Review: "Teg Ydaer!"
12/16/2021 9:02 am
Retpahc eerht fo S'annataz cra si won nopu su!
The third installment to Zatanna's arc has dropped, and there's certainly a lot of interesting and thought-provoking elements in this episode. The past two episodes have taken us on a not-so whimsical ride throughout the world of magic in Earth-16. We’ve been introduced to brand new characters like Etrigan the Demon and the Phantom Stranger, and have had more focus on characters who’ve been mentioned in prior episodes and media such as Mary Bromfield and Doctor Fate. How will the third act to this invigorating story arc turn out? Let’s get into it!
The main focus of the “Teg Ydaer!” centers around Zatanna and her three protégés, Traci, Khalid, and Mary, still trying to find a way to stop both Klarion, Child, and Flaw from wrecking magical havoc in their world. They attempt to contact Doctor Fate to aid them at the Tower of Fate, but, surprising no one, Doctor Fate doesn’t want to help because he believes the Sentinels of Magic aren’t ready for this kind of fight. Of course, Traci, Khalid and Mary don’t take this sitting down and are eager to prove their worth. So, Doctor Fate decides to give each of Zatanna’s students a test to prove themselves against the powerful mystical enemies that they’ll be going up against soon.
First, Traci is given a task to complete with the only help available being her familiar, Leroy. The test goes after her inner insecurities and is given physical representation with her closest friends and allies. In regards to Khalid, the aspiring doctor is faced with fake versions of his parents, disapproving of his actions in relation to how he was raised. On the final side of the spectrum, Mary is forced to face herself as a little girl and in her prior superpowered form, Sergeant Marvel. Each prized pupil of Zatanna is faced with a challenge that could very well overpower them and prove that Doctor Fate was right about them not being ready.
Meanwhile, in terms of events that don’t relate to magical beings, Garfield is unfortunately still forlorn and in crestfallen despair over the loss of his surrogate older brother, Conner. A few Outsiders, Stargirl, Wonder Girl, and El Dorado, attempt to briefly help out their leader, but Garfield is so irritable that he brushes them off like a pesky bug. A little more backstory is also revealed for not only Vandal Savage, but also Doctor Fate and how he connects with the slimy, megalomaniacal warlord. The world-building and expansion on the origins of certain characters is most definitely intriguing, but let’s dive a bit deeper into what makes this episode amazing!
The first thing to note is each challenge that the Sentinels of Magic has to face, every one of them is unique and provides a horrifying contrast to each character and their internal struggles. You can really understand and sympathize with the struggles Traci has as she surprisingly lacks a lot of confidence in her abilities and her relationships with others like Zatanna, Jaime, and Garfield. Khalid’s inner turmoil is very identifiable as well as anyone with strict, religious family members can certainly understand what he’s going through. However, the mental skirmish Mary has during her test is something arguably everyone has to go through once in their lives as feeling like you’re not as good as what you used to be or could potentially become is both highly understandable and garners genuine pity from the audience.
While on that topic, the performances each actor gives in this episode, particularly those who voice the Sentinels of Magic, is borderline flawless. Experienced and highly talented voice-over artists like Greg Cipes, Lauren Tom, and Erika Ishii give spectacular performances as Garfield, Traci, and Mary respectively. You can really feel the heartache in their voices in scenes that require their characters to be put in situations of insecurity and despair. Meanwhile, Young Justice veterans such as Kevin Michael Richardson lends a wondrous performance as he has the difficult task of portraying a character that must be stoic, but get across a lot of story as Nabu. It’s hard to look over that Lacey Chabert is also shining as bright as a diamond in regards to her performance as Zatanna throughout this arc too, she really understands that the sorceress is now both a natural-born leader and a kindly mentor to her students.
In regards to the way the show has progressed in relation to the way religion is represented, there has certainly been a lot of evolution in that in this episode, which is no doubt a welcome addition courtesy of writer, Nida Chowdhry. The religious aspects of "Teg Ydaer!" was written beautifully, but there's no doubt that some of the fanbase will be torn about such a controversial topic being discussed at this length in the episode. However, one must keep in mind that seeing different perspectives, whether you agree with them or not, is always fascinating to learn about as you can find out a great deal of new, intriguing things from different voices.
