Harley Quinn — “Back to School” — Season 5 Episode 3 Spoiler Review and Recap

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The fallout of Ivy’s actions continues in “Back to School.” While she tried to kill off her former professor, lover and attempted murderer, Ivy might have made him into a far more powerful monster. The news of Jason Woodrue’s death spreads fast, forcing Harley to reckon with her partner’s dishonesty.Harley Quinnworks best when it frames conflicts through the Harley/Ivy relationship, and “Back to School” is a perfect example of its value. Plus, we get the overly theatrical Clayface back, a huge win for comedy in general.

Harley Quinn - Back to School

Harley Quinn– “Back to School” – The Recap

Like other members of Harley’s former crew, Clayface (Alan Tudyk) has made his way over to Metropolis. He performs his one-man-show in the Metropolis Theater in front of a surprisingly thin crowd (given the success of his Vegas show). In his show, Clayface plays an Italian man who died 20 years before Pearl Harbor (the show is about Pearl Harbor, anyway).

Later that night, Clayface waits by the newsstand for The Daily Planet’s review of his show. His show gets panned, so Clayface prepares to talk with the editors of The Daily Planet.

Harley Quinn - Back to School

At the Botany Research Center, Woodrue’s (John Slattery) corpse rises with new yellow-glowing powers. He screams, “I’m coming for you,” and Ivy wakes up from her nightmare. She reminds herself that Woodrue is dead before getting out of bed. When she comes out into the kitchen,Harley asks Ivy howshe slept before revealing that Woodrue’s death is on the front page of the Daily Planet. Harley is angry that Ivy did not tell her about the confrontation with Woodrue, but Ivy leaves before they can fully unpack the emotions around the murder.

At the Daily Planet, Perry White (Alan Tudyk) chews out Lois Lane (Natalie Morales) about Woodrue’s death, but Lane agrees there’s more to the story. They’re interrupted when Clayface barges in, demanding a retraction. Perry refuses to retract the review and says the only way the show will get a good review is if Clayface writes it himself. Clayface agrees, smashing a computer over Perry’s head, and seems ready to take his place.

Harley Quinn - Back to School

At the Botany Research Center, Ivy lays out her plan for the Metropolis Green Initiative. While she’s presenting, Harley joins the group but whispers too loud to Ivy about needing to talk. While Harley is supportive, Ivy has two visions of Woodrue/Floronic Man asking her questions. She runs out of the room, and while Harley attempts to help her, Ivy asks to be alone.

In her office, Ivy sees some yellow fluorescent good in the corner. She ignores it, instead using her skills to go into the Green. Once there, a flower leads her to a giant white oak tree, which nightmarish turns into Woodrue. Dubbing himself as “Floronic Man,” the two battle in the Green. Eventually, Ivy runs away, and Florionic Man reveals that his plan is only to kill her. Harley knocks again, but she spies Ivy convulsing on her desk. She breaks into the office and is knocked back by Floronic’s vines.

Harley Quinn — “Back to School” — Season 5 Episode 3 Spoiler Review and Recap

Clayface brings Perry White back to his apartment and gets ready to write. However, he does not feel like he has the tools to write the review yet, and instead calls for support. After taking several trains (and questioning if Clayface even lives in Metropolis), Bane (James Adomian) arrives. Clayface needs Bane’s nit-picking on grammar to help write the review. They write the review together, and Clayface shapeshifts into Perry.

Desperate for help, Harley calls Frank (J.B. Smoove) for help. Frank might be on vacation, but when he sees Ivy in trouble, he goes into the Green to investigate. Once there, Frank sees Floronic still has Ivy in his clutches. As they continue to fight, he reports back to Ivy what he’s seen and tells her to burn Woodrue’s body. In the meantime, Frank will attempt to stop Floronic Man from killing Ivy.

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At the Daily Planet, Clayface (in the form of Perry) praises Bane’s writing to the entire staff and names him the new columnist. When Clayface enters Perry’s office, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen (Drew Massey) join him. They believe there’s a story of something weird going on in Metropolis, with a weird unidentified flying object over the city and consistent reports of nightmares about a skull figure. Lois demands a green light from “Perry,” but Clayface denies her request, so The Daily Planet focuses on the Arts. Bane walks in, and Lois is furious he’s the new lead columnist.

As Floronic Man attacks Ivy, he’s interrupted by Frank, who calls him “Broccoli Man.” Ivy tells Frank to leave when Floronic Man realizes that he’s looking at the same Frank he tried to kill Ivy over. Frank and Floronic Man exchange insults, and Floronic Man slams Frank into a tree, breaking one the plant’s teeth in the process. He then impales Ivy and Frank on his growing vines.

Harley continues to look for Floronic Man/Woodrue’s body so she can burn it. After passing through a few “intimate experiments,” Harley finds his corpse. She begins to saw his body to pieces, saving Ivy and Frank in the Green. Woodrue tries to kill her, but Harley chops him up into little plant pieces with the jigsaw. Ivy runs into the lab and apologizes to Harley.

After they’ve finished discussing things, The Automatons surround the women. While Harley and Ivy ask where they were ten minutes ago, the robots change form and beam the couple into a space jail. They attempt to escape as Brainiac asks Koko (Phil LaMarr) what they should do with the women.

Is it worth watching “Back to School?”

It is wise to jump straight back into the Woodrue/Floronic Man storyline, given the emotional fallout of the act.Harley Quinnknows that we need to see its effect on theHarls/Ivy relationshipwhile also ensuring we get inside Ivy’s mind.“Back to School” ensures we view most of the episode through their struggles, heightening the stakes and emotional payoff.

“Back to School” also inches us closer to Brianaic. It’s hard to critiqueHarley Quinntoo much for the choices it’s made in storytelling through three episodes, but at the same time, maybe the Brainiac reveal came too early in episode 1. If we were introduced to him here, it would feel like a legitimately big cliffhanger. Instead, we’ve seen him twice in three episodes, for a total of thirty seconds of screen time. He’s too big of a character to hold over the show like this, so it feels like we’re being played a little.

Additionally, this was an odd episode for Lana not to be present, given her importance as Ivy’s boss and the one who paired Ivy with Woodrue; it’s either very suspicious or poor storytelling. Due to the week-to-week model and actual devotion to closed episodes, we have to at least knock “Back to School” for this odd oversight (especially when there’s time for a lot of filler elsewhere).

Finally, theClayfaceand Bane pairing is legitimately very funny. The two are comedy generators forHarley Quinn, and both use their theatricality to perfection in their time together. It’s excellent work from both Tudyk and Adomian, setting up the stakes for Clayface’s actions in Metropolis. Sidelining Lois, in particular, is a bold choice.

Harley Quinnairs on Max, beginning on June 10, 2025. “Back to School” airs on August 24, 2025. New episodes are released every Thursday.