The point is that they don't know how much time they have.
So if the goal was to have Harley and Ivy in a relationship why the hell did they even have a character arc with kiteman in the first place? Why not just have him as a quirky Ex that Ivy had? Why the insipid "come out of the closet" arc when it's 2020 and nobody cares anymore about who you're in a relationship with if it passes the harkness test?
Point out a single instance of somebody in the show commenting on the genders in Harley and Ivy's relationship. The story had nothing to do with Ivy's (or Harley's) sexuality and everything to do about her trying to decide if she wanted the "normal" life that Kiteman would have offered versus the batshit insane life that a relationship with Harley would involve. It was in some ways a story about rejecting societies expectations for your life but it had nothing to do with the genders involved. Which was actually nice.
FencingsaxIt is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understandingGNU Terry PratchettRegistered Userregular
Also, Ivy was developing as a character from someone who couldn't interact with people, to someone interested in more involved (emotionally and physically) relationships.
Also, Ivy was developing as a character from someone who couldn't interact with people, to someone interested in more involved (emotionally and physically) relationships.
I feel like that Birthday party scene with her father is pretty important to her arc in the show. She acts disaffected with society but she also craves that sort of normalcy.
The point is that they don't know how much time they have.
So if the goal was to have Harley and Ivy in a relationship why the hell did they even have a character arc with kiteman in the first place?
Why tell any part of a story except for the end?
To be clear, I'm not privy to any inside information here, I'm just guessing based on what we've seen, and it feels to me like they had a three season story sketched out. When they reached the critical point, they asked the magic 8-ballexecutives if they could rely on getting a third season, and were told 'answer unclear, ask again later'.
Faced with a choice between telling the story they wanted in the time they knew they'd have or telling part of the story and hoping they'd get extra time to finish it, they decided that trusting in a renewal was a sucker bet.
This is not even close to a rare occurrence in TV. The really lucky shows get told when they've got a last season to write for, but most don't. It's the reason SG-1 got three episodes written as possible series finales, and the assumption that they had an extra year to tell a story is why they didn't have an actual series finale when they finally got shut down.
The point is that they don't know how much time they have.
So if the goal was to have Harley and Ivy in a relationship why the hell did they even have a character arc with kiteman in the first place?
Why tell any part of a story except for the end?
To be clear, I'm not privy to any inside information here, I'm just guessing based on what we've seen, and it feels to me like they had a three season story sketched out. When they reached the critical point, they asked the magic 8-ballexecutives if they could rely on getting a third season, and were told 'answer unclear, ask again later'.
Faced with a choice between telling the story they wanted in the time they knew they'd have or telling part of the story and hoping they'd get extra time to finish it, they decided that trusting in a renewal was a sucker bet.
This is not even close to a rare occurrence in TV. The really lucky shows get told when they've got a last season to write for, but most don't. It's the reason SG-1 got three episodes written as possible series finales, and the assumption that they had an extra year to tell a story is why they didn't have an actual series finale when they finally got shut down.
No, I get the decision making that went into this. I absolutely do. My issue is that it led to a story that felt incredibly forced with the sole redeeming part of it imho being that kiteman was the one who ultimately broke it off and did it in a way that was honest, mature and not motivated by bitterness or anger.
But it does go back to my point about perfection, and how this whole angle should have been left on the cutting room in favor of polishing the story that they had and then if they get a season 3 go ahead and do a thing with how Ivy can't handle the suburban life that kiteman offers.
Unrelated, but the season finale was the first time I noticed that Kite Man's name is Charlie Brown.
Oh, good grief.
It's not a coincidence. Charlie Brown has a history with kites.
+5
Munkus BeaverYou don't have to attend every argument you are invited to.Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPAregular
The point is that they don't know how much time they have.
So if the goal was to have Harley and Ivy in a relationship why the hell did they even have a character arc with kiteman in the first place?
Why tell any part of a story except for the end?
To be clear, I'm not privy to any inside information here, I'm just guessing based on what we've seen, and it feels to me like they had a three season story sketched out. When they reached the critical point, they asked the magic 8-ballexecutives if they could rely on getting a third season, and were told 'answer unclear, ask again later'.
