2x19 Summit

[8.1/10] Don’t think too hard about this one. There’s a reason why Kaldur takes out Deadshot off screen, and nobody stops to ask how the Young Justice team successfully posed as nearly The Light’s entire goon squad without anyone noticing. It’s a little implausible that these supervillain masterminds strolled in for a parlay with their increasingly fractious partnership with The Reach and didn’t bother to vet who was protecting them. Presumably Kaldur helped, but still, it strains a bit of credulity.

And yet, it was really cool! Ultimately, that's what matters here. There’s a thrill to seeing The Reach and The Light bicker and point fingers at one another. There’s panic when Ra’s al Ghul exposes Tigrus for who she really is and deduces that Kaldur was in on the deception. It’s clear schmuck bait when “Deadshot” “kills” them, but it’s still cool as hell to see Miss Martian transform and reveal the whole thing was a ruse. And however implausible it may be, it’s a blast to watch the Young Justice team emerge from under The Light’s uniforms and reveal that they’re there to take everyone else down.

“Summit” basically runs on the cool factor. It pays off a number of storylines that have been running throughout the whole season, from The Reach’s tenuous alliance with The Light, to Kaldur and Artemis’ undercover mission, to even a grace note for Lagoon Boy and M’gaan. The catharsis of seeing everything come to fruition helps power this one even if some of the finer details are a little shaky.

I always appreciate when a villain plan fails because villains can’t work together. The Reach always planning to undermine The Light when they took control is obvious. And The Light merely using The Reach as part of their grand plans, and secretly undermining them, works too. Hearing the mutual recriminations, accusations of failure, and finger pointing with both sides making fair and malevolent points is a treat in and of itself.

As always, I’m particularly compelled by Kaldur’s role here. I never bought that he might be a triple agent, but there’s still layers to his relationship with his dad. The way Aqualad sees some nobility in his dad, has to resort to some Black Manta-like ruthlessness to defeat him, and forged a genuine connection despite that is a rich thing to explore here.

Likewise, the interpersonal grace notes are very pleasant. We don’t get much of Wally and Artemis’ reunion, but it’s still nice to include that they want to get back to normal after this craziness. Kid Flash passing the mantle to Impulse is a nice moment too. Nightwing handing team leadership back to Kaldur happens to easily, but is a pleasant high note for Dick after all they’ve been through.

I’m intrigued where they go from here. The YOung Justice team surreptitiously recording the bad guys’ confessions is a good way to get the U.N. Secretary General to disinvite The Reach and bring back the big time heroes (including the Green Lantern Corps.) from outer space. Black Beetle is poised to cause more trouble in the finale, even if he leaves the Ambassador to die as a “coward.” I’ll admit, the “Destroy the Earth” plot is a little cheesy, but I’m hopeful they find good places to go with it.

On the whole though, this is an appropriately epic conclusion, one that brings together almost every major hero, villain, and storyline under one (open) roof, and lets the sparks fly. I wouldn’t bother spending too much time trying to figure out how it all adds up -- it doesn’t really -- but by god, it’s fun.