Suicide Squad Isekai Episode 4: The Queen's true motives teased as Harley and co earn a major victory

With an exciting multi-episode premiere out of the way, Suicide Squad Isekai Episode 4 stood as the first true litmus test for the weekly quality and events fans could expect from the series. Officially released in the United States and other select regions on Thursday, July 4, 2024, the episode did excitingly begin introducing new plot points.

Even more notable is that these narrative threads centered around the Queen and princess Fione, likely setting up subsequent releases to focus on them, even if only briefly. Suicide Squad Isekai Episode 4 also somewhat begins to build out its world in the process, even if it isn’t exactly a dedicated effort.

Suicide Squad Isekai Episode 4 finally turns its attention to worldbuilding, albeit for a brief few moments

Brief episode recap

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Suicide Squad Isekai Episode 4 began with a focus on Gotham City, where some thugs entered a building looking for the Joker. This was revealed to be a flashback, as Harley Quinn was present with Joker as the thugs searched the building for him. They discussed how the “dirty rats” in the city like the gangs are the gutter trash of society for their actions, with Joker beginning to explain the best way to hunt them down.

However, the episode shifted focus to Harley and co’s group in the other world, where she woke up in a cell with Rick Flag and the other suicide squad members. It was revealed they only had 12 hours and eight seconds left before their bombs exploded when they were visited by princess Fione. She unfortunately revealed that it’s unclear when they’ll be let out, apologizing to them for not being able to do much.

Suicide Squad Isekai Episode 4 then saw Harley ask Fione why she seemed so interested in her, saying the look of Fione just rubs her the wrong way. She added that Fione’s timid personality also bothers her, saying Fione reminds her of a wimpy brat she used to know, most likely talking about her former self as Harleen Quinzel.

Cecil continues to be the main liaison between the Queen and Harley's group in Suicide Squad Isekai Episode 4 (Image via Wit Studios)

At that moment, Cecil arrived and told the suicide squad that the Queen had requested an audience with them. This prompted a flashback to Fione’s childhood, where she was shown to be friends with several commoners.

She was then berated for this by the Queen, prompting her to ask what their duty was as royalty, to which the Queen said to “bring an end to the war.” It was then revealed that one of Fione’s friends died shortly thereafter, likely due to the war.

Suicide Squad Isekai Episode 4 then returned to the present, where Cecil summoned Fione for a war council. It was revealed that the Imperial Army was marching, albeit at a slow pace, towards the recently recaptured fortress which couldn’t hold them off. Harley then interrupted and asked why she and the others were still shackled, under the impression they’d be set free.

The Queen made it clear that this was due to their destroying the fort rather than reclaiming it, which shut Harley up quickly. The Queen asked Rick Flag who was commanding the marching forces and how they could command the beastmen, but Rick answered with a question of his own on how this war started.

Rick Flag's questions to the Queen lead Suicide Squad Isekai Episode 4 into a brief worldbuilding session (Image via Wit Studios)

Suicide Squad Isekai Episode 4 saw Cecil explain that the war has raged for multiple decades now, with the intensity increasing in recent months after the Elves and Beastmen switched sides to the Empire.

It was revealed that the Beastmen fought the other day were originally members of the Queen’s kingdom. This satisfied Rick enough to explain Ratcatcher’s powers to the Queen and assert he was leading the army.

Harley then shouted out something about hunting rats while thanking Joker, remembering the conversation she was dreaming of earlier. Focus then jumped ahead in time to after the suicide squad had seemingly come up with a plan. Peacemaker commented that they don’t have enough forces to execute this plan, prompting Rick to ask the Queen to borrow forces while demanding their freedom upon their victory.

Cecil and others initially rejected this idea due to a lack of forces, but Harley argued they had plenty of soldiers to use. This led to the reveal that the prisoners whom Harley and co staged their breakout with would be joining them in the fight. Harley clearly had command over the monsters while Rick was sending Clayface on a mission and generally corralling the other suicide squad members.

Suicide Squad Isekai Episode 4 then saw him approached by Cecil, who asked how he felt fighting alongside criminals like Harley and co. Rick said he just has to follow orders as a soldier, with Clayface returning later that night after setting up some barriers. Deadshot was said to be up on the roof preparing for the battle, while Cecil spoke with the others about Fione.

Harley and co are put to work against Ratcatcher's forces in Suicide Squad Isekai Episode 4 (Image via Wit Studios)

However, Suicide Squad Isekai Episode 4 saw King Shark begin smelling the enemy forces, signaling the start of battle. Cecil tried ordering the suicide squad to fight and lead the ogres, but Harley argued that they didn’t need to do anything. As Cecil moved out, Ratcatcher came on the barriers Clayface made and realized their plan.

Cecil then gave a speech before leading his troops into battle, while Ratcatcher merely used his magic to send his troops into battle while ranting about Deadshot. At that moment, Deadshot fired a shot into the crowd Ratcatcher was in, seemingly missing him. However, Deadshot hit his target all along, which was the magic crystal on his staff which commanded the beastmen.

Suicide Squad Isekai Episode 4 then began a flashback which revealed that this was the group’s true plan all along. Ratcatcher was then cornered and attacked by the Beastmen, as the Joker flashback from earlier on in the episode ended with Joker tricking two groups of thugs into killing each other.

The suicide squad and Rick Flag then took their leave after fulfilling their end of the bargain, amazing the war council with their results. However, the Queen was seemingly angry at this result, as the episode ended with a focus on her scowling face.

In review

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With the three-episode premiere over and done with, it’s encouraging to see that the anime is making valuable use of its weekly visit with fans. Suicide Squad Isekai Episode 4 embodies this wholly, introducing several new plotlines, developing key characters for the series further, and providing a nice wrapup to almost every major plotline introduced thus far.

The installment also does a great job of slowly building out the lore and history of this fantastical world via the Queen and Cecil’s comments on the war and its origins. In turn, the ending tease of the Queen’s true motives is done incredibly well, especially in its placement as the final shot of the anime’s fourth episode.

In summation

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Suicide Squad Isekai Episode 4 is predictable in that it set up Harley and co to rese the timer on their bombs, but unpredictable in how it got to that point. Likewise, with the group now free and the Queen seemingly incensed as a result, fans can expect some sort of complication to arise in the upcoming fifth episode.