With a new job, Harley Quinn prepares for a day in the city. However, almost immediately, things go sideways. Harley Quinn now must take on the biggest newspaper in Metropolis, but lucky for her, she has a man on the inside. “Bottle My Heart” gets into the silliness of Clayface’s plan, so of course it intersects with the Brainaic threat. When things spiral out of control within the newsroom, Harley and the gang make an unusual commitment to bringing a musical to the stage.
Harley Quinn – Season 5 Episode 6 – The Recap
Harley (Kaley Cuoco) and Lois (Natalie Morales) discuss their dreams about the skulls (including sex dreams) as they walk through Metropolis. As Lois connects the dots, she mentions Woodrow, whom Harley accidentally admits to killing. The two of them fight about whether or not she is on the record until Harley comments on Lois’s neck, causing the journalist to punch Harley in the face.
Frank (JB Smoove) and Ivy (Lake Bell) care for Harley’s black eye back at their apartment. Thanks to Ivy, Frank, and Lois’ success, Harley has an existential crisis. She feels like a housewife until Frank shows her the newspaper headline accusing her of murder.
When Harley goes to the Daily Planet, she picks a fight with Perry White. However, she quickly realizes that Clayface kidnapped Perry. She yells at him and tells Clayface to print a retraction from Lois’ story. Eventually, Clayface and Harley push too hard, causing Lois to quit the paper.
Brainiac and Lana Luther watch the chaos from his ship. Brainiac has gotten annoyed with Harley’s antics as they continue to lower Metropolis’ perfection score. Brainiac had promised Lana she could rule Metropolis, but they disagree on how to proceed with Harley, Brainiac forced her back to her apartment with Bruce.
Lana immediately goes to the Daily Planet, where she tells Clayface, Bane, and Harley the whole story. She believes that Harley and the press can destroy Brainiac. Rather than use the Daily Planet, Clyaface convinces Harley and Bane to put on a play about the event. Harley thinks she will play Lena, but during a writing session with Bane, Clayface admits he’s looking elsewhere.
Clayface holds auditions for Lena until Harley arrives and kicks out all those auditioning. Harley then blackmails Clayface to star in the show. Brainiac watches the events from his ship while Harley acts like a diva ahead of the show. Clayface reminds Bane he needs to appease his star, and when a Brainiac-costumed Clayface asks where Andy Serkis is (he’s playing Koko), Frank throws up a pile of bones. With no other options, Clayface flash casts Frank as the primate.
Ivy and Lena complain about how The Daily Planet crew proceeded to tell the story. The show starts, and the first number seems like a disaster to Lena. The audience loves the show regardless, and they’re shocked by every reveal. The show opens up Brainiac to accept the truth that Koko has died. Lena is worried the show is too sympathetic for Brainiac and that an unhinged Brainiac is far more dangerous than Clayface’s version.
Brainiac’s pain causes him to break the fourth wall and asks the audience if we know what real pain is like because none of the actors in the musical do. Suddenly, Harley screams from backstage, and Frank appears to be bleeding out on the stage. Ivy jumps from her balcony and tries to stop Frank from dying. He utters, “I love you, Mom,” and he dies. Brainiac ends the episode by telling us, “She knows what it’s like now.”
Is “Bottle My Heart” worth watching?
For most of Harley Quinn‘s runtime in “Bottle My Heart,” the episode feels like it’s on rails. From the minute the episode starts, it is moving full steam ahead and dropping a lot of lore. Even as a twenty-two-minute show, they pack so much plot into “Bottle My Heart” that it’s impossible to take a deep breath. Even with this approach, “Bottle My Heart” is hugely successful.
The conversion of Lena Luther to team Harls and Ivy makes for a curious development. We want to believe this is a permanent shift, but we know Lena will literally sell out her family for control of the city. One cannot be too careful around her, even if she seems supportive of Ivy in the present.
Additionally, Harley works very hard to find a larger purpose than sitting at home. She does not feel accomplished — a common issue among millennials. However, Harley Quinn knows she’s worthy of a bigger life, and “Bottle My Heart” hopes to do this through song.
One of the funniest throughlines in the “Bottle My Heart” comes from Harley’s award for Best Non-Singing Performance in a Musical. It’s a good gag, but her insistence that “the Hills are alive” makes for an excellent comedic bit.
While the first two-thirds of “Bottle My Heart” is mostly standard Harley Quinn shenanigans, the final third is too funny and too heartfelt to miss. Bane is an excellent source of comedy, as always. Clayface remains the silliest character beat-by-beat on screen. Yet the remarkably emotional ending of “Bottle My Heart” is both earned and plays in stark contrast to the rest of the episode. It’s nice to see Harley Quinn is capable of holding up very different tones and blending them well.
Finally, the actual comedy of the musical is too great to ignore. “Bottle My Heart” did not have to write actively bad songs that somehow feel catchy. Of course, the audience goes wild for it, even when the songs get repetitive. It feels like might be more commentary here, but it my be best to leave Harley Quinn alone on this subject.
Watch Harley Quinn on Max today. Season 5 is currently ongoing, with new episodes every Thursday. “Bottle My Heart” aired on February 20, 2025.
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