Faced with a choice between telling the story they wanted in the time they knew they'd have or telling part of the story and hoping they'd get extra time to finish it, they decided that trusting in a renewal was a sucker bet.
This is not even close to a rare occurrence in TV. The really lucky shows get told when they've got a last season to write for, but most don't. It's the reason SG-1 got three episodes written as possible series finales, and the assumption that they had an extra year to tell a story is why they didn't have an actual series finale when they finally got shut down.
I think everyone understands they had a hard call to make since they didn't know if they were getting a third season (does anyone know if they are, BTW?). People aren't upset about them being in a tight spot and having to make a call. People are upset that they made the wrong call.
The writers were clearly going for a longer show. Harley was just starting to work out her feelings and to grow as a person (which is something Ivy wanted), and Ivy was just starting to realize the suburban-wife life Kiteman has in mind and how much she doesn't fit into it, and Kiteman had literally no clue anything was wrong. They needed at least another season for these characters to grow naturally into a place where Kiteman is ok with leaving Ivy and Ivy is ok with being with Harley and Harley is an ok person to be in a relationship with. But they didn't know whether they were getting a third season. So they decided to jump basically an entire season of character development to make their characters end where they wanted with no reason or coherence. That's not a good ending. It's not fun to watch and not a satisfying end to the show.
When Babylon 5 didn't know if it was getting a 5th season, they didn't skip the entire Earth war and Warrior-cast war in five minutes at the end of the S4 finale. They compressed its final two seasons into one in order to tell the entire story it wanted. That could have been a good call for the show. Have Ivy and Kiteman get married halfway through the season, and then have the characters work out their feelings over the other half so they end up where they should be.
When Stargate SG-1 was repeatedly not told if they were getting renewed, they also didn't tie up the entire galactic war in five minutes. They tied up season-relevant loose ends but kept the overall series plot unresolved. That's why every season ends with the team defeating some major Goau'ld or Replicator attack but never actually defeating these villains until the season 8 finale (which frankly should have been the series finale). For this show, it could have been done by keeping everything the same, except in the final five minutes Harley does marry Ivy and Kiteman and they kite off into the sunset to their suburban married life, but as they fly off Ivy turns back to give a longing look at Harley and Harley looks back at her meaningfully.
Either of these options would have been better than what we got.
There's also the possibility that the writers planned for all these characters who made sudden, life-altering decisions in the midst of a war zone to come to their senses. Kiteman is definitely going to regret that decision and want Ivy back. Ivy is almost certainly going to get fed up with Harley's shit almost immediately. Harley is probably going to feel really guilty about splitting Ivy and Kiteman up and not really know what to do with that feeling.
I'd be shocked if season 3 is Ivy and Harley having carefree, sexy adventures.
The point is that they don't know how much time they have.
So if the goal was to have Harley and Ivy in a relationship why the hell did they even have a character arc with kiteman in the first place?
Why tell any part of a story except for the end?
To be clear, I'm not privy to any inside information here, I'm just guessing based on what we've seen, and it feels to me like they had a three season story sketched out. When they reached the critical point, they asked the magic 8-ballexecutives if they could rely on getting a third season, and were told 'answer unclear, ask again later'.
Faced with a choice between telling the story they wanted in the time they knew they'd have or telling part of the story and hoping they'd get extra time to finish it, they decided that trusting in a renewal was a sucker bet.
This is not even close to a rare occurrence in TV. The really lucky shows get told when they've got a last season to write for, but most don't. It's the reason SG-1 got three episodes written as possible series finales, and the assumption that they had an extra year to tell a story is why they didn't have an actual series finale when they finally got shut down.
I think everyone understands they had a hard call to make since they didn't know if they were getting a third season (does anyone know if they are, BTW?). People aren't upset about them being in a tight spot and having to make a call. People are upset that they made the wrong call.
The writers were clearly going for a longer show. Harley was just starting to work out her feelings and to grow as a person (which is something Ivy wanted), and Ivy was just starting to realize the suburban-wife life Kiteman has in mind and how much she doesn't fit into it, and Kiteman had literally no clue anything was wrong. They needed at least another season for these characters to grow naturally into a place where Kiteman is ok with leaving Ivy and Ivy is ok with being with Harley and Harley is an ok person to be in a relationship with. But they didn't know whether they were getting a third season. So they decided to jump basically an entire season of character development to make their characters end where they wanted with no reason or coherence. That's not a good ending. It's not fun to watch and not a satisfying end to the show.
