• Airdate: September 14, 1992
• Director: Boyd Kirkland
• Story By: Paul Dini & Michael Reaves
• Writer: Tom Ruegger

     Five years ago, the construction of a new penitentiary, Stonegate, is announced by Mayor Hill, with Harvey Dent being thanked for pushing for the new building and Bruce Wayne receiving thanks for funding it. Together the two dig the first shovelful of dirt as a ground-breaking. A pair of hands are seen uprooting a rose from the site and potting it, as the first bulldozers arrive.
     In the present, Batman is in the process of apprehending two escaping-by-helicopter convicts whilst Harvey Dent and his new girlfriend, Pamela Isley, wait for Bruce Wayne to join them for dinner. Having arrived, Bruce, Harvey and Pamela enjoy their evening before Pamela says she has to run, planting a kiss on Harvey before doing so. Harvey tells Bruce that Pamela is the one, which shocks Bruce since the two had just met the week prior. Harvey reassures him before passing out suddenly. He is rushed to the hospital and placed in a coma once it is discovered that he has been poisoned and cannot get better without an antidote, and he will die if he doesn't get it soon.
     Commissioner Gordon sends Bullock to question the people working in the restaurant while also placing a guard to protect Dent. Isley comes to check on Harvey, upset, and Bruce comforts her before walking her back to her car. There, she attempts to kiss him but he turns it into a hug and sees her off. Remembering the kiss she gave Harvey, he contacts Alfred to look into her background, leading to them realizing that she is responsible for poisoning Dent.
     Batman goes to Isley's laboratory, which also functions as a greenhouse. There, he is attacked by a giant Venus flytrap as Pamela makes her entrance in a green outfit and calling herself 'Poison Ivy.' She admits to poisoning Harvey Dent as a way to exact revenge on the greenery and plants that were destroyed in the building of Stonegate, which would have caused the rose she saved to become extinct. Being in the grasps of the giant flytrap makes Batman vulnerable to Poison Ivy's kiss, being hit by the effects almost immediately as Ivy waves the antidote in front of him mockingly.
     Batman is able to cut himself loose, retaliating and dodging a shot from Ivy's dart bow, with the dart itself dealing a fatal hit to her Venus flytrap. During the struggle, a fire is started once an overhead light is destroyed. Ivy attempts to flee but ends up being saved by Batman from a falling light. During the rescue, Batman falls into a pit with spiked plants below. As Ivy prepares to finish him, Batman reveals he has gotten a hold of the rose and threatens to destroy it if she doesn't help him and give him the antidote. Ivy relents and Batman breaks both of them out of the burning greenhouse as it crumbles.
     Dent wakes in the hospital, with Bruce telling him that, as his friend, he has to let him know that he believes Isley isn't right for him. In Stonegate, of all places, Isley sits over the rose, telling it that they will grow and come back better than ever.

     The first episode dedicated to Poison Ivy is one I always enjoyed, and found that it holds up pretty well upon re-watching it. What works especially well for me is the fact that, unlike Man-Bat, The Joker or Scarecrow so far, we are introduced to Pamela Isley instead of her counterpart first. Though, as comic fans, we would know what exactly is going on in, Pretty Poison does a good job in keeping it a mystery, with Batman having to work towards finding out the cause of Harvey Dent's sudden illness. It's a relative 'slow-burn' that allows Batman to do some detective work he is so great at.

     Poison Ivy as a character is really well established in her debut, with us learning not just who she is, but how much she can actually do. Harvey telling Bruce he is planning on proposing to Pamela, with Bruce retorting that they've only known each other a week, is a great and subtle showcase/example of her seductive powers. The final sequence of the episode is effective in portraying something I've always loved about Ivy. She's cunning, intelligent, obsessed and can come off very sadistic and ruthless when handled properly; but she's also a character that can very easily be incredibly sympathetic. You can't help but feel sorry for her while her garden burns down around her.

