REVIEW: ‘Harley Quinn’ Season 5 Episode 5 — “Big Pasta Dinner”

There should be little surprise by the wild and unlikely places that Harley Quinn Season 5 Episode 5 brings us. Yet the series outdoes itself with “Big Pasta Dinner.” There is simply no guessing just what direction the episode will take and the motley group of characters it will gather up to reach its superb, comedic peak. While it takes a moment to find its pacing, once it manages it, the hilarity is relentless.

Harley (Kaley Cuoco) is still dealing with the fallout of having her brain meddled with by Brainiac (Stephen Fry) in Episode 4. She’s waking up early from nightmares of a skull looming over her, prompting her to be more attentive to household chores. However, it’s not just the nightmares. She’s bored out of her mind with Ivy (Lake Bell) away at work, the glitz and shine of Metropolis still too untouchable. So, when King Shark’s unruly son, Shawn, arrives, Harley is ready for the mayhem. However, the call from Bruce Wayne and the reminder of his dinner party truly move the pacing along.

Harley Quinn Season 5 Episode 5 shows off its incredible, ever-expanding ensemble. Even Shawn is a worthwhile addition, his chaos equaling Harley’s energy. He and Frank also showcase the show’s fantastic visual comedy. Frank, realizing that in plant years, he’s 90, starts behaving like a stereotypical older man. As they go to the party, he’s pushed in a wheelchair by Ivy, wearing a scarf and a blanket across his lap. Meanwhile, Harley puts Shawn on a leash to ensure he doesn’t break anything or, more importantly, eat anything.

It’s such a silly, simple visual gag, and yet it works because the writers don’t draw attention to all of it. We don’t have to be told why Frank suddenly looks this way; we just know based on the previous scene. Harley’s group and their peculiarities fit in with the rest of Bruce’s dinner party. In attendance is his ward, Damian, a recently released from jail Alfred, Lois Lane, the Joker, and the Joker’s stepdaughter, Sophia.

Harley Quinn Season 5 Episode 5 highlights the show’s strong ensemble. 

It’s a ridiculous grouping, but Harley Quinn Season 5 Episode 5 thrives on that canned energy. It becomes a murder mystery quickly when Harley appears to have killed Alfred. However, while Harley, Ivy, and Sean run away from the scene, we learn from Bruce that it’s all a ruse. According to him, Alfred likes to play these little games sometimes, but Harley ran away so quickly that they couldn’t let the joke naturally play out.

The premise itself is already leaning into the absurdity of these characters, with Bruce Wayne being perhaps the oddest of them all. He already spent dinner lamenting the loss of two of his wards, Jason Todd and Dick Grayson (who we say Harley presumably killed in Season 4 before the Lazarus Pitt resurrected him. It’s nothing we haven’t heard a version of Batman talk about before in all of his countless iterations. But what we haven’t seen before is Joker comforting him.

The scene between Bruce and the Joker in the former’s sauna works only within this version of the DC Universe. As the Joker’s makeup melts off of him from the steam and heat, he waxes poetic about the necessity of Bruce apologizing to his kids and ensuring that Damien knows he cares about him. Harley Quinn occasionally verges into hangout comedy territory, and this sequence fits right in. There’s no reason the two should be getting along, yet we buy it.

And it has a payoff when a masked man, known as Red X, appears and starts attacking them. The attack allows for a more dynamic action direction that the series is accustomed to due to the acrobatic nature of so many of the fighters. Red X is revealed to be Dick, who is looking to kill Harley after she accidentally killed him while she was sleepwalking. The reveal itself is a little rushed, making it seem like the writers were eager to reintroduce him to the story. But it also allows Bruce to get his moment where he apologizes and tells both Dick and Damien that he loves them.

Alfred has a hand in the appearance of the Red X. 

The final twist, of course, is with the disappearing butler. Alfred reveals himself to be the mastermind behind the plan, resurrecting Dick to use him to kill Harley and Bruce. Alfred’s grudges run deep; as Harley and Ivy point out, they don’t even really classify as pure villains anymore. Alfred’s ire with Bruce is similar, as he blames him for going to prison and then complains that Bruce never helped him when he was released. The fight escalates when Alfred, now going by Macaroni, injects himself with a drug, turning himself into a rage monster.

The ensuing battle is light on its feet and hilarious, utilizing and referencing all of the jokes previously made throughout the episode. Harley even gets to save Dick as a means to make amends. It’s one of those fight sequences with so much going on that any paused frame could highlight something you may have missed. Ivy being thrown through the ceiling as her legs kick is a particular, silly highlight.

Ending on a significant note of setup, after Shawn arrives to save the day, Lois asks Harley to be her assistant so that they can investigate the skull appearing in their dreams. The moment is another unlikely pairing that works because this show is committed to defying our expectations. We didn’t expect this team-up, so of course, it’s what we’re getting.

Harley Quinn Season 5 Episode 5 relishes doing the unexpected, taking apparent pride in its ability to marry surprises with mayhem. Despite a few pacing issues at the start and a rushed reintroduction of a pivotal character, it’s yet another strong outing for a series that rarely misses.

Harley Quinn Season 5 Episode 5 is out now on Max, formally HBO Max.

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