Harley Quinn Season 5 Episode 5, “Big Pasta Dinner,” brings back the iconic Alan Tudyk as Joker. Seriously, as much as I love Tudyk as Clayface, I’ve missed Joker more. This is my favorite outing in Season 5 thus far. The series always fires on all cylinders and really taps into its magic when relying on its fascinating (and humorous) ensemble of supporting characters.
“Big Pasta Dinner” also propels the overarching narrative by reintroducing Dick Grayson into the fold (who’s masquerading as Red X). It even heals the emotional rift between Bruce, Dick and Damian and sees Dick forgive Harley, too. All in all, it’s a solid, entertaining, hilarious episode.
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Harley Quinn, “Big Pasta Dinner”
We open with Ivy (Lake Bell), giving Frank the Plant (J.B. Smoove) a trim. Harley (Kaley Cuoco) feverishly sweeps up the trimmings. Naturally, Ivy wonders why her normally messy girlfriend is obsessed with cleaning. Hey, new city, new Harley. Plus, she has a lot of time on her hands. However, she’s filled it with morning cleanings and afternoon cleanings. Well, and once she installs their fancy new shower head, extended showers. We learn that Harley’s having incessant nightmares (ahem, piss nightmares) about the Brainiac skull.
Shaun the Shark (Kimberly Brooks) arrives unexpectedly on Harlivy’s doorstep. Apparently, King Shark is trying to stop the Octopus Empire uprising and will return to pick up Shaun after he crushes their sultan. We love a multitasking literal king. Ivy believes Harley should take Shaun home, but our girl is more than happy to watch him, even after that country club massacre with King Shark’s children in episode two.
An Unanswered Invitation
In the span of a few minutes, Shaun tries to eat Frank, and he floods the apartment. Harley video calls Bruce (Diedrich Bader) after realizing her shower is broken. Bruce owns the building. Bruce hasn’t quite figured out filters yet. Well, more like Lena is a big fan of them. Bruce tells Harley that Alfred is in charge of maintenance requests. He adds that he’s having a big pasta dinner that night, and Harlivy is invited — even though they didn’t RSVP.
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After she finishes her call, Harley notices her PB&J sandwich is MIA. Shaun consumed it, and now he’s having a severe allergic reaction. Someone has a peanut allergy. Later, Harley and Ivy take Shaun and Frank to Bruce’s party at Wayne Manor. Shaun is on a leash to keep him in line, while Frank is in a wheelchair. Earlier, he claimed he was 90 in plant years, so he feels the time to ascend to Plant Heaven is drawing near.
When they arrive, our gals notice it’s only Bruce, Lois (Natalie Morales) and Damian (Jacob Tremblay). Everyone’s on their phones. Bruce reveals that it’s a small dinner party and only for those who live in the complex. Lois adds that Bruce gifted a condo to Superman before he took off on his Eat, Pray, Love journey to space.
Dinner Is Served
Suddenly, Joker (Tudyk) makes a fashionable entrance with Sophia (Lilimar). Bruce is taken aback to see him. Joker explains that his lady has a place here for Sophia, who has an internship at Wayne Industries. Surprise, surprise. Bruce steps aside for a phone call, only to reveal that Lena won’t join them for the night. He’s disappointed. Damian adds that Raven isn’t coming either but won’t elaborate.
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Alfred (Tom Hollander), who Bruce sprung out of prison and is now boasting a house arrest ankle monitor, announces that dinner is served. While everyone eats, Bruce tells the group about the portraits on his wall. His two former wards, Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, were both murdered. Of course, we know Harley inadvertently killed Dick while sleepwalking last season.
Meanwhile, at the kids’ table, Damian reveals that Bruce moved to Metropolis without telling him. He only sees his dad once every fiscal quarter. Shaun empathizes with him — dads suck! Ivy asks Lois about Superman’s sabbatical, which Lois is pretty tight-lipped on. Ivy pivots, inquiring about her job at the Daily Planet. Lois goes on a tangent about not covering hard-hitting, important stories despite winning awards for her work. If you recall, Clayface is now in charge of the outlet while disguised as the Editor-in-Chief.
More Cheese, More Murder
Bruce orders Alfred to grate some parmesan cheese onto his pasta. He’ll tell Alfred when to stop. We see it’s a pretty sizable pile. As a cheese fiend, this resonates with me profoundly. Harley asks Alfred about fixing her shower. He claims that installing her shower head voids building policy, so any maintenance is on her. Harley threatens Alfred, ordering him to repair her shower or she’ll f*cking kill him.
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Suddenly, the lights flicker off. When the power returns, we see Alfred on the floor in a pool of his own blood. Harley holds a knife. She understands she knows what this looks like, but she didn’t kill Alfred. She and Ivy take Shaun and head for the hills. Joker remarks that it’s too bad the guy known for cleaning messes is dead. Ba-dum-tissss.
While hiding out in one of Wayne Manor’s countless rooms, Ivy addresses the murderous elephant: Harley did kill Dick Grayson. Ivy reminds her that she was sleepwalking. Harley was totally awake for this. Shaun claims he saw a “big skull” give Harley the knife and kill Alfred. Naturally, this terrifies Harley and relates to her nightmares.
The Drama Queen
Meanwhile, Bruce tells the remainder of the party that Alfred’s not dead. He does this on occasion — fake his own murder. He’s a bit of a drama queen. Bruce suggests they split up to search the mansion before Harley and Ivy do anything rash. After all, they don’t know the truth. Bruce wants to team up with Damian, but his son is too busy trying to win back Raven, who broke up with him. Sophia is excited about this development. Instead, Joker steps in to partner with “Daddy.”
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Harley discovers a secret entrance behind a portrait of Talia al Ghul, Damian’s mother. They move through the tunnels, hoping to find this “big skull” Shaun saw. Shaun wants Harlivy to adopt him, citing that they’re way cooler than his dad. Aw. The group stumbles upon the spa, but they keep moving. Bruce and Joker enter seconds later as they search for Harley and Ivy. Joker suggests they make a beeline for the sauna in case Harlivy is there.
In the sauna, Joker has a heart-to-heart with Brucey. He believes Bruce has a lot of unresolved, suppressed emotions regarding the traumas in his life. Not just his parents’ murders but Dick and Jason’s deaths. It’s time to let those feelings out, big boy. Plus, these traumas are affecting Damian, who believes Brucey doesn’t love him.
Alfred Butler and Red X
Finally, Lois and Frank discover Harley, Ivy and Shaun hiding in the fridge. Harley puts on her Sherlock Holmes hat (figuratively) and tells the crew she knows the murderer’s identity — the person who killed Alfred Butler (Bruce doesn’t know his surname).
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Joker asks Bruce if they should tell Harley the truth, but Bruce wants to see where this goes. Ivy reveals the hidden tunnel system in the walls, giving the killer a means of undetected entry. Harley accuses Damian of murdering Alfred Butler. Bruce starts laughing, finally revealing that Alfred faked his death.
Suddenly, a masked figure barrels into the living room, zeroing in on Harley. It’s Red X. Red X effortlessly overpowers everyone in the mansion. He tries to kill Harley. However, before he delivers the final blow, Red X removes his mask to reveal he’s none other than Dick Grayson (Harvey Guillén). Well, we knew Talia revived him, but this is quite the unveiling for the others.
Mending Fences
Bruce apologizes profusely — and genuinely — to Dick and Damian. He admits he wasn’t a good father to either of them. This softens Dick’s edges. He and Damian accept Brucey’s apology. The trio hugs it out. Aww. Dick decides not to murder Harley in a bloodthirsty act of vengeance.
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Then, Alfred enters as The Macaroni Man. Joker loses it. Brucey’s butler is one of Batman’s allies? Alfred is pissed that Bruce doesn’t know his last name. (It’s Pennyworth, by the way.) Alfred admits that, out of all the villains he and Batman faced, Joker, Harley and Ivy are the worst. Harlivy corrects him, though. They haven’t been baddies (well, not in that way) in a hot minute.
Alfred is tired of being unappreciated for his efforts. Bruce apologizes to him, hoping it’ll magically work as it did for his sons. Alfred laughs, revealing he’s here to exact his revenge. He injects himself with venom, growing to the size of the Hulk.
Hulking Out
Lois escorts the kids (including Frank) through the tunnels to protect them. Meanwhile, the others battle The Macaroni Man in giant form. Bruce and Joker realize that Alfred needs to sweat out the venom. They lead him to the sauna. Harley discovers the shower has the special shower head she hopes to install. Alfred Butler is a hypocrite.
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At one point, Harley saves Dick from Alfred trying to pop his head like a zit. Dick recognizes this. Harley suggests they’re now even. Then, she urges Shaun to chew off all the shower heads in the shower to steam up Alfred more quickly. This works — the steam facilitates the “sweating out the venom” process, and Alfred (mostly) returns to normal size.
Later, the authorities cart off Alfred in handcuffs. Bruce reassures Damian that he’ll have Alfred out the following day. It’s here we learn that Damian and Sophia are now a couple. Joker tells Brucey that they’ll be spending more time together. Look at these besties.
A New Role
Meanwhile, King Shark is heading home after quashing the uprising. Shaun thanks Harlivy for watching him. Lois flags down Harley to propose the latter work for her as her assistant at the Daily Planet. Something weird’s happening in Metropolis, and Harley could help Lois get to the bottom of it. Ivy reminds Lois that Harley has a PhD; being an assistant is beneath her. Harley tells Ivy that she wants to accept this position. She needs something to do. Ivy vows to support her no matter what.
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Harley asks Lois about where they should start. Lois whips out a rendering of the skull from her nightmares.
Why are they both seeing this skull?
Harley Quinn drops new episodes every Thursday on Max.
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
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