Written by Tom Hyndman
Directed by Brandon McKinney
Joker: "You're nothing without me."
Harley: "You always tried to make me think that but it's not true. I have friends that love and care about me. I'm moving on with my life with the people that matter and that ain't you, Puddin'. Drop him."
Poison Ivy: "Love to."
Remember last week how I was a bit down on DC and their love affair with bumping off Poison Ivy? Well, in a predictable and utterly delightful move, she's alive and while it took the last five minutes for her to show up, her return was more than welcomed by everyone. Except for the Joker of course. He wasn't best pleased to see her.
As for the majority of the episode, the Joker took over Gotham, got Batman practically handed to him on a plate when Harley's first attempt to attack went belly up and pretty soon got bored, as you would have expected him too. The Scarecrow also proving that he's the least intelligent person in the room (at least on this show) also had to kill the mystery of the Batman and got himself killed as a result.
Using her captured crew in order to spur herself into action, Harley used the threat of suicide to get their freedom before the Joker decided to come up with the worst punishment he could think of for his ever evolving ex-girlfriend.
The idea of rendering Harley "normal" was so interesting a punishment that of course, it had to backfire and thanks to Ivy, the Joker has now suffered a fate worse than death - being sane and it's going to be interesting going into a second season seeing how this development plays out. I can't think of a far more satisfying way of dealing with the Joker and the inevitable carnage that will happen when he's back to himself.
As for Gotham - well that ended up in ruins and with Batman missing and Joker a nobody, Harley really did get her victory lap with some help from her friends. Now that she's somewhat achieved her goal and both the Justice League and Legion of Doom pose no immediate threat to her (both will inevitably regroup), where does this show go next?
- Joker's punishments for the crew were removing King Shark's teeth for a necklace, making Dr Psycho watch feminism rallies, pushing Sy Borgman down a flight of stairs and using Clayface for pottery class.
- I'm hoping Kite Man joins the crew next season. I like him a lot and he does genuinely care about Ivy.
- The commentary about Harley's original look (which I do love) was timely considering how critical some fans have been about the character's various looks in the DCEU straying from the original.
- Chronology: The Joker had one hell of a long birthday throughout this whole episode.
The Final Joke would've made for a satisfying series finale but I am so pleased this fun series has gotten a second run (it's back in April). The show took the idea of Harley in a post Joker world and showed why the idea works and why DC can never regress the character and reunite her with her "Puddin'".
Rating: 8 out of 10
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