TV Review: Young Justice: Outsiders Episode 20

Young Justice Season 3 Episode 20 “Quiet Conversations”

Director: Mel Zwyer

Starring: Zehra Fazal, Grey Griffin, Phil LaMarr, Stephanie Lemelin, Danica McKellar, Nolan North, Khary Payton, Zeno Robinson, Sammy Sheik, Tiya Sircar, Jason Spisak, Tara Strong

Rating: TV-PG

Runtime: 23 minutes

“Quiet Conversations” is, appropriately enough, a relatively quiet episode.  Which by Young Justice standards means someone nearly dies and three other people are teleported across the universe in their efforts to save him.  Still, while it has its own fireworks to show off, the episode is more focused on quiet character moments which highlight and advance the emotional development of many of the show’s large central cast.

“Quiet Conversations” is also notable for further deepening the show’s use of characters and concepts from Jack Kirby’s Fourth World.  Vic might not be going into homicidal rages anymore but the Father Box becomes a problem again when it begins expanding over more of his body, likely until it overtakes and kills him completely.  When neither Dr. Jace nor Silas Stone (who Jace called in against Vic’s wishes) can stop or reverse the process, Conner calls his New Genesian friends the Forever People for help.  Dreamer states that the only thing that can save Vic is the New God Metron’s Mobius Chair, so Conner, Jeff, and Forager Boom Tube to the Fourth World to find him, which they, do on the Source Wall itself!  I doubt the show would introduce that location unless it had a greater purpose later.  They don’t stay there long as Metron leaves to observe the battle between the Justice League and Apokolips forces, which allows for a fun Superman cameo (Clark’s going to be Conner’s best man!  For a wedding, he didn’t know was happening).  Eventually, Metron agrees to come to Earth, although he’s actually just planning to observe Vic’s death.  Conner and Jeff are able to subdue him long enough for Vic to be put in the chair which replaces the Father Box tech with some of its own, ending poor Vic’s otherworldly body issues, at least for now.

But Vic’s wasn’t the only crisis the family had to deal with this week, either.  Halo’s absence is quickly noted after they ran away last week and Artemis heads out to find them along with Tara.  As it turns out Halo went back to Qurac to see Gabrielle’s family.  Halo tries to just tell them they’re dying as if they really were Gabrielle but when this predictably only confuses and upsets them more, she explains everything.  Gabrielle’s brother is horrified and tries to kick Halo out but her mother is much more accepting and thanks Halo for the gift of closure and tells them she hopes Halo can find it with their family, which leads to the heartwarming (and bittersweet) image of Halo reuniting with Tara and Artemis.

Elsewhere Meghan, in her job as Happy Harbor High guidance counselor, checks in on Harper Row after her and Halo’s arrest back in “Early Warning”.  Their conversation results in the high point of the episode (and one of the best sequences in the season) as Meghan gets Harper to open up about her and her brother’s abuse at the hands of their father.  As expected Harper is fully redeemed for her questionable behavior when the reasons she was acting out are revealed.  I’m still not sure Megan is really fit to be a counselor (on the surface the job seems like a perfect fit for her but her history of abusing her power and violating people’s privacy make her an unsafe choice to handle vulnerable teenagers) but she does a good job with Harper, applying enough tough love to get her to see how her actions were the first step on the same path as her father and instantly warm and comforting when Harper finally makes that one heartbreakingly honest declaration, “Our dad hits us.”  Zehra Fazal is reliably excellent in her many roles throughout the episode but she’s especially moving as Harper and handles the emotionally complicated material perfectly. This season certainly has more than enough superheroes so she doesn’t need to take on her Bluebird identity from the comics or join the Bat-family yet (though she definitely can in the show’s recently announced fourth season) but Harper is a very compelling character and it would be great to see her as a civilian supporting character more going forward.

We also check in with Kaldur and the still-unnamed, gilled meta-girl as the former helps the latter adjust to life in Atlantis.  Kaldur is feeling guilty for the lies he’s telling to his friends and family on the anti-Light’s behalf but the girl assures him that despite whatever secrets he’s keeping, he is a good man.  Which is true of course, but I hope this season won’t let Kaldur, Dick, and company off the hook for their questionable choices as easily as Season 2 did.  It’s also revealed here that Kaldur has a boyfriend (creator Greg Weisman has since confirmed online that Kaldur is polysexual), which isn’t very surprising.  I’m happy Kaldur has someone even if it would’ve seemed more tragically fitting for Tula to be the only person he ever loved.

After a moving montage of all the episode’s storylines coming to genuinely heartwarming conclusions, we end with Tara explaining to Slade over the phone that she hadn’t reported in because there was nothing to report, before looking out over the Hollywood skyline.  This lie is the latest hint that she may very well turn on her current masters out of love for the very family she’s assigned to destroy.  “Quiet Conversations” is surely the calm before several dire storms.  But what a lovely calm it was.

Wally West Watch: Nothing new.

Notes:

• The Atlantis sequence also introduces us to Kaldur’s birth mom and step or foster dad?  It’s unclear how Calvin fits in the picture, especially since he’s originally from the surface world (apparently the Atlantians can just give people gills?)
•  The manner in which the Mobius Chair cures Vic, by releasing the Father Box’s soul back to the Source, sounds like a possible end for Halo’s story.  It’s certainly looking more likely that they really may die.  Whatever issues Halo’s storyline may have had that will pack quite the emotional punch.
•  While myself and others may critique how the creators have depicted some real-world issues, their intentions in doing so are clearly very good as shown by the very classy touch of adding information on the National Domestic Violence Hotline at the end of the episode in light of Harper’s admission.

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