The Direct has pulled together a list of ten of the best episodes of Max’s Harley Quinn.
The DC animated series is a unique title in the company’s library. Not only is it deeply driven by DC’s expansive lore, but it’s violent, raunchy, and bat-sh*t insane all at once.
Harley Quinn might have once been an opening act for the Joker, but she’s now led her own show for four seasons—something not even Mr. J has achieved. But which of her many adventures rise to the top?
Top 10 Harley Quinn Episodes
10.) “Riddle U” – Season 2 Episode 2
One of the best parts of Season 2 is its completely insane premise—with Gotham City all but destroyed, completely cut off from the rest of the world, and sections of the city controlled by various villains.
This unique premise is what really gives “Riddle U” the upper hand.
As one would expect, the title refers to The Riddler and his new University, which also happens to be the only place in Gotham City with power. Turns out, electricity is pretty important, and Harley needs it for her attack on the Injustice League.
So, they go undercover to try and steal electricity from Edward Nigma. Shockingly, they discover the supervillain has rigged the entire place to run on human-run hamster wheels for power.
This episode also serves as the proper introduction of Batgirl to the world of Harley Quinn.
9.) “Dye Hard” – Season 2 Episode 10
Following the events of Poison Ivy’s bachelorette party, Harley Quinn is having a crisis of faith, trying to come to terms with her feelings for Ivy.
In an attempt to pick up random people to try and make herself feel better, she runs into the amnesiac Joker, who still claims not to be the man Harley thinks he is. Thanks to some dramatic irony, the two are eventually handcuffed together and have to resentfully spend plenty of time with each other as they work to escape a hostage situation.
Seeing the two’s dynamic explored in this way is uniquely interesting, especially with the foreboding feeling that Joker isn’t too far away from his old self. By the end of the episode, that anxiety is justified, as Harley is forced to throw him into a vat of acid once again to bring out his infamous persona.
8.) “Finding Mr. Right” – Season 1 Episode 4
Harley Quinn and her new team are getting fed up that their recent crime spree is going unnoticed in the news. Her solution? Well, she needs an arch-nemesis.
If Batman is Joker’s match, who is Harley’s? That’s exactly what this episode explores, and the situations that arise are nothing but hilarious.
While Harley tries to bag Batman as her big bad, instead, she winds up pairing herself with Damian Wayne—aka, the little Boy Wonder. What makes it even funnier is that in this show’s exaggerated world is its Robin is a little brat.
Even on paper, the concept is a fantastic one-liner, so it’s not hard to see how this installment ended up so well.
To add some spiciness to the situation, “Dye Hard” also includes the big betrayal of Dr. Psycho and the even bigger sacrifice of longtime teammate Sy Borgman.
7.) “Being Harley Quinn” – Season 1 Episode 5
It’s only right that one of Harley Quinn’s biggest character episodes makes it on this list.
This installment has a funny façade, but the journey it takes the characters on exposes some of the most personal elements of Harley’s character.
While unable to pick a new supervillain brain, Harley’s team has to go into her mind to unfreeze their friend from a “level four freeze brain.” In turn, the group finds themselves in the museum of memories—many of which are trauma-filled moments infested with mindscape Jokers.
During this kerfuffle, Harley uncovers a tragic repressed memory: Joker never pushed her into the vat of acid responsible for her transformation. Instead, she did so on her own volition.
The episode ends with a character-defining moment for Quinn, as she decides to redefine the moment in her life she considers her origin story. Instead of her dive into the vat of acid, Harley anchors herself to her big break-up with Mr. J—just as it should be.
6.) “The Runaway Bridesmaid” – Season 2 Episode 13
The episode starts at a low spot for Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, with the two now separated, for lack of a better word. Harley is dealing with her “personal crisis” as she is locked up in Arkham, while Ivy has convinced Kiteman (and herself) to go through with the wedding.
Unbeknownst to Ivy, Jim Gordon is aiming to bust the venue and all the supervillains in it. Thankfully, Harley catches wind of the plan and is able to save the day.
The episode ends with a moment fans have been waiting for: Poison Ivy and Kiteman finally call it quits. He’s finally had enough and admits that he knows her heart isn’t in their marriage.