Overall, when discussing what made “Teg Ydaer!” a certainly memorable episode, there’s a lot to go off of. Not counting the fantastic writing from Young Justice newcomer, Nida Chowdhry, the way Traci, Khalid, and Mary are written and how we can see the inner struggles they have is both phenomenal character development and world-building. Next to no actor in this episode had a less-than-stellar performance, each actor knew what they needed to bring to the table and knocked it out of the ballpark. While many will be questioning some of the more potentially contentious aspects of “Teg Ydaer!”, there’s also no doubt that there are many great prospects of the episode too as listed above. To conclude, the third chapter to Zatanna’s arc was able to deliver on creating one of the most unforgettable episodes of the series, and will hopefully lead into more enthralling stories going forward with this cast of characters.
Voice Actor Spotlight: Stephanie Lemelin
12/14/2021 5:12 pm
Ever since Young Justice premiered back in 2010, one of the major staples of the series in regards to its incredibly talented cast is undoubtedly Stephanie Lemelin. She voices a variety of diverse characters such as Olga Ilyich, Catherine Cobert, the Justice League’s computer, and most importantly, Artemis Crock. With such a colorful collection of characters, there’s no surprise that Lemelin has accumulated a stirring repertoire of works outside of Young Justice. Today, we’re here to delve into not only what other movies, television shows, and video games that Stephanie Lemelin has taken apart in, but what she brings to the table as well with each intriguing and unique character she portrays.
- Harvey Street Kids/Harvey Girls Forever!: In a more contemporary adaptation of the Harvey Girls franchise from Harvey Comics, Stephanie Lemelin lends her voice to this popular animated Netflix series as Audrey. The character herself is the leader of the titular Harvey Girls, who's also an enthusiastic tomboy who goes on grand adventures with her close-knit group of friends, Lotta and Dot. Lemelin is able to capture a sense of wonder and idealism in her performance as Audrey in this series. In a setting that’s fairly uncynical and imaginative, she’s able to fully resonate with the audience as this young girl who’s filled with endless energy trying to make Harvey Street a more fun and happy place. An insanely charming series that chronicles the coming-of-age story of three girls, Harvey Street Kids/Harvey Girls Forever leaves viewers with a smile and a sense of happiness in them with its innocent likability and clever writing.
- Dawn of the Croods: The television prequel series to the Dreamworks movie released in 2013, Dawn of the Croods tells the tale of an eccentric family of cavemen and cavewomen trying to survive in a constantly evolving world. Lemelin plays Eep in the series, a curious and somewhat rebellious teenage cavewoman, who was previously voiced by Emma Stone in the movie. The already multi-talented voice-over artist is able to impersonate Stone in an uncanny manner as Eep while also adding her own special take to the character. Lemelin is able to delve more into Eep’s story before the events of The Croods, and helps define why she’s filled with such wanderlust and a passion for the great beyond. For those who are major fans of The Croods and its sequel, The Croods: A New Age, Netflix’s Dawn of the Croods is most definitely a welcome addition to the franchise, and the series is able to let Stephanie Lemelin shine as the plucky, inquisitive Eep.
- Spider-Man (PS4): One of the most revered video game adaptations featuring the spectacular Spider-Man, Stephanie Lemelin gets a chance at playing a quirky antagonist in this incredibly popular video game. She voices Screwball, whose identity is not revealed in the game nor the comics, an arrogant, unstable influencer who live-streams her crimes to the world. The voice actress behind our favorite young archer perfectly understands the modus operandi of Screwball, she craves attention as an overt narcissist. The evil-doing egotist gleefully causes destruction and has a grand time doing so with a barrage of bombastic commentary and terribly trollish taunts coming out of her mouth in most cases. With a ghastly gimmick and a peculiarly pesky personality, Lemelin brings her all to playing Screwball in a way that most certainly screws with our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II: Arguably one of the most iconic video game franchises in the entire World, Stephanie Lemelin voices Abigail "Misty" Briarton, one of many interesting characters in this lucrative universe. Similar to Audrey from Harvey Street Kids/Harvey Girls Forever, Misty is very much a brash, self-satisfied tomboy who's quick with a quip and well-versed with fighting with a knife. Lemelin brings a cocky energy to the role of Misty, who hides a great deal of repressed memories with her snide sense of humor and aggressive fighting skills. You can really sense that Misty has many layers to her personality and backstory despite what appears at the surface of someone who's initially quite assertive and brazen-faced. Another addition to the beloved Call of Duty franchise, this installment to the video game franchise is able to give us another well-rounded and engrossing character to add to the already impressive range of roles of Stephanie Lemelin!
