When a villain tries to have a wedding, it’s going to break bad. Villains, like superheroes, don’t get normal lives. They sign that away when they decide to do things like commit kite-based crimes or acts of extreme environmental terrorism. I’ll spoil you right now and say that, no, Kite Man and Poison Ivy do not end this season with rings on their fingers. Spoilers follow for Harley Quinn Season 2, Episode 13, “Runaway Bridesmaid.”
“Runaway Bridesmaid”
Following Dr. Psycho’s embarrassing reveal of Ivy’s infidelity, Gotham is seeming like it’s almost back to normal. The Gotham mayor awards the Justice League with keys to the city, but leaves Police Commissioner Jim Gordon out. Harley is in Arkham. Ivy, meanwhile, is trying desperately to apologize to Kite Man.
Ivy takes Kite Man to his dream venue while Two-Face taunts the dejected Gordon into making a play at Ivy’s wedding. Two-Face is sort of a catalyst in all this, and I’m not quite sure how he knows everything that’s going on to manipulate everyone, but soon all the relevant parties are in place: Ivy and Kite-Man ready themselves for marriage, Gordon and his officers infiltrate the wedding, and Harley coils up to spring in between the two.
Everyone’s invited
Like the Penguin’s nephew’s bar mitzvah last season, this event is the event in the villain world, and all kinds of DC villains show up. Man-Bat is there, of course. Live Wire shows up. I’m pretty sure I even spotted the Beard Hunter in the mix.
Everything comes to a head in just a few short minutes. Harley punches out the wrong mustachioed guy and Ivy kicks her out of the wedding. Harley realizes at the last moment that the flowers have been replaced with plastic plants, but Ivy’s friend Jen’s desire to be a bridesmaid one last time nearly thwarts her attempt.
Gordon’s plan nearly works, but soon Harley is jump kicking him and dragging Ivy and Kite Man out of the gassed venue to try to fix things once more.
Kite Man stands up for himself
Here’s where the show actually surprised me: In this moment, Kite Man says “Hell no.” After the disastrous wedding that seemed to almost be a mockery of his fantasy, Kite Man is finally seeing clearly how much more badly he wants this life than Ivy. How hard he’s tried and how little she has. He even admits that he could see that her heart wasn’t in her vows.
Kite Man has been a bumbler throughout his tenure on Harley Quinn. He’s been reliable, but never as competent or dangerous as his fiancee or her best friend. But I like that he gets to break things off and take some control of his life. He wanted something, and Ivy wanted to want it–but ultimately didn’t ever truly want it.
Ivy and Harley make their escape, jumping their convertible through the window of the Corn Factory where Ivy was to be married in what feels like a weird mash-up of The Graduate and Thelma and Louise, though no one dies. A title card comes up that feels more like a message from the writers of the show to the viewers than a statement about the characters or story, as it reads “The End… ?”
Is this the end?
Right now, there is no third season planned for Harley Quinn, probably due to a combination of the strange state of the world and the fact that DC Universe is in flux with the debut of HBO Max.
If this is the end, I won’t be mad. Throughout the last two seasons, we’ve watched Harley develop from living for the Joker to living for herself. She’s learned to discern her wants and needs from those around her, and to still be her chaotic self while still being able to pursue those wants and needs to their ends. Ivy sees that in the final moments of the episode, and credits Harley for her growth while admitting that the Harley she’s looking at is the person she’s always wanted. This is an interesting, unique take on Harley and worth taking in in its own right.
Watching Ivy struggle with her feelings throughout the season has been interesting because at first, I felt like the shift was really sudden, but looking back it feels like both Harley and Ivy needed to be shaken out of complacency to acknowledge their feelings, and I’m pretty happy with the way it went down. If there does end up being another season, though, I’m eager to see Harley’s gang evolves in the wake of this change.
Harley Quinn seasons 1 & 2 are airing on DC Universe, and season 1 on Syfy.
