Batman: The Animated Series - Episodes 46-50 Reviews

Now that I seem to be over the halfway point with this series and onto my 10th blog, there's another slew of interesting episodes to cover, including the start of a beautiful friendship between two Rogue Gallery members.

Episode 46: The Laughing Fish

I think the most shocking thing about this episode was the Joker cheekily countering that he was an Irishman when someone said 'great Scot'. Of course, this episode was based on a certain comic and it's certainly an interesting adaptation with the Joker wanting credit for some smiling fish and going to his usual gassy lengths in order to get the credit. The surprises in the episode was Bullock actually finding the Joker's hideout before Batman did, Harley's ongoing discomfort at fish (poor girl really suffered in this one) and of course that ending where it looked like the Joker might have been eaten by a shark. A fun, fishy tale. 8/10

Episode 47: Harley & Ivy

I know a few blogs back that I said Almost Got 'Im was my favourite episode but this one just might be my second one. We've seen plenty of Rogue Gallery members band together for various reasons but why this episode turned out to be so great was that a genuine friendship was built here with Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy and honestly, both characters became better all because of it. I loved seeing them embark on becoming the new queens of crime, outsmarting both the Joker and Batman at different points in the episode and with the commentary on feminism/female empowerment (Ivy did try to break Harley's fixation on her Puddin'), it was fitting that the ladies downfall came at the behest of Renee Montoya rather than the Caped Crusader or Clown Prince. 10/10.

Episode 48: The Mechanic

When it comes to the Penguin - he's a great character but some of his solo episodes don't quite hit the spot compared to the ones that he's shared with other baddies. Like I've Got Batman In My Basement, this one isn't particularly bad. In fact it actually borrowed some elements from Batman Returns - the brief appearance of the duck boat, gaining control of the Batmobile by threatening mechanic Earl Cooper to do some alterations and holding his daughter Martha hostage but overall, it just wasn't as exciting as previous episodes. I did like seeing the Penguin's new lair and the flashbacks with Earl were nice though. 6/10.

Episode 49: The Man Who Killed Batman

Ah, Sid the squid. Didn't you all know that this seemingly non threatening bloke bumped off the Dark Knight? Well, that was everyone else believed in this episode. The low level thugs suddenly respected him, the Joker realised that without Batman, crime didn't have a punchline and tried to kill Sid while Rupert Thorne believed that the meek low level wannabe criminal wanted in on his drug stash and wasn't best pleased. Of course, Batman turned out not to be dead but the episode ended with Sid's newfound notoriety remaining firmly intact though. 8/10

Episode 50: Zatanna

Zatanna for me is one of those characters that somehow seems more of a natural fit in Metropolis than Gotham city but I have to admit, I actually quite enjoyed seeing her in this episode. The story was simple enough - she got framed for a magic trick involving money that went wrong and both her and Batman teamed up to expose the real culprit. The flashbacks to establish a prior history with both Zatanna and Bruce didn't really seem too needed but they worked well enough and the attraction between the two was played with some subtlety as well. A good episode, not overly magical but definitely had it's charm. 7/10

Next blog I'll focus on Robin's Reckoning, Birds Of A Feather, Blind As A Bat and Day Of The Samurai.