Change My Mind: I want to spend more time with the ‘Insiders’, AKA, The Team

How many different ways do you think I can say ‘Happy Wednesday’ before the season comes back? My guess is very few, but I’m counting this as an attempt. Anyway, it is Wednesday, which means I get to write passionately about another Young Justice topic that I feel strongly about. Consider yourselves lucky that you don’t know me in person, because I can assure you that my friends are all very tired of me going on (and on, and on) about Young Justice.

I will preface this piece by stating the obvious: yes, I am very well aware that this season is dubbed ‘Young Justice: Outsiders’. Yes, I am also aware that the Outsiders are the main focus of the season. However, I really can’t be the only one who has gotten a little weary of the same team and longs to learn more about the actual Team, right? One of the most jarring moments of Season 2 came during ‘Happy New Year’, in which we learned 5 years had passed and we were faced with a brand new team. While we got to know Bart, Jaime, and a couple other members pretty well, I still long to know more about the others. The same applies for this season. We have spent so much time with the Outsiders, which is great, but now I need a taste of something different. Here’s why I think we need more team:

1. There’s still so much unknown: Part of me wishes that we could see what the team was like before Spoiler, Arrowette and Robin departed. With all these characters working as one, we have the possibility of fascinating dynamics, and yet we haven’t yet been able to see any of them. We got a tiny taste of it in ‘Away Mission’, but it only wet my appetite for more! I want to learn more about Bart, Jaime and Traci’s friendship, and how Virgil fits in with everyone there. After ‘Triptych’, I definitely want to see more of Robin, Arrowette and Spoiler, not to mention Orphan. They all worked so well together and I know that if we spent just a little more time with them, they would soon become just as beloved as the Outsiders.
2. The Outsiders have already been well-established: Every episode this season has featured a plot with the Outsiders. We’ve gotten to know the characters, their personalities, what makes them tick. We’ve seen them train, seen them at their highs and lows, and we’ve even seen them during downtime. Ultimately, while we may not yet know every detail about the Outsiders, they have been very well-established as characters. Despite knowing this probably won’t happen, I could use a break from the Outsiders. They’ve been given more than their fair share of screentime, and I’d love to see it given to some of the other characters. An easy way to remedy this would be to put the Outsiders on the team, and I’m hoping that this is the direction the show will be heading in.
3. The Team holds the heart of the show: If you asked me where the heart of Young Justice lied in Season 1, I would tell you that it lied within the original team. The Team carried the show, let us fall in love with its complicated characters and diverse plot lines that made the first season so compelling. While the Outsiders are endearing characters who might hold the heart of Season 3, I think the show still needs the covert Team to bring things full circle. Given more screen time, the Team would be able to win over audiences just like the original team did in Season 1.

Disagree with my opinion? Want to change my mind? Awesome! Take to the comments or the forum and let me know. Also, don't forget, we are looking for your fan art and fan fiction! Our new section "Fandom" is a place where we want to share your great work! Contact us and share let us know where we can grab your work to be featured here!

Change My Mind: The Original Team Members Are Acting Too Old For Their Ages

Happy Wednesday, everyone! We’re still at over 100 days to go until the second half of Season 3, and the withdrawal is hitting hard. Friday mornings feel so empty without new episodes, and oftentimes I find myself staring at the countdown clock, willing it to go faster. To bridge the gap, here’s another opinion piece to get the mind working!

While watching the first thirteen episodes of Season 3, I noticed a recurring trend that left me a little uncomfortable. The original team are all young adults in their early to mid twenties, and yet they’re acting as if they’re much older than they are; and I don’t mean maturity-wise. As a person who is also in her early twenties, I’m watching these characters all have modestly successful lives and it makes me feel inadequate in comparison. Suddenly, everyone is either owning a house, or working at their dream jobs, or about to get married. Meanwhile, I sulk at my desk job and wonder where I went wrong in life. I’m going to dig a little deeper into these:

1. Suddenly everybody’s a homeowner: The amount of lust I felt while staring at Will and M’gann and Conner’s houses was unhealthy. Maybe things work differently in Earth 16, but I would never be able to afford half the rent on those houses with the position I currently have. So how on earth are they? As far as we know, Artemis isn’t working and Will’s company is still young and developing. M’gann works as a guidance counselor and Conner is a freelance mechanic. Even if they’re renting the top half of Lucas Carr’s house, I still have a really difficult time believing they can make rent on those kinds of incomes. It is possible that they receive some sort of compensation for their work as heroes, but I still maintain my point.
2. Questionable career choices: I have to admit that I was a little taken aback when it was revealed that M’gann works as a Guidance Counselor. While on paper it works and definitely suits her personality, I’m left wondering when M’gann found the time to go to school and get the proper credentials. To me, things don’t add up and it takes me out of the world Young Justice works so hard to build. Will’s Bowhunter business seems to be doing great, but I still have so many questions as to how it came about (especially considering how broke he was during Season 2). We haven’t seen Artemis work, so what does she do all day other than be persuaded by Dick to join ‘covert’ missions. As someone who struggles big-time for cash, I would have loved to see this challenge reflected in characters who are allegedly the same age.
3. Jumping into love and family: I’m going to preface this by saying that I have nothing against getting married or having kids early. Personally, it’s not for me, but I won’t judge anyone who chooses otherwise. That said, however, I did feel disappointed when it was revealed that Karen was pregnant during ‘Home Fires’. In Season 2, Karen was so focused on research, and her career. It was refreshing to see a woman so dedicated to her passion in science, and it’s this representation that we need more of to inspire young women. Despite this, our first glance at her this season is as a mother-to-be; it’s a little jarring when you realize that she’s only 22. Given her passion, I would have loved to see Karen continue her research, or working on her PhD in Graduate school. Of course, she can definitely balance being a mother with a career in the science field. However, given only what we’ve seen, I’m disappointed that this was our first taste of her. This doesn’t just apply to Karen, though. We’re given the impression that Dick is in a serious relationship with Barbara. Conner and M’gann are getting married. While on screen, it’s certainly enjoyable to see our favorite ‘ships’ together. Off screen, I look to my friends and other acquaintances who want more out of their current lives rather than settling down and having kids.

I can already see your biggest critique: this is a cartoon, it doesn’t have to be realistic. Sure, fair enough. But why is it so wrong to want a more-accurate representation of characters who are my age? I want to see Will struggle with the realities of being a young, single father. I want to see Artemis work away at a job she hates, if only to pitch in something for Star City’s absurdly high rent. I’d have loved to see Conner and M’gann taking the next step and moving in together, rather than already doing so and jumping into marriage. As the show stands now, these characters are all well-off and happily dealing with their private lives. As someone who faces both internal and external challenges on the daily, it’s a little hard to swallow.

Let us know your thoughts below and try to change our minds if you disagree! Also, don't forget, we are looking for your fan art and fan fiction! Our new section "Fandom" is a place where we want to share your great work! Contact us and share let us know where we can grab your work to be featured here!

There is over one hundred days to wait until the second half of Young Justice returns. We've enjoyed a blast of three sometimes four episodes a week but now the wait has settled in. To help us get through the long wait, DC Daily has an exclusive sneak peek at the second part of season 3! We get to see more from Kaldur who looks to be standing up to Amanda Waller. Additionally, Superboy tells the Outsiders what it means to be a hero and what the others have agreed to so they can be on the team. Finally, Artemis goes toe to toe with Black Mantra over a score they've yet to settle! Check it out below:

Let us know what you think of the teaser in the comments below and in the forum!

Change My Mind: Jade Didn’t Leave Her Family By Choice

I’m a huge fan of Young Justice’s interpretation of Jade Nguyen. If you follow me on Tumblr, you’ll know this quite well. You’ll also know how hard Jade and Will’s scene in ‘Exceptional Human Beings’ hit me. In case you haven’t seen it, let me quickly re-apply my mascara and recap: In Star City, Jade snooped in on Lian while she was eating ice cream. Will caught her and asked her to come home, but Jade refused, insisted they were better off without her, and told him to move on.

