Line #36 Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE10TwoFacePart1


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/batman_tas_s01e17_two_face_pt_1_rupert_thorne_two_face_0002.png]]
2	The episode begins with Harvey Dent being chased by a mysterious figure who keeps taunting him. Luckily, it's just a dream; his coworker Carlos wakes him up and tells him that a raid against mob boss Rupert Thorne has started.
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4	Upon arriving there, Dent and Gordon find that Batman has taken Thorne's goons down, though Thorne himself is not present. As Harvey swears to bring down Thorne, one of the goons taunts Harvey and kicks mud on his suit, really pissing Harvey off. Harvey goes berserk and starts attacking the goon until Gordon stops him. Afterward Harvey has no memory of what he had done. It's not long before there's a repeat of the incident, as at an election fundraiser Harvey learns that a judge has declared the raid to have been illegal and has released Thorne's men that were arrested. This time it's Harvey's fiancée Grace who snaps Harvey out of his rage, but as he was about to punch Bruce who's trying to consul him, but nonetheless it's clear that something is wrong with Harvey Dent.
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6	Meanwhile, Thorne reveals that he's increasingly worried about Harvey's attempts to put him in jail, and sends his assistant Candace to start investigating him, claiming that all men have something to hide.
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8	At a therapy session, Harvey's therapist reveals that he has [[SplitPersonality Dissociative Identity Disorder]], and a second personality that emerges when Harvey is too stressed or angry to deal with his emotions. This second, much more aggressive personality, whom Harvey refers to as "Big Bad Harv," then takes over for the things that the gentle and kind Harvey can't deal with. The therapist uses hypnosis to draw out Big Bad Harv and speak to him. Upon hearing that Harvey might get better, meaning Harv could "go away," he promptly starts trashing her office in a rage until she snaps her fingers, returning Harvey's normal personality to the fore. The therapist advises Harvey to take time off for treatment, but Harvey refuses, as he's in the middle of both his reelection campaign and attempting to prosecute Gotham's biggest gangster, so time isn't something he really has.
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10	It's not long before Candace, who was eavesdropping on the therapy session, steals Harvey's psychological file, and Thorne tries to use it to blackmail him. In the midst of Thorne's mockery and blackmail, Big Bad Harv takes over and he begins trying to attack Thorne and Thorne's mooks. Batman comes in to help, but during the course of the altercation an explosion badly injures Harvey. He wakes up in the hospital under the control of his second personality and has a FreakOut when he sees [[TwoFaced the damage the explosion did to his face]]. Grace comes to see him at that moment and faints at the sight, which convinces Harvey to leave and attempt to take his revenge on Thorne--under the control of Big Bad Harv, and using the methods of that personality.
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12	----
13	!!Tropes in this episode include:
14	* AlliterativeName: "Handsome Harvey" earns himself the new moniker "Hothead Harvey" after Big Bad Harv momentarily surfaces and tries to punch out Frankie, a member of Thorne's gang in front of a group of police and reporters with cameras.
15	* TheBaroness: Candace loves to watch a fistfight, even when the fight is not going her boss' way.
16	* BatmanGambit: Thorne initially assumes that Harvey assaulted Frankie on live television as one of these. It's not until he gets his hands on Harvey's psychiatric file that he realizes it was just Big Bad Harv reacting to a minor slight.
17	-->'''Candace:''' He's crazy.\
18	'''Thorne:''' Crazy like a fox. That little stunt probably bought him another ten thousand votes.
19	* BigNo: Batman has a low-key one once he sees what the explosion did to Harvey's face, indicating his empathy for his friend.
20	-->'''Batman:''' Harvey! Noooo...
21	* BlackmailBackfire: Thorne tries to blackmail Harvey with his psychiatric file, promising that it will never see the light of day in exchange for "a few favors from the D.A.'s office." The stress of the situation wakes up Big Bad Harv, who has no problem with taking the file back from Thorne by force. Then Batman enters the fray...
22	* BullyingADragon: Big Bad Harv comes out when Harvey gets bullied. He even comes out when things don't go in Harvey's way.
