[7.6/10] I liked both stories here. Pairing up SUperboy and Blue Beetle makes for a nice chance to get Jamie Reyes some time in the spotlight. Ending the teases and finally explaining how the scarab is a voice in his head is a good thing, and having him take an empathetic approach to the elemental monster they’re fighting gives him admirable character in a tight spot. While it’s nice to see a Latino young adult in the show, having him say “esse” to Superboy plays as inauthentic on that front, even as I like the pairing.
And I like how they close things out. The prospect of a titan creature made from the husks of the four elemental creatures the original Justice Leaguers fought makes for a cool challenge. We get follow-up with Whisper and Manheim from last season, which is a dangling thread that never felt fully resolved. We get confirmation that the Sportsmaster is involved with the “The Partner” (Couldn’t actually be Darkseid himself, right? Seems like the sort of grunt work he wouldn’t get personally involved in.)
I particularly love the resolution. Rather than simply defeating the monster, Blue Beetle uses his sonic powers to open a line of communications with it. They learn that existence is pain for the creature, and that it’s trying to find stillness and release, rather than cause havoc for evil’s sake. It creates pathos for a non-humanoid antagonist, makes the villains seem even worse for creating the creature in the first place, and makes the Big Bad seem that much more harsh to destroy a living, intelligent soul rather than let it ally with the young heroes. A nice solid tale.
But I like the B-story even better. I was hoping the show would follow-up on the Red Arrow story teased in the last season. Seeing him at the end of his rope, not taking care of himself, and not exactly stealing but also not being upfront with the spoils of his crime-fighting is tough to watch. Seeing roy still tortured over being a clone and how he was manipulated makes him sympathetic but also lamentable in the choices he’s making.
I appreciate the way the other heroes stage an intervention, coming to him as friends and trying to get him help. Seeing some of the other Young Justice originals, who trained with this Roy and affirm him as their friend and partner no matter what his origin is, is really heartening even if it’s ultimately ineffective. And watching Green Arrow and even Guardian (who turns out to be Roy’s big brother or another clone or something? It’s a little ucnlear_ try to get through to him, to no avail, is sad but also poignant.
You can tell how much all of this has eaten up Red Arrow. He’s desperate to find the original Roy Harper, presumably as a form of penance for the harm he caused and the life he feels he stole. Having the others accept him and tell him his clone status doesn’t matter and that he’s still their friend (using Superboy as an example) is sharp, giving the audience both the source of Roy’ sel-ftotrutr and the absolution and support from the people who care about him.
Plus holy five years later, Batman! It’s a little mind-blowing that he and Cheshire got married and had a kid, with their relationship failing because of his obsession. Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising given their flirtations in prior outings, but it’s still a trip to see them as a marriage damaged by Roy’s hang-ups, and intriguing to see Cheshire bring her husband a lead.
But it’s that much more heartening to see that Wally and Artemis are together. I wasn’t crazy about how the show handled Wally’s reaction to Artemis’ secrets, but I still rooted for those kids, so it’s nice to see them having figured things out all these years later. I’m still curious as to why one or both of them gave up the superhero game, but either way, this counts as a happy ending.
On the whole, both halves of this one work. The coming out party for Jaime is a good one, with a unique villain and more unique solution, and the intervention for Roy goes to some real, harrowing places. I’m a broken record, but I wish we could have seen some of these grand details develop in real time (more or less) rather than delivered piecemeal in exposition, but they’re good stories and character notes to explore nonetheless.
Shout by DeletedBlockedParent2018-02-11T01:36:06Z
This was a meh episode. I'm underwhelmed by this season so far. They keep telling how things change, but it would be better show how it changed. Now Wally and Artemis left the team to live normal lives. The clone of Roy Harper has become a loser after he didn't found the real one. He married Lince and the two had a daughter. This is the problem with this first episode of this season. Show don't tell. I'm pretty indifferent about the new crew members. The best thing of this season is Superboy. He is the one who has the best character development. I'm hooked by his arc. Overall, a very weak episode.