- Sunset Overdrive: An open-world, third-person shooter game, Insomniac's Sunset Overdrive allows players to be a highly customizable character who has to annihilate mutants running rampant in the streets of Sunset City. If you choose to play the game as a female, then you'll get a personalized avatar voiced by Stephanie Lemelin! No matter what the female avatar may look or act like, they’ll always have the voice of Lemelin, and she has so much emotional range that each different variant of the female avatar still feels unique and special. You never feel like you’re getting a copy of a prior female avatar with the same voice, they all are distinctive in their own way. A video game that relishes in the fact that it’s a world where nearly anything can happen, Sunset Overdrive gives Stephanie Lemelin the opportunity to play varieties of the same character that never becomes overly repetitive and doesn’t fail with being distinguishing amongst many avatar renditions.
Of course, this is by no means a definitive list of all the incredible works Lemelin has voiced or acted in. We highly recommend that you check out her full body of work on her IMDB page and discover some new media along the way!
What are your favorite roles that Stephanie Lemelin has played in the past? Comment down below, on our Twitter, and share in the forum too!
Review: The Magic Arc Continues with "Nomed Esir!"
12/9/2021 11:12 am
Sgniht era gnitteg esrow...
If you thought that the last episode revealed the world of magic in Young Justice, then this one begins to tear it wide open from start to finish. The stakes continue to rise, the players in the game continue to grow, and things do not look good for our heroes, our villains or any one in between. Lets dive deep and hope we come out the other side!
We open again on Vandar Edge and the earliest days of Atlantis, and we see it begin to rise to the technological prominence it is still known for. The first immortal from Vandal’s line is born and Arion, Lord of Atlantis, sits upon the throne. Arion is then designated as a Lord of Order and the infusion of magical power leads to the creation of the homo-magi in the world. Atlantis continues to thrive as technology and sorcery advance the city for all its people. With the addition of Vandal’s help, Atlantis becomes the capital of the Atlantean kingdom, and the rift between Arion and Vandal begins.
Vandal’s plan was to sink the Atlantean capital to begin taking over the area beneath the sea so that the world can be taken over in full. Arion refused to sink the town because of the deaths it would cause. Vandal then seeks out the assistance of Klarion to do what his grandson Arion would not. Klarion helps to sink Atlatnis, but is empowered by the other Lords of Chaos to continue. He sinks the entire continent of Atlantis into the sea, killing Arion and countless more. The treasures of Atlantis were lost to the sea as well, but some Atlanteans survived to become the city we now know.
We cut back to Baby, where we find a hilariously classic road trip scene. Em’ree asking “are we there yet,” and J’onn not getting the joke and buying all in is as good as Em’ree’s explanation. Following this is a great conversation of family wanting to help, Em’ree chooses to start a fight with M’gann about going to Earth and starts psychically yelling about everything. "I'm a professional guidance counselor, Em'ree! I know you're just trying to bait me into a catharsis!" "Is it working?" "Kind of!" will likely be one of the favorite lines from this episode. Then what may be one of the most discussed scenes happens, and the bus from early in the season, and from seasons gone by, almost hits Baby IN SPACE a WEEK OUT from Earth…
We find Zatanna and her proteges still recovering from the fight with Klarion. Before they can figure anything out at all, the Phantom Stranger arrives to add another layer to the story. We cut to hear that the Child has arrived not to assist Klarion, but instead to destroy and replace him due to his failures. After finding out that Klarion is fighting another Chaos Lord Zatanna is given some perspective by Phantom Stranger she is transported to where Klarion and Child are fighting. Child reveals that she is using the power of all of the Lords of Chaos and Klarion seems hard pressed to win. Stranger then transports the proteges to find someone to help Zatanna. The proteges find themselves in the Sanctum Sanctorum of Jason Blood, and we now know who Stranger seeks to assist Zatanna. We get to see the spell and transformation of none other than Etrigan.
