Birds of Prey is available now on DVD and digital. The series can be streaming on DC Universe in North America.
Synopsis
A villain turns New Gotham’s citizens into clay, and Helena interrogates Clayface in an asylum about the crimes.
Review
If there was one aspect of Birds of Prey‘s story which never seemed important it was the identity of Helena’s (Ashley Scott) mother’s killer. The opening monologue drives home the fact her mother was Catwoman and that her mother was Batman but it never dwelled on any circumstances surrounding Selina Kyle’s death.
In fact most of the season utterly ignored it, it wasn’t a key storytelling point for the series. Helena’s grief and anger are important points in her characterisation but there was never an on going mystery surrounding her mother’s murder.
Cue “Feat of Clay” which suddenly brings the plot point to the fore when Clayface (Kirk Baltz) and his son Chris (Ian Reed Kesler) come on to the scene.
It’s the typical Birds of Prey setup, there’s a murder on the loose who seems to have connections to the classic Batman villain Clayface but the power set is a little different. Helen and Reese (Shemar Moore) use their newfound understanding to flirt whilst investigating a poor security guard who has been turned to clay.
“Feat of Clay” feels like run-of-the-mill Birds of Prey right up until it doesn’t. Suddenly the show takes a turn and Helena, using that police connection, goes to Arkham Asylum to visit the actual Clayface. It’s one of the first times the series actually utilises a straight-up Batman villain in the (clay) flesh.
The setup births some truly unique scenes for the series as Helena questions Clayface in his cell. As long as you can look past the not-quite-Louisiana-not-quite-New-York accent which feels like it could work perfectly on Alan Tudyk’s version of the character in Harley Quinn. But Clayface is portayed with a real, deep psychological insight in to Helena which is intriguing to watch.
As she questions him, he toys with her until he is eventually able to turn the conversation around to the death of her mother and reveal himself as the killer.
It’s another huge turning point for Helena and one which triggers some very deep seeded anger. It’s heartbreaking to watch, particularly as earlier in the episode Helena had decided to quite therapy with Dr Quinzel (Mia Sara) because she was feeling so at peace.
Ashley Scott continues to show some of her best work in the series in these final episodes and these scenes are the pinnacle of that.
The dressing around this storyline is much more of the standard Birds of Prey fare. Barbara (Dina Meyer) suffers from a case of Batman ’89 by sabotaging her own relationship and having Alfred (Ian Abercombie) invite her lover, Wade (Shawn Christian), in to the clocktower. It’s a scene which always leaves me saying “and who let Vikki Vale into the Batcave?”
Dinah (Rachel Skarsten) is also relegated to an extra in this episode as she stands on the sidelines until the third act “fashion” show. The less said about that the better.
The irony is that despite being in this episode less there is perhaps the most amount of on screen chemistry between the cast in this episode. It’s the smallest of moments but in one scene as Alfred leaves the clocktower and Huntress in enters the two high five and break character and it’s incredibly sweet to watch.
“Feat of Clay” has more examples of incredibly 00’s TV visual effects. As people turn into and back from clay it’s very similar to watching Odo shapeshift in classic episodes of Deep Space Nine and doesn’t stand up well by modern standards.
But at this point it’s just too lovable not to enjoy…
Verdict
Birds of Prey rattles towards its finale with another solid episode of emotional growth for Ashley Scott’s Helena encapsulated in what is possibly the most nostalgic early 00’s fashion show.
7/10
Birds of Prey stars Ashley Scott as Helena Kyle/Huntress, Dina Meyer are Barbara Gordon/Oracle, Rachel Skarsten as Dinah Redmond, Shemar Moore as Detective Jessie Reese, Mia Sara as Dr Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn and Ian Abercombie as Alfred Pennyworth.
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