S02.E06: All the Best Inmates Have Daddy Issues

[MarkHB]

Quote

When Harley & Ivy spot a seemingly sane Joker, they debate whether people can change – revisiting a flashback about Harleen Quinzel's first day at Arkham.

 

[CletusMusashi]

So did any of the Gotham villains actually become a new person? Maybe Man-Bat, I suppose. But Harvey was always a power-hungry dick; the acid simply took away his charm. Even at her most straight-laced, Harley had a criminal history, was extremely fascinated by murderous supervillains, and considered black lipstick perfectly normal for the first day at a new job. 

The only one that really confuses me now is Joker. I mean, my gut tells me that he was always a maniacal sadist. And if he ever did have a ferret, I do not ever want to hear what he did to it. But his current persona doesn't match that. Does that mean he was super boring until he changed? Or does that mean that everything interesting about him is so interwoven with his Joker identity that all that was left was... this?

Oh, and Dr. Psycho? I laughed at your joke.

Edited May 8, 2020 by CletusMusashi

[paigow]

Why was younger Harvey Dent worried about Arkham escapes? Those happened regularly. Voters were likely numb.

[ruby24]

The Harley Quinn origin story is so strong and specific that every time I see it depicted they don't really mess with it too much, including this one. I was actually hoping to see it through to the point where Harley really fell for Joker, since she hadn't yet by the end of this particular flashback. 

[CletusMusashi]

I suppose the biggest unanswered question is:

When did that thing with Commissioner Gordon's chest hair happen?

[ybrik]

I think with the Joker, we really don't know how much of the his memory was wiped. It could be he just woke up with no memories at all because his entire life prior to the acid were essential in creating the 'Joker'. 

Well I think with Gordon it is obvious, he used to manscape his body hair. He had pride in his grooming habits back then but now he's given up on everything including proper grooming. 

Interesting twist with Ivy and Harley basically meeting the same time she meets Joker. 

Also like that they did give more depth to Two Face as he was always the weakest of the villains as we had no real interactions with him till these last two episodes. 

 

[paigow]

11 hours ago, CletusMusashi said:

I suppose the biggest unanswered question is:

Why does Joker have amnesia if he escaped serious injuries?

[CletusMusashi]

Presumably the amnesia is from the chemical. Considering how much LoD tech he had access to, I can shrug that one off.

As for the earlier question about why the citizens aren't used to constant Arkham escapes... it could be those escapes have cost a lot of the city's political figures their jobs. Perhaps keeping criminals behind bars was Harvey's biggest campaign promise.

I hope we see more of Arkham. The origin flashbacks intrigue me, as does the question of who is running it today.

[MarkHB]

1 hour ago, CletusMusashi said:

I hope we see more of Arkham. The origin flashbacks intrigue me, as does the question of who is running it today.

The most fitting choice would be the Mad Hatter.

[CletusMusashi]

I was thinking Hugo Strange, but, to be honest, I would much rather see your idea.

[paigow]

4 hours ago, CletusMusashi said:

I hope we see more of Arkham. The origin flashbacks intrigue me, as does the question of who is running it today.

Is Arkham on the map of New New Gotham? Is it in Banetown?

[CletusMusashi]

It's pronounced "Baneton!" It rhymes with "plankton."

 

[MarkHB]

17 hours ago, CletusMusashi said:

It's pronounced "Baneton!" It rhymes with "plankton."

 

Is Benetton even still a thing?

[Apathy]

So now we know for sure that Jason Todd does indeed exist in this universe and The Joker killed him. Can we expect the Red Hood to show up in future episodes?

On top of being an excellent take on the "Mad Love" story, I was almost expecting this episode to be a Two-Face origin story as soon as Harvey Dent was introduced (he sure loves that red licorice), but it turns out he was a duplicitous asshole even before getting acid in his face. He doesn't seem to have the split personality like in every other iteration, so that's not surprising. What DID surprise me was how good Jim Gordon looked--so fit and groomed! But in keeping with the theme of the episode there were also remnants of present day Jim Gordon, such as still being a little on edge and needy for Batman's friendship.

IIRC it was implied in the pilot episode that Gordon completely went off the rails when The Joker paralyzed his partner, but as someone brought up on DC Daily, he used to work with Batman and Harvey Dent. Losing Dent both as an ally and a friend when he officially became Two-Face meant having even less control over the crime in Gotham and depending on Batman even more.

I mentioned last week that "Batman's Back Man" had some of the same beats as The Lego Batman Movie. This episode took inspiration from The Dark Knight, what with the interrogation scene and The Joker from years earlier resembling Heath Ledger's Joker, even borrowing his catchphrase. And judging from the episode description for "There's No Place to Go But Down," it looks like this week is going to have a lot of references to The Dark Knight Rises, calling it right now. 

[CletusMusashi]

It does seem a bit odd for it to be common knowledge that Jason Todd was Robin without anyone putting the rest of the pieces together.