The fifth season of Max’s adult animated series Harley Quinn concludes with a finale that offers something increasingly rare in today’s television landscape: genuine closure. After multiple seasons that dangled unresolved threads and seeded setups that never fully materialized, the series breaks its own pattern by delivering a finale that ties up its narrative arcs while honoring its chaotic roots. The episode brings Harley’s (voiced by Kaley Cuoco) and Ivy’s (voiced by Lake Bell) Metropolis adventure to a satisfying conclusion, ending the Brainiac threat, handling the villainous Luthor siblings, and ultimately returning our anti-heroines to where they belong, Gotham City.
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WARNING: Spoilers below for Harley Quinn Season 5, Episode 10
Season 3 of Harley Quinn devoted considerable time to Harley’s journey toward heroism, culminating in her joining Batman’s vigilante family — a major character development that Season 4 largely sidelined. Similarly, Season 4’s dramatic conclusion established a potential Gotham City Sirens sequel, positioning Nightwing’s (voiced by Harvey Guillén) death as a significant conflict driver for future episodes. Yet Season 5 dismissed the Sirens concept within minutes of its premiere and relegated the Nightwing resurrection plot to a single episode that didn’t even center him as the focus. This pattern of abandoned setups created a sense that the series was constantly shifting its foundation, sometimes at the expense of narrative coherence and emotional investment.
[RELATED: Harley Quinn Season 5 Takes a Jab at DC’s Weird Kryptonite History]
Season 5’s finale breaks the mold by methodically resolving every plot thread it introduces. Sharon (voiced by Susie Essman) helps Brainiac (voiced by Stephen Fry) understand that life’s imperfections give it meaning, leading the villain to help Ivy and Harley defeat the Luthors — who get shrunk and swallowed by Frankette. Embracing the fragility of the present, Brainiac remains aboard his ship when it collides with his home planet, Colu, choosing an eternal digital life inside the memories of his family. Meanwhile, Ivy, Harley, Sharon, and Frankette flee the ship, only to face certain death until Superman (voiced by James Wolk), whose purpose-seeking arc began in episode one, completes his journey by rescuing them from their damaged escape pod.
Season 5 ends Harley and Ivy return to Gotham, knowing they don’t need to fix what isn’t broken and can just enjoy their time with their extensive found family. Ivy and Frankeette have mended their mother-daughter relationship, following Harvey and Sharon’s example, and the whole gang is back together. Even the season’s final scene, with Ivy and Harley jumping out a window to spread mayhem, brings the story full circle instead of setting up a new season. It feels like the series is saying goodbye to fans, but that’s that’s actually a good thing for Harley Quinn.
Harley Quinn Season 6 Can Give the Show a Much-Needed Clean Slate
Harley Quinn‘s gradual sidelining of its protagonist has become increasingly apparent season by season. While the series began with Harley’s emancipation story firmly at its center, subsequent seasons shifted focus dramatically. Season 3 redirected attention to Ivy’s connection with The Green, Season 4 split the pair to explore separate storylines (with Ivy’s Legion of Doom leadership receiving substantial development), and Season 5 further reinforced this pattern despite the new Metropolis setting. Even major emotional beats like Frank’s death and the introduction of Frankette primarily served Ivy’s character development rather than Harley’s.
By returning the characters to Gotham and getting rid of extra baggage, the Season 5 finale promises the eventual sixth season of Harley Quinn can start fresh and refocus on the things that made fans fall in love with DC’s quirky queer show. While the crude humor and the ultraviolence are part of Harley Quinn’s identity, the show is better when it focuses on questions of identity, love, and human connections. This emotional core gives weight to the comedy and creates stakes that matter beyond shock value or comic book references.
Harley Quinn‘s best moments have always come from character growth — whether it’s Harley working through her codependency issues, Ivy confronting her misanthropy, or their relationship evolving from friendship to romance. With narrative obligations cleared away, Season 6 can play around with these strengths rather than chasing increasingly complex plot developments. Hopefully, that also means giving Harley more space in her show.
All five seasons of Harley Quinn are currently available on Max.
How did you like Season 5 of Harley Quinn? What do you hope to see in Season 6? Join the discussion in the comments!
