“Thawing Hearts”
Written by: Tom Hyndman
Directed by: Vinton Heuck
Starring: Kaley Cuoco, Lake Bell, Alan Tudyk, Ron Funches, J.B. Smoove, Jason Alexander, Tony Hale, Matt Oberg, Diedrich Bader, Christopher Meloni
Synopsis “Harley and crew try to infiltrate Mr. Freeze’s lair only to become human lab rats for his experiments to find a cure for his cryogenically frozen wife, Nora. Meanwhile Kite Man and Ivy try to impress the manager of Kite Man’s ideal wedding venue”
This weeks episode, Thawing Hearts maintained the humour levels built up in Riddle U and Trapped but also managed to include huge amounts of emotion. The episode feels like a homage to the famous Batman TAS episode Heart of Ice. This was the episode we meet Mr. Freeze and learn his true motivation. We learn about his dying wife and his obsession with finding a cure. I believe people will heap praise on this episode in the same way people did with Heart of Ice.
As a show building its reputation around crude humour, profanity and over the top violence this episode highlights the creative team behind the scenes. Yes we still have the laughs and the profanity and violence but we also see a level of feeling not previously seen in the show. We get to see Harley feel. We get to see Psycho feel, we even get to see Ivy feel. Emotions run deep as Mr. Freeze’s story hits home with the characters but also the audience. Accompanied by a moving score there are some scenes that can bring a glaze to the eyes of even the cold hearted of us.
MVP
On a lighter note we are introduced to one of the most elusive characters in the DC Universe. Condiment King comes to town as Kite Man’s arch nemesis. Once again being named my MVP of an episode is Alan Tudyk. This time he earns it not only for his skill as Clay Face but also for voicing the Condiment King. Kite Man is somewhat of a joke in the comics, something they highlight on this show. Pairing him against Condiment King is a stroke of genius. Alan Tudyk, the man with a million voices brings a sharp, sarcastic evil to the character while never coming across frightening.
All images provided by Warner Bros. Entertainment.
