Today’s the day! After five long, arduous months of waiting, new Young Justice episodes have arrived. Are y’all staying whelmed? I hope so, because we have a LOT to cover. No lie, I watched these episodes probably around six times each during my vacation, just to make sure I didn’t miss anything. ‘Influence’ starts off with an off-world mission, highlighting the Justice League’s attempts to recover the missing meta-teens in space. Our secondary plot takes us back to the Outsiders and their transition into the main team, with so much to unpack throughout. Without further ado, let’s get into it!
- Kiss the Ring: Wonder Woman’s team investigates an attack over on Thanagar. Upon scanning the wreckage, Superman detects only Thanagarian casualties with no sign of Parademons. While the destruction mirrors previous Parademon attacks, there is no sign of Boom Tube activity and the attack pattern is different. It seems that the main reason for the attack was to steal Nth metal from Thanagar. Hawkman becomes irate at the fact that the Apokoliptians have stolen another rare material for their armada, but Commander Talak insists that the only life-signs scanned were those of Earthlings, and luckily, not those of the Justice League. It appears that despite sending evidence defending the actions of the enslaved meta-teens, the Justice League is still unable to fully convince everyone that the missing teens are acting beyond their control. Commander Talak seems especially leery, as he points out that Wonder Woman’s team jumping in to help mirrors the apologetic actions taken by the Justice League as a result of their tirade during the missing sixteen hours. The one true delight in this entire conversation is the endearing obnoxiousness of Guy Gardner, who displays zero tact and does as he pleases. He reveals that he did some of his own scanning, and while there was no sign of Boom Tube activity, the attackers left an Ion trail leading to the attackers ship.
- A Choice to Make: Over at Mount Justice, in a rather peaceful moment, the Outsiders introduce Tara to the culinary delight of breakfast burritos. Brion explains that he and Tara grew up without the practice of ‘eating with one’s hands’, prompting Vic to make fun. Brion turns the tables on him and points out that Vic didn’t exactly grow up outside the lap of comfort, humbling Victor immediately; much kudos to Troy Baker and Zeno Robinson for the hilarious delivery. Connor, Dick, and Artemis cut in to explain to the gang that they think the Outsiders are ready to join the team. However, joining is not without sacrifice; choosing to be part of the team is an important decision, not to be taken lightly. In a moment that will likely ache Spitfire fans everywhere, Artemis recounts how she and Wally left the hero business and had a normal life, until they risked it all to save the world. With all that said and done, the Outsiders are left to make their decisions.
- Mea Culpa: Before they can, Victor’s phone pops up with the Justice League press conference, where Kaldur is giving a briefing about the true intention behind the Goode Goggles. He calls on local governments to investigate Goode World Studios, and to take sanctions against Meta-Human trafficking. Lex Luthor criticizes the Justice League’s efforts in saving the trapped meta-teens, claiming that because they did not alert and coordinate with local authorities, the people responsible for the trafficking were able to escape at large. As usual, G. Gordon only adds fuel to the fire, explaining how the public and government officials are turning against the Justice League. If you suddenly hear a crack, it’s the sound of my heart breaking when we learn Commissioner Gordon has covered up the Bat-Signal. Before we can delve too much into that, G. Gordon introduces Granny Goodness, who is there to address the Justice League’s accusations against her. To Gordon’s surprise, instead of rebutting the accusations, she owns up to them. Sort of. She blames it all on Jaqquar Marlo, and insists that she and her company are making amends to the goggles in addition to funding the Meta-Human Youth Center in Taos.
- Granny vs. Garfield: Garfield, who was watching the interview, is dissatisfied with the lie. As he’s leaving a restaurant, a robbery occurs. Garfield immediately handles it, apprehending the robber and returning a woman’s purse to her. She celebrates by taking a selfie with him, which is sure to go viral. Granny is happy with his heroic display and praises him for ‘trending’, letting him know that his mother would be proud of him. Garfield doesn’t take this sitting down, and immediately calls her out for who she is. Brave, sure. But probably not the best idea, Gar. There’s no way that Granny is going to let him get away with this kind of behavior, and gives him a warning.
