1x25 Usual Suspects

[7.7/10] What’s better than having one mole? A fakeout involving three moles! I gotta admit, when Superboy, Artemis, and M’gaan all showed up to ally with the bad guys, it seemed like too much to me. All had their reasons, but having so many good guys defect like that seemed implausible in such short order.

And it was! Kudos to Young Justice for working me like that. I appreciate that the whole thing was a headfake, a way to turn the whole “ambush” angle from the first act back around on the baddies, and using each member’s moment in the fight to flash back to their confession with the larger group was a nice touch.

There’s a common thread between all three of the potential turncoats. They both worry that the rest of the heroes won’t accept if they knew where they coem from. For Conner, that's Luthor. For Artmesi, it’s Sprotmaster. For M’Gaan, it’s the White Martians. But in each case, the team accepts and respects who their friends are and how they’ve proven themselves ver the last six months. It’s a really touching set of scenes.

For Conner, it’s humility, recognizing that he was losing control and needed help. For Artemis, it’s seeing that her friends still believe in her and trust her, no matter who her parents are. (Though she’s awfully quick to forgive Wally for his super-dickery.) For M’gaan, it’s seeing how they still like and appreciate her in her true form, with Conner in particular having known since they mind-melded before they were even a couple and not caring. What gives all three of the heroes who feel unsure of themselves comfort is the acceptance of their teammates and friends. It’s a really nice way to close out their personal journeys and insecurities here.

I’ll confess to getting a little lost in both battles. The first one is neat enough, with everyone going ham against the Riddler, Cheshire, and Blockbuster. I appreciate that Robin intercepted the signal and went off with the Young Justice team, since they feel like it’s their mistake to correct after what happened in New Orleans. Cheshire sparing Artemis despite their fighting is a nice touch, showing there’s still some humanity in her. Otherwise, it’s pretty standard stuff.

The same thing goes when they fight Luthor, Queen Bee, and their goons. There’s some cool moments with Artemis and her family, and a bit of Conner being more controlled even when facing the man-turned-Blockbuster who had a hand in creating him. But the bigger stuff comes in those prior admissions that this whole thing was a feint, and they managed to round up the bad guys onto one island. M’gaan clearing Conner’s mind of Luthor’s programming is a bit of a cheat, but it’s good enough for these purposes.

Otherwise, this mostly works as setup for the grand finale, which I’m looking forward to. It’s nice to see the new inductees into the Justice League, including Icon, which paves the way for Rocket to join the Young Justice team. She’s a nice addition to the milieu, even if it’s starting to get a little crowded in Mount Justice. The induction makes for a good excuse to get everybody together.

Plus hey, I was (belatedly) right! Red Arrow was the mole! Though it looks like he didn’t realize it, which takes some of the zing out of it. Still, the prospect of Vandal Savage using Starro + biotech + robotics + black magic to take over the Justice League is an epic and ominous one, and sets up the young heroes for their greatest challenge yet. More than anything, I’m impressed at how well this season has managed to balance season-length arcs with individual stories and episodes. The writers managed to thread many key details and character beats in, and stepping back to look at the tapestry as we reach the cusp of the finale just makes all the weaving seem that much more impressive.