Harley Quinn Season 2 Episode 3 Review: “Catwoman” and Poison Ivy

Harley Quinn season 2 episode 3, explained

Searching for Harley Quinn season 2 episode 3 usually means one of two things: a viewer wants to know which episode the Catwoman heist is, or wants to know whether it is worth a rewatch. The first answer is easy, and a quick note helps anyone who typed a different number: Harley Quinn season 3 episode 3 is another episode entirely, covered in the questions below. “Catwoman” is the third episode of season 2, directed by Brandon McKinney and written by Sarah Peters, and it first aired on April 17, 2020. Season 2 had premiered two weeks earlier, on April 3, and ran for 13 episodes through June 26, 2020.

The series was developed by Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker and Dean Lorey, based on the DC characters created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm. Kaley Cuoco voices Harley and Lake Bell voices Poison Ivy. In seasons 1 and 2 it streamed on DC Universe, and it moved to HBO Max for season 3.

The episode picks up with the crew stuck. Mr. Freeze, voiced by Alfred Molina, holds a territory that Harley's crew wants back, and he has walled it off behind a giant ice barrier. A bomb does nothing. The crew decides to give up on recapturing the territory, but Harley cannot let it go. It was Freeze who put her on ice and began her fall from grace.

This episode slows down long enough to ask a question about Ivy, and the answer is not comfortable. Ivy used to be a loner with fierce environmental convictions, and she is now someone who depends on a circle of people, a boyfriend, and a best friend. The episode asks whether that change is growth or decay, and it lets Catwoman, who knew the old Ivy, be the judge.

Harley Quinn season 2 episode 3 recap

Harley tries an RPG on the ice wall, which also fails. The wall's guards, Fred and Kevin, are cheerful about the whole thing and tell the gang, more or less by accident, that the only way through is Firefly's flamethrower. Harley thanks them and asks them to text if they remember anything else.

Ivy has found an old newspaper about Ace Chemicals dumping waste into Gotham Harbor, which becomes the episode's second story. For the first, Kite Man, voiced by Matt Oberg, drives Ivy and a very repulsed Harley to the Gotham Museum, which holds a collection of Batman villain memorabilia. It is also home to Doctor Trap, voiced by Alan Tudyk, who has filled the building with absurdly deadly traps.

Harley and Ivy realize they need a specialist, so they recruit Catwoman, voiced by Sanaa Lathan, over lunch. Catwoman has a long history with Ivy, and it was not a kind one: she mistreated her and took advantage of her. She agrees to help, and Harley can tell almost at once that she is a negative, controlling influence.

The heist begins with Catwoman arriving late. She is surprised to see Ivy so smitten with Kite Man, the formerly independent Ivy now holding hands with her boyfriend. Harley lays out the plan, and Catwoman ignores it and announces that the others will follow her lead. Kite Man says he cannot come in because he is terrified of traps and outer space, then privately tells Harley he is lying. He means to find a rare green diamond ring and steal it to propose to Ivy.

Inside, Catwoman and Ivy slip through the museum's traps while talking, and Catwoman points out that Ivy's new relationships have eroded her environmental convictions. Elsewhere Harley and Kite Man stumble from trap to trap. His first mishap is a pencil on the floor. He goes on to set off nearly every contraption in the building and nearly gets eaten by a nest of spiders, but he will not leave, because he loves Ivy. Harley agrees to help him.

The pair arrive at the flamethrower while Catwoman opens the case, with Kite Man covered in bee stings and every trap sprung behind him. He drops to one knee and pulls out his engagement box, which is empty, because Catwoman has swiped the ring. She says goodbye and escapes.

Then Doctor Trap springs a final glass trap that begins to descend and crush the group. Kite Man proposes anyway. Ivy tries to think like Catwoman to get out, then freaks out about who she is and whether she will ever be ready for marriage. Harley uses the flamethrower to melt a hole in the glass, and then breaks Doctor Trap's metal jaw with her bat.

The mall subplot: Doctor Psycho and the Riddler

Back at the mall, Doctor Psycho, voiced by Tony Hale, is in charge of the hideout and of Harley's prisoner, the Riddler, voiced by Jim Rash, who spends his days on a hamster wheel. Psycho is upset that Riddler was not invited to join the Injustice League. A confrontation follows, in which the telepath throws bottles of oils and lubes at him. Hours later the Riddler is missing, having used body butter to slip his restraints.

Psycho wants to prove he can lead. He has failed every task Harley left him, including feeding the koi, which he ate. He rallies the crew to find the Riddler, but the villain keeps playing on his insecurities, mostly the fear of becoming Harley's henchman and a failure. When Harley returns, Clayface admits that they lost him.

The twist: Riddler never left. Psycho is the one found on the wheel, generating the mall's electricity, and Riddler has been sitting there the whole time. He wants to stay. The outside world is a mess, and with three meals, cardio and the group's drama as entertainment, he decides to enjoy it until he is ready to leave.

Ivy, Harley and the ending

At the harbor Ivy punishes the Ace Chemicals executives, and Harley joins her. They talk, and Harley tells her that Kite Man is not so bad and that Ivy is a better person for opening up. By comparison with Catwoman, she says, Ivy is a lot more put together. Ivy decides to go to Kite Man's place, apologizes for taking her frustration out on him, and tells him to ask her again. The episode cuts off there, and the answer arrives next week.

Who voices whom in “Catwoman”

• Harley Quinn: Kaley Cuoco.
• Poison Ivy: Lake Bell.
• Catwoman: Sanaa Lathan.
• Kite Man: Matt Oberg.
• Doctor Trap and Firefly: Alan Tudyk.
• Doctor Psycho: Tony Hale.
• The Riddler: Jim Rash.
• Mr. Freeze: Alfred Molina.

Harley Quinn season 2 episode 3 review

This is a solid character piece that doubles as set-up for the following week. The theme is clear and warm: it is fine to let other people into your life, especially when they like you and are trying to help. Catwoman is the counterexample, a person who thinks being close to someone is a form of control, and the episode makes her an effective foil.

The jokes are funny enough, and the beats are all met. The Kite Man scenes are the best of the heist: a man falling for every trap in the building out of sheer devotion is the kind of joke the series does well, and it is also the heart of the story. The Doctor Psycho and Riddler thread is a fun, high-pitched side story that gives the weighty Ivy scenes room to breathe.

What the episode lacks is a bigger swing. The heist is not the point, the flamethrower is a delivery device, and the final reversal with the Riddler is more cute than clever. It feels like a transition between larger events, with a few necessary trials thrown in.

Still, as the third episode of the season, it does what a third episode should do. It adds depth to a core relationship and moves the plot just far enough to keep the next episode interesting.

A solid, unspectacular episode.

Sources

• Harley Quinn (TV series), Wikipedia — voice cast, season 2 episode list and release dates