     The episode also includes its share of comedic moments, particularly the great sequence of Harvey describing Bruce to Pamela being mirrored by what Batman is doing to the crooks he's working on capturing. Harvey Bullock interrogating the cooks at the café is also a few seconds of hilarity, and one that works towards the slow build in the series of turning Bullock into a character you will end up genuinely liking, though I'll save more on him for some later write-ups.

     Batman calling Alfred and asking him to check up on Isley is a touch that I really like. The series has moments like these often, and I enjoy them simply for the fact that it's Batman asking Alfred to help him in his detective work. It's small things like this that separate the series from what it could have been, 'All Batman, All The Time," with him doing everything while others are simply there. Alfred is an extremely important part of Bruce's life, obviously, but it's these details and moments that, though simple and not anything major that stands out on its own, show that Batman trusts him and is more than happy to accept or even ask for help in certain situations. It works towards building their bond and relationship without having to spend an entire episode revolving around the two; a few seconds and one favor is all it takes.

     Once again, the creators know exactly how to use their characters, with Harvey Dent being the perfect choice for the bit player of Ivy's almost-victim, building his character slowly and subtly until things get… not so good, so to speak, for Dent himself. Plus, we got the fact that they were together being a great running joke that is brought up hilariously in one of the best episodes of the series, but that comes later.
     Not to mention we get a quick passing first appearance of Renee Montoya.

     The animation here also stands out for me, particularly that final confrontation between Batman and Ivy in her garden, with the great design of the deadly Venus flytrap and the escalating battle that rises to the entire place catching flames and burning. While I had mentioned that the creators seemed to hit the ground running in the first episode in terms of pacing and blocking action, this episode cements the fact that the action is always going to be a great set-piece for moments. It doesn't always have to be an exquisite and breathtaking action sequence at a whole, but they always know how to add small moments into them that will also be a neat little touch; in the case of this episode, I love Ivy shooting at Batman with a crossbow, and his ducking causing his cape to rise from the motion and the dart flying through it and hitting the Venus flytrap. It's an easy and simple detail to add, but one I feel wouldn't have been seen coming from lesser talents.

     There is also a fantastic quick, few second shot of Batman on top of a building watching the criminals attempted escape in their helicopter that is just so, so good. Seriously, this series has an uncountable number of shots and frames I would love to be able to frame on my wall.

     Pretty Poison is a great debut for Poison Ivy, one that covers why she is a formidable opponent while also keeping her humanity fully intact. The decision to build to the reveal of Pamela Isley to Poison Ivy was a great one, allowing Batman to do some Batman-ing before being caught in Ivy's own environment. Not only do we get great work when it comes to Ivy, but we are also treated to some more fantastic expanding of the characters that make up the rest of the city, particularly Dent, that doesn't feel like it's crammed in. Pamela's final line in the episode is also great; it keeps with the plant motif while also being incredibly creepy and kind of inspirational in some ways. Inspirational if it weren't really coming from someone arrested for attempted murder, but still.

Great Lines and Moments
* Harvey Dent orders a Caesar salad during his date with Pamela. Harvey, you're, like, six-foot-two with shoulders and a barrel-chest that make it look like you have to turn sideways to get through doors, I have no idea how that salad is going to sustain you. *
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* Batman, being late to dinner with Dent and Isley, asking Alfred what the food is like at Rose Café always makes me laugh. Any kind of moment the series has where he is in full costume just casually throwing around every day questions or sayings is always amusing. *
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Escaping Criminal: "Who are you?" Batman: "I'm your worst nightmare."
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(the captured escapee is being escorted to a police car, rambling about Batman)
Escaping Criminal: "—big wings!"
Renee Montoya: "Yeah, yeah, big wings."
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Bullock: "So what'd you put in this mousse?"
Chef: "Chocolate, sugar, eggs, cream-"
Bullock: "Strychnine?"
Chef: "No, no. No strychnine. But I added just a pinch of vanilla."
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(final lines)
Poison Ivy (talking to her rose): "They can bury me in the ground, as deep as they like, but I'll grow back. We always grow back. Don't we, baby?"