23	* TheCameo: Renée Montoya briefly appears among police officers, in the background, during the scene where Batman is kicking the mobsters out of a building.
24	* CasualDangerDialogue: We get this at the beginning of the episode, when the raid on Thorne's hideout starts.
25	--> '''Harvey''': Hey, Jim. How's it going?
26	--> ''Gunfire starts raining down as everyone ducks for cover.''
27	--> '''Commissioner Gordon''': Could be better.
28	* CatapultNightmare: Harvey has one at the beginning.
29	* CementShoes: A mobster being bothered by crusading DA Harvey Dent considers "fitting him for a cement overcoat."
30	* CreateYourOwnVillain: Done accidentally when Batman tries to save Harvey from being shot by one of Thorne's henchmen, inadvertently redirecting the bullets into a high-voltage box. The frayed wires fall into a nearby vat of chemicals and cause them to explode the left half of Harvey's body.
31	* EvilSoundsRaspy: When Harvey's "Big Bad Harv" personality dominates, his voice is deeper and raspier. This would become permanent as Two-Face's voice.
32	* FaintInShock: Grace faints when she sees Two-Face's face for the first time.
33	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
34	** Frankie calls Dent a maniac and says Dent should be the one going to jail. While Frankie is a {{hypocrite}} and a violent thug who had publicly taunted Harvey and incited their confrontation, this turns out to be exactly what happens to Two-Face at the end of the next episode.
35	** During Harvey Dent's hypnotherapy session there is [[LightningReveal a brief lightning flash; during the flash a split-second shot shows hideous scarring on the left side of Dent's face]].
36	** When Harvey has his second episode, he tosses his assistant Carlos into [[RuleOfSymbolism an ice sculpture of Justice, which splits in two]].
37	* FreakOut: How Two-Face first reacts upon looking in the mirror.
38	* FreezeFrameBonus: It's easy to spot in normal viewing, but still cool to freeze frame Harvey Dent's gruesome half-face, foreshadowed in a flash of lightning.
39	* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: Gordon screams this to Harvey when he tries to attack one of Thorne's goons for humiliating him.
40	* HypocriteHasAPoint: Even though Frankie taunted Harvey and kicked mud into his clothes, which prompted the latter's beatdown on him, he is correct that Dent is crossing ethical lines by attacking a suspect. He turns out to be more right than anyone could have guessed when he says that Harvey (or more accurately, Big Bad Harv, who was in control at the moment) is a "maniac".
41	* IgnoredExpert: Harvey's therapist urges him to go to a psychiatric ward, but he refuses due to the needs of his campaign.
42	* InLoveWithYourCarnage: Downplayed, obviously enough, for a cartoon, but in the final fight, Candace is very obviously impressed with the way Harvey (with some help from Batman) [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown trashes]] half a dozen or so of Thorne's goons.
43	* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: Creator/RichardMoll (Harvey Dent) and Creator/MurphyCross (Grace) previously played neighbors and friends on the episode "Bull's Baby" of ''Series/NightCourt''.
44	* LightningReveal: A storm rages outside the window as Harvey and his therapist discuss his second personality under hypnosis. A flash of lightning shows Harvey as he will appear as Two-Face.
45	* MythologyGag: Harvey's plastic surgery scene plays out very similarly to [[Film/Batman1989 Jack Napier's]][[note]]the difference lying in how they react[[/note]].
46	* MoodLighting: The background turns red to reflect Harvey Dent’s pure anger at Frankie, the criminal who pisses him off.
47	* NightmareFetishist: A minor case. Thorne's assistant, Candace, is delighted watching her boss and his goons brawl with Harvey and Batman.
48	* NotSoStoic: Upon seeing the effects of the chemical explosion on his childhood friend (and one of few real friends "Bruce Wayne" has) Harvey Dent, Batman's pain is clear.
49	* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: While we see Batman enter the building that the thugs are based in at the start of the episode, the majority of the fight isn't shown (minus a thug or two flying out the window). Whatever Batman did in there scared the criminals so badly that the few who weren't thrown out the window ran out of the building in terror and gave themselves up. Then Batman [[StealthHiBye disappeared]] with no one but Commissioner Gordon seeing him.
