IR TV Review: HARLEY QUINN - EPISODE 4 ("Thawing Hearts") [Warner Brothers Animation-S2]

The essence of appealing to a sense of compassion in a series like "Harley Quinn" is an interesting dichotomy. The character , which sometimes is not fully realized in some of her incarnations, is so broken in many ways because of the betrayal from the beginning by Mr. J. He dropped her in acid, a a psychologist at the top of her field trying to make a difference at Arkham. Joker, in his manipulation, turned her. And while she kicks ass across the progression, there is that dark basis in her. She has spent the last episode getting a plasma flamethrower to take down Mr. Freeze who froze her. She assumes an aspect of her nemesis without understanding the depth.In a certain part of the episode, despite the fact that it is underplayed by the last line, there is almost a sense of pain that one sees. It is a deep moment for a show like "Harley". Margot Robbie had a moment near the end of "Birds Of Prey" where that same texture surface but yet for a fleeting moment because her brain would completely shut down with the change of logic. Contradict this actually with Ivy's boyfriend, who despite his moronic tendencies, seems to be on the level despite missing some brain cells. The tendency of forgiveness in an interesting theme to play within the notion of villains, especially in the anarchy of New Gotham. But humans will be human.B

By Tim Wassberg