Entertainment Weekly revealed a deleted scene featuring a flashback of the Joker and Harley from Suicide Squad that is promised to be in the extended cut of the movie. In a flashback sequence, pre-transformation Harley is chasing the Joker with a motorcycle as he casually cruises in his Lamborghini.
The scene is brief – less than a minute – but raises some interesting implications. First, Harley’s motorcycle stunt sets up that she already has amazing athletic prowess even prior to her transformation into a full-on super villain.
The other more fascinating implication is that it re-contextualizes Harley and the Joker’s relationship from being this perfect, relationship goal-status dynamic to a more neglectful, emotionally abusive one. Harley is actively chasing the Joker while he tries to his hardest to ignore her. She appears more co-dependent and overly emotional than any scene in the theatrical cut of the movie. She literally puts herself in harm’s way while screaming, “You’re not leaving me, you’re not leaving me!” to the Joker. On the flip side, the Joker shows no indication that he loves her and actually actively ignores her. This changes the relationship dynamic quite a bit to the point where the context of their interactions in the theatrical cut of the movie are also altered.
If you view at this deleted scene along with the Harley’s transformation scene, her act of falling into the acid seems less of a grand romantic gesture and more a needy choice to “win” the Joker’s affection. Likewise, the Joker is painted as an emotionally unavailable boyfriend who does not want to be associated with Harley unless she looks like a mirror image of him.
This dynamic is more in line with how the Joker treats Harley in the comics. The Joker sees Harley as a tool in his arsenal in his battle with Batman and not as an equal relationship partner. Anytime she even threatens to overshadow the Joker, he lashes at her violently, something that Dark Knight News’ Joshua Howell has written about.
Needless to say, it will be very curious to see if the other deleted footage will similarly change the movie’s overall tone. If nothing else, it is a good example of how even one, small deleted scene can radically alter an entire subplot of a movie.
Suicide Squad: Extended Cut will be made available for Digital HD on November 15th, with a Blu-ray release on December 13th.