When Babylon 5 didn't know if it was getting a 5th season, they didn't skip the entire Earth war and Warrior-cast war in five minutes at the end of the S4 finale. They compressed its final two seasons into one in order to tell the entire story it wanted. That could have been a good call for the show. Have Ivy and Kiteman get married halfway through the season, and then have the characters work out their feelings over the other half so they end up where they should be.
When Stargate SG-1 was repeatedly not told if they were getting renewed, they also didn't tie up the entire galactic war in five minutes. They tied up season-relevant loose ends but kept the overall series plot unresolved. That's why every season ends with the team defeating some major Goau'ld or Replicator attack but never actually defeating these villains until the season 8 finale (which frankly should have been the series finale). For this show, it could have been done by keeping everything the same, except in the final five minutes Harley does marry Ivy and Kiteman and they kite off into the sunset to their suburban married life, but as they fly off Ivy turns back to give a longing look at Harley and Harley looks back at her meaningfully.
Either of these options would have been better than what we got.
Thank you Richy, for summing up more or less how I feel about how the series has gone and the missteps that went into the second season.
Because the sad truth is that I could have gone for this; if they had built up a more romantic relationship between these characters or shown that the attraction was mutual earlier in the series then I'd probably have less problems with this or how it feels like a cheap nod to LGBTQ viewers.
And again, I really liked that Ivy and Chuck being a thing was such an amazing subversion of viewer expectations; Poison Ivy is probably one of the most terrifyingly powerful characters in terms of peronal ability in the whole of batman's rogues gallery while kiteman was an absurd silver age relic that could be best described as "Z-tier" but through a combination of boundless self confidence and moxy their relationship they managed to stick the landing with even Ivy growing as a result of it.
I just don't see the argument about this happening fast. The entire show has happened fast; Harley got pissed off, won a parademon army and gave them up in a twenty minute timespan. Harley and Ivy being 'a thing' happened over the last eight episodes, it's almost the longest arc of the show.
And to continue the Stargate examples, SG1 wrote most of their wrap-up episodes when they thought they were going to pick them up with a spinoff, which takes a lot of strain off. Then they ended up not having an ending because they were cut short, and needed a couple of movies to wrap it up (which isn't an option most shows can even consider).
Atlantis got the same thing when they were abruptly told they wouldn't get a sixth season, forcing them to pull a magic stardrive out of McKays ass so they didn't leave Earth on the brink of eternal doom in half a two-parter.
And Universe did keep telling the story they wanted to tell, leaving the crew on the edge of uncertain doom forever in half a two-parter.
The franchise really showed all the ways it can go, and none of them were especially satisfying.
And again, I really liked that Ivy and Chuck being a thing was such an amazing subversion of viewer expectations; Poison Ivy is probably one of the most terrifyingly powerful characters in terms of peronal ability in the whole of batman's rogues gallery while kiteman was an absurd silver age relic that could be best described as "Z-tier" but through a combination of boundless self confidence and moxy their relationship they managed to stick the landing with even Ivy growing as a result of it.
The ironic thing is that, when Poison Ivy first appeared, she wasn't much more powerful than a typical Batman rogue. She used trick lipstick and could climb walls. But she was revamped several times over the years with increasingly convenient plant powers.
Comparing Poison Ivy now to the character she was back then, it's like if Kiteman had the power to control the wind, make any object weightless by attaching a string to it, and manifest razor sharp energy-kites out of nothing.
And again, I really liked that Ivy and Chuck being a thing was such an amazing subversion of viewer expectations; Poison Ivy is probably one of the most terrifyingly powerful characters in terms of peronal ability in the whole of batman's rogues gallery while kiteman was an absurd silver age relic that could be best described as "Z-tier" but through a combination of boundless self confidence and moxy their relationship they managed to stick the landing with even Ivy growing as a result of it.
The ironic thing is that, when Poison Ivy first appeared, she wasn't much more powerful than a typical Batman rogue. She used trick lipstick and could climb walls. But she was revamped several times over the years with increasingly convenient plant powers.