- Great Scott!: Much to Wonder Woman, the Hawks, and Superman’s annoyance, Guy passes their travel time with a rather entertaining song. Luckily for them, Superman spots what they’re looking for: an astroid base. One that’s twice the size of the Watchtower. Uh oh.
- Who You Are Inside: Inside the Watchtower, Violet, Brion, Forager and Tara officially join the team. Artemis commends that there are two more girls on the team, but Violet is uncomfortable with this. Violet explains that though their appearance is female, Violet is unsure as to whether they are a boy or girl. For now, Violet would prefer to just be themselves. Violet asks if Brion is alright with this, and he is more than accepting. Miss Martian brings along more good news: Artemis and Connor are rejoining the team. They aren’t the only ones, though! Garfield has officially decided to rejoin as well.
- Social Presence: On the media front, Catherine and Troia defend the Justice League’s actions and try to explain how limited they are in assisting worldwide. G. Gordon makes light of their attempt while speaking with Lex Luthor. Lex informs us that to maintain transparency on the Justice League’s actions, he has a satellite constantly monitoring the Watchtower. Additionally, to avoid conflict of interest with his own company, he has stepped down and handed over the reigns to his sister, Lena Luthor.
- Attack on the Horizon: On the Astroid base, Granny and Barda watch as Wonder Woman’s team follows the ion trail directly to them. Barda reveals that she avoided Boom Tubing and purposefully left the trail so they could fight. Granny, however, is displeased with the initiative, and disciplines Barda as a result.
- Domestic Chaos: Back in Happy Harbor, Brion recounts his fascination with the Watchtower to Vic, who seems relatively uninterested. He’s still set on staying out of the hero game, and getting his life back to normal. I’m unclear on what his plan is, other than sulking on his phone, but I wish him the best of luck. What’s interesting, though, is that he seems to have seen an incoming text from Violet to Brion. Sure, it could be a coincidence that he knew Violet would text him, but based on his expression after it happens, I’d place a stronger bet that it isn’t. We cut over to Star City, where poor Will Harper’s home is amuck. Lian has spilled her juice, Brucely needs to be walked, and on top of all that, Jefferson and Dr. Jace are visiting. Luckily, Violet and Tara assist with the chores, and Artemis is a stellar aunt to Lian so Will can keep the visitors company. Dr. Jace expresses displeasure at her inability to do anything to help the ‘children’, and claims she could help Victor with the use of a laboratory and equipment. Anyone else getting seriously shady vibes from her? I’m waiting for her true motives to be revealed, so I can finally be vindicated in my distrust of her. Speaking of being shady, Tara lurks outside, recording Dr. Jace’s conversation with Will and Jefferson, before sending it over to Deathstroke in Santa Prisca.
- Hail Darkseid: On Granny’s orders, Barda fires on Wonder Woman’s team as they approach the asteroid. A short battle ensues, in which Superman, Wonder Woman, and Hawkwoman are able to sneak aboard the asteroid. However, because nothing is that easy, they are spotted, and Barda declares that she will send the furies after them. In a truly adorable moment, we discover that the team’s lingo has even found its way to Superman’s mouth, in which he encourages Hawkwoman to ‘stay whelmed’. Too cute. Right after, Wonder Woman discovers the missing meta-teens. All the missing meta-teens. Before they can do anything about it, Barda attacks with the Furies. Granny and Desaad Boom Tube into the fight and decide to test a new torture device. However, it doesn’t just affect the three heroes, but Barda and the Furies too. Superman orders everyone out of the zone, and is able to fly out with Barda in tow. He notices Granny and Desaad, and distracts them so the torture stops. As the three heroes attempt to confront Granny, she Boom Tubes them into space, where they cannot breathe. Lucky for them, Guy was around to provide assistance.
- A Bitter End: As Granny Boom Tubes the asteroid away, we learn the conclusion of her interview segment. She claims that she will be releasing new and improved goggles, and will continue to support the Meta-Human Youth Center. Garfield watches the conclusion of the interview with a bitter expression before staring at his victory selfie. As expected, it has gone viral. But what does it mean? Follow along to the next two episodes to find out!
Author’s note: From this point on, Violet will be referred to with gender-neutral terms to align with her neutral gender-identity.
Let us know what you thought of the episode in the comments below and in the forum!