Etrigan calls out Mary for having the power of Shazam hidden inside her, and he says he doesn’t want to help. Thankfully for us Stranger cares little for where people want to go, and transports Etrigan into the middle of the fight between the Lords of Chaos. We get to see one of the largest displays of magic so far in the form of a “rock tsunami.”
The battle between the Lords of Chaos continues leading to Child squishing Klarion with the rock tsunami and wide spread destruction ensues knocking Zatanna out. Both Lords of Chaos leave, the proteges arrive and Zatanna admits she has enough perspective to know more help is needed. We cut to Vandal talking to his son Nabu about the balance of Order and Chaos and justifying the sinking of Atlantis. He discusses the use and control of Klarion and that the Child must me stopped. In out final scene Vandal begins operation Lifeboat and begins getting all of Earth’s resources onto the War World until further notice.
Where to even begin with this episode! We can say without a doubt that things are escalating and culminating and just generally -ating in a way that makes us scared for the heroes we know and love. Before that though, the scene on Baby was a great scene in that the relationship between Em’ree and M’gann is one that seems intended to grow and develop through this season and potentially beyond. That said, the scene with the bus is something that has raised more questions than just about any scene in the entire show. Like, how? Why? Wha!? We have too many things to think and worry about before that though.
The introduction of early Atlantis and the homo-magi sets the stage for knowing a majority of the magical history of the world from its inception to present which is a very interesting feeling as Young Justice fans. It is rare that we definitively know things, but the things we know we can say with certainty. Klarion’s prominent role throughout the world’s history feels both odd and makes perfect sense, and his connection to Vandal feels the same way. Ultimately, they are the oddest of couples, but they remain the foil to each other and working in concert to keep the scales of Chaos and Order balanced.
Many stones in the magical realm of DC are being turned over, and many more may yet be turned, but the introduction of Etrigan has happened! We know that he is a fan favorite, and his introduction feels much more like Chaos than it does order, but he did seem to align with Team Zatanna. Team Zatanna continues to expand, and at the very least we can assume Nabu is set to join them, but who else could as well? John Constantine, Madame Xanadu, Doctor Occult, or Ragman are all names that come to mind, but we will have to wait and see.
There are some episodes like this every season, in that they are a way to get us from here to there. As it stands on its own, on first viewing, there is so much being set up and so many questions unanswered that there is this sense of “why not more?” Why not more Zatanna? Why not more about the proteges? Why not more? This has another truly amazing fight scene that feels like it is somewhat lost in the midst of the questions, like how can you have a bus in space a week out from Earth!? But that will plague our minds for the foreseeable future. Thankfully we are all only a week away from another episode gracing the digital airwaves of HBOMax.
What did you think of the episode? Who do you think will join the fray next? Let us know in the comments and via our Twitter!
Young Justice: Phantoms "Odnu!" Review
12/2/2021 9:08 am
Eht dlrow fo cigam si tuoba ot egnahc reverof…
After two intoxicating arcs featuring Miss Martian, Superboy, and Tigress respectively, it’s now time for a gripping storyline surrounding Zatanna and her proteges! In the past three seasons, we’ve seen Zatanna grow from being a neophyte of the world of magic to a highly skilled magician who’s now training three young magic-users. However, their worlds are about to be turned upside down as a new powerful threat has emerged, along with the return of old enemies. The stakes have been raised, and it’s now up to the entrancing enchantress and her young associates to save the day before all hope is lost.
“Odnu!” kicks off with a mysterious voice narrating about the balance of chaos and order, heavily hinting at a major theme within this arc. The episode then dives into a training exercise with Zatanna and her three apprentices, Traci Thurston, Khalid Nassour, and Mary Bromfield. Despite being fairly successful in their task, Zatanna still gives her students critiques on how to improve their performances, even if one of her proteges, Mary, was once the esteemed superhero, Lieutenant Marvel. However, a sudden disturbance makes the foursome visit an old friend of theirs via flying carousel animals similar to Disney’s Mary Poppins.
