Harley Quinn season 5 premieres Thursday, January 16, with new episodes debuting weekly through March 20.
Harley Quinn season 5 starts with Batman villains and partners Harley Quinn (Kaley Cuoco) and Poison Ivy (Lake Bell) in a rut and looking for something to spice up their relationship. Their solution – an extended stay in Metropolis – revitalizes not just their romances but the show itself, offering a new way for the writers to apply their deep knowledge of and appreciation for DC Comics canon.
It’s a natural fit given Harley Quinn’s roots in Batman: The Animated Series, which was succeeded in the DC Animated Universe by Superman: The Animated Series. The dramatic difference between the two shows’ aesthetics is lampooned in the season 5 premiere, with a transition between the dark gothic skyline of Gotham and the clean, ultramodern look of the Man of Tomorrow’s home. But more than a stylistic shift, this season lets Harley Quinn dive into the high concept science fiction Superman does best.
That comes courtesy of the brilliant city-collecting alien Brainiac (Stephen Fry), one of the DC Animated Universe’s best recurring villains. Harley Quinn presents a version of Brainiac’s origin story first as a hokey sitcom complete with gags about his sex life and a mischievous pet alien monkey named Koko, and then as tragic stage musical penned by Bane (James Adomian) and starring Harley and Clayface (Alan Tudyk). The musical is a triumph, allowing Clayface to ham it up to the fullest while Bane puts his unmistakable stamp on it – who else could pen a poignant lyric containing the word “sploded.” It’s both a side-splitting Hamilton parody and a way to make Brainiac deeply sympathetic.
Tied up in Brainiac’s plans for Metropolis is Lena Luthor, voiced by Aisha Tyler. Tyler shows fantastic range in the role: turning on the charm to keep Harley and Ivy out of the way (by giving them everything they want) but also amplifying the contempt she regularly demonstrated as Archer’s Lana Kane into outright maniacal supervillainy.
While Harley is quite competent in a fight, the series makes it clear that her greatest power is also being Dr. Harleen Quinzel. If anything, she might be too good a therapist — things get so out of control in Metropolis mostly because Harley starts the season by encouraging Superman (James Wolk) to take a much needed vacation. She also gets in and out of jams by applying her skills to Brainiac, Lena, and her brother, Lex (Giancarlo Esposito), the last of whom performs his own attempt at psychoanalysis in a nod to the resolution of Superman: Red Son.
Beyond sharing the origins of Brainiac and the Luthor siblings, this season also puts a particularly dark spin on how Poison Ivy got her powers. Ivy’s arc with the scientist Jason Woodrue (Kevin Michael Richardson) is another highlight of an excellent season, exploring the perils of vengeance while bringing more depth to Ivy’s relationship with both the carnivorous plant Frank (J.B. Smoove) and Harley – employing some deeply disturbing visuals along the way.
Few ongoing shows are as good at balancing laughs and heart as Harley Quinn.
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But don’t let all the pathos fool you: There’s still plenty of crude, absurdist humor in season 5. Harley gets saddled with babysitting King Shark’s (Ron Funches) monstrous children while Clayface imitates The Silence of the Lambs’ Buffalo Bill in a plot that involves kidnapping and impersonating The Daily Planet editor Perry White (also Tudyk) to secure good reviews for his theatrical productions. This of course puts him at odds with star reporter Lois Lane (Natalie Morales), who beyond just being a brassy reporter, Lois also gets a very tender moment exploring the complications of loving Superman. There’s that sentimental side again; few ongoing shows are as good at balancing laughs and heart as Harley Quinn.
The move to Metropolis is a good idea, but it requires some hasty wrap-up of lingering threads from season 4. The premiere entertainingly demonstrates why a promised Birds of Prey/Gotham City Sirens team up didn’t work out, but season 5’s weakest episode rushes to resolve Harley’s murder of Nightwing (Harvey Guillén) and his subsequent resurrection. Considering how well Harley Quinn has handled some of Batman’s biggest storylines, it’s a shame how this one was fumbled.
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Like the best vacations, Harley and Ivy’s trip to Metropolis allows them to return home refreshed. The aforementioned Archer stayed fresh for 14 seasons by regularly changing things up before returning to its roots, and Harley Quinn seems to be learning from its example: The brief change of scenery (and Harley and Ivy’s new friends and accomplices) ultimately provide a reset that restores the goofy ensemble dynamic that made the first seasons of Harley Quinn so fun.