Look, I made the mistake of watching this scene at the end of my work day, and as a result I cried my entire drive home. Young Justice has never been one to stray from complex and emotionally jarring scenes, but for me, this one took the cake. If you’re a fan of Jade from the comics, it’s easy to write off this scene as Jade abandoning Will and Lian for a life of crime. However, I disagree; there were many little instances in that scene that led me to believe there was more to it. I don’t think that Jade decided to leave Will and Lian of her own volition. Why? Well, let me put my Psychology degree to good use and work it out with you:

1. Jade chose to observe Lian at home when Will and Artemis are present: It’s interesting that Jade chose to watch Lian from Will’s home in Star City, while both Will and Artemis were awake and present. It’s almost like she wanted to be found, to talk to Will one ‘last time’. What I also found fascinating is that Jade claimed that she could be ‘losing her touch’, which isn’t something I’d attribute to Jade at all, especially if she’s gone back to crime full-time.
2. Jade refused to make any eye or physical contact: If you’ve watched Jade’s scenes throughout Seasons 1 and 2 as much as I had, you’ll know that she is not one to shy away from making eye contact when she speaks. Meeting someone’s eyes exudes self confidence, and people who refuse to look someone in the eye when they’re talking are perceived as less sincere. In Season 3, this is the very definition of Jade’s interactions. In ‘Triptych’, when Artemis told Jade to go see Lian, Jade immediately turned away and slid on the Cheshire mask. The same applied to her conversation with Will. At first she allowed him to hold her hand, and even looked happy. When he tried to argue with her, she snatched her hand away, lowered her eyes and claimed that he and Lian were better off without her. What’s even more interesting is how Will lifted up her chin to make her look at him, not believing her, and tried to break her out of what she was saying. Before he could delve any deeper into his argument, she stepped away from him and turned around, lowering her head again. I found this physical exchange fascinating; it felt like Jade was distancing herself from Will because she knew that the closer she got to him, the more likely she was to stay.
3. Her excuses fell flat: Prior to Season 3, every time Jade spoke it was carefully concocted, as if she had the words prepared and ready to go. Yet, in this conversation, her words came off unplanned, unlike her. Did you all notice how Jade jumped from the ‘soccer mom’ reasoning to Lian and Will being better off without her? It was as if the ‘soccer mom’ reasoning was the easy one for her to give, but Will didn’t buy it. She instantly shifted to Lian being better off without her, an excuse that is far more believable. Her argument in this scene came off unprepared, not poised; if Jade had truly thought her decision through and wanted to leave, she would have had a better one prepared.
4. The expression on Jade’s face when Will said she was wrong: Do I even need to explain myself here? This one expression told us everything we need to know about the situation: Jade did not want to leave. As mentioned previously, Jade is careful to put on the persona that she wants others to see. In the past two seasons, we’ve seen her angry, teasing, and even happy. Her expression was a moment of vulnerability and the first time we’ve really seen her show any type of clear distress. The fact that she wore this expression should be enough to tell us that Jade wanted to stay, but is for some reason unable to.
5. Jade cried and literally ran away after telling Will to move on: Every time we’ve seen Jade exit a conversation, she is exactly like the Cheshire cat. She retreats and disappears without a trace; always graceful, always composed. Yet when she told Will to move on, Jade cried. Not only that, she then proceeded to run away from him. This ten second departure isn’t the Jade that we know. It gives me the very strong impression that she has a deeper motivation for leaving, outside of Will and Lian being better off without her.

Now you might be wondering, ‘Well Ariel, if she didn’t leave for the giggles, then why did she leave?’. How kind of you to ask, because I have a bunch of theories. The reason could be as simple as she’s realized the danger she could bring to Will and Lian by sticking around, so she’s left in order to protect them. But let’s take it a step further: what if her family was being held over her as leverage? Someone could be holding Jade’s family against her as revenge for her betrayal during the five year gap between Seasons 1 and 2. Taking things even further, what if Jade was being controlled? We all know that Jade would rather avoid ever working with Sportsmaster, and yet Wonder Woman’s comment and Jade’s behavior at the end of ‘Triptych’ leads to suspect. Jade (and Sportsmaster) could potentially be controlled as a result of the murder attempt on Kaldur and Black Manta in ‘Complications’. If Jade knew she were being controlled, she wouldn’t want Will and Lian involved. It could potentially explain why she set Shade free, why she ‘doesn’t even trust [herself], and why she wants to say goodbye ‘in [her] own way, in [her] own mind’.

Could I be overthinking things? That’s a definite possibility. While I may not agree, it’s entirely plausible that she left Will and Lian for good because the family life wasn’t right for her. Come June, I might be made to eat my words with a plastic spoon. Still, I hold firm in my observations and theories and can only hope that Jade’s arc will be resolved by season’s end.

Don’t agree? Prove me wrong in the comments below or forum!