The real narrative of how Dr Quinzel became the Clown Queen of Crime was finally revealed in the recent episode of DC’s Harley Quinn.
In Episode 5, entitled ‘Being Harley Quinn‘, she confessed how a renowned psychiatrist could become such a ruthless criminal.
In Batman: The Animated Series, Harley Quinn was supposed to be a one-off character hired by the antagonists in the 1966 series. She became so popular and well-loved that they decided to expand her story.
It was revealed that she became The Joker’s psychiatrist and got brainwashed which turned her into his crazy henchwoman and lover.
This story arc was retained when she was introduced as the main character in 1999. It is said that her enhanced abilities came from a special formulation created by Poison Ivy. In the 2016 Suicide Squad movie, it is the same chemical that she and Joker bathed in that gave her the special skills.
In the latest episode, we also witnessed Doctor Psycho pushing King Shark, Clayface and Poison Ivy with him into Harley Quinn’s head after she became paralyzed. This resulted in a view of Harley’s psychic landscape, showing her memories in the form of a museum.
In the landscape, they saw the screen that showed Harley’s memory glitching which skipped over the time when Joker pushed her in the chemical tank.
As they try to escape Harley’s mind, they passed by the part where her repressed memories are. She was utterly desperate to find answers as to why she’s skipping such a significant part of her life.
She then went off to find the lost memory and it was a shocking revelation – Harley jumped into the chemical tank herself – she was not pushed by Joker. Later on, she realized that she isn’t letting herself know the truth because it was so much easier to blame Joker for all the troubles she’s had.
Over the years, Harley Quinn became the woman we all know – assertive, confident and relentless. She said that the chemicals didn’t make her Harley Quinn, it was when she first stood up to Joker and said, “My mind. My rules.”
