"I Am the Night" Rewatch: "Second Chance" & "Harley's Holiday"

Batman The Animated Series

Oh man. It's been so long since I've done one of these. Maybe I'll get through them all in the next decade. Who knows? We will see. Luckily, I came back with two really good episodes. So, let's get right to it.

Harvey Dent: [pre-surgery] "Good old Bruce. He's never given up on me. Always been my best friend. I remember when we used to close the town at the Half Moon Club. The most fun we ever had. Heard they were tearing the old place down. I guess nothing good lasts forever."

Harvey Dent: [post arrest] "Good old Bruce. Always there... you've never given up on me."

Harvey Dent is ready to purge Two-Face from his system. With the help of a good psychiatrist and experimental surgery, he's going to get his life back. Sadly, there are people in Two-Face's crime life that don't want him to get back to his old self. When unknown thugs burst into the operating room and kidnap Two-Face, it's up to Batman to figure things out and try to save his old friend once and for all, leaving Robin to question if that's even possible and why his mentor is so invested.

Count backwards from two... face.

This was the last appearance of Two-Face in the original "Batman: The Animated Series," though he would pop up in the follow up, "The New Batman Adventures." (We will be covering that in these recaps.) Had this been his actual last appearance in any iteration of the series, it would have been a fitting one.

There's always been a sense of tragedy where Two-Face is involved. It makes sense. He's the first of Batman's rogues that he feels directly responsible for not being able to save and it's compounded by the fact that Harvey was one of Bruce Wayne's only friend. It's not a huge surprise that Batman would be monitoring his friend's surgery, though it seems Robin is flabbergasted by it from the jump. This is probably my biggest issue with the episode as a whole. This tension between the Dynamic Duo where Harvey is concerned feels manufactured. Dick knows Bruce's history with Harvey, so why wouldn't Batman be more invested in this than he would be in say the Mad Hatter. I can understand some jealousy bubbling up but it is a little overwrought.

The rest of the episode is excellent. I love Batman's determination to save his friend. It's a side of him we don't see a lot and it's always welcome. The scene between Batman and Penguin is very entertaining and it helps lead credence to my theory that Penguin works best in smaller doses rather than being the focus of a full episode. The reveal that Two-Face orchestrated his own kidnapping was great. It surprised me and I enjoyed that.

This episode is a super fitting "end" to Two-Face's time on the series. His melancholy semi reunion with Bruce at the end is a bittersweet capper.

Grade: B+

Harley Quinn: "I got one question. I've been nothing but trouble. How come you've been so nice to me?"

Batman: "I know what it's like to try to rebuild a life."

[He holds up a bag, and gives her the dress she wanted to buy, before getting in so much trouble.]

Batman: "I had a bad day too, once." 

[Ecstatically, she takes the dress, then stands on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.]

Harley Quinn: "Nice guys like you shouldn't have bad days."

Harley Quinn is sane, out of Arkham and ready to live a normal crime free life. A visit to a high end boutique, a left on security tag and a misunderstanding may end that normal life before it even has a chance to begin. Can Batman help Harley before all her hard work goes to waste?

It says so right here.

I need to be up front here and say that this is not just my all-time favorite Harley themed episode of B: TAS, it's also one of my favorites of the series as a whole. So, I may not be able to be objective here. Hopefully everyone is OK with that.

I really just adore this episode because for me it's everything I love about Harley. It's peak Harley. For me, Harley works best as an instrument of chaos who is really trying to do the best she can, but on her terms. And this episode does a great job of illustrating all of that. 

The premise of this episode is so simple. Harley is ready to get live a crime free life. She has an experience that normies have all the time and she goes spinning out of control. From there, it's a twenty minute comedy of errors that only gets better and better. Harley hits Bruce Wayne in the face with a mannequin arm. Classic! She kidnaps premiere socialite Veronica Vreeland. Beautiful! She gets into a high speed car chase with Bullock and the Dynamic Duo. Free wheeling! She lays the smack down on a misogynistic gangster. Empowering! 

The whole episode plays as like a kids show farce. "B: TAS" does "Frasier." You can tell that Paul Dini had a hoot writing this episode. It really comes through. In fact, you should stop reading about the episode and just go watch it. Right now. Go. What are you waiting for? You did already? Watch it again.

Grade: A

Those were fun. Next up, Lock Up makes his debut and Joker does some brainwashing. 

I missed doing these. Hope you all enjoyed it. Do you love "Harley's Holiday?" What's your favorite Harley Quinn episode. Let me know in the comments.