Editor's Note: This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the show being covered here wouldn't exist.
Harley Quinn has found new ways to reinvent itself since it debuted in 2019, not only by switching streaming platforms three times but also by changing up the structure of each season. The animated show is now in season 4 and premiering on the newly-christened Max, but its motto of expecting the unexpected remains the same — which in this case means spotlighting Harley's adjustment to Bat Family duties and her girlfriend Ivy's glass ceiling woes as CEO of the Legion of Doom. It's a gambit that mostly pays off, as Harley and Ivy's passionate relationship thrives thanks to their hero vs. villain crisis, but it comes at the expense of the rest of the gang.
Harley Quinn season 3 ended with the girls going their separate ways, morally speaking. Harley realized she wanted to help people rather than hurt them, and she filled the vacancy left in the Bat Family due to Batman's imprisonment. Ivy, meanwhile, took Lex Luthor up on his offer to lead the Legion in the hopes of enacting her ecoterrorist agenda. Harley Quinn season 4 immediately dives into the ramifications of their career choices on both their routines and their relationship. Just as Ivy struggles to be taken seriously as a woman in villainous leadership, Harley struggles with the BatFam's no-kill rule — but they manage to find time for one another amidst the chaos.
Kaley Cuoco and Lake Bell have fallen into a perfect rhythm when voicing Harley and Ivy, respectively, so their characters sound as comfortable with each other as they look. Harley Quinn's writers still throw obstacles in their path, but never insurmountable ones, and it's a delight for viewers to see them navigate the politics of their relationship without the danger of a true Harlivy breakup. Whether they are on opposite sides of a hero-villain fight or trying to stay neutral during a romantic getaway to Vegas, the show does a great job of balancing their personal growing pains with domestic fluff for audiences.
Unfortunately, that balancing act falls apart when it comes to Harley Quinn's supporting characters. The upgraded importance of the Bat Family is a perfect opportunity for comedy and growth, but they don't get much attention until later episodes of season 4 outside a hilarious subplot about Nightwing's butt and a running joke about Talia al Ghul not knowing the first thing about Damian. Ivy's coworkers thankfully include Nora Fires and Bane, allowing them some moments to shine, but the new villain introductions are lacking in comparison to previous seasons.
Clayface (voiced by expert chameleon Alan Tudyk) may be the biggest oversight in the first part of Harley Quinn season 4, since he does not even have what one could reasonably qualify as an arc. His theatrical aspirations seem to be more of a joke than ever, and not one the audience is necessarily in on this time around. King Shark (Ron Funches) and his wife Tabitha do get a significant story dedicated to their impending parenthood, which is touching and humorous all at once, but even he does not feel as connected to Harley and Ivy as before.
Despite the compartmentalized feeling of the season, Harley Quinn still delivers zingers with zest. Poison Ivy championing evil women in the workplace is ripe with material that does not go to waste, and Harley herself has unexpected moments of insight and camaraderie that highlight the humanity hiding beneath her wild and wacky ways. Overall, season 4 does settle in comfortably to its new surroundings after a brief readjustment — much like its leading ladies — and offers the same profanity-laden, feel-good enjoyment of the previous years.
The first 3 episodes of Harley Quinn season 4 premiere July 27 on Max, with new episodes airing weekly.