Following THAT surprise kiss at the end of last week’s brilliant episode of DC Universe’s Harley Quinn, things are a little weird between Ivy and Harley. Instead of confronting their feelings, they both do anything and everything to avoid talking about it, with Harley even going to a completely different planet to escape the situation. Everything’s fine clearly! Once again this episode showcases the writer’s talents for deftly combining comedy with great emotional depth, in a particularly devastating conclusion.
Harley and Ivy both feel awkward about their kiss after they escaped Bane’s prison pit, so Harley does what she thinks is best and runs all the way to Apokolips to escape her feelings. Disguised as an attempt to defeat Gordon and prove how much of a badass she is, Harley and the gang set out to win over Darkseid’s army. Meanwhile, Ivy finally meets Kite Man’s parents for the first time whilst wrestling with guilt over her recent actions.
So after both Ivy and Harley come to the conclusion that the kiss was a crazy mistake and to forget about it, their separate reactions lead them on two wildly different paths. Harley heads to Apokolips to gather an army of parademons to defeat Gordon and prove she’s a complete bad ass, while Ivy attempts to progress things with Kite Man and finally meet his parents over brunch. Both wildly different reactions to avoiding their feelings of course!
I particularly enjoyed the bonkers Jack Kirby inspired plot as Harley and her crew headed to the Fourth World, with the writers cleverly exploring a brand new corner of the DC lore. Packed with New Gods such as Mister Miracle, Granny Goodness and Darkseid, along with boom tubes, mother boxes and parademons – this thread proved a refreshing break from Gotham and The Injustice League and cleverly introduced concepts from Ava DuVernay’s upcoming film. The size and scope of the series impressively keeps getting bigger and bigger!
Meanwhile Gordon’s road to redemption continues as he gallantly attempts to restore Gotham by bringing down Harley and the gang, culminating in a hilariously crazy, apocalyptic showdown. Clearly outmanned and outgunned, as our favourite anti-heroes ride in on an army of Parademons (something I don’t think I’d ever see in this series!), Gordon is cornered and in trouble. Thankfully Barbs and Ivy manage to talk Harley down from totally destroying Gotham and its citizens by questioning her true motives, but the resulting conclusion truly is heartbreaking.
Verdict
“Inner (Para) Demons” was a brilliantly fun and ultra-violent instalment which refreshingly brought a new angle to the show, along with some genuine ramifications. With Dr Psycho seemingly abandoning the group and Harley heartbroken over Ivy’s declaration of love for Kite Man, how can the gang come back from this?
Rating:
