"Bottle My Heart" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of Harley Quinn, and the fifty-third episode overall. It will be released on February 20, 2025, on Max.
Synopsis[]
After Lena divulges Brainiac's plans to the Daily Planet, Harley, Clayface, Bane and Frank try to take him down with an original musical.
Plot[]
Walking with Lois, Harley asks Lois what they'll be investigating, and Lois answers that they'll be investigating the Skull that appears in their dreams. However, as they debrief what they know, Harley mentions that she and Ivy killed Woodrue, causing Lois to want to write it, but Harley tries to stop her. This leads to a debate between them about how Lois now writes about Clayface's performances despite Lois winning a Pulitzer prize. Harley counter-argues that she won an award in her Jewish camp and then disparages her neck, making Lois furious and giving Harley a black eye.
Said black eye is treated back in her condo as Frank applies ice to it, and Ivy consoles Harley, who is still tender about the play in which she won the award. Ivy knew about it, which made Frank and Ivy disparage the play, but Ivy sided with Harley, who was crying over it, and Frank called out Ivy for her backhanded comment. However, Harley clarifies that the play was a way for her to stay away from her parents, who were literally trying to kill each other.
Although Ivy tries to console Harley, she gets emotional over how Lois has a Pulitzer, Ivy has the Green Initiative, and Frank owns a motel. He corrects her that it's a resort. This makes Harley realize that she's a "housewife," but Ivy and Frank point out facts contradicting this. Frank shows a newspaper article that reveals she killed Woodrue and lists her as age 48.
Enraged by the title, Harley visits the Daily Planet and confronts "Perry White" about the article's misinformation about her age. However, although Harley tries to reason with Perry, she calls him out for really being Clayface, and in Perry's office, he notes that he thought his Perry impersonation was impenetrable. Still, Harley argues the flaws of how she realized it was him, and Bane, who was also there, agrees with what Harley had to say, but not with one crude remark she spoke about him.
Hence, Harley has Clayface impersonate Perry, and he forces Lois to print out a retraction article about Harley killing Woodrue, but she refuses and quits.
Watching from the Skull Ship, Lena and Brainiac observe this interaction. Lena compliments Harley. Even so, Brainiac disagrees, stating that Harley and Ivy's murder and mayhem have caused his perfection meter to plummet. If that were to happen, he wouldn't be able to bottle the city, and Koko then murmurs that it'd never happen if Lena didn't prevent him from murdering her. To Lena's confession, she says that Ivy and Harley are the only ones who are fun in the city, but Koko notes that she's lying and that there is more to her intrigue with the two. Still, Lena wants to rule over the city like Brainiac promised her, and he states he'll uphold his end of the bargain when it is perfect. This prompts Lena to call Brainiac crazy for believing Koko is still alive and that his perfection meter was in the dumps before she came along. Lena also claims that Brainiac needs her because he can't understand humans. Upset by Lena's declaration, Brainiac demands that she leave his ship immediately. Although Lena argues they had a deal, Brainiac retracts it and teleports her off his ship. He then consoles Koko's skeletal remains.
Back on Earth, Lena is teleported to Bruce's condo, who asks if she got the specific cream he wanted, making Lena groan.
At the Daily Planet, Bane, Harley, and "Perry" talked in Perry's office until Lena barged in to inform them of Brainiac's plan to shrink and bottle Metropolis. Bane raises the pertinent question of how their likes could assist her in stopping someone like Brainiac. Lena argues that the power of the press is the power of the people, which impresses "Perry," and Lena finishes by saying that she's entrusting her life to them. "Perry" assures them they will and, after she leaves, proclaims through theater.
That night, Harley informs Ivy about the theater play that will stop Brainiac's invasion plan. Harley also announces that she'll star in the play "Brainiac, the Tragedy of". Frank asks if Brainiac is planning to bottle the city and why they aren't leaving the said city, and Harley responds they will after the play. Ivy then asks if someone she will be playing, and Harley denies it, stating Clayface will play Brainiac, a drunk Koko, and she will play Lena. When Ivy is asked if Clayface gave her the part, Harley claims he will after he sees her acting. Harley then spins around and accidentally breaks her award from camp, making her distraught.
The next day, at Clayface's apartment, Bane fervently uses Clayface's typewriter to write something under Clayface's direction. The two argue over the conflict in the script, and Perry, now handcuffed to a heater, disparages it. Clayface then sprays Perr with a water bottle and informs Bane of his epiphany in the shower, which is to make the play a musical. Bane notes his hatred for musicals, and Clayface starts to speak in a sing-songy voice.
After spritzing Perry one last time, Clayface leaves to meet someone auditioning for Lena in his play. With Clayface gone, Perry offers to help Bane write his script. However, Bane refuses it, stating he's no writer, and breaks the fourth wall, stating he didn't know the scene was over when he left the room.
Harley, Ivy, and Frank crash Clayface's auditioning process at the theater for Lena in the Brainiac play. Although Clayface didn't want Harley to be in the play, Clayface hired her after she threatened to blackmail him over his impersonating Perry White.
From his ship, Brainiac controls his automation robots to make Metropolis perfect until he spots the play featuring him.
Watching from behind the curtains the audience, Bane threatens to blow up the theater if the play bombs. Harley then confronts Bane over a line in the script and demands that he fix it despite its canonicity. Clayface then reprimands Bane for pissing off the leading lady and then learns that Frank ate the man to play Koko, thereby making him become the new Koko.
From one of the observatory balconies, Lena and Ivy sit together and talk about the play. Ivy mentions their plan to leave Metropolis after the play ends. Harley appears before them and shmoozes with Ivy before they start the play. Clayface appears to tell her it's showtime.
The play's opening features Clayface singing as Brainiac, leading to the appearance of Koko, played by Frank, and finally to Harley as Lena. While watching the performance, Lena and Ivy had differing opinions on the songs the actors sang, which were well-received by the audience. This didn't sit well with Lena, who thought they should be scared rather than entertained.
As the play continues, Clayface and Frank act in the scene where Koko dies, and Brainiac realizes that Koko is dead but refuses to accept it. All the while, Frank flirts with a poinsettia that is backstage. Continuing to watch from the balcony, Ivy notes that Brainiac is likable; however, Lena argues that Clayface was making him that way for theatrical purposes.
Meanwhile, Brainiac watched the play from his Skull Ship. He asked Koko if he could believe that they thought he was dead, but upon seeing Koko's skeletal remains, he was shocked to realize that Koko was dead. Despite Ivy's sympathy for Brainiac, Lena argues the contrary, but Ivy claims that Brainiac's love for Koko, despite his being dead, made him go crazy.
Brainiac realizes this, questions whether he's gone crazy, and directs his attention to the play, where Clayface performs the part where Brainiac plans to bottle Metropolis.
During the intermission, Lena leaves to take some air, and from his ship, Brainiac's soliloquy asks the viewer if they know how it feels to lose something precious to you.
Back to the play, Frank is found dead on the stage, suffering from multiple stab wounds. Ivy uses her power to temporarily revive him, only for him to say that he loves her and calls Ivy's mom before dying. As Ivy cries out in despair, Brainiac comments she now knows what it feels like to experience loss.
Cast and Characters[]
Main Cast[]
Recurring Cast[]
- James Adomian as Bane
- Diedrich Bader as Bruce Wayne
- Stephen Fry as Brainiac
- Natalie Morales as Lois Lane
- JB Smoove as Frank the Plant
- Alan Tudyk as Clayface/Perry White
- Aisha Tyler as Lena Luthor
Guest Cast[]
- Kimberly Brooks as Actress 1, Actress 2
- Phil LaMarr as Koko
- Whitney Rice as Crowd
Cameos[]
Gallery[]
- See also: All images from "Bottle My Heart"
