This past weekend let loose the DC Comics villainous superteam Suicide Squad for a film that squashed the shit out of the competition at the box office. Now that many of these anti-heroes are household names, we shouldn't be surprised when some start popping up in other places, and it sounds like Gotham could one day capitalize on the ever-presence of the film's Harley Quinn by introducing her to the show. Or at least something like her.
There's kind of a lot to process in that short bit of information, which Gotham executive producer John Stephens shared with press at the TCA press event (via TVLine's Matt Mitovich). For one, if the show does head down the path to Harley Quinn, it would almost definitely tie into the ongoing Joker mythology that was set up by Cameron Monaghan's brilliant performance as the proto-Clown Prince. So as that lore will also supposedly be built up in Season 3, perhaps his influence on others, particularly hilarious and makeup-friendly women, will also build.
And then one can't help but think about the last time we saw Harley Quinn in live-action on the small screen. That was back in Arrow Season 2, in which a nameless Harley-ish character was briefly seen and heard, and then was never properly introduced over behind-the-scenes discussions going into the production for the Suicide Squad film. It's the same reason Deadshot was forced to exit the CW superhero drama. One has to wonder what kind of conversations happened that would allow Gotham to go with Harley moving forward, while Arrow had to cut back.
Perhaps it has to do with that whole "forerunner" distinction. Like right now, Selina is a forerunner to Catwoman. (While Ivy Pepper is all Poison Ivy this season.) Really, all that has to happen is some female entering the story, giddily causing a bunch of havoc, and then putting her hair in pigtails. No name has to be said - see: Jerome - and the point can be made without overtly calling out for attention.
After all, we're at a point in this show where Barbara could be considered a Harley Quinn forerunner. She's gone from good girl to bad girl after having that psychotic break, and then she came out of Hugo Strange's care, so she's basically a supervillain already. Add to that the good/bad relationship she has with Jim. While I wouldn't hope for Harley Quinn's small-screen resurgence on Gotham to come via Barbara, it's not so ridiculous a concept.
Definitely not as ridiculous as some of the other wackiness that Gotham brought to viewers in Season 2, which included the rubber-mugged Clayface and Bruce Wayne's non-clone. And Harley will also have to go up against whatever heightened thrills and kills Season 3 has coming. I'm particularly interested in the twists coming to Michael Chicklis's character.
While we wait to see how Harley will fit into the multiverse, Gotham will return to Fox for Season 3 on Monday, September 19, at 8:00 p.m. To see when everything else will be debuting this fall, check out our TV premiere schedule.