On the more villainous side of things, Klarion the Witch Boy, who’s usually quite composed despite his childlike personality, is taken aback by the new arrival of this mysterious magical force. The being of chaos is so stupefied that he leaves a virtual summit with the Light, much to all of their surprise and confusion. This ominous disruption in the world of magic suddenly takes the form of a large creature that’s made up of the material from the Star of Atlantis. Another being, who transforms into an eerie child, then calls it to her side and uses the beast, who is christened Flaw, to begin committing horrific acts starting on an innocent, yet unfortunate security guard. Whoever these two may be, they're certainly going to be a handful for our heroes and even maybe a few villains as well.
Elsewhere, in regards to the realm of non-magic users, the newest addition to the roster of den mothers, Blue Devil, attempts to cheer up one of the more despondent members of the Outsiders. Beast Boy, who's still in a major funk after the supposed demise of Superboy, is still avoiding missions with his team and continues to sadly lay around in his room mourning the loss of his surrogate older brother. Despite attempting to cheer him up, Blue Devil is unsuccessful in getting the Outsiders’ leader out of his state of depression as he makes a trip to the pharmacy to find something to help him sleep better. Will our favorite green shapeshifter ever truly be back to his old self someday?
In a side story, we also get a further look into Vandal Savage and Klarion's history together. We learn that Klarion destroyed the meta-village that Vandal first set up, and after hundreds of attempts of trying to kill Savage, the two reach some sort of understanding... for now, at least. Hopefully we'll learn more about it in the coming episodes. We also learn that the episode's narration is done by the ever cool and mysterious Phantom Stranger; we can't wait to see what more lies in store with him.
This episode was most definitely a great way to start such an enrapturing arc, there's a lot to talk about in regards to what was done really well. First, the inclusion of new and returning characters like Khalid Nassour, who inevitably becomes one of the many incarnations of Doctor Fate, was super interesting to see. The introduction of Nassour and Mary Bromfield, who was teased a bit in the past by the show's creators, worked really well as the show gave us a good understanding of their pasts and where they stood right now as apprentices to the amazing Zatanna. The duo's personalities feel really well-defined too, and they're not the only new additions to the show's ever-expanding cast that shined bright like a diamond!
Not only did the introduction of Child and Flaw raise our intrigue, but they were also genuinely horrifying and brought a real element of horror to the episode. Child perfectly embodies the well-known trope of the “creepy child” who dresses fancifully and talks in a slow, mysterious manner, while Flaw is a hulking abomination that has a childlike smile in the middle of their “face” to counteract their imposing frame. While their appearances and demeanors are unnerving, the actions they commit in this episode are extremely appalling as a poor security guard is ripped apart in a way that's similar to someone you'd see in an HP Lovecraft novel. This is most likely the tip of the iceberg in how malevolent these two are.
While the magical elements to “Odnu!” were spellbinding, the more down-to-earth and humane scenes also didn't feel out of place and gave this episode a more grounded feeling. Seeing where Beast Boy was during all of this was certifiably heartbreaking, you really feel the heartache in his voice whenever he talks. The sadness is palpable in Greg Cipes’ performance as you know that he misses Superboy, the closest thing he had to an older brother, more than life itself. The other characters utilized like Blue Devil and Mist was also nice as the two haven't received much attention until now, and it was interesting to dig into how they were feeling and trying to aid Beast Boy during his time of great crisis.
Furthermore, what makes this episode stand out when compared to the prior eight was its macabre, unearthly tone. There's a peculiar sense of something going on throughout the episode and when each character notices this, a sense of lurid dread comes over them whether it's Zatanna or Klarion. The lighting and coloring in most scenes is also quite dark too, very few eye-catching pastels are used to symbolize that everything in this episode will be a bit more grim than what we're used to. Whereas the first arc leaned more into the science fiction aspects of the show and the second arc leaned into both the espionage and familial elements of Young Justice, “Odnu!” really does feel like a radically dark departure from what we've seen so far in Phantoms.
To conclude this review, the ninth episode of Young Justice: Phantoms was a brilliantly-written episode that really embraces the supernatural aspects of the show. The highlights on the new characters were put-together gracefully, and our heroes’ latest adversaries will definitely send shivers down our spines in future episodes. The more practical and realistic scenes showcasing one's depression at the loss of a loved one were sensible showcases too, keeping the audience down-to-earth will help the show stay balanced. Most importantly though, the episode in general leaves us wanting more and eager to see what happens next in the upcoming three episodes that'll be in Zatanna’s arc.
