Good episode, but I was confused about the 5 years later of the events of the first season. I did understand the plot, but I thought the things were in the rush in this episode. One the best things about this episode was Lobo!!!!!! He was great as ever!!!!!! I loved Blue Beetle and Tim Drake as Robin too. Anyways, I hope the next episode improves from this episode! Overall a good episode, but it felt rush in some parts. Let's hope it keeps getting better like season one.
More Heroes = More Power!! XD
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2022-05-12T23:07:35Z
[7.4/10] Some friends warned me about time jumps in Young Justice, so I was at least a little prepared for what was to come between seasons. And yet, especially watching the show straight through like this, leaping five years in the timeline is...disorienting.
On the one hand, I want to applaud the writers for taking such a big risk and not resting on their laurels. Adding what amounts to an almost entirely new Young Justice Squad, with Nightwing, M’gaan, and Superboy as their mentors, is a hell of a reset. Shifting the locus of the action away from Earth and more toward alien threats like Lobo, the Kroloteans, and the planet Rann takes guts and expands the reach of the show. And focusing on xenophobic agitators like G. Gordon Godfrey spewing prejudice about aliens and the League gives the show a political and social salience that's admirable.
But darn it...I like the world and cast of characters Young Justice established in its first season. The camaraderie Dick, M’gaan, Conner, Kaldor, Wally, Red Tornado, Artemis, Zatanna, and even newcomer Rocket established in season 1 was a rich and wholesome thing. Seeing it jettisoned between seasons in favor of a new cast is low-key frustrating. I’m sure there’s rich things to explore in how those relationships changed and evolved in half a decade (something the show seems poised to mine with the Miss Martian/Superboy/Lagoon Boy love triangle), but I’d rather see those relationships change and evolve than witness the aftermath.
I want to see Zatanna adjust to the situation with her father; Dick grapple with the transition from Robin to Nightwing; Conner and M’gaan decide that they don’t work; Rocket find her place within the group; Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Artemis decide it’s time to move on. Maybe Young Justice can still do all these things in flashbacks (no pun intended), but it’s not quite the same knowing the destination. I want to keep an open mind, and the quality of season 1 means the writers have earned a fair bit of trust, but I can’t help but wish we got to see more of a continuation of what the show had already established.
That said, what we do get is both intriguing in the possibilities it puts forward and solid in the story it tells here. If you’ve been following the D.C. animated output over the years like yours truly, the new roster of young heroes has plenty of excitement in it.
Barbara Gordon a la Batman: The Animated Series! Tim Drake a la The New Batman Adventures! Beast Boy a la Teen Titans! The Jamie Reyes Blue Beetle a la Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Bumble Bee and Lagoon Boy a la the backup heroes in Teen Titans! Wonder Girl, whose rights were too much in limbo to use in the prior shows! Frickin’ Tim Curry as an oily talking head! You could do a lot with that alone.
Likewise, I like the triumvirate of Tim, Blue Beetle, and Lagoon Boy as the “Delta Team” who thinks they’re getting the “soft” mission, and turn out to have to deal with the motherlode. The tale of them unexpectedly finding the Kroloteans’ base and rescuing their human hostages before the stronghold explodes is a cool setup. The dynamic between the three heroes is good, and there’s some solid action to it all. The story is a little compressed given how much reintroduction and repiloting has to happen here, but what we get is good!
As much as I’m leery of the show so readily dropping its teases of “Phase 2” of The Light and Bizarro and Red Arrow, or at least pausing them for half a decade in-universe, I’m also tantalized by the possibility of the six leaguers causing trouble on an alien world during the sixteen hours they were under Vandal Savage’s control. I’ll admit, with Adam Strange’s involvement, I tend to get mixed up between the moniquers of Adam Strange, Adam Warlock, Hugo Strange, Dr. Strange, and Dr. Fate, but there’s still plenty of good teases at play.
That's the thing, I don’t mind any of what Young Justice does here, or the potent possibilities it lines up for its second season. I just preemptively miss the continuation of season 1 that it looks like we’re not getting. But like I said, given how good season 1 was, the show’s creative team has earned some leeway to take big chances and have the audience trust that they know what they’re doing.