First things first, I want to apologize for my hiatus. I will do my best to run us through this, even though I’m sure you’re all caught up too. Hopefully, you’re enjoying this very interesting and wild season of Young Justice. This is definitely escalating at various levels. I will try to separate this as best I can. So, let’s get down to it.
Episodes 7-8 (The Lady, or the Tigress/I Know Why the Caged Cat Sings):
Continuing Artemis’ (Stephanie Lemelin) arc, we see flashbacks from Oracle (Alyson Stoner) and things that led up to their current situation. Specifically, it covers whether Artemis could trust Onyx Adams (Logan Browning) and Cassandra Savage (Zehra Fazal). They battle with Lady Shiva (Gwendoline Yeo) and other members of The Light. Orphan is kidnapped and taken away. Artemis must meet Shiva to bargain for the kidnapped member of her team with Savage and Onyx as her leverage.
When they finally do meet Artemis must make the big decisions. Luckily between her and Oracle, they have a plan. We also see Cheshire Cat (Kelly Hu) appear and help her sister. Artemis must make tough decisions after being double-crossed and everything seemingly falls into place. I loved this arc because it reestablished Artemis’ importance to the show. Also, the bits of poetry woven into each episode were interesting and important.
Episodes 9-10 (Odnu!/Nomed Esir!):
These Young Justice episodes are the beginning of Zatanna’s arc and weave bits and pieces from Megan’s arc. Zatanna and her proteges Thirteen (Lauren Tom), Mary Bromfield (Erika Ishli), and Khalid Nassour (Usman Ally) are on the verge of war with Klarion the Witch Boy (Thom Adcox-Hernandez). The Phantom Stranger (D.B. Woodside) explains to Zatanna that she and her proteges must help Klarion otherwise the world will fall. He asks Etrigan the Demon (David Shaughnessy) to help them defeat the Child. Klarion is back to bring chaos via Vandal Savage (David Kaye).
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We also get some history/lore about Vandal Savage. We see how the Homo Magi or Metahumans came to be. How he grew an empire after that meteor hit Earth. Remember in the Justice League show we saw how he became the smartest being on Earth. Klarion runs into a problem, The Child (Ishli) Another being sponsored by the Lords of Chaos. We see that Vandal and Klarion have a deal that has spanned over millennia. Vandal knows he needs the chaos, but he also fears the Child and what will happen if she defeats Klarion. We also still see the effects of Conor’s death on Megan as she still won’t speak or talk to anyone.
Episode 11 (Teg Ydaer!):
This week’s episode is a very intense one. Klarion and the Child are still fighting. We see the backstory to Nabu/ Dr. Fate (Kevin Michael Richardson). His father is a descendant of Vandal Savage, and how he became Dr. Fate was no easy task. Savage or Varl’Jot was the man that built Atlantis and was also responsible for its sinking. We see Savage in Babylon with his son Nabu shortly after, and the origin of Nabu is told.
This ties into the episode because Zatanna tries to recruit Dr. Fate to help her. He tells her that her proteges must prove themselves before they are ready to battle Klarion and the Child. Between the jumping of past and present, we discover that the child is indeed more powerful than everybody thought. The lords of Chaos may or may not be able to execute their plan because the Lord of Order hesitated.
It seems as though Zatanna’s arc will end on a very wild episode. These were a fun watch and I promise to be back weekly with these reviews. Again, I apologize for the very long delay. I hope you all are enjoying this season as much as I am! – Rascal F. Kennedy
Rating – 9.5/10
Young Justice: Phantoms premieres Thursdays on HBO Max!
