This post contains spoilers for Harley Quinn on HBO Max. Here's our spoiler-free Harley Quinn Season 2 review if you need a refresher!
It’s Warner Bros. Discovery’s first year at SDCC as a couple (or as a merged company, if you’re fancy) and, wouldn’t ya know it, their first outing included the first Harley Quinn episodes with Harley (Kaley Cuoco) and Ivy (Lake Bell) as anti-hero power couple Harlivy (PoisonQuinn will forever be a better ship name, but sometimes ya gotta let the internet make the rules). The studio showed Episodes 1 and 2 of Season 3 ahead of its HBO Max premiere on June 28th.
Obviously, if you don’t want some hardcore spoilers before you get to check out the premiere episodes at home, you’ll want to stop reading now!
Harley and Ivy Aren’t In A Perfect Relationship
Things are weird! Not bad weird, just new couple weird. The girls are in their honeymoon phase and both women are trying to navigate their own nonsense as their relationship grows. Harley’s desperate to cling to the first real love she’s ever had, and Ivy has absolutely no idea how to work in any kind of team capacity. It’s great to see real, sincere issues layered in with the comedy, and even better to see our leading ladies tumble through them in their own ways.
The Joker’s Not In Them
No matter which side of the Joker fence you sit on, there’s no denying that after a certain point the Crown Prince of Crime just doesn’t belong front and center in a story focused on Harley Quinn. I, too, thought his romantic turn at the end of Season 2 was pretty inspired. I just don’t think he belongs in the forefront of this series now that Harley’s finally moving on to bigger, better, healthier things. That’s not to say the series should nix Gotham’s greatest villain entirely – in fact, it has no plans to, since he’s got his own standalone entry later this season. It was just a smart move to keep him out of these first episodes and let Harley and Ivy take center stage.
The Suicide Sqaud Jokes
We knew that Amanda Waller (Tisha Campbell) and James Gunn would both be joining the fun this season, and I’m thrilled to report that fans will meet both characters early on. Waller shows up to mess with Harley and Ivy’s honeymoon phase, and with her comes a whole host of Suicide Squad jokes to keep the die-hards engaged throughout her segment. Gunn simply plays himself, but a fun cameo’s a fun cameo! Time will tell what the involvement for these two looks like for the rest of the season. But for now, we are entertained.
There’s An Unexpected Bat Family/Harlivy Crew Team-Up
Dynamic shifts are hard, even when they include the Dynamic Duo! Harley and Ivy’s crew find themselves in a bit of a rut as the new beauxs try to figure out the best way to navigate their partnership in the team landscape. Meanwhile, Dick Grayson’s (Harvey Guillien) return to Gotham throws the Bat Family into disarray as well. In an attempt to get their crews back on track, Harley and Batgirl (Briana Cuoco) separately schedule their teams for a go at an escape room. Plot twist: Riddler’s (Jim Rash) in control of the room(s), and the teams will have to form an unlikely alliance to get out alive. Nightwing’s angsty, Ivy’s annoyed, Harley and Babs just want their buds to get along, and it all works out as one heck of an opening ride for Season 3!
It’s Frank’s Time To Shine
If I had one notable complaint about Season 2 of Harley Quinn, it’s that there wasn’t enough of Ivy’s plant-roomie, Frank (JB Smoove). Sure, we were busy taking over Nu New Gotham, whatever. Anyway, thrilled to report that Frank’s back and, if the first two episodes are to be believed, he’ll be playing a much bigger role in Season 3 of the series.
That’s that for the first two episodes of Season 3 of Harley Quinn. Of course, there are more goodies in store for fans in the episodes themselves (we didn’t want to get too spoilery). So don’t forget to check them out when they drop on HBO Max!
In the meantime, be sure to stick with IGN throughout all of our awesome SDCC 2022 coverage.