The 83rd Annual Villy Awards

Season 3
Episode 3

## All Season 3 Episodes

"**The 83rd Annual Villy Awards**" is the third episode of the third season of *Harley Quinn*, and the twenty-ninth episode of the series overall. It was released on July 28, 2022 on HBO Max.

## Synopsis

After receiving a "Best Couple" nomination at the 83rd Annual Villy Awards, Ivy finds herself seated next to her ex's new girlfriend while Harley goes overboard to ensure their win.

## Plot

After Ivy’s experiment destroyed Gotham Mall in the previous episode, Catwoman offers her lavish penthouse as a new lair for Harley’s crew. Ivy thanks Catwoman over the phone while her friends get settled. Selina explains she is rarely there because the man she is dating (revealed to be Batman) has made an entire wing of his mansion all hers. Catwoman sternly tells Harley’s crew not to open the room with the green door, because the cat inside has been a “naughty kitty.”

Later, Ivy sets up a makeshift lab in the penthouse, but before she can get focused, Harley excitedly reveals that they’ve been nominated for a “Best Couple” Villy Award. Harley explains that whenever she won this award with the Joker, he never let her bask in the victories, so she is adamant about attending this year. Despite her reservations, Ivy can’t resist Harley’s pleas and agrees to go.

On set of the Thomas Wayne biopic, Clayface tries to get acting lessons from Billy Bob Thornton. The actor declines, so Clayface disguises himself as James Gunn and arranges a dinner with Thornton to discuss changes to the script. Meanwhile, Harley and Ivy, escorted by King Shark, arrive in their glamorous gowns at the VIlly Awards' red carpet, set in front of the Monarch Theater. When interviewed by Tawny Young, Ivy reveals she has been biting her nails.

At the Villys banquet, Ivy and Harley find themselves seated next to Ivy’s ex-fiancé, Kite Man. When the awards show begins, host Joker sings an opening number, in which he mentions he arranged this seating on purpose to mess with them. Kite Man seems upbeat, telling Harlivy he has a new girlfriend, though she is running late. Still feeling tension and social anxiety, Ivy steps outside. Harley also leaves the table, and finds rival “Best Couple” nominees Riddler and Clock King. She learns from them that Villy awards are mostly obtained through schmoozing and underhanded means.

Harley finds the award show accountant and asks to peek at the winner of Best Couple. She follows him into a men’s room and makes a threat, only to find out the man is actually a Terminator-like android more than capable of putting up a fight.

Outside, Ivy meets a woman wearing a golden visor. They chat about being too anxious to be inside due to the seating arrangements, and it’s quickly deduced that the woman is Kite Man’s girlfriend, Golden Glider.

At Catwoman’s house, Thornton quickly sees through Clayface’s James Gunn disguise. The star coolly decides to take Clayface on as a protégé. Unfortunately, Thornton receives incorrect directions to the bathroom; opening the green door, he gets killed by Catwoman’s “naughty kitty”, a tiger. His death is relayed to Catwoman by her house’s cameras while she is onstage at the Villy’s, chastising the show for failing to recognize diverse talent and only giving her a hollow award to alleviate white guilt.

Outside, Ivy is impressed that Golden Glider and Kite Man seem to have clicked. She and Glider both agree he is a great guy, never hesitating to make sacrifices for each of them. Ivy realizes she and Glider likewise shouldn’t hesitate to march into the atrium if it means making Harley and Kite Man happy.

In the restroom, Harley defeats the android by hurling cleaning supplies that lubricate the ground, causing him to slip and smash his face. Even then, the broken android snatches and swallows the Best Couple envelope before Harley can read it.

Kite Man reunites with Golden Glider, though he has to dash to the men’s room after drinking too much in her absence. He finds Harley in the aftermath of her scuffle, and sits down with her for an earnest talk. Despite Ivy choosing Harley over him, Kite Man feels thankful that Ivy influenced him to better himself, and now feels blessed that he found himself a great match, Golden Glider. He also gives Harley an outsider’s opinion that she is blessed to be with Ivy, with or without an award.

King Shark helps Clayface get rid of (eat) Thornton’s body. King offhandedly suggests Clayface live the rest of his days impersonating Thornton, a decision Clayface decides to embrace as he shifts into Thornton's form whilst on a video call with James Gunn.

Back in the atrium, Ivy finds Harley with her battle-damaged dress. Harley professes her realization that she doesn’t need material validation like a trophy, because a loving relationship like the one she has now is bliss in itself, while Ivy expresses that she can push past her fears to make Harley happy. The two women choose to ditch the ceremony and have a fun night on their own terms.

