2x08 Inner (Para) Demons

[7.7/10] This is a strong follow-up to the last episode. I appreciate the idea that Harley and Ivy had different takeaways from their unexpected kiss in “Nowhere to Go but Down”. For Ivy, this was just a crazy thing that happened in a crazy moment. She’s happy to get back on track with Kite Man and even meet the parents for the first time.

But for Harley, it meant something. To put it in terms of another character played by co-star Jim Rash, it may have even awakened something in her. Only, she can't admit that to herself, so she begins a practically pathological quest to convince everyone, but mostly herself, that she’s impetuous and impulsive and just does crazy things like kiss people all the time, so that what happened with Ivy outside The Pit is no big deal.

But it is, of course, a big deal. I like setting up the whole episode, the introduction of Darkseid, and an invasion force from Apokalips descending on Gotham as all one big exercise in evading the parts of your psyche you’d rather not confront right now. There’s something comic but profound in that, which is the space where Harley Quinn thrives.

There’s also something well-observed about Harley’s demeanor. The way that she escalates and escalates, trying to distract herself and “fill the whole’ where her desire for Ivy is with conquest and destruction feels on brand. Kaley Cuoco does a good job selling the sort of franticness behind Harley’s mania here, and the way she’s spinning and spinning at a time when she claims she’s acting the most like herself.

I do appreciate that this is our first visit to the FOurth World on this show. Harley smacking around Mister MIracle, going toe-to-toe with Granny Goodness, and having an audience with Darkseid is all big deal stuff, which makes it extra funny that she’s doing all of this as an excuse not to think about her problems rather than because there’s some genuine big deal shit going on in Gotham. I’m also intrigued by the Dr. Psycho angle here. HIm badly wanting to command Darkseid’s Parademons, and bailing on the crew when Harley botches his dream has arc potential as the season goes on.

The other material is solid too. Jim Gordon rallying an army to take back Gotham from Harley, despite seeing her as semi-heroic, has a few mild chuckles, particularly when he’s confused over whether the crowd is cheering Harley or jeering her. I’m also a big fan of Batgirl here. The way she’s utterly confounded by the behavior of both her father and Harley is a hoot.

But my favorite part of this one is the Ivy/Kite Man b-plot. I love the reveal that Kite Man is the non-powered son of two condescending upper crust supers. The way they mistreat Kite Man but fawn over Ivy once they realize she has powers is telling. And the most heartening part of this one is Ivy standing up for her fiance in a way he’s unable to stand up for himself with his parents. It shows why Ivy’s so devoted to this guy, and how she recognizes his best qualities.

It leads to a great moment in the episode where Ivy, once again, pulls Harley back from the brink. She recognizes Harley doing some real supervillain shit, and gets her to stop and take stock of what she’s done with all this death and destruction. It’s Queen of Fables redux, trying to remind Harley that she can be a bad guy but a good person, and that this is going too far.

It’s enough to get Harley to admit that she’s done all this because she didn’t want to confront something. Only, when it’s time to get it off her chest and spill the feelings she’s been avoiding to Ivy, Kite Man shows up, and instead Harley does something noble. She swallows her complicated feelings about Ivy so that she doesn’t disrupt her best friend’s happiness. It is sad, but also maybe the kindest, most self-sacrificing thing we’ve ever seen Harley do. Her decision has layers, both for her own psyche and for her relationship with her best friend, and it’s the kind of thing that makes this show’s character dynamics so strong, even when the show’s invoking demigods and loony destruction.