[7.8/10] There are two major conversations that drive the psychology of “Volatile”, and they’re my favorite parts of this episode.
The first is between M’gaan and her sister, Em’ree. Miss Martian accuses her big sis of being ashamed of her white martian parentage, of changing her name and appearance to be more green out of contempt for those parts of herself. Em’ree, for her part, maintains that she’s not a racist, but a realist. And M’gaan retorts that Em’ree never stood up for her or M’comm when they were bullied as children, while Em’ree buckles and explains, much as M’gaan did to her younger brother, that she was just a kid too.
There is so much realness in tat scene. Nobody here is the bad guy. Racism is the bad guy. Everyone in M’gaan’s family dealt with it in their own way. Em’ree changed herself to pass so as not to have to face unrelenting prejudice. M’gaan snuck away since she was never capable of doing the same. M’comm felt abandoned by his siblings and turned into an extremist. They’re not necessarily laudable reactions, but they’re understandable ones, with hurt people hurting people in a bigoted social system.
Young Justice goes for melodrama a little bit. The argument leading to the crystal canopy breaking is a bit much. And the priestess declaring that the fact that they’re simply having the conversation says they’re family bond is strong is a little too easy. But it explores these ideas with conviction and the hard-edged truths that societies founded on racism must confront collectively and personally. There’s no immediate resolution, which is good, but it’s a step toward the sort of acceptance and empathy that M’gaan’s father evokes as paramount to people making real progress.
Then, surprisingly, the show packs in a strong trans metaphor on top of everything. In response to M’gaan’s recriminations, Em’ree argues that it’s M’gaan who’s in the wrong, for shedding their martian appearance and with it their heritage and traditions. In a weird way, M’gaan comes out as humanoid, emphasizing that this form is who she is now, and her true self, but in a way that doesn’t diminish her spiritual or personal commitments. The affirmation she receives from her mother, that her “birth form” reads metnally as a false guise now, brings the point home. It’s another wonderful use of the abstraction of science fiction to highlight the truth of people living and being accepted as who they truly are.
Alongside all of that psychological piercing discussion with M’gaan, the episode finally reveals what’s eating Beast Boy. I have to admit, I still find Garfield kind of annoying. Maybe it’s because I found the character somewhat pestersome on Teen Titans. Maybe it’s because Greg Cipes’ voice for the character has a certain petulant quality. Whatever the reason, I have a tough time not wanting to bump him on the nose with a newspaper.
But I at least like what the show goes for with him. It turns out Beast Boy is being tortured by losing Brion as a member of the Outsiders. He takes the loss personally since he was the leader of the group. More to the point, his encounter with the anti-Earth bigots when they arrived on Mars left him psychically bruised and more susceptible to the trauma, something dramatized with panic and hallucinations.
Again, it’s a bit on-the-nose in terms of spelling things out for the audience. More than that, I don’t recall Brion and Garfield ever sharing a meaningful scene together. It would be more affecting if they’d spent time together and had some sort of bond that was severed. And yet, I still like the explanation here. The Outsiders represent a new family for Beast Boy. He’s already been traumatized by deaths and losses in his other families, from his mother, stepmom, even Wally, something established in his superlative dream sequence episode last season. It’s a canny choice to tie his struggles now with that prior anxiety.
I also appreciate that while a Martian benefactor posing as M’gaan helps him recover from the immediate “bruises’, she tells him it takes time and therapy to fully recover as he needs to. I’m glad it’s not a magical solution to a deeply-seated problem.
Those are the big things that draw your attention in this. Otherwise, we learn that the prince and priestess were an item until something went wrong. We get to see Green Beetle for the first time since season 2. (Candidly, I’d forgotten about him entirely, but it makes sense that he’d participate in this, especially since Conner doesn’t have much in the way of Martian pals.) The prince befriending our heroes is a nice beat, and adds to the detective story. And the Legionnaires helping from the shadows, while a mysterious threat lurks, is a solid enough tease.
Overall, there’s some great examinations of prejudice, identity, and guilt here, which speak to the psychological depth Young Justice can pull off at its best, and crystalize through the clarifying metaphor of another place and another people.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2022-08-10T22:11:24Z
[7.8/10] There are two major conversations that drive the psychology of “Volatile”, and they’re my favorite parts of this episode.
