The following contains spoilers for Harley Quinn Season 3, Episode 7, "Another Sharkley Adventure," which premiered Aug. 25 on HBO Max.
While Harley Quinn has focused on Harley rebuilding her life with Poison Ivy, it's also allowed its sprawling cast their time in the limelight. In Season 3 alone, fans have been privy to Joker's redemption as mayor of Gotham, Jim Gordon's never-ending battle to become a good cop and father again, as well as Bruce Wayne's breakdown following Catwoman dumping him. These various sub-arcs, while not directly tying into Harley's adventures all the time, added depth and depraved humor to the show.
In addition to these external parties, Harley's crew has also been going through the motions this season. Clayface is mimicking the dead Billy Bob Thornton to get a taste of Hollywood, while Bruce Wayne kidnapped Frank the Plant after he became a weapon of mass destruction. Interestingly, the series just placed the spotlight on one of the characters who didn't garner much screen-time this season: Nanaue, aka King Shark. In the process, though, a violent disagreement under the ocean broke out that made the civil wars seen with Atlantis look like child's play.
"Another Sharkley Adventure" focused on King Shark heading home after his father's death. He didn't want to rule, however, so he was there to hand off the crown to his younger brother, Prince Shark. But while he thought Prince would honor their traditions and heritage, the sibling confessed he was just going to sell the kingdom for Ocean Master to gentrify.
Orm was buying up undersea acreage to build malls and whatnot, and seeing as Prince didn't care for politics, or his species, he had no problem making a mint. It led to a bloody feud, with Nanaue hating his brother for treating the crown and realm so flippantly. However, Prince did have a point in that Nanaue was selfish, never caring for the throne, his people or his family, as he was focused on staying on the surface to party with Team Harley.
A fight broke out, with no armies present -- it was a personal brawl to the death, leaving even Orm scared as the sharks went at it in a bar. It nodded to Orm's many fights in the comics, cartoons and of course, the DC Extended Universe, where Ocean Master kept trying to take Atlantis from his own half-brother, Aquaman. This was one brawl Orm wanted no part of, though, which ended in tragedy as Nanaue grabbed Orm's displaced helmet and impaled his brother as if it were a Mortal Kombat fatality.
King Shark was left crying, which was even more heartbreaking, given that he'd eaten all his other siblings in the past. But he grew to love Prince, so this was a tough call to make. It teased a more mature Shark, leaving fans wondering if he'd take the throne and leave the surface behind.
What's worth mentioning is Orm was an enemy of the crown before, so even if he didn't want to, Nanaue will have to lead his people. After all, villains like Ocean Master will try to move in now that the throne's empty, creating a power vacuum. Ultimately, it's a seismic aquatic shift for the more responsible Nanaue, which could end with Harley's squad one man down for when they try to get Frank back from the Bat.
New episodes of Harley Quinn debut Thursdays on HBO Max.