Happy YJ Tuesday, dear readers! We are twenty episodes down, with six left to go. Are you feeling the aster? I sure hope so, because we have a lot to cover! I didn’t think I could ever love another episode this season as much as I love ‘Private Security’. However, ‘Quiet Conversations’ came pretty darn close. I feel very comfortable (for now, at least) giving it the second place slot.
I know, I can hear y’all now. How could I love this episode that much when there wasn’t a single Nguyen-Harper family member in attendance? Ha, shows you I’m not totally biased! While, yes, I did miss my favorite characters, this episode’s writing was so strong that I didn’t miss them (much). ‘Quiet Conversations’ focuses on some heavy-hitting stories, and each one is handled delicately and with utmost care. Victor Stone faces a crisis when the Fatherbox tech overrides his body, leaving Conner, Forager and Jefferson to find alternative help. We discover that Violet has indeed run away, but for good cause: she went to give closure to Gabrielle’s family. To many fans’ delight, we get a peek inside of Atlantis and how Kaldur is helping the aquatic meta-girl’s recovery. She’s not the only one in recovery, though; Harper Row faces some one-on-one time with Megan after her stint with Violet. Given how each story is pretty equally handled in this episode, today’s breakdown will be per-story (rather than sequential) in order to go fully in depth.
- A Physical Crisis: Late in the evening on New Years, Vic wanders around Hollywood (as one does) while on the phone with his father. The conversation doesn’t end well, and Vic’s stress levels cause an adverse reaction from the Fatherbox tech, causing it to take over more of his body. Forager finds him over a day later in an empty alleyway, and immediately springs into action. He returns Vic to the Outsiders’ Tower, where Dr. Jace and Jefferson keep an eye on him. While Dr. Jace declares him stable, Dreamer and Conner boom tube into the medical bay and deny it. Dreamer uses a Motherbox to run a diagnostic before explaining that Vic’s only hope is to be placed in the Mobius chair of Metron.
With a mission set, Conner, Jefferson and Forager boom tube to find Metron. On their journey, they run into Superman, fighting off a crowd of Parademons. I cackled when Conner asked Superman to be his best man, in the middle of fighting, no less. Good to see how much their relationship has grown! Finally, the trio find Metron and ask him to come help Vic. Metron doesn’t wish to help, at least not until he hears that the problem is Fatherbox related.
When the four return to the Tower, Vic’s situation has gotten worse. While Conner, Jefferson and Forager were trying to find Metron, Silas stone has zeta’d into the medical bay to see Victor. This only put more stress on Victor, leading to more Fatherbox tech damage. In order to keep the Fatherbox tech from spreading, Silas put him into a medical coma. They await for Metron to help Vic, but Metron refuses. He has only come to watch Victor die and use his death as research. Obviously, this doesn’t fly for anyone else in the room. Jefferson and Conner attack Metron and get him out of the chair while Brion and Dr. Jace put Vic in it. As Dreamer said, the chair heals Vic of all of Fatherbox’s influence for good. With that out of the way, hopefully now Victor can move on! And join the team? Maybe? Here’s hoping! Most importantly, he and his father embrace and seem to be healing their relationship. Thank the heavens. - Under the Sea: In Taos, Kaldur speaks with the aquatic meta-girl from ‘Early Warning’. Turns out, because they had no other accommodation for her, they kept her in a little tank with no way to communicate. Poor her. To remedy this, she and Kaldur make the decision to relocate to Poseidonis. Once there, the girl immediately perks up as Kaldur’s translation spell allows her to talk.
On their way to her new accommodation, they run into King Orin and Wynnde. King Orin is quite pleased with Kaldur’s role as Aquaman, especially with the news of the Outsiders and how they took down Professor Ivo. Kaldur isn’t happy with keeping secrets, but says nothing. However, the aquatic girl notices his expression. She brings it up later, after getting acquainted with Kaldur’s parents (her new home, it seems). Kaldur doesn’t reveal what is truly bothering him, but the girl insists that he is a good man, as he clearly feels bad about lying to his king. I’m not sure this will totally placate Kaldur, but for now, I’ll take it.
By the end of the episode, Kaldur watches as the girl happily swims with his parents, before he kisses Wyynde. No, friends, I did not misspeak! That’s right, Kaldur and Wyynde kissed. I’m so happy for them, please just excuse me for a minute while I cry of joy. - A Need for Counseling: Over in Happy Harbor, Harper Row sits with Megan in a counseling session. Megan notices a bruise on Harper’s collarbone, but Harper denies it and chalks it up to roughhousing with her brother. Megan doesn’t believe her, but Harper quickly changes the subject to ask about Violet’s whereabouts, given that she isn’t in school. Megan explains that Violet has run away from home, and asks if Harper might know where she is, but Harper denies it.
Moving along, Megan continues to try and get Harper to talk about what’s been going on. She noticed that Harper’s brother, Colin, came to school with a black eye. Harper refuses to come clean, given that she knows if she admits to her and Colin being abused, Megan will have to report it to the authorities. Then, Harper and Colin could be separated and put into foster homes, and she doesn’t want that. Megan doesn’t give up so easily, however. She brings up the situation with Violet, alcohol and the gun, and the two discuss it. It turns out that the only reason Harper had the gun was because she took it away from her house, so her alcoholic father wouldn’t have a chance to use it.
When Megan prods the issue further, Harper attempts to leave. She stops when Megan brings up her brother, and how by protecting their abusive father, Harper is actually hurting her brother. With that in mind, Harper makes the