This episode was better than the last one, but that's a low bar. The action at least saw the exit of some dull new characters, and the action in that scene was storyboarded pretty well. Still, the scene where it happened was pretty contrived and not engaging, and kind of came out of nowhere.
The turn at the end of the episode didn't really answer anything and kind of pulled a "St. Elsewhere ending," which only ever has the effect of nullifying the stakes. The only thing that such a twist can be good for is getting a character to realize something about themselves, such as the episode of Batman the Animated Series where Bruce is mind-controlled by the Mad Hatter and goes through an arc as a result. But that's an ending that develops a character quality and helps us understand them better and is frankly wrapped up and satisfying. I don't see Harley's turn here really doing anything other than resetting her. And such a reset can only be dull.
Unfortunately there's also no arc of her having a normal reaction to being rejected by the team. She ought to either get so frustrated that she changes course and leaves the team, or she should have some success, maybe leveraging the success she has with some team members to greater acceptance from the rest. And it's like none of this discord changes the choreography of the fight scenes: her team members should change how they fight based on their attitudes, whether it's struggling to get in synch with her (she's a chaotic fighter and so there should be mishaps as a result) or be fighting worse trying to get her to coordinate.
It's like the writers really didn't think this season through, and it's a shame because everyone else is really trying to make the episode work.
The turn at the end of the episode didn't really answer anything and kind of pulled a "St. Elsewhere ending," which only ever has the effect of nullifying the stakes. The only thing that such a twist can be good for is getting a character to realize something about themselves, such as the episode of Batman the Animated Series where Bruce is mind-controlled by the Mad Hatter and goes through an arc as a result. But that's an ending that develops a character quality and helps us understand them better and is frankly wrapped up and satisfying. I don't see Harley's turn here really doing anything other than resetting her. And such a reset can only be dull.
Unfortunately there's also no arc of her having a normal reaction to being rejected by the team. She ought to either get so frustrated that she changes course and leaves the team, or she should have some success, maybe leveraging the success she has with some team members to greater acceptance from the rest. And it's like none of this discord changes the choreography of the fight scenes: her team members should change how they fight based on their attitudes, whether it's struggling to get in synch with her (she's a chaotic fighter and so there should be mishaps as a result) or be fighting worse trying to get her to coordinate.
It's like the writers really didn't think this season through, and it's a shame because everyone else is really trying to make the episode work.
