Elisabeth emailed me some thoughts of hers on this ship.
Power Exchange and Harley Getting Mad!
I think it was the 1989 Batman movie that got me first hooked on the Joker. (And perhaps also Prince...!) He's my favourite comic book character and I can remember watching Batman: The Animated Series when I grew up. That was also my first introduction to Harley.
Anyways, I was just thinking after re-watching Harlequinade, Trial and Joker's Millions... a couple of things I didn't notice before that perhaps add to the complexity of the relationship.
Particularly the scene in Harlequinade where Harley leaps into Joker's arms near the end... and he asks her how she got out of Arkham. She tells him Batman sprung her so she could find him. Robin notes it's lucky Harley was there, since it doesn't look like the Joker saved enough time to get her from Arkham when the bomb timer went off. This is where the Joker tells Robin to be quiet and lies to her. If he didn't care about her at all, why would he care if she finds out he's lying? Yes, he's a master manipulator, but he already has her -- why lie? I like to think it's because he doesn't want to face her wrath!!! It's interesting how PO'd he gets when she tells him she's not going without her "babies" as he climbs into the airplane -- the look on his face says it all: As if to say... "If that's how you want to be, then fine!" Hahah!
I think the fact that Harley agrees to find the Joker in exchange for freedom says a lot. She loves him, but she's also looking out for herself. She doesn't want him to get hurt, but she has no problem going stoolie on him, as they would say, I guess. I think this speaks highly to her smarts (she can find the Joker when even the Batman can't), her manipulativeness and shrewdness. [On a side note... I remember seeing parts of an episode that included Live Wire, Poison Ivy and Harley in which Harley was depicted as being dumb. This totally turned me off... I mean if she can figure out where the Joker is when the Detective himself can't; or can brew up an antidote to the Joker toxin (in comic book Joker's Last Laugh) obviously she's not a dummy. But I digress...]
But especially I think in Trial, when Harley is on the stand and Janet van Dorne (defence for Batman) says the last time Harley escaped, "puddin'" finked on her in hopes of getting a decreased sentence. I don't remember hearing the fact she escaped the first time I saw this episode (probably when it first aired!), but when I heard it this time I was thinking -- wait a minute... Harley escaped from Arkham and didn't help the Joker get out at the same time. So while we don't see him get angry at her for not breaking him out, she gets extremely angry at him (which is undoubtedly the best part of this episode!!) for finking on her -- and again... he doesn't want to face her wrath!! I love the line... "The witness is excused!" --- he says it in such an exhausted tone. But he also starts to lie once again.. "Finked is such an ugly word..." -- why, if he doesn't care about her at all, would he even bother to lie about that?
And again in Joker's Millions -- lies to her as she is about to beat him up at the end of the episode for hiring a new henchgirl (another great scene!) Perhaps he's just doing it so he doesn't get beat up, but this is the Joker: he's not afraid of anyone (except, I think Harley!) and is more than happy to face someone's anger -- I think he probably gets off on it.
But when she starts screaming and yelling at him, he's more likely to cower than start fighting back. (Maybe deep down inside that tiny little nugget of a heart he thinks he deserves it for treating her badly???) I know I've read a ton of fanfics about him just randomly beating her up, but I've seen no evidence of random beatings by him on her in any of the B:TAS or comics (of course, I haven't read Harley's series). When he hits her, it's usually in a rage in relation to Batman (in Wild Cards, he went off on her because she lured Batman to his whereabouts; in Mad Love he was angry at her because she didn't get him/the Batman dynamic; in Harley and Ivy he got angry at her because of her blunder, but we later see in Joker's Millions when she doesn't grab the bag of loot, he shrugs it off -- this perhaps speaking to your relationship evolution essay).
Thanks again for posting all your updates/news and hopefully there will be a reunion soon.
I think it was the 1989 Batman movie that got me first hooked on the Joker. (And perhaps also Prince...!) He's my favourite comic book character and I can remember watching Batman: The Animated Series when I grew up. That was also my first introduction to Harley.
Anyways, I was just thinking after re-watching Harlequinade, Trial and Joker's Millions... a couple of things I didn't notice before that perhaps add to the complexity of the relationship.
Particularly the scene in Harlequinade where Harley leaps into Joker's arms near the end... and he asks her how she got out of Arkham. She tells him Batman sprung her so she could find him. Robin notes it's lucky Harley was there, since it doesn't look like the Joker saved enough time to get her from Arkham when the bomb timer went off. This is where the Joker tells Robin to be quiet and lies to her. If he didn't care about her at all, why would he care if she finds out he's lying? Yes, he's a master manipulator, but he already has her -- why lie? I like to think it's because he doesn't want to face her wrath!!! It's interesting how PO'd he gets when she tells him she's not going without her "babies" as he climbs into the airplane -- the look on his face says it all: As if to say... "If that's how you want to be, then fine!" Hahah!
I think the fact that Harley agrees to find the Joker in exchange for freedom says a lot. She loves him, but she's also looking out for herself. She doesn't want him to get hurt, but she has no problem going stoolie on him, as they would say, I guess. I think this speaks highly to her smarts (she can find the Joker when even the Batman can't), her manipulativeness and shrewdness. [On a side note... I remember seeing parts of an episode that included Live Wire, Poison Ivy and Harley in which Harley was depicted as being dumb. This totally turned me off... I mean if she can figure out where the Joker is when the Detective himself can't; or can brew up an antidote to the Joker toxin (in comic book Joker's Last Laugh) obviously she's not a dummy. But I digress...]
But especially I think in Trial, when Harley is on the stand and Janet van Dorne (defence for Batman) says the last time Harley escaped, "puddin'" finked on her in hopes of getting a decreased sentence. I don't remember hearing the fact she escaped the first time I saw this episode (probably when it first aired!), but when I heard it this time I was thinking -- wait a minute... Harley escaped from Arkham and didn't help the Joker get out at the same time. So while we don't see him get angry at her for not breaking him out, she gets extremely angry at him (which is undoubtedly the best part of this episode!!) for finking on her -- and again... he doesn't want to face her wrath!! I love the line... "The witness is excused!" --- he says it in such an exhausted tone. But he also starts to lie once again.. "Finked is such an ugly word..." -- why, if he doesn't care about her at all, would he even bother to lie about that?
And again in Joker's Millions -- lies to her as she is about to beat him up at the end of the episode for hiring a new henchgirl (another great scene!) Perhaps he's just doing it so he doesn't get beat up, but this is the Joker: he's not afraid of anyone (except, I think Harley!) and is more than happy to face someone's anger -- I think he probably gets off on it.
But when she starts screaming and yelling at him, he's more likely to cower than start fighting back. (Maybe deep down inside that tiny little nugget of a heart he thinks he deserves it for treating her badly???) I know I've read a ton of fanfics about him just randomly beating her up, but I've seen no evidence of random beatings by him on her in any of the B:TAS or comics (of course, I haven't read Harley's series). When he hits her, it's usually in a rage in relation to Batman (in Wild Cards, he went off on her because she lured Batman to his whereabouts; in Mad Love he was angry at her because she didn't get him/the Batman dynamic; in Harley and Ivy he got angry at her because of her blunder, but we later see in Joker's Millions when she doesn't grab the bag of loot, he shrugs it off -- this perhaps speaking to your relationship evolution essay).
Thanks again for posting all your updates/news and hopefully there will be a reunion soon.