Comparing Poison Ivy now to the character she was back then, it's like if Kiteman had the power to control the wind, make any object weightless by attaching a string to it, and manifest razor sharp energy-kites out of nothing.
Hell yeah
+10
RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
Because the sad truth is that I could have gone for this; if they had built up a more romantic relationship between these characters or shown that the attraction was mutual earlier in the series then I'd probably have less problems with this or how it feels like a cheap nod to LGBTQ viewers.
Or possibly with an unknown season to continue storytelling the show didn't want their legacy to be only ever showing one of the most prominent LGBTQ couples in comics as totally straight and not into each other?
Also, fuck your cheap nod, representation is important
Hey Gaddez, you’ve made several disparaging remarks about LGBT people already in this discussion
Maybe reflect on that for a bit
Hey Atomika, maybe my issue was that the writing felt contrived and cynical as opposed to something that had actually been planned out in an other wise great series.
Perhaps you should reflect on that.
Edit: and to be perfectly clear, if the situation was reversed and Ivy suddenly dumped Harley at the alter so she could run off to be a suburbanite mom with Kiteman I'd be *exactly* as pissed because of how shitty the writing would be.
Hey Gaddez, you’ve made several disparaging remarks about LGBT people already in this discussion
Maybe reflect on that for a bit
Hey Atomika, maybe my issue was that the writing felt contrived and cynical as opposed to something that had actually been planned out in an other wise great series.
Perhaps you should reflect on that.
Edit: and to be perfectly clear, if the situation was reversed and Ivy suddenly dumped Harley at the alter so she could run off to be a suburbanite mom with Kiteman I'd be *exactly* as pissed because of how shitty the writing would be.
As soon as you criticized the episode, I wondered how long it would be before someone accused you of being a bigot.
I have to admit, it took longer than I thought it would!
Hey Gaddez, you’ve made several disparaging remarks about LGBT people already in this discussion
Maybe reflect on that for a bit
Hey Atomika, maybe my issue was that the writing felt contrived and cynical as opposed to something that had actually been planned out in an other wise great series.
Perhaps you should reflect on that.
Edit: and to be perfectly clear, if the situation was reversed and Ivy suddenly dumped Harley at the alter so she could run off to be a suburbanite mom with Kiteman I'd be *exactly* as pissed because of how shitty the writing would be.
As soon as you criticized the episode, I wondered how long it would be before someone accused you of being a bigot.
I have to admit, it took longer than I thought it would!
And like I said before: I wouldn't have a problem with this if it hadn't felt like halfway through season 2 someone was like "Well shit, we've almost wrapped up the injustice league, what do we do now?"
"I know, let's draw a random plot twist out of the vat of ideas!"
"The one that the soap opera hacks use?"
"The very same!"
+1
ceresWhen the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderatormod
Hey Gaddez, you’ve made several disparaging remarks about LGBT people already in this discussion
Maybe reflect on that for a bit
Hey Atomika, maybe my issue was that the writing felt contrived and cynical as opposed to something that had actually been planned out in an other wise great series.
Perhaps you should reflect on that.
Edit: and to be perfectly clear, if the situation was reversed and Ivy suddenly dumped Harley at the alter so she could run off to be a suburbanite mom with Kiteman I'd be *exactly* as pissed because of how shitty the writing would be.
As soon as you criticized the episode, I wondered how long it would be before someone accused you of being a bigot.
I have to admit, it took longer than I thought it would!
Don't be shitty.
And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
+4
That_GuyI don't wanna be that guyRegistered Userregular
Man, we've been shipping Harley and Ivy since the 90s. I'm pretty sure Bruce Timm intended to ship them when he created Harley's character. He's certainly drawn enough official fan art of them together.
If anything, I felt the Darkseid/parademon thing was rushed. Like, I don't think you need to save him for the series finale of every DC thing, but it still seemed like an abrupt twist to toss into a No Man's Land adapation. And it showed Harley at her least likable as well.
You know what? Nanowrimo's cancelled on account of the world is stupid.
Man, we've been shipping Harley and Ivy since the 90s. I'm pretty sure Bruce Timm intended to ship them when he created Harley's character. He's certainly drawn enough official fan art of them together.
