TV SERIES Review: Harley Quinn S1E13 – The Final Joke ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

At the end of S1:E12 “Devil’s Snare” the Joker was laughing after his heinous, cowardly act

Season 1
DC Universe exclusive
February 21, 2020
Season finale

Episode 13 – “The Final Joke”

Revenge is on Harley’s mind after what Joker did at the end of the last episode to Poison Ivy. Has Harley finally realized here former boyfriend doesn’t really give two craps about her? This is what viewers are hoping to find out? Or (gasp) will she fall under Joker’s twisted spell again?

Opens with a repeat of the last couple dramatic moments of episode 12, then title montage and then a small burial ceremony. Now Harley wants Batman’s help in revenge against Joker. This plan using Clayface to setup a diversion fails and Batman is gassed.

Joker takes over Gotham and puts out a bounty on Harley.

Joker tortures Harley’s crew, including some cool pop references. He’s going to throw an 80s party and invites Harley to join to watch Joker executing her crew. This is why he wants her alive to see it.

Tune into the final episode to see what is Harley’s plan to save her crew and avenge her friend. Will Joker prevail and take Harley out? What happens to Poison Ivy? Find out these answers and more. This episode has a real ending, it’s not a cliffhanger.

Summary

I kind of hoped they would end this episode leaving some things not wrapped up, so taking a little away. There is still the issue of what’s happened to Gotham and did I miss what happened to the menacing trees? Where did they go? So, some loose ends were left unresolved.

The good news is we get 13 more episodes in the future to explore what happens next. I’ll save pontificating on where that might go for another day.

When I think back to my experience with the first review of this series until now 13 weeks later, I’m reminded of all the good that’s happened. I joined DC Universe which is a full-fledged, vibrant community, not just a streaming service. I’ve been subscribed to Amazon Prime Video and spend the most time streaming movies there and at Netflix, but those are places to visit with zero social component. Disney+? Same thing. These are places with a bunch of movies and TV content. They are like online warehouses, and with all the friendliness of a gigantic warehouse with just you and rows and rows of stuff to sift and sort through.

DC Universe has a thriving, active messageboard community with chat on all things DC as well as other topics. It is lovingly moderated and their are community guidelines to keep conversations from becoming too trollish, which is nice. I’ve been through communities over the year where fandom on any given subject/topic is toxic and instead of binding me to it, I’m driven away. Not the case at DCU. This might not matter for others reading, maybe you just want to binge watch a good TV show or watch movies and leave without wanting or feeling compelled to discuss what was just watched. Just saying here you have a place to do that which truly is dedicated and special.

Also, Harley Quinn animated TV got me re-interested and continued my excitement from The Mandalorian in looking forward to weekly releases of new episode. This is very reminiscent of traditional TV series and reminded me of new episodes of series I enjoyed growing up coming out each week. I don’t think the binge it and be done model has that same appeal. Yes, I realize we can control ourselves and enjoy a series by only watching one episode every week, but it just doesn’t feel the same as not having the ability to just dig in and binge it. Minor benefit to some, perhaps major to others, but important to me.

This episode was a bit too perfect a wrap-up and didn’t leave as much suspense for next season as it could have. For that reason I’m taking away a star. It’s a good ending to season one, but a bit predictable.

Overall episode rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The first season has been amazing overall, with really only a couple misfires, a couple perfect episodes, a few above average, and several hit it out of the park ones.

Overall, season one is a solid 4 star show, very close to 4.5 / 5, if only they had finished with just a little stronger juice. I don’t think people will be disappointed with the season one finale, but it kind of lost a little dramatic punch and steam.

Season 1 All Episodes Ranking ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

1. S1:E12 – Devil’s Snare ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. S1:E1 – Til Death Do Us Part ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. S1:E7 – The Line ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
4. S1:E11 – Harley Quinn Highway ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
5. S1:E2 – A High Bar ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
6. S1:E4 – Being Harley Quinn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
7. S1:E13 – The Final Joke ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (season 1 finale episode)
8. S1:E8 – L.O.D.R.S.V.P ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
9. S1:E5 – Finding Mr. Right ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
10. S1:E3 – So You Need a Crew ⭐️⭐️⭐️
11. S1:E9 – A Seat At The Table ⭐️⭐️⭐️
12. S1:E6 – You’re a Damn Good Cop, Jim Gordon ⭐️⭐️½
13. S1:E10 – Bensonhurst ⭐️⭐️

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