‘Young Justice: Phantoms’ Episode 19 Spoiler Recap/Review

The Following Review Contains Spoilers for Young Justice Phantoms. For a Review of Last Week’s Episode Click Here.

Time travel is a concept that we truly know little to nothing about. Every TV show/film has there own way to define this element. The rules are always different, and it’s fun every time. The rules are always different, and that’s what makes the theory of time travel being implemented into these mediums so fun. We have seen the theory of time travel evolves, and how the different concepts affect the theory. Young Justice: Phantoms takes the theory of time travel and puts it to good use.

People will time you that time is a man-made concept, but it’s not. The way we measure time is man-made, but time itself is not. We can physically see people age and things deteriorate which lets us know that it’s not man-made. Time is can be seen as many things, but most people see it as linear. Time travel would make it not linear, but varying. When you travel to the past or future, it leads to many different outcomes. That’s what things like the Butterfly Effect and Grandfather theory derive from. Young Justice: Phantoms has slowly been giving us time travel since about the first second or second season, and delving deeper into the theory.

Last week we were introduced to two members of the House of Zod; General Zod and his son Lor-Zod. This week we find out a lot from Zod and two members of The Legion of Superheroes. Rocket, Jay Garrick, and Forager are still on New Genesis working with Orion and the New Gods. Killawog and another Green Lantern joined the council to discuss how to defend the universe from Darkseid. On their way to the council meeting, the Green Lanterns run into fan-favorite Lantern – Razor.

Razor loses his power as he feels he is hopeless and cannot power his Blue Lantern Ring. He asks the Lanterns to take him to New Genesis so that he may recover his Red Lantern ring from Metron; a member of the New Gods. As the Lanterns and council are having their meeting in Supertown, Razor is looking for Metron, but there’s also somebody watching at a distance, Lor-Zod. Who then explains to Ma’alefa’ak why he’s working with Darkseid and how he sent Superboy to the Phantom Zone.

Read: ‘Moon Knight’ Episode 4 Spoiler Recap/Review

Impulse talks with Saturn Girl and Chameleon Boy, and they explain Superboy’s disappearance from their vantage point. This is where time travel comes into play. Superboy is who inspired The Legion of Superheroes, and with him dying they were never formed. His death came from Lor-Zod traveling back in time and sending him to the Phantom Zone to be imprisoned with his father. This time travel altered the course of history as they knew it. This is why they asked Superman to take his place as the influence in secret.

Lor-Zod explains his reasoning behind sending Connor Kent to the Phantom Zone. He tells the story of the last days of Krypton when his father Dru-Zod was banished to the Phantom realm along with his wife and followers. His mother birthed him in the Phantom Zone. They soon escaped and were sent to another planet with the Daxamites that had a red Sun. His father was sentenced back to the realm after spending thousands of years already. This floored Lor-Zod to take revenge on the House of El. He interfered in Ma’alefa’ak’s plan to kill Superboy and planted a device that sends beings to the Phantom Zone.

Saturn Girl and Chameleon Boy are hellbent on bringing Connor Kent back to Earth. They implore Impulse to help them join and help them find a way to get Superboy back since he has experience in time/multi-dimensional/universal travel. Rocket leaves her meeting when her son’s father calls about Amistad’s meeting. She tries to leave her parental duties to focus on her duties saving the universe. She stays and talks though, and misses out on the meeting.

Metron tricks Razor and tries to take the blue ring back. He ultimately enrages Razor who destroys SuperTown, or parts of it. He ends up being accepted by both rings, as he represents a balance of rage and hope. This will prove to be important later when the bigger fight against Apokalips comes. For now, there is a truce between New Genesis and Apokalips. HighFather and Darkseid are basically in the middle of a Cold War. Darkseid is still active and is still making deals to eventually conquer the universe. As Lor-Zod looks for a way to get inside Metron’s vault and steal a projector that will free his father and the others from the Phantom Zone.

Christopher Berkeley delivers us an amazing episode of Young Justice: Phantom. Jim Krieg and Giancarlo Volpe take double duty with this time-traveling teleplay. This episode doesn’t delve extremely deep into the theory of time travel. However, for the first time since Impulse and Jay Garrick arrived, this is the most time travel-like thing we’ve gotten. I’m sure this episode will open more of it when we consider all that has been spoken of. This was a well-thought-out and processed episode though. The second half of Phantoms has been far better than the first by a mile because the episodes seem more complex.

For some, this season may be a bit confusing. What I am enjoying is the multiple storylines and how they are being pulled together. The third season of Young Justice was kind of bland. This season has made up for it incredibly. The job this writer’s room is doing is incredible. This is one of the best storylines I’ve seen in a while. There’s a lot going on and it’s so chaotic, but this is what happens in a universe this connected. There’s absolutely no reason for this season to be a failure. I’m hoping they dive more into the multi-dimensional/time travel stuff because that’s what makes large-scale DC shows great for me. Less grounded, more insanity. – Rascal F. Kennedy

Rating – 9/10

New episodes of Young Justice: Phantoms premiere Thursdays on HBO Max.