Young Justice S02E16 – Review

By: Kevin Hopps (story)

The Story: Artemis is less than enthused when her family attempts to avenge her death.

The Review: The epic scale of last week’s episode in outer space could have easily made you forget that deep beneath the sea, there was another, no less important crisis at stake.  The YJ writers got a lot of glee out of maneuvering Artemis, Aqualad, and Miss Martian into such a precarious situation, without ever disturbing the tension already established by this deep-cover mission.  Getting our heroes out of that situation will take even greater care and cleverness.

While the trio found an effective way to stall for time, this couldn’t satisfy Black Manta for long and he springs a ticking time bomb—quite literally—on them here, spurring them to spring a half-baked plan into action.  Had they actually been able to see it through in its entirety, it’s doubtful they would’ve gotten away with it without some kind of compromise, but luckily, in delightful, superhero fashion, two wild cards enter the scene.

Young Justice S02E08 – Review

By: Greg Weisman (story)

The Story: The original Roy Harper proves he can take on Lex Luthor with only one hand.

The Review: I will never understand this show’s habit of going on hiatus mid-season.  Of course, this is the same show which aired its pilot months before the rest of the first season episodes, then took a summer-long break in between.  I’m sure there are some very good practical reasons why all this must be so, but it’s annoying anyway.  You would never put up with this on a lesser show.

However, Young Justice has the good fortune of being a very good show, so it can afford its logistical oddities from time to time.  We left off last time with some fairly gnarly plot twists, and this episode shows that the creators have given plenty of thought over the summer as to how to proceed.  More than any other cartoon I’ve heard seen on American television, this series does not mess around when it comes to exploring its stories from every possible angle.

Young Justice S02E04 – Review

By: Greg Weisman (story)

The Story: Roy, we’re your friends, but we feel like we’re losing you.  Come back to us, man!

The Review: Although the finale offered a pretty good wrap-up of the first season’s major storylines, it also left a couple open.  The biggie, of course, is the truth of what happened to the “16 hour” Leaguers while under the Light’s possession, which will undoubtedly form the basis of much of the coming season’s conflicts.  But we also have the issue of Red Arrow being a clone of the original Speedy (who remains MIA), which the show put on the back-burner.

Weisman uses this episode to follow up on that particularly volatile plotline, showing us that in the interim five years, clone-Roy has fallen on hard times, a sad twist for the ex-sidekick who first earned League membership.  Weisman clearly gets his inspiration from the infamous “Snowbirds Don’t Fly” storyline in Green Lantern/Green Arrow #85-86, which depicted (the original) Roy as secretly addicted to heroin, a problem he overcame with Black Canary’s help.

Young Justice Episode 25 – Review

By: Kevin Hopps (writer)

The Story: Feel free to get real with each other, kids—Young Justice is a safe place.

The Review: I’ve spoken critically about this point a few times over the course of the season, but twenty-odd episodes later, I still don’t feel a genuine group chemistry from Young Justice.  While certain pairings have developed among various members, the vibe you get when they’re all together is a friendly coworker dynamic rather than true friendship.  Besides very rare instances, we hardly ever see them interact in non-mission related circumstances.

So even though this episode offers a feel-good plot and conclusion, with all kinds of big emotional moments and characters reaching new understanding of each other, it doesn’t project a spirit of kinship so much as it does a satisfaction from a job well done.  It’s significant that rather than dwelling on the deeper level of trust they’ve achieved, they simply marvel at having yet again averted disaster.

At any rate, this is a very minor criticism, the equivalent of saying the soup tastes good, but not like ma’s.  After all, you get some major character growth in this episode, particularly from the three “outsiders” of the group.  Kudos for the choice of having Superboy, of his own accord, be the first to come clean about his secrets, without any pressure from the plot.  When you consider the rage-ridden, aloof, and stubborn clone he started this series as, this is a huge step for him, proof positive that he’s become his own person.

Young Justice Episode 23 – Review

By: Peter David (writer)

The Story: Imagine hanging with your boo’s ex—that’s the awkwardness we have here.

The Review: I waxed poetic about David in my review of the last episode he wrote for this series, so there’s no need to fall over myself again here.  I just have to wonder, though: how does he really feel about this show that took on the name of one of his most reputable works, yet reflects his tone and concepts in virtually no other way?  How must it feel to adapt himself to characters and conceits that in some ways go against his sensibilities?

These are all rhetorical questions, of course, best left to private but ultimately fruitless musings.  The only thing that matters is how David works the material he’s given—which is pretty darn well, actually.  Watching this episode, it occurs to me that in many ways, David takes the YJers at hand treat them like the ones he knew.

Case in point: Kid Flash and Artemis.  If any of you followed the Young Justice comics back in the day, you might remember the bit of puppy love Impulse had for Arrowette at the time.  Though that particular romance never really panned out, David seems to revive it here through their TV-screen counterparts.  The show has labored to convince us that a Kid Flash-Artemis pairing would be a great idea, but only under David’s writing do sparks actually fly.  It’s a sweet moment when Wally tells Art she has nothing to prove, made even sweeter by his bashfulness and her pleased reaction.  If we get more of this, we can look forward to their courtship.

Unfortunately, the plot throws several obstacles in their path this episode.  Despite Wally’s reassurance, Artemis does let the presence of Red Arrow get to her, though not, perhaps, for the reasons everyone expects.  It’s not about the difference in their skill levels, or even of his long history with most the team.  Artemis set out on her own to rise above the criminals all around her (apparently including her mother—as the Huntress, of all things); to discover the acceptance from her heroic mentor and teammates is unearned and tenuous is a painful experience, indeed.