I mean, they lived together in "Harley and Ivy", and shared a single-bed hotel room in "Holiday Knights". Timm wasn't exactly subtle about it.
+4
That_GuyI don't wanna be that guyRegistered Userregular
Man, we've been shipping Harley and Ivy since the 90s. I'm pretty sure Bruce Timm intended to ship them when he created Harley's character. He's certainly drawn enough official fan art of them together.
I mean, they lived together in "Harley and Ivy", and shared a single-bed hotel room in "Holiday Knights". Timm wasn't exactly subtle about it.
And we can't forget about the tie-in comics. I won't post the more lurid ones but this is just one example.
I miss Harley's old look. Has she ever been adapted into media outside of the DCAU in it? I know you get a brief glimpse of it in either Suicide Squad or Birds of Prey but you never get to see it in action.
+2
AtomikaLive fast and get fucked or whateverRegistered Userregular
I miss Harley's old look. Has she ever been adapted into media outside of the DCAU in it? I know you get a brief glimpse of it in either Suicide Squad or Birds of Prey but you never get to see it in action.
Edit: wrong person
uhhh ComicCon?
Atomika on
0
That_GuyI don't wanna be that guyRegistered Userregular
I miss Harley's old look. Has she ever been adapted into media outside of the DCAU in it? I know you get a brief glimpse of it in either Suicide Squad or Birds of Prey but you never get to see it in action.
There was 2017's Batman and Harley Quinn animated movie. Pretty sure that took place in the same DCAU as Batman TAS.
I miss Harley's old look. Has she ever been adapted into media outside of the DCAU in it? I know you get a brief glimpse of it in either Suicide Squad or Birds of Prey but you never get to see it in action.
There was 2017's Batman and Harley Quinn animated movie. Pretty sure that took place in the same DCAU as Batman TAS.
It seemed more Batman TAS-adjacent than same-universe. Like if TAS and the old Adam West Batman show had a baby.
I feel like Harley's TAS outfits works in a cartoon with that particular style but almost nowhere else. It's too plain for comics and too...cartoony for anything else.
I miss Harley's old look. Has she ever been adapted into media outside of the DCAU in it? I know you get a brief glimpse of it in either Suicide Squad or Birds of Prey but you never get to see it in action.
There was 2017's Batman and Harley Quinn animated movie. Pretty sure that took place in the same DCAU as Batman TAS.
It seemed more Batman TAS-adjacent than same-universe. Like if TAS and the old Adam West Batman show had a baby.
I feel like Harley's TAS outfits works in a cartoon with that particular style but almost nowhere else. It's too plain for comics and too...cartoony for anything else.
The thing with the original costume is that it's probably the most perfect costume I've ever seen.
1. It's thematic to both her role in the joker gang and playing cards.
2. It's functional for her athletic abilities.
3. It's sexy without being sleezy.
4. it has a whimsical style to it that sells us on her childish nature.
+12
AtomikaLive fast and get fucked or whateverRegistered Userregular
The Arkham/Injustice games are probably the worst Harley outfits?
They’re the opposites of the good ones. Sleazy but not sexy, edgelord motif, lots of black, too serious
I won't lie, I'm not a fan of Injustice costuming, but mostly because the models have some serious derp face. I don't mind some female models in the game but, including Power Girl as an alt skin kinda says it all about how they portray the women in those (and MK) games
Local H Jay on
+2
Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
Classic Harley looks... classic.
The various modern Harley incarnations look like she got hit with a claymore mine made from the Hot Topic bargain bin.
Injustice 2 has a multiple costume parts for each character, I think you can recreate Harley's original outfit with it (probably not 100% because Netherrealm sure loves their belts and pouches.) One of the Arkham games (I want to say .. Knight?) had a flashback mission with Harley in the original suit.
I miss Harley's old look. Has she ever been adapted into media outside of the DCAU in it? I know you get a brief glimpse of it in either Suicide Squad or Birds of Prey but you never get to see it in action.
She had her classic outfit for a little while when she was formally introduced into the mainstream DC comics in 1999 (I think). Notably, she was wearing it during the original Batman: Hush arc.
But yeah, they started going apeshit with her costume design pretty quickly.
