S02.E08: Inner (Para) Demons

[MarkHB]

Quote

While Harley & Ivy deal with their post-kiss awkwardness, the President tells Gordon that he must get rid of Harley to put Gotham back on the map.

 

[CletusMusashi]

This was not great. It wasn't bad, either, but it was not great.

Surprisingly, the best stuff was actually the B plot with Kite Man. The main story felt more like "Hey, look how similar to a big budget movie we can make our animation look" than "we've got a really funny and smart way to advance the plot."

[ruby24]

So, Harley continues to be the most obnoxious character on the show. And I continue to think it was a mistake to push Harley and Ivy romantically in this version of them, IF they're going to have Ivy and Kite Man continue to be actually cute and good together. 

I'd bet most of the people watching this actually like Ivy and Kite Man as a couple. I know we're supposed to be rooting for Harley/Ivy, but it's harder to do that if you like her with Kite Man. And honestly, it feels to me like the show's writers also prefer Ivy with Kite Man, given the way they continue to develop them- it's kinda weird, actually. Like they're being pulled in two conflicting directions- they seem to think they have an obligation to go the Harley/Ivy route, but they actually like writing the Ivy/Kite Man romance, so they keep doing that too.

[MarkHB]

It seems like they're going with Ivy sticking with Kite Man, and Harley stuck with feelings she can't explore, plus probably fearing that she'll lose her only real friend after Ivy gets married.

Don't let Dr. Psycho pick the plan. There's nothing good to be found there.

[Maximum Taco]

It really doesn't feel like they know where they want to go with this whole Kite-man/Ivy/Harley triangle. 

Ivy doesn't seem interested in Harley at all romantically, I mean, sure they kissed, but while Harley seemed to take this episode spiraling as she tries to deal with her feelings, Ivy jumped right back into her relationship with Kite-man, and doesn't seem to be acting any differently then she usually does. Some people are better at hiding their feelings than others, but I think we need more in a work of fiction.

It seems like we're maybe supposed to be questioning why Ivy is with Kite-man cause she's serious and competent and he's goofy and idiotic, but they just give us more and more reasons why they work together. In this episode he's sweet and cares about her and even when she screws up, he never gets mad. And she stands up for him and helps him to stand up for himself. This relationship works and it'll be pretty terrible when it goes down the tubes to perpetuate a Harley/Ivy relationship that, for now, seems substantially one-sided. 

It's also gonna feel pretty phony if Harley finally admits her feelings for Ivy and she dumps Kite-man on the spot. It'll still feel phony if they go slow and Harley admits her feelings for Ivy and that's what it takes for her to start questioning her relationship with Kite-man. Ivy already had pretty severe commitment issues that she's gotten past, and now she's ready to marry someone, and all it takes to shatter that is someone else (admittedly her best friend) telling her that they love her too? I think the writers may have written themselves into a corner if they are committed to an Ivy/Harley endgame. 

[paigow]

Kite Man must die. Like Wreck it Ralph, he dies because Ivy missed something in her perimeter sweep that allows Condiment King to infiltrate the wedding ceremony. After Ivy gets revenge, hooking up with Harley, while awkward, is untainted by cheating.

[kdm07]

On 5/22/2020 at 11:11 AM, CletusMusashi said:

This was not great. It wasn't bad, either, but it was not great.

Surprisingly, the best stuff was actually the B plot with Kite Man. The main story felt more like "Hey, look how similar to a big budget movie we can make our animation look" than "we've got a really funny and smart way to advance the plot."

 I agree. This show is usually so good that when it dips, you notice it straight away,