Episode 7 – Suicide Squad ISEKAI

There are two things I want to remember about episode seven: the sick choreography and incredibly intense facial expressions. Some close-up shots in this episode legitimately made me squirm in my seat because of how vile they were, but that is genuine praise. I mentioned that last week opened the door for the show to explore more psychological elements, and this episode carries that torch. If the anime needed to re-tread Harley Quinn’s backstory for the fiftieth time, I’m glad they did it creatively. Having Thinker delve into Harley’s mind only for her crazy to turn the tables on him was clever. It justified her being the one to take him out because you could argue that everybody else on the Suicide Squad is probably more capable; they are also easily exploitable in their predictability. Harley is pure unpredictability, so it was satisfying.

Some payoffs weren’t satisfying, like the whole joke about Peacemaker’s helmet. Why did he make such a big deal about revealing his face? I thought they were saving that for a twist or because he had a facial deformity that he was trying to hide underneath the helmet, but no, he just looks like John Cena. Wait, is that supposed to be the joke? That we “couldn’t see him” until he was ready to reveal himself? I don’t know if that’s clever or stupid, if I’m being honest. Don’t get me wrong, this show does have a lot of stupid moments because it is banking on you giving into the adrenaline-filled rush and ignoring the details. I’m usually all for that, but this episode had details that were a bit harder to ignore because the plot hinged on specific details. The team exploiting the hive minds of the elves by torturing one of them would’ve been clever if it wasn’t for the fact that we have seen a dozen of these elves die already in brutal ways and never negatively impacted any of the other elves before.

That said, I like what’s being set up here at the end. It’s implied that we are finally returning to the real world to communicate with Waller and update her on the situation. It’s just like what I brought up a couple of episodes ago, and it feels weird that we keep showcasing Waller in the ending when she is barely an entity in the show itself. However, my biggest source of curiosity is probably the queen. I genuinely do not know what her deal or angle is. Her getting pissed off over the team succeeding implies that she wants her troops to fail in some way? Maybe this is more of keeping the war ongoing for some reason. I hope the payoff is worth the build-up!

I wish the dub weren’t an episode behind. Considering how chaotic some scenes can get, I appreciate how I could watch the premiere in English and enjoy everybody’s banter in tandem with the animation. I was a little caught off guard by the fact that Sentai Filmworks was handling the dub, but I can confidently say it’s probably one of the better dubs they’ve put out in the past few years. Brandon Hearnsberger sounds appropriately over the top, Joven Jackson is dripping with attitude as Deadshot, and Sean Patrick Judge is doing his best to sound like John Cena in the best way. The highlight is currently Karli Hoch as Harley Quinn. A part of me wishes she played up the accent more, but she nails that deranged energy very well.

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Suicide Squad ISEKAI is currently streaming on
Hulu and Max.