Tamal Kundu
Created by Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker, and Dean Lorey, ‘Harley Quinn’ is a Max adult animated series that revolves around the eponymous character. Originally created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for ‘Batman: The Animated Series,’ Harley has since become one of the most prominent characters of DC Comics. In season 4 episode 6, ‘Metamorphosis,’ Harley begins investigating Nightwing’s death, and Barbara lets her grief take over. Meanwhile, Ivy decides to find a permanent solution for her irritating PR team. Here is everything you might want to know about the ending of ‘Harley Quinn’ season 4 episode 6. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Harley Quinn Season 4 Episode 6 Recap
The episode begins with funeral music, confirming that Nightwing or Dick Grayson is indeed dead. As the Bat family’s financial woes continue, there is a lot of cost-cutting, but the coffin still underscores that the deceased had a great behind. Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and others are present at the ceremony, but Bruce is noticeably absent. Although the series never explored the romantic relationship between Barbara and Nightwing, the latter was still the former’s co-worker, and she is furious about his death. Even the heroes are somewhat afraid of being near the Bat family, as it seems they have been marked for death. Damian Wayne decides to go live with his mother so he will have the protection of the League of Shadows (alternatively known as the League of Assassins), prompting Talia to send her people to pick him up. Barbara permanently moves in with her roommate, and Harley returns to Ivy’s apartment. With even Alfred gone, Wayne Manor is left truly abandoned.
The funeral itself was attacked by the Toymaker before the Flash subdued him. The villain stated that he had nothing to do with Nightwing’s death, but this makes the Bat family wonder whether Gotham’s second and third-tier villains will be coming after them. Barbara thinks that Ivy, being the head of the Legion of Doom, has something to do with Nightwing’s death, and if it isn’t her, it has to be one of the people directly working under her. Harley, who likes to often go on murderous rampages, refuses to believe this, despite knowing her girlfriend’s genocidal tendencies.
King Shark tries to be the best single father to his children but initially falls short because of his inexperience, prompting Gordon, who has been working as security at Legion of Doom, to step in and help him. His relationship with Barbara may have become strained over the years, but he used to be an attentive father when she was growing up. Although some of his techniques are quite dubious, his suggestion about using alcohol to put the kids to sleep, for instance, they are still effective and gets the parents some rest.
As for Ivy, she discovers that her PR team, the Jons, aren’t humans and that they multiply through mitosis. After they force her to attend a public event, she decides to get rid of them with the help of her mentees: the Natural Disasters. However, Tefe, Volcana, and Terra aren’t exactly happy with her after she overlooked them because of the PR stunts that the Jons had her perform until now. They ultimately reconcile, and the Natural Disasters agree to help. During the event, as Ivy goes off script, the Jons merge and become one massive Jon before attacking Ivy, and Tefe, Volcana, and Terra help her take the creature down.
Harley Quinn Season 4 Episode 6 Ending: Did Joker Kill Nightwing?
The previous episode pretty much established that Joker desperately wants to return to the world of crime. This one cements the notion as he announces his decision to his family. Instead of stopping him, they happily join in his villainous turn. He later shows up at Legion of Doom while Barbara and Harley are letting their anger out by beating the daylight out of the assembled villains and declares that he has killed Nightwing. This is likely a lie, as he was in Gotham while Nightwing’s body was found in the mountains by Harley and Barbara.
Joker is, of course, not above taking credit for other villains’ deeds, and as Ivy mentions, Nightwing is indeed a significant hero to take down, and any villain in Gotham, Bludhaven, and beyond would be proud to have done that. Joker knows this, and he also knows that he needs something grand to go along with the announcement of his return, and claiming the credits for Nightwing’s death perfectly serves the purpose.
Who is the Other Harley?
Amid the confusion and celebration of Joker announcing his return and that he killed Nightwing, Harley spots someone who looks exactly like her. Now, this can be a hallucination, an extension of what is happening to her for the last few days, or this person can actually exist. In the last episode, we see Gordon put a potato and a hair that distinctively looks like Harley’s inside a cloning machine, believing it to be a micro oven. This second “Harley” can very well be a clone that Gordon inadvertently created.
Read More: Harley Quinn Season 4 Episode 5 Recap and Ending, Explained
