Harley Quinn Season 5 Episode 4 Recap, Easter Eggs And Ending Explained

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This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Harley Quinn season 5, episode 4
Harley Quinn season 5, episode 4 goes in a very unique direction compared to the first three episodes. Exploring the origins of Brainiac, the season"s big bad, viewers get to see how the Coluan supervillain formed his mission and learn what he wants in the present with the city of Metropolis. It"s also revealed why Harley and Ivy are the biggest obstacles standing in the way of his goals.
As was seen at the end of Harley Quinn season 5, episode 3, Harley and Ivy successfully killed Jason Woodrue aka The Floronic Man. However, the episode ends with the duo being teleported up to Brainiac"s skull ship in Earth"s orbit. Now, this new episode travels back in time to reveal the origins of Brainiac, almost like it"s a completely separate show starring the Coluan and the family he once had. To that end, here"s our recap, ending explainer, and all the biggest Easter eggs/references we found in Harley Quinn Season 5, episode 4.
Harley Quinn Season 5, Episode 4 Recap "Breaking Brainiac"

Brainiac’s origins are revealed as Vril Dox, a middle-class worker on Colu tasked with studying words and their perfection rates, and procuring new technologies.
Following one last mission to retrieve the Hyper Ray, Brainiac is set to receive a promotion where he"ll no longer have to travel the galaxy.
Upon returning home, Brainiac discovers Colu decimated and his family dead due to the planet"s 1% imperfection which Brainiac had deemed insignificant, motivating his new mission to rage against imperfection across the galaxy.
Finding Krypton and its near-perfect status, Brainiac perfects Kandor before shrinking and bottling the city (inspired by his son), “saving” it from the planet’s imminent destruction.
Perfecting, shrinking, and bottling cities for years, Brainiac now seeks a new challenge with Earth which sits at 8% perfection, intending to begin the greater work of taking its best city (Metropolis) and perfecting it from nearly the ground up.
In the present, Harley and Ivy are Brainiac’s prisoners. It’s also revealed that Koko died long ago, implying that the Coluan"s mind is not fully stable as he"s still been talking to his pet monkey as if he were still alive.
Declaring Harley an unpredictable variable beyond calculation and the "ultimate barrier to perfection", Brainiac prepares to delete her and Ivy. However, Lena Luthor arrives, revealed to be Brainiac’s ally who demands their lives be spared. Brainiac agrees but has their minds wiped.
Back in their apartment, Ivy and Harley seemingly have no memory of Brainiac.

Brainiac's Origins in Harley Quinn Season 5, Episode 4 Explained The Collector of Worlds Is Seeking A New Challenge

Having lost his entire family and world due to a single percent of unaccounted imperfection, it"s no wonder why Vril Dox chooses to "rage against imperfection" across the galaxy. Likewise, the fact that such a major Superman villain from the comics is given origins so tragic with such dimensions is quite impressive. After all, it"s certainly not something one would likely have expected from a show as irreverent as Harley Quinn.
There"s still plenty of humor, such as Brainiac"s work requiring him to leave and go out for CIGARETTES (Collecting Information and Gathering Analytics Regarding Extra-Terrestrial Technology, Equipment and Systems). However, the fact that the device he uses to shrink cities is the same one he was sent out to get when he lost everything is brutal. The same goes for Vril II giving Brainiac the idea to bottle and preserve said cities once they"ve been perfected.
Now, the present sees a Brainiac who had been isolated and purposeless after years of mass collection tackling a new challenge. Picking a world and city that isn"t near perfection, Brainiac chooses Earth (which is only at 8%) and Metropolis (which was sitting at 20%). Intending to bring the city to 100% perfection, Brainiac is well aware that his goals will remain impossible so long as Harley Quinn is living in Metropolis, confirming that she"s "an unpredictable variable beyond calculation" and "the ultimate barrier to perfection".
Harley Quinn Season 5, Episode 4 Ending Explained Lena Luthor's Role Revealed

Brainiac was simply going to kill Harley and Ivy to be done with it at the end of Harley Quinn season 5, episode 4. However, Lena Luthor arrives on board the skull ship, revealing that she"s been Brainiac"s ally on Earth. While Brainac works to make the city perfect with his drones, Lena has been keeping humans distracted and unaware of what"s about to happen to Metropolis.
Surprisingly, Lena convinces Brainiac to spare Harley and Ivy, claiming that she likes them and will take care of them. As a result, Brainiac wipes Harley and Ivy"s minds of all their interactions with him before teleporting them back to their apartment. While neither of them can directly remember being captured by the Coluan, it seems as though Harley"s subconscious still does, as she"s shown unsure of recent events. As such, perhaps she"ll end up remembering Brainiac and his plans for the city in the episodes of Harley Quinn that are still to come.
Harley Quinn Season 5 Episode 4 Easter Eggs and References Nods To Brianiac Comics Origins, Classic DC Planets, And More

Space Sector 1287 - Colu is confirmed to be a part of Sector 1287, which is accurate to the original DC Comics lore.
Brainiac’s Real Name - Brainiac"s real name in the comics is also Vril Dox, and Harley Quinn suggests the name "Brainiac" seemingly came from Lena Luthor in this universe.
Vril Dox II - Brainiac"s son is named Vril Dox II. In the comics, Brainiac also has a son named Vril Dox II who becomes the founder of L.E.G.I.O.N.
Mr. Starr - Brainiac"s boss is Mr. Starr, the name given to the merged collective government of Colu in the comics, also known as the Computer Tyrants.
Hyper Ray - The Hyper Ray and its ability to shrink and grow matter is the same device Brainiac uses in the comics.
Several Classic DC Comics Planets - A number of DC planets are shown during Brainiac"s travels across the galaxy. This includes Bryak (Brainiac"s original homeworld before it was retconned to Colu), Tamaran, Czarnia, Zur-En-Arrh, Daxam, Bismoll, Rann, Thanagar, Krypton, and the square-shaped Htrae (aka Bizarro World).
Bottling Kandor - Brainiac bottling Kandor is one of his most famous acts in the comics, shrinking and preserving the Kryptonian city that Superman would one day save and keep in his Fortress of Solitude, unable to revert it back to its original size.
Great & Powerful Oz - Attempting to intimidate Harley and Ivy with a booming intercom, the duo is simply annoyed by the volume, prompting Harley to mock the Coluan by calling him "The Great and Powerful Oz", seeing as how The Wizard of Oz used similar intimidation tactics with his subjects.
Howie Mandel"s Dead - Howie Mandel is brought up when Harley wonders if Deal or No Deal is still on the air, though Ivy reminds Harley that Joker blew the game show host up. This was shown in the first season of Harley Quinn (with Mandel having voiced himself).