As it happens, Harlivy did win Best Couple. Since they aren’t present to come on stage, the narcissistic Joker declares the trophy his own, signing off the show with shoutouts to his family.

## Cast and Characters

### Main Cast

* Kaley Cuoco as Harley Quinn
* Lake Bell as Poison Ivy
* Ron Funches as King Shark
* Matt Oberg as Kite Man
* Alan Tudyk as Clayface, The Joker

### Guest Cast

* James Adomian as Bane, Clock King
* Cathy Ang as Golden Glider
* Diedrich Bader as Batman *(uncredited)*
* Tisha Campbell as Tawny
* James Gunn as himself
* Sanaa Lathan as Catwoman
* Jim Rash as The Riddler, Imperceptible Man
* Billy Bob Thornton as himself

### Cameos

* Frank the Plant (on TV screen)
* Gorilla Grodd
* Black Manta
* Livewire
* Cheetah
* Nora Freeze
* Felix Faust
* Man-Bat
* Cock King
* Codpiece
* KGBeast

* Toyman
* Reverse-Flash
* Killer Frost
* Maxie Zeus
* Sinestro
* Solomon Grundy
* Firefly
* Killer Croc
* Doctor Trap
* Captain Cold
* Metallo

* Calendar Man
* General Zod
* Lex Luthor (pictured)
* Princess
* Scarecrow (pictured)
* Mister Freeze (pictured)
* The Penguin (pictured)
* Queen of Fables (pictured)
* Françoise Mouse (pictured)
* Parasite

## Trivia

* This episode was released at the same time as the first and second episode of the season, making this the first time more than one episode was released at once.
* This episode was released on Adult Swim on August 13, 2022.
* Diedrich Bader is not credited for the voice of Batman despite having a line of dialogue in the episode.
* The scene in which Batman was rubbing Catwoman's feet was controversial during production in July of 2021, as it was originally going to imply Batman was performing oral sex, before DC objected to the idea due to Batman's role as a hero.
* This being the 83rd year of the awards being held is a reference to the real life age of the character of Batman at the time this episode was released. Batman debuted in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939.
* James Gunn mentions the "*Scooby-Doo* movie" he did for Warner Bros., this is a reference to the real movie *Scooby-Doo* movie from 2002 which Gunn wrote.
	+ Warner Bros. is also the production company behind *Harley Quinn*.
* The Villy Awards are hosted at the Monarch Theater in Crime Alley, the very movie theatre Bruce Wayne and his parents went to before they were murdered.
* Another reference to the Wayne murder is the "Joe Chill Honorary Award" which refers to Joe Chill, the character behind the murder and thus the creation of Batman.
* Clayface mistakenly believing James Gunn stared on the TV show *Gilmore Girls* after accidentally looking up his brother on Wikipedia is true to real life where Sean Gunn did star as Kirk Gleason on the series.
* The milky substance coming from the android that Harley fights in the bathroom was inspired by the character Ash from *Alien* (1979).
* Catwoman offering her apartment to Harley’s crew largely contradicts the second issue of the *Eat. Bang. Kill Tour* comic. In the comic, Harley and Ivy accidentally lead the GCPD to Selina’s home, and in an overzealous firefight, Gordon decimates the penthouse. Selina is so enraged she declares she won’t help Harlivy in the future. Meanwhile, In this episode (which is set after Harlivy’s vacation) not only is Catwoman’s apartment intact, but Catwoman shows no ill will towards Harley’s crew (and is even pleased to have them there so they can feed her cats).

## Gallery

*See also: All images from "The 83rd Annual Villy Awards"*

Batman and CatwomanHarley Quinn and Poison Ivy in the new labRiddler and Clock King nominated for "Best Couple"Social anxiety nailsIvy's home screenIvy meets Golden GliderThe 83rd Annual Villy Awards"Oh he's a chicken! That *IS* clever."Billy Bob Thornton is killed.Catwoman calls out the Villys for racism.Golden GliderMan-Bat wins a Villy.Harley and Kite ManClayface as Billy Bob Thornton"I got the real award right here.""Fuck you, Villys!"
### Video

The Joker's Villy Awards Performance - ﻿Harley Quinn - HBO Max
## References

1. ↑ Harley Quinn Season 3 Reveals 'Fix' for Nixed Batman/Catwoman Oral Sex Matt Webb Mitovich, *TV Line* (July 28, 2022).
2. ↑ *Bee tee dubs, the producers wanted me to let you know the milky substance coming from the wounded Accountant robot in the bathroom of the Villys was inspired by Ash in ALIEN #HarleyParty* @dcharleyquinn, *Twitter* (July 28, 2022).