Batman: The Animated Series Season 2 (1994)
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Batman: The Animated Series Season 2 Review
The second season of Batman: The Animated series is a very short, but still good one with a couple of classic episodes.
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“I’m having a bad day!
I’m sick of people trying to shoot me,
run me over or blow me up!
All I wanted was a new dress –
and I actually paid for it!“
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Because the second season is so frustratingly short with only twenty episodes in it, I am at first going to comment on the series’ characters as I hadn’t done that for the previous season. Batman here is fantastic and also as Bruce Wayne he’s excellent. Kevin Conroy did a phenomenal voice job here and the character is so well developed throughout.
Robin is okay and I liked the relationship between the two, but still I never really cared for his character and that did not change here too. The same goes for Batgirl who’s solid, but forgettable. Alfred is excellent and I loved some of his amusing lines. Commissioner Gordon is also pretty good and Batman’s friendship with him is so well established.
This is the Joker I love. He’s superb here as maniacal, crazy and always amusing and putting on a great show. Mark Hamill’s the ultimate voice for him and this is the best ever version of the character along with the one in ‘Batman Arkham Asylum’. Harley Quinn is also fabulous and she got some phenomenal, very entertaining episodes. The twisted relationship between the two is perfectly established here. Other villains such as Catwoman, Penguin, Scarecrow are all pretty good, but they do not leave a stronger impression owing to less screen time.
The first episode is Sideshow. It’s actually a very different episode for the show where the villain is the focus and we are asked to sympathize with Killer Croc. Very well done. A Bullet for Bullock is solid, but not particularly important in the bigger scope of things.
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Trial is amazing! Its killer premise of determining whether or not Batman created the villains is simply fantastic and I just loved the sophisticated storytelling here, its employment of many of the series’ villains and fun action. Avatar is a solid episode in setting, but not particularly memorable overall.
House & Garden is an interesting Poison Ivy story where at first it seems that she turned a new leaf, but eventually we get to see that she’s still bad. The Terrible Trio is a really forgettable, side episode with overly gangster elements.
Harlequinade is so good. Finally, we get to see her origin story and how she met the Joker. And their relationship here is so great while I also loved her working with Batman this time around. Time Out of Joint is another forgettable Clock King episode. Catwalk is a pretty solid Catwoman episode and Bane is a fun, action-packed fighting episode, but this character deserved more stories on this show.
Baby-Doll is a ridiculous, unnecessary distraction and The Lion and the Unicorn is a pretty harmless, but again unnecessary Alfred installment. Showdown is also boring and I do not understand this tendency to focus on some new, unimportant characters this late in the game. Riddler’s Reform is thankfully much better and much more entertaining.
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Second Chance is pretty good, if far from great. Harley’s Holiday is another fun showcase of the character’s quirks. Lock-Up is forgettable, but Make ‘Em Laugh has a very interesting, original story. Deep Freeze is another pretty good Mr. Freeze storyline whereas Batgirl Returns is also pretty good, but not the best fit for the finale.
Overall, I really liked this season despite its shaky middle part with too many new unimportant characters introduced. But Harley Quinn got great spotlight here and I really liked the emphasis on villains here. In the end, Batman: The Animated Series truly is a special show that remains one of the best Batman contents out there.
Worst Episodes: The Terrible Trio and Baby-Doll.
Best Episodes: Trial and Harlequinade.
