human lab rats for his experiments as he continues to try and find a cure for his cryogenically frozen wife, Nora. Meanwhile Kite Man and Ivy go wedding venue hunting.
Opening with a hilariously fun and pretty gory skating battle between Harley and the crew and Mr Freeze’s goons, we finally meet the frosty supervillain himself. “Oh my god it’s Beyoncé!” and “Oh my god, it’s Lady GaGaaa!” exclaim King Shark and Clayface, (Alan Tudyk and Ron Funches really are having a ball!) “Thawing Hearts” cleverly subverts our expectations of the icy villain and his relationship with his wife, as the episode serves as a stark awakening for Harley. Turns out Mr Freeze is actually a pretty decent guy who actually saved Harley and his utter devotion makes her realise just how abusive and toxic her relationship with the Joker was.
Meanwhile, Kite Man and Ivy announce their engagement to their friends while looking at potential wedding venues. Hilariously Kite Man has always dreamt of getting married in the Gotham Corn Factory, but thanks to his new arch nemesis Condiment King, that dream may be splattered! The introduction of possibly the worst Bat villain is absolutely hilarious, and the rivalry between these Z-listers is just brilliant. Condiment King’s sauce puns are genuinely comedy gold, proving perfect for the tone of the show!
Verdict
Closing on a pretty sombre note, “Thawing Hearts” is a surprisingly emotional and profound episode which will certainly have ramifications for Harley. Will this be the catalyst for her and Ivy to grow closer?! The writers continue to wonderfully flesh out these often overlooked characters, I just hope we get to explore Bane town in next week’s episode – it looks so much fun!
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