50	* OhCrap: Thorne when Big Bad Harv takes control over Harvey Dent.
51	* RageAgainstTheReflection: Upon awakening after getting caught in an explosion, Harvey Dent demands a mirror. When he sees the grotesque scarring of half his face, he screams with horror and anger, and his transformation into the villain Two-Face becomes complete (except for the occasional HopeSpot that keeps Batman tormented that his old friend might be saved).
52	* RedFilterOfDoom: The background turns red to reflect Harvey Dent’s rising anger at Frankie.
53	* RememberTheNewGuy: Harvey's long time fiancée Grace. It's jarring because [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE5PrettyPoison a few episodes ago he was dating Pamela Isley]].
54	** To be fair, an unknown amount of time has elapsed InUniverse, and it's possible that the timelines of some episodes overlap. Potentially months went by after Isley's vampish assassination attempt before Dent met and courted Grace. Plus, Harvey was ready to marry Ivy after only a few dates, so maybe rushing to the altar is just a thing with him.
55	* SanitySlippage: As Thorne and his goons laugh at Dent, taunting him about how they have him completely at their mercy using his psychiatric file, Dent's sanity finally loses its grip and goes screaming over the edge as he surrenders control to Big Bad Harv.
56	-->'''Thorne:''' So, what do you say, Harvey? Do we have a deal?\
57	'''Harvey:''' There's just one problem. \
58	'''Thorne:''' What's that?\
59	'''Big Bad Harv:''' ''[[WhamLine You're talking to the wrong Harvey.]]''
60	* ShadowArchetype: Thorne's line about how the cleaner someone seems, the dirtier they become is one of the quotes on the quote page.
61	* TheShadowKnows: When Harvey gets in the limo to go meet Thorne, Bruce watches from the window. As he stands watching, shadows fall over his face, making a pattern similar to a certain cowl...
62	* SlouchOfVillainy: When the therapist asks to speak to Big Bad Harv, Harvey shudders for a second, then slouches over on the therapy couch, pulls out the silver dollar, and begins flipping it.
63	* SplitPersonality: This episode reveals that Harvey has a second personality, known as Big Bad Harv, that represents his repressed anger issues. Big Bad Harv, when he comes out, acts extremely violently at the smallest irritation. Thus, Harvey has been trying to suppress him for most of his life.
64	* StealthPun: The episode featuring Two-Face is a two-parter.
65	* StunnedSilence: A crowd of reporters becomes as silent as a tomb when Harvey first loses control.
66	* SuppressedRage: After slugging a school bully, and later hearing he was hospitalized (for appendicitis, but he didn't know that), a guilty young Harvey suppressed his rage so hard that it formed a completely separate personality: Big Bad Harv.
67	-->'''Bruce:''' Harvey, you didn't just lose your temper out there, it's like you were another person!
68	* {{Symbolism}}: At the party Bruce throws for Harvey's campaign, there's an ice statue of Lady Justice. The statue is starting to melt, showing how Harvey's career (as well as faith) in Gotham's legal system is starting to fade. It's broken completely when he loses his temper over some bad news and Big Bad Harv comes out.
69	* ThereAreNoTherapists: Oddly enough, averted. Harvey ''is'' seeing one, and she seems rather competent. Sadly, she can only do so much. She suggests that he check himself into a psych ward for more intensive treatment, but he rejects the idea because it would torpedo his reelection campaign. He says he'll compromise by cutting down a bit on his campaign and plans to make regular appointments (in secret).
70	* TranquilFury: The first sign of Dent's psychotic break; he goes from wide-eyed and sweating to completely calm and quiet. And ''then'' he goes berserk.
71	* VillainBall: Rupert Thorne's plan upon finding out Harvey Dent, a rich, influential man who is well-respected and has rich, influential friends, has an evil, incredibly violent split personality that only surfaces when he is angry ... [[DidntThinkThisThrough is to lock himself and Dent in a room,]] ''and taunt him with blackmail''. ZigZagged somewhat; he has thugs there just in case Harvey tries something. Though Batman shows up.

Context Recap / BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE10TwoFacePart1