Episode after episode, this season careens through twists and turns like a candy-colored—and, for a while, black-and-white—runaway train.

For all that Harley Quinn's latest season might be lacking, it still knows how to lean into its greatest strengths: guffaw-worthy jokes, cheeky references to Nightwing's best attributes, and glorious, unadulterated violence. Four seasons in, and there's no doubt about who these characters are and what they contribute to the greater DC universe, even if their current place in their own world is a little more uncertain.

A show as consistently great as Harley Quinn is bound to stumble a bit at some point; and co-creators Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker’s experiment with making Harley virtuous is a big swing that doesn’t quite pay off. But ultimately, it’s no harm, no foul, as high-stakes developments late in the season set the stage for a fifth installment that could be just as fucked-up, emotionally rich, and, most vitally, fun as the show has ever been.

The intricate plotting extends to the playfully dirty but heartfelt romance between Harley and Ivy. Like all love stories, it inevitably dipped in excitement once the characters finally committed to each other. But their relationship—increasingly strained by their diverging moral codes—is all the more affecting for how it builds on their individual arcs.

Season 4 may not be as consistent as previous seasons, but this show remains an entertaining animated comedy and an earnest love letter to DC comics.

Harley Quinn Season 4 is still good, but that’s a step down for a show that’s been consistently one of the funniest things on television for the past four years. Harley and Ivy repeatedly declare that they’re stronger together – when they’re apart, as they are for much of this season, the quality of the episodes dips.

This show is still so good, can't believe after all the chances they took the writers keep challenging themselves and making it endlessly more interesting all the time. Absolutely the best animated show on TV right now! If anyone says they hate it, they didn't really watch it. As a guy I gotta say this show is for absolutely everyone (over the age of 18 due to adult subject matter and extreme violence), even the jokes written for women are great and make me laugh all the time. This is THE show that makes me laugh out loud. Having knowledge of batman makes the show funnier, but you could go in blind just fine.

While still not quite to the level of its excellent first two seasons, the fourth season has come far closer to the quality of those than its muddled aimless third season. Still funny, witty, and a great celebration of all things DC with great animation to boot, although still feeling a bit more aimless than its focused first two seasons.

admirable [ ad-mer-uh-buhl ] adjective worthy of admiration; inspiring approval, reverence, or affection.

The season starts with a strong first 4 episodes before losing its focus and careening into a large amount of plot twists and turns that are just too much; the plot moves at such a breakneck speed that none of the plot points are given adequate time for any dramatic impact. The comedy also suffers. Not only are Harley and Ivy apart for much of the season, but comedy heavyweights from previous seasons such as Clayface, King Shark and Dr. Psycho are not given adequate time to shine. Ivy also is not given many opportunities to play her dry, "straight woman," role, reacting with sarcasm to Harley doing something chaotic, or a Clayface doing something stupid, which is her strength. There are also basically no scenes where characters are just hanging out, where witty banter has been exchanged in previous seasons. Season 5, at least, is well set up by the end of the season, but the writing team needs to slow down the pace, focus the story, and try to recapture the comedic magic of previous seasons for season 5 to bring the show back to its height as one of the best shows on TV.

Somehow worse than season 3. It's like they didn't know where to take the plot so they just went with some fan fic they found based on what if Harley joined the bat family. It's not all that funny or fun to watch.