Harley Quinn: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Harley Quinn: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Ms. Q becomes Mrs. I.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III September 20, 2023

Riding the wave of gleefully defiant comic book films like Deadpool, Birds of Prey, and The Suicide Squad (the good one), HBO Max's Harley Quinn is an adult-themed animated series celebrating the unpredictable TV-MA exploits of "Joker's former girlfriend". Recently finishing its fourth and potentially final season, it offers a free-form take on the typically overcast world of Batman and friends, throwing giddy gobs of shade at its well-trod legacy while still feeling like an anything-goes labor of love by fans, for fans. I've always had a soft spot for the franchise and my immature inner middle child loves a good pot-stirring, so it's safe to say that Harley Quinn is right up my alley.

Warner Archive's three-disc set of Seasons 1 & 2 almost proved that you can have too much of a good thing. Harley Quinn's consistently manic energy level doesn't make it an ideal show to binge-watch; I can maybe do 2-3 episodes per session at most, so getting through the combined 26 episodes took a bit longer than expected. The same holds true for WB's release of Season 3, which certainly arrives at an odd time: the fourth season just ended and, due to issues that extend past the current WGA strike, we won't be getting a fifth for quite some time (if ever). Their decision to release the comparatively slim 10-episode Season 3 on its own gives fans less than half the content of Seasons 1 & 2 for a higher price tag than the previous set, which certainly spoils what's otherwise a pretty fun party.

Otherwise, this short and mostly sweet batch of episodes carries the torch proudly but shows an ever-so-slight overall dip in quality; this is perhaps due to a rocky post-COVID transition, or it could just be that the series' schtick is wearing off a bit. Regardless, there's still plenty to like here: these 10 outings do a hell of a lot more right than wrong, and we even get some of the series' absolute best episodes this time around. Below are brief and mostly spoiler-free recaps of these lightly serialized adventures, with an overall judgment that their collective strength is just a half step down from the series' first two years. All 10 episodes are squeezed on one dual-layered disc, but more on that later.

"Harlivy" - Only days after confessing their feelings for each other at the end of Season 2, Harley and Poison Ivy adjust to life together... but they're still being pursued by Commissioner Gordon, who has recently caught their pals King Shark and Clayface and is now running for mayor with the no-holds-barred help of Two-Face.

"There's No Ivy in Team" - The whole crew's back together, which is the right time for Ivy to pitch her plan to fully terraform Gotham and, eventually, the world. It's much harder than it sounds... and so is leading the group, not that inference from Batman, Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing, and The Riddler is helping matters any.

"The 83rd Annual Villy Awards" - An early standout, this episode follows the crew as they shack up with Catwoman after their lair is destroyed. In the process, Harley and Ivy learn that they're nominated for "Best Couple" at this year's Villy Awards... which is hosted by The Joker, who Harley typically shared the award with. Awkward.

"A Thief, A Mole, An Orgy" - Catwoman's apartment feels smaller than ever due to tensions within the group, which are exacerbated by the kidnapping of poor Frank the Plant by an unknown person. Their search for Frank leads them, of all places, to the Court of Owls club, which looks like something straight out of Eyes Wide Shut.

"It's a Swamp Thing" - Taking a short brain break from their kinda-sorts search for Frank, Harley and Ivy take a trip down to New Orleans which includes run-ins with John Constantine and Swamp Thing. Back home, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle work on their new relationship with the help of an unlikely third party.

"Joker: The Killing Vote" - Another standout episode and almost my runaway favorite this season, this fantastic outing serves as a creative reimaging of The Killing Joke (the original comic, not the terrible animated version) that involves the newly-reformed Joker running against Gordon in Gotham's mayoral election.

"Another Sharkley Adventure" - Attempting to kidnap Bruce at a charity gala to find Frank's whereabouts, Harley is stopped by Batgirl but they're both eventually captured by The Mad Hatter. The always enjoyable King Shark also gets some time in the spotlight as he confronts his brother after their father's funeral.

"Batman Begins Forever" - Inarguably the season's best episode (if not the show's finest hour thus far), this meta masterpiece follows Harley and friends into Bruce Wayne's mind where they're trapped in a near-endless loop of his only non-repressed memory. It's a lot of work just to find a missing plant, but someone's gotta do it.

"Climax at Jazzapajizza" - Picking up almost immediately after the previous episode, we're introduced to two newly-resurrected characters... and many more, as Gotham's overtaken by a horde of plant-based zombies. Meanwhile, Bruce recovers from his traumatic mental journey while Ivy moves forward with her terraforming plan.

"The Horse and The Sparrow" - Lex Luthor attempts to break up the band by offering Ivy a job with the Legion of Doom, while Harley's own actions unwittingly make her the savior of Gotham. Everyone also attends a certain movie premiere that's been built up this season, which opens up a floodgate of memories for Bruce and others.

Harley Quinn: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Despite the production gap and move to HBO Max, the visual aesthetic of Harley Quinn haven't changed for Season 3, with its overall look still aiming for an ultra-colorful and, at times, moody atmosphere that matches its anything-goes story. It looks great in-motion but, like Seasons 1 & 2 (which serves as a good overview of the show's look as a whole), there are clearly moments where, possibly due to source material issues, jagged edges and slight amounts of softness creep in. Those were mostly reigned in on Warner Archive's earlier Blu-ray set... but parent company Warner Bros. is handling this season and, unsurprisingly, disc compression isn't quite as good. Banding and macro-blocking rear their heads on rare occasions, which could be the result of less careful treatment but is more likely due to cramming all ten episodes on one disc. (Comparatively, the first two seasons had 8 or 9 at most.) This isn't a huge difference and certainly not a deal-breaker, but Season 3 doesn't play quite as smoothly in my opinion.

Harley Quinn: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Much like Seasons 1 & 2, this DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix offers crisp dialogue that mostly stays up front but opens up nicely during action scenes or during more surreal moments, when the rear channels get some love or we're treated to a few stray panning effects. Even the subwoofer gets something to do, bolstered by a solid mid-range with moments like the intro of "It's a Swamp Thing" even dipping into surprisingly deep territory. Overall, Harley Quinn's sound design continues to work in tandem with the story and visuals, breaking a few walls at unexpected moments but otherwise just getting the job done in a clean, unobtrusive manner that keeps your ears constantly entertained.

Optional English (SDH) and French subtitles are included during all 10 episodes.

Harley Quinn: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in an eco-friendly keepcase with attractive cover artwork, a matching slipcover, and no inserts. No bonus features have been included, which is extremely disappointing -- there's less than half the content here for an inexplicably higher price than Warner Archive's excellent three-disc release of Seasons 1 & 2.

At the very least, WB should have included last February's "A Very Problematic Valentine's Day Special", which aired between this batch of episodes and the recently-completed Season 4. Maybe next time, I guess?

Harley Quinn: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Harley Quinn was an unexpected surprise upon its 2019 premiere and, though its shine has faded a bit during this third season, several standout episodes prove that there's still plenty of gas left in the tank. My real problem here is Warner Bros.' greedy release strategy: Season 4 recently ended and a fifth has yet to be greenlit, so why not include both like Warner Archive's terrific treatment of Seasons 1 & 2 to complete the run for now? Add in a slightly downgraded 1080p transfer and a higher price tag for less than half the total content, and only then will you realize the full extent of my first-world frustration. This one's still worth picking up, obviously, but the show deserves better.