WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Harley Quinn Season 2, streaming now on DC Universe.
The premiere of Harley Quinn’s second season kicks off with a bang. Gotham has become a no man’s land where the villains are already chopping up the city to mark out their own turf. However, taking over becomes a bit harder when their henchmen and goons realize they could become their own bosses. That power dynamic shift throws everything out of whack for the big names like Two-Face and Penguin who are perturbed by this “goon rebellion.” Although this shift doesn’t last long, it’s glorious.
After defeating the Joker at the end of Season 1, Gotham was wrecked by an earthquake caused by the destruction of Joker’s lair. Harley has spent her time since then wreaking general havoc instead of taking her place at the top of Gotham's hierarchy of villains. With Batman, the Legion of Doom and the Joker all off the playing field, right now would be the time to take control.
After Penguins goons come into her mall and try and claim her turf, Harley goes to everyone's goons and convinces to become their own bosses, which royally pisses off the other villains. When Harley goes to meet with the newly formed "Injustice League," Mr. Freeze puts Harley on ice. When Harley's gang finally gets her back, two months have passed and the uprising has been squashed. Each of the villains has taken their piece of the ruins of Gotham.
Goons and Henchpeople are the backbone of organized crime in Gotham. Every villain has their own muscle with their specific get-ups to do their bidding. When Harley uses her own story as Joker's sidekick to inspire the goons, the power dynamic is toppled. She tells them that they need to do their own thing as she did. She says that they need to be their own villains and instead of being a villain's good to become the actual villain. The goons are a little confused if they should become villain-like or actual new villains but Harley says they can just do either.
The biggest instance is when one of Two-Face's goons turns his weapon on his boss during a bank robbery. Before Harley's rebel-rousing, no goon would ever turn on their boss let alone one as scary as Two-Face. Everyone begins to do their own thing for better or for worse as all goons become villains and villains stay as villains. Riddler interrupts a news broadcast to deliver one of his signature annoying riddles before his broadcast is interrupted. Craig, a former Riddler goon, interrupts with a new codename "The Inquisitor."
The Injustice League meets to talk about how this is destroying their way of life. Without goons, their organized crime business is going under because the structure has been pulled out from under them. They band together to evenly divide the city under the Injustice League and invite Harley to the meeting. However, the meeting was really just a ruse to capture her so they could take back control of the city.
Even though Harley's goon rebellion is quickly squashed, it gives us a hint that maybe is more of a leader than even she gives herself credit for.
DC Universe's Harley Quinn stars Kaley Cuoco, Lake Bell, Diedrich Bader, Alan Tudyk, Rahul Kohli, Christopher Meloni, Tony Hale, Ron Funches, Wanda Sykes, Natalie Morales, Jim Rash, Giancarlo Esposito, Jason Alexander and J.B. Smoove. New episodes air on Fridays.