Great episode!!!!!!!!! I loved to see the reason between Miss Martian and Superboy break up. I felt sorry about Conner, but he did the best think about her. I loved to see Beast Boy and Adam Strange too.The animation in this episode was amazing! Overall, this episode was huge improvement over the first one. Bring on the next episode!!!!!!!!!
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2022-05-13T22:22:13Z
[7.5/10] My biggest takeaway from this one is the shock that Beast Boy kept calling Miss Martian “sis” because he’s the same kid she gave a blood transfusion to in “Image.” I’m sure they used his name in that episode, but given how often he’s just referred to as “Beast Boy” in Teen Titans, it went completely over my head until now. But I like the dynamic, especially with the poor kid still grappling with his mother’s death at the hands of Queen Bee. I wish we’d gotten to see the transition to M’gaan becoming his caretaker and her regret over what happened, rather than getting it in shorthand and flashbacks. Still, I like the two of them together, and I appreciate it as an explanation for Beast Boy’s powers.
That said, I’m a little shaky when it comes to the business on Rann. There’s a lot to establish here, which means reams and reams of exposition in lieu of actual progression. Professor Sardath explaining the backstory to all of this got tiresome at certain points, and since it’s not clear what exactly the Koloteans want just yet, much of the action and adventure seems less like excitement and more like wheel-spinning.
Nevertheless, Superboy, Miss Martian, Beast Boy, and Alanna roaming through an alien jungle to destroy a villainous base is not without its charm. You can tell the show’s budget for cel-shaded 3D graphics went up, and the mecha fights have a certain flash and flair to them accordingly. I appreciate the setup and payoff of Alanna explaining the forest’s attractive dangers, only to use them against her pursuers when the Koloteans catch onto their presence.
Despite the crypticness of a lot of what takes places here, there’s intrigue to it. What, precisely, the Koloteans want with Earth, such that Prof. Sardath needs to build a zeta beam-proof shield around the planet is a question with some juice to it. M’gaan learning what the Justice League did to turn them into persona non grata in this corner of the galaxy is tantalizing. And the way she force chokes a Kolotean to death is downright frightening, adding a chilling edge to one of the most powerful members of the Young Justice squad that raises all kinds of scary queries.
The one part of this I’m not especially invested in is the romantic drama. Adam Strange and Alanna having their romance thing is fine, but they haven’t done much to make us care about the two beyond some goo goo eyes in the early going. (Though I’ll admit, it is fun to see the otherwise milquetoast Adam Strange going wild with Lewis Carol quotes.)
Likewise, Superboy breaking up with M’gaan because he doesn’t visibly age is...weird? I’m already quite wary of love triangles to begin with, and the key reason the two are no longer together being Superboy’s discomfort at looking the same over time seems odd. The show will undoubtedly delve into the issue in more detail eventually, but I hope they come up with deeper and more complex psychology than that.
Otherwise, this one plays as much like table-setting for the new season as it does moving the ball, but I suppose some of that moving the heavy plot machinery in place is necessary with as big a reset and refocusing as this one. As disorienting as this quick shift is, I can appreciate the show trying to cover more of the D.C. universe, both in terms of its cast and the planets it visits on a weekly basis.