This leads to Harley and Ivy embracing their romantic connection, as the two go happily off into the sunset (while running away from police, of course). The entire episode is a pivotal point in the duo’s relationship, and the show tends to be at its strongest points when giving their love the spotlight.
5.) “Bachelorette” – Season 2 Episode 9
What’s more fun than a girl’s trip?
Well, one that perfectly utilizes Themyscira in fantastic comedic fashion. Harley Quinn takes Poison Ivy and some friends on a Bachelorette party to the exotic island, which has become an all-female resort in Wonder Woman’s absence.
What really makes the episode is the continuation of Harley and Ivy’s sexual tension, which ends in them unintentionally getting into each other’s pants multiple times throughout the episode—despite swearing never to do it again. This creates dramatic gold as the long-time friends try to deal with the truths threatening to come to the surface.
While the episode doesn’t offer a resolution to their issues (that comes later), watching the two struggle through this point in their dynamic is endlessly fun and engaging.
The cherry on top? King Shark gets a fantastic and hilarious underwater musical moment in the episode’s side plot that would take Ariel’s breath away.
4 .) “There’s No Place to Go But Down” – Season 2 Episode 7
Out of all the recurring villains in Harley Quinn, Bane is easily one of the funniest. Usually, he’s relegated to small appearances, but this episode gives him the spotlight he deserves.
After being sentenced to life in prison by Two-Face in a newly taken over Gotham City, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy are taken to a hole in the ground—one that serves as a penitentiary run by Bane himself.
Of course, plenty of hilarity ensues as the duo adapts to their new abode. Eventually, Poison Ivy’s existential dread incites a riot, allowing them to escape from Bane’s pit.
The episode ends with one of the most explosive moments in the series: a sudden passionate kiss between Harley and Ivy—things will never be the same.
3.) “Thawing Hearts” – Season 2 Episode 4
As the title might suggest, this installment has more heart than anyone probably expected going into it.
At the beginning of “Thawing Hearts”, Harley Quinn is intent on killing Mr. Freeze, and by the end of the episode, his death turns into a heartbreaking sacrifice.
One of fans’ favorite aspects of Mr. Freeze is the sad story behind his wife, Nora Fries, who he hopes to save from a rare lethal medical condition. Here, he gets to do just that, but at the cost of his own life.
While Harley Quinn originally thought Mr. Freeze was only being creepy about Nora, his love for her was real—and because of it, the series got another unique cast member to add to its ranks.
As for Freeze, while it’s sad that he’s gone, at least he made quite the mark in the show as it capitalized on everyone’s favorite tragic villain.
2.) “Batman Begins Forever” – Season 3 Episode 8
While it is still a Harley Quinn show, the series also somehow managed to have a stellar Batman-focused installment.
Here, Harley enters Bruce Wayne’s mind thanks to Doctor Psycho in hopes of getting the whereabouts of Frank the Plant, who was kidnapped by the famous billionaire. In turn, she gets thrown into an endless loop of the worst day of Bruce’s life: the death of his parents at the hands of Joe Chill.
While everyone knows Wayne’s tragic origin story, it’s never been explored quite like this. What follows is a stunningly heartfelt exploration of Bruce’s trauma-ridden subconscious as Harley Quinn and Batman bond in unexpected ways.
In fact, she even comes out of the episode with the knowledge of his secret identity—a secret she vowed to keep.
1.) “The Final Joke” – Season 1 Episode 13
While Harley Quinn may have been created as nothing more than Joker’s goon, this episode is a clear statement that the world is done with that iteration of the jester.
Instead, as also seen in the live-action Birds of Prey, Harley is done with Mr. J—and this story is proof. Not only does it establish it within the show’s world, but it shines as a statement across the character’s entire legacy: Harley Quinn doesn’t need the Joker.
Add in a heart-wrenching side plot with Poison Ivy coming back from the dead to save her best friend (and future wife), and the episode is nothing but stellar.
To really stick the landing, “The Final Joke” also basically destroys Gotham City, cementing the series as a truly unique DC Comics venture. The show blows the doors wide open on what’s popular, which gifts Season 2 with an endless, intriguing status quo for its world.
Harley Quinn is now on Max.