The first is between M’gaan and her sister, Em’ree. Miss Martian accuses her big sis of being ashamed of her white martian parentage, of changing her name and appearance to be more green out of contempt for those parts of herself. Em’ree, for her part, maintains that she’s not a racist, but a realist. And M’gaan retorts that Em’ree never stood up for her or M’comm when they were bullied as children, while Em’ree buckles and explains, much as M’gaan did to her younger brother, that she was just a kid too.
There is so much realness in tat scene. Nobody here is the bad guy. Racism is the bad guy. Everyone in M’gaan’s family dealt with it in their own way. Em’ree changed herself to pass so as not to have to face unrelenting prejudice. M’gaan snuck away since she was never capable of doing the same. M’comm felt abandoned by his siblings and turned into an extremist. They’re not necessarily laudable reactions, but they’re understandable ones, with hurt people hurting people in a bigoted social system.
Young Justice goes for melodrama a little bit. The argument leading to the crystal canopy breaking is a bit much. And the priestess declaring that the fact that they’re simply having the conversation says they’re family bond is strong is a little too easy. But it explores these ideas with conviction and the hard-edged truths that societies founded on racism must confront collectively and personally. There’s no immediate resolution, which is good, but it’s a step toward the sort of acceptance and empathy that M’gaan’s father evokes as paramount to people making real progress.
Then, surprisingly, the show packs in a strong trans metaphor on top of everything. In response to M’gaan’s recriminations, Em’ree argues that it’s M’gaan who’s in the wrong, for shedding their martian appearance and with it their heritage and traditions. In a weird way, M’gaan comes out as humanoid, emphasizing that this form is who she is now, and her true self, but in a way that doesn’t diminish her spiritual or personal commitments. The affirmation she receives from her mother, that her “birth form” reads metnally as a false guise now, brings the point home. It’s another wonderful use of the abstraction of science fiction to highlight the truth of people living and being accepted as who they truly are.
Alongside all of that psychological piercing discussion with M’gaan, the episode finally reveals what’s eating Beast Boy. I have to admit, I still find Garfield kind of annoying. Maybe it’s because I found the character somewhat pestersome on Teen Titans. Maybe it’s because Greg Cipes’ voice for the character has a certain petulant quality. Whatever the reason, I have a tough time not wanting to bump him on the nose with a newspaper.
But I at least like what the show goes for with him. It turns out Beast Boy is being tortured by losing Brion as a member of the Outsiders. He takes the loss personally since he was the leader of the group. More to the point, his encounter with the anti-Earth bigots when they arrived on Mars left him psychically bruised and more susceptible to the trauma, something dramatized with panic and hallucinations.
Again, it’s a bit on-the-nose in terms of spelling things out for the audience. More than that, I don’t recall Brion and Garfield ever sharing a meaningful scene together. It would be more affecting if they’d spent time together and had some sort of bond that was severed. And yet, I still like the explanation here. The Outsiders represent a new family for Beast Boy. He’s already been traumatized by deaths and losses in his other families, from his mother, stepmom, even Wally, something established in his superlative dream sequence episode last season. It’s a canny choice to tie his struggles now with that prior anxiety.
I also appreciate that while a Martian benefactor posing as M’gaan helps him recover from the immediate “bruises’, she tells him it takes time and therapy to fully recover as he needs to. I’m glad it’s not a magical solution to a deeply-seated problem.
Those are the big things that draw your attention in this. Otherwise, we learn that the prince and priestess were an item until something went wrong. We get to see Green Beetle for the first time since season 2. (Candidly, I’d forgotten about him entirely, but it makes sense that he’d participate in this, especially since Conner doesn’t have much in the way of Martian pals.) The prince befriending our heroes is a nice beat, and adds to the detective story. And the Legionnaires helping from the shadows, while a mysterious threat lurks, is a solid enough tease.
Overall, there’s some great examinations of prejudice, identity, and guilt here, which speak to the psychological depth Young Justice can pull off at its best, and crystalize through the clarifying metaphor of another place and another people.