1x04 Finding Mr. Right

[7.4/10] A fun, if wooly episode, to be sure. I like the conceit of Harley searching for a nemesis in the same way that many people look for a boyfriend/girlfriend. There’s a fun absurdity to her bringing in a giant sharkman as a social media expert to spruce up her profile. And there’s a Venture Bros.-esque bit of workaday amusement to our sad sack group trying to get an A-list protagonist to go up against and ending up with rejects and children.

Enter Robin! I gotta say, it’s a treat to have Room’s Jacob Tremblay as the Boy Wonder. Most kid characters are voiced by grown-ups, and that could still work here theoretically. But there’s something extra funny about Harley trying to earn the ire of a topline hero, only to end up bickering with an actual ten-year-old. Hearing him spin fish tales about how their confrontation works, or giving lip to Superman, or criticizing the “rubes” in the T.V. audience a la Gabbo from The Simpsons is a hoot.

There’s a lot of good gags here. I love Ivy’s exasperation at Harley’s poor judgment and impulsiveness. The random destruction of various tables and televisions makes for a great runner. And I love the way Ivy keeps trying to put a lid on Harley’s “orrrrrr” segways that inevitably lead to bad ideas. I know I’m making a lot of comparisons to other shows in the early going, but there’s a real Archer quality to the banter here, which tickles my funny bone.

Things do go off the rails a little bit once the episode gets to the big T.V. talk show set piece. I appreciate the setup and payoff of Robin having nosebleeds when he’s nervous, and King shark turning from a jovial hacker into a ravenous beast once he gets a taste. But from there, the “love” pentagon of Robin, Harley, Batman, Ivy, and Joker gets a little nuts. I know that's the point, as a spoof of Jerry Springer style domestic drama repackaged for the superhero set, but it gets a little outsized even in that context.

Still, this is a fun one, with hints at changes in the status quo already, a lot of nice worldbuilding and introduction of other members of the D.C. family in this universe (Superman and Lois!), and a nice additional step along the path of Harley finding her footing as an independent supervillain.