What did you think of the episode? How do you think this third arc of Young Justice: Phantoms will turn out? Let us know in the comments and via our Twitter!
To Binge or Not to Binge
12/7/2021 6:20 pm
Welcome back to the newly named Traught Tuesday! We wanted to space out our articles between the episode reviews and weekly posts, so we decided to post a day earlier. This week, we're diving a little bit into a topic that comes up often in the fandom given the advent of streaming, binging, and frankly how we experienced the previous three seasons. For full transparency, we can’t even begin to claim to be unbiased in our thoughts about the subject. As with all content creators that use Young Justice to create their content, we are much more inclined to have weekly releases rather than an entire season, a half season, or even multiple episodes come out at a time. That said, let's dive in to the debate.
We've seen it, you've seen it, whether on Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, so on and so forth: people wish they could binge Young Justice. And hey, we don't blame them! In today's world of endless streaming services, bingeing is how TV is mainly consumed. There's a certain kind of thrill to having the next episode(s) immediately at your fingertips, with no wait to the thrilling cliffhangers and a resolution to the temporary suspense. We're not going to argue it: bingeing is a convenient and pleasureable way to watch television.
However, not all shows are created with the intention to be binged. Several shows are designed with carefully concocted stories that are intended to instill suspense and encourage endless discussion and speculation between episodes. Young Justice easily falls into this category, especially when considering the current arc structure of Season 4. As previously mentioned, Young Justice is clearly built from the ground up with the intent of being released on a weekly schedule to give time to theorize, shout form the mountaintops, and anticipate between each episode. This kind of hype only builds up anticipation for the newest release, ultimately leading to increased desite to watch and then more views on HBO Max. Not only that, but the increased speculation and discussion grows the community, and thus, viewership numbers.
Of course, we've had our taste with bingeing Young Justice during the run of Young Justice: Outsiders. For the first half of the season, it was released in 3-4 episode increments for the span of a month before going on a nearly six month hiatus. While it was nice to get a nice, sizable chunk of episodes, ultimately we felt that this tactic didn't work and actually hindered the watching experience. It made the episodes blend together, and the viewing experience felt rushed than compared to the previous two seasons. Not to mention, after having the show off the air for five years, fans were eager to get back into the YJ bubble. However, this excitement was short lived and only lasted a month. This led to less fan engagement, less creation of fanart, less promotion, and so on and so forth. Many fans were eager for a longer runtime and for episodes to be released weekly, which might have led to the more stable, staggered release of the second half of the season.
Truly, Young Justice has always had a chaotic release pattern, to say the least (and not at the fault or blame of any of the show's crew, who likely had no say in the decision). Between Season 1 ending and Invasion releasing a week apart from each other, and the many (many) hiatuses throughout the original Cartoon Network run, it's fair to say that Young Justice has never had a consistent viewing schedule. However, now we can fondly (semi-fondly) look back on it as a critical moment in the early fan experience of the show. We genuinely believe that Young Justice is more enjoyable when consumed with a bit of a break, preferrably with weekly releases. The bingeing formula just doesn't work with this show. Young Justice thrives off little details and stories being pieced together over time, with wild speculations and community engagement throughout the process. Weekly releases allows us more times to fall in love with the characters and keep them in our lives for just a little longer, you know, before the inevitable waiting period for new content.
So, despite the two arguments, the question remains: should you binge Young Justice, or should you continue to watch it week by week? First and foremost, it’s always up to your viewing preference, and sadly the availability of the show where you call home. If you are lucky enough to have access to HBO Max and are able to watch the show weekly, we suggest sticking to this pattern. It is undeniable that the show was meant to be seen one glorious episode at a time, with bingeing kept for after a significant amount of episodes have aired. And binge you should, time and time again! Of course, there is no right or wrong answer, but in our heart of hearts we are very happy to have a consistent amount of Young Justice to stream, and hope that statement remains true for years to come.
(We were serious, though. If you want a new season, #KeepBingeingYJ to #SaveEarth16!)
Do you wait to binge? Do you watch each episode as it comes out? Some mix of both? Let us know in the forum, or on our Twitter; we love hearing from you!