Harley and Mistah J: Relationship Goals?

The Suicide Squad movie hit theaters across the nation on August 5th. With its release came criticism and comments about the film—about its storytelling style and pacing, and about the Joker and his scenes (both cut and uncut) in the anti-hero film. One thing that I found interesting about the film was the relationship between Harley Quinn and the Joker. Fans of the DC villain couple know that their relationship is far from healthy or even functional. Ever since Harley’s debut in the 90s cartoon Batman: The Animated Series, the Joker has treated his former therapist with physical and emotional abuse.

Now, I’m not saying that the relationship between the two in the movie is healthy, but it’s definitely far more loving than it has ever been portrayed before. Upon investigation in this subject, I found that the minds behind Suicide Squad intentionally took out scenes that displayed a physically abusive relationship. They wanted the Joker and Harley to have a loving romance, and although both characters are twisted, they love each other and don’t want to live without the other.

Deleted Scenes Showing their Volatile Relationship

A scene was taken out of the movie where Harley, still Dr. Quinzell (pre-vat of acid), gets back-hand slapped by the Joker after he sweet talks her into lowering her gun from his head. He then proceeds to slick back his hair and sweet talk her some more. This would have displayed more of the typical dysfunctional dynamic between the clown couple, but in an effort to make their relationship more affectionate and appealing, while also not glorifying domestic violence, the movie makers decided to cut such scenes and make the couple more passionate than ever before.

I personally liked how they changed up the relationship between the two villains. I loved watching the desperation in the Joker’s eyes when he couldn’t find the love of his life. He wouldn’t stop until he found her, and he wanted to keep her safe and by his side. So, did Suicide Squad do their relationship right? I think so. What do you think?