Injustice 2 has a multiple costume parts for each character, I think you can recreate Harley's original outfit with it (probably not 100% because Netherrealm sure loves their belts and pouches.) One of the Arkham games (I want to say .. Knight?) had a flashback mission with Harley in the original suit.
Nah. They've got a lot of great takes on the head piece, but nothing of the jumpsuit. The tops are all corsets and runner tops / sport bras.
Posts
Point out a single instance of somebody in the show commenting on the genders in Harley and Ivy's relationship. The story had nothing to do with Ivy's (or Harley's) sexuality and everything to do about her trying to decide if she wanted the "normal" life that Kiteman would have offered versus the batshit insane life that a relationship with Harley would involve. It was in some ways a story about rejecting societies expectations for your life but it had nothing to do with the genders involved. Which was actually nice.
I feel like that Birthday party scene with her father is pretty important to her arc in the show. She acts disaffected with society but she also craves that sort of normalcy.
To be clear, I'm not privy to any inside information here, I'm just guessing based on what we've seen, and it feels to me like they had a three season story sketched out. When they reached the critical point, they asked the magic 8-ballexecutives if they could rely on getting a third season, and were told 'answer unclear, ask again later'.
Faced with a choice between telling the story they wanted in the time they knew they'd have or telling part of the story and hoping they'd get extra time to finish it, they decided that trusting in a renewal was a sucker bet.
This is not even close to a rare occurrence in TV. The really lucky shows get told when they've got a last season to write for, but most don't. It's the reason SG-1 got three episodes written as possible series finales, and the assumption that they had an extra year to tell a story is why they didn't have an actual series finale when they finally got shut down.
Oh, good grief.
No, I get the decision making that went into this. I absolutely do. My issue is that it led to a story that felt incredibly forced with the sole redeeming part of it imho being that kiteman was the one who ultimately broke it off and did it in a way that was honest, mature and not motivated by bitterness or anger.
But it does go back to my point about perfection, and how this whole angle should have been left on the cutting room in favor of polishing the story that they had and then if they get a season 3 go ahead and do a thing with how Ivy can't handle the suburban life that kiteman offers.
It's not a coincidence. Charlie Brown has a history with kites.
They are aware.
Good grief is Charlie Browns catchphrase
I think everyone understands they had a hard call to make since they didn't know if they were getting a third season (does anyone know if they are, BTW?). People aren't upset about them being in a tight spot and having to make a call. People are upset that they made the wrong call.
The writers were clearly going for a longer show. Harley was just starting to work out her feelings and to grow as a person (which is something Ivy wanted), and Ivy was just starting to realize the suburban-wife life Kiteman has in mind and how much she doesn't fit into it, and Kiteman had literally no clue anything was wrong. They needed at least another season for these characters to grow naturally into a place where Kiteman is ok with leaving Ivy and Ivy is ok with being with Harley and Harley is an ok person to be in a relationship with. But they didn't know whether they were getting a third season. So they decided to jump basically an entire season of character development to make their characters end where they wanted with no reason or coherence. That's not a good ending. It's not fun to watch and not a satisfying end to the show.
When Babylon 5 didn't know if it was getting a 5th season, they didn't skip the entire Earth war and Warrior-cast war in five minutes at the end of the S4 finale. They compressed its final two seasons into one in order to tell the entire story it wanted. That could have been a good call for the show. Have Ivy and Kiteman get married halfway through the season, and then have the characters work out their feelings over the other half so they end up where they should be.
When Stargate SG-1 was repeatedly not told if they were getting renewed, they also didn't tie up the entire galactic war in five minutes. They tied up season-relevant loose ends but kept the overall series plot unresolved. That's why every season ends with the team defeating some major Goau'ld or Replicator attack but never actually defeating these villains until the season 8 finale (which frankly should have been the series finale). For this show, it could have been done by keeping everything the same, except in the final five minutes Harley does marry Ivy and Kiteman and they kite off into the sunset to their suburban married life, but as they fly off Ivy turns back to give a longing look at Harley and Harley looks back at her meaningfully.
Either of these options would have been better than what we got.
I'd be shocked if season 3 is Ivy and Harley having carefree, sexy adventures.
The most popular show on the platform? It's a safe bet.
Thank you Richy, for summing up more or less how I feel about how the series has gone and the missteps that went into the second season.
