Written by Halley Gross
Directed by Matt Peters
Harley (to Batman): "I knew you'd come for me. I knew it when I profiled you for the police. I'm your type. How many criminals do you have to catch before you feel better, Batman? Ten? Twenty?"
If there's a character whose redesign has been the most divisive for Batman: Caped Crusader, then without a doubt that character would be Dr Harleen Quinzel. Have the changes this show made to the character been too severe to her?
First and foremost, I think Jamie Chung has been good casting as Harley Quinn but I do wonder if removing this version's association with the Joker a good thing. Not to mention, she's been toned down quite a lot compared to recent iterations of the character.
On the other hand, while we're yet to get a version of Poison Ivy, this show to it's credit isn't holding back on Harleen as a queer woman. In spite of her clear villainy in this episode, she genuinely seemed to be romantically interested in Renee and her friendship with Barbara saw her even risking her own life to save her friend.
So, what was Harley's great scheme? It mostly involved going after the rich and forcing them into being more altruistic with mixed results. Truth of the matter, Harleen just seemed to enjoy the psychological torture than the actual results in itself.
After she had inadvertently turned Fletcher Demming (David Krumholtz) into King Tut, her great scheme managed to come toppling down with both Batman and Barbara tracking her to William Hastings (David Kaye). Good job, Harley's love for Barbara overruled her need to outsmart Batman.
I will admit that I actually liked the Batman and Harley confrontation but unlike the one he had with Catwoman two episodes ago, it was a bit too brief for it's own good. I'm not entirely crazy on the green and yellow colour scheme of her jester look but at least she managed to escape to go up against Batman another time.
- Despite the lack of Joker, we did get a sneaky "pudding" thrown into the mix by one of Harley's victims.
- Renee revealed that she was a figure skater and Harleen gave Barbara the affectionate "Barbie" nickname.
- There has been an unintentional Gotham City Sirens with Barbara, Renee and Harleen in their scenes together. Will this show give us the actual group itself later in its run?
- Chronology: Not long from where the previous episode left off.
While I have mixed feelings on this show's depiction of Harley Quinn, I thought The Stress Of Her Regard was a lot stronger than expected. If anything at least Batman had decent screen time, we got King Tut, unapologetic LGBT romance and the promise of a return of a certain jester.
Rating: 7 out of 10
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