'Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine's Day Special' Review: Eccentric celebration of love makes no compromises
Mild spoilers ahead for 'Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine's day Special'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Gather around 'Harlivy' stans, the wait is finally over. HBO Max's 'Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine's Day Special' is finally out now and the special delivered exactly the perfect crackling episode that was teased in the trailer. This holiday special had the massive task of balancing both the elements from the animated series and a complete stand-alone special, without getting garbled out. Thankfully, the special entertains both the fans of 'Harley Quinn' and the general audience fairly, without compromising on the core content.
Written by Dean Lorey, Justin Halpern, and Patrick Schumacker and directed by Jennifer Coyle and Cecilia Aranovich Hamilton, the valentine's day special sees the cast from 'Harley Quinn' reprising their roles including Kaley Cuoco as Harley Quinn, Lake Bell as Poison Ivy, Alan Tudyk as Clayface and James Adomian as Bane. 'Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine's Day Special' delivers an absolute amalgamation of weirdness, fun, lust and of course love through 3 different plotlines in this 44 minutes V-Day special.
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The best Valentine's day ever!
In the primary storyline, Harley Quinn is seen hell-bent on giving her sweetheart Poison Ivy a perfect valentine's day and Harley just could not seem to hold her excitement over it. Also, when Ivy wants to spend the most romantic day of the year just by binge-watching a documentary and end the day with some love-making, Harley seems to dubiously accept the theme and offers to take Ivy out for a simple dinner. And just as we expect, Harley went over the top with her V-day plan, involving a carefully curated elaborate theme of a cross between a cheesy action and a romantic movie. Though Ivy is surprised and happy about it, Harley is not convinced that this is the 'best valentine's day' that Ivy has had. So, Harley turns it up a notch and with the help of some enchantment spell, Harley is able to make the best love to Ivy, while unintentionally creating a "Pheromocalypse" throughout Gotham.
This episode of 'Harlivy' tells a story, not by queer-baiting or throwing the couple (Harley and Ivy) under the bus for a few cheap laughs, but sincerely attempts to depict a grounded anniversary story of a loving couple. The best moment of the show comes at the final act of the special, where Ivy opens up to Harley about the best valentine's day she's ever had. Ivy recalls Harley saving her when she was a therapist and visiting her at Arkham with chocolate milk that Harley stole from the commissary and the recap of 'Shrek 2'. This recall by Ivy adds an extra layer to their story and gives a deeper insight into their relationship.
Love is in the air!
The unintentional pheromones released by Poison Ivy make the entire Gotham city go into a horny berserk outbreak. The B-Side of the story follows the rest of the iconic characters of Gotham, spending their Valentine's day. This includes the Riddler and Clock King spending a romantic evening and Clayface being catfished through a dating app and left severed in the dark alley, which leads him to the journey of self-love and self-discovery. Bane, on the other hand, is alone on Valentine's Day and finds a connection in an accidental encounter with a dominatrix. But things go sideways immediately when Bane drinks a potion to impress his lady, and Elizabeth and he grows to an enormous height that adds to the rampage that is already going on in Gotham. However, her acceptance of Bane's giant size gives him reassurance and helps him with his insecurity.
The episode also contains a series of intercut talking heads from DCU's powerful couples, including Superman and Lois Lane, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Aquaman and Mera, Killer Croc, Enchantress, and more. The episode also sees Brett Goldstein in a surprising role that leads to tying up all the story tracks in one place, giving a perfect grand finale to a perfect special.
'Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine's Day Special' is now streaming on HBO Max.