Because the sad truth is that I could have gone for this; if they had built up a more romantic relationship between these characters or shown that the attraction was mutual earlier in the series then I'd probably have less problems with this or how it feels like a cheap nod to LGBTQ viewers.
And again, I really liked that Ivy and Chuck being a thing was such an amazing subversion of viewer expectations; Poison Ivy is probably one of the most terrifyingly powerful characters in terms of peronal ability in the whole of batman's rogues gallery while kiteman was an absurd silver age relic that could be best described as "Z-tier" but through a combination of boundless self confidence and moxy their relationship they managed to stick the landing with even Ivy growing as a result of it.
I just don't see the argument about this happening fast. The entire show has happened fast; Harley got pissed off, won a parademon army and gave them up in a twenty minute timespan. Harley and Ivy being 'a thing' happened over the last eight episodes, it's almost the longest arc of the show.
Atlantis got the same thing when they were abruptly told they wouldn't get a sixth season, forcing them to pull a magic stardrive out of McKays ass so they didn't leave Earth on the brink of eternal doom in half a two-parter.
And Universe did keep telling the story they wanted to tell, leaving the crew on the edge of uncertain doom forever in half a two-parter.
The franchise really showed all the ways it can go, and none of them were especially satisfying.
The ironic thing is that, when Poison Ivy first appeared, she wasn't much more powerful than a typical Batman rogue. She used trick lipstick and could climb walls. But she was revamped several times over the years with increasingly convenient plant powers.
Comparing Poison Ivy now to the character she was back then, it's like if Kiteman had the power to control the wind, make any object weightless by attaching a string to it, and manifest razor sharp energy-kites out of nothing.
Hell yeah
Or possibly with an unknown season to continue storytelling the show didn't want their legacy to be only ever showing one of the most prominent LGBTQ couples in comics as totally straight and not into each other?
Also, fuck your cheap nod, representation is important
Maybe reflect on that for a bit
Hey Atomika, maybe my issue was that the writing felt contrived and cynical as opposed to something that had actually been planned out in an other wise great series.
Perhaps you should reflect on that.
Edit: and to be perfectly clear, if the situation was reversed and Ivy suddenly dumped Harley at the alter so she could run off to be a suburbanite mom with Kiteman I'd be *exactly* as pissed because of how shitty the writing would be.
As soon as you criticized the episode, I wondered how long it would be before someone accused you of being a bigot.
I have to admit, it took longer than I thought it would!
And like I said before: I wouldn't have a problem with this if it hadn't felt like halfway through season 2 someone was like "Well shit, we've almost wrapped up the injustice league, what do we do now?"
"I know, let's draw a random plot twist out of the vat of ideas!"
"The one that the soap opera hacks use?"
"The very same!"
Don't be shitty.
I mean, they lived together in "Harley and Ivy", and shared a single-bed hotel room in "Holiday Knights". Timm wasn't exactly subtle about it.
And we can't forget about the tie-in comics. I won't post the more lurid ones but this is just one example.
Edit: wrong person
uhhh ComicCon?
There was 2017's Batman and Harley Quinn animated movie. Pretty sure that took place in the same DCAU as Batman TAS.
It seemed more Batman TAS-adjacent than same-universe. Like if TAS and the old Adam West Batman show had a baby.
I feel like Harley's TAS outfits works in a cartoon with that particular style but almost nowhere else. It's too plain for comics and too...cartoony for anything else.
The thing with the original costume is that it's probably the most perfect costume I've ever seen.
1. It's thematic to both her role in the joker gang and playing cards.
2. It's functional for her athletic abilities.
3. It's sexy without being sleezy.
4. it has a whimsical style to it that sells us on her childish nature.
They’re the opposites of the good ones. Sleazy but not sexy, edgelord motif, lots of black, too serious
??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goUC0qWSE4g
That looks like a leather motorcycle outfit. Not too sleazy.
The various modern Harley incarnations look like she got hit with a claymore mine made from the Hot Topic bargain bin.
Omg that parka hood on it is extra adorable
She had her classic outfit for a little while when she was formally introduced into the mainstream DC comics in 1999 (I think). Notably, she was wearing it during the original Batman: Hush arc.
But yeah, they started going apeshit with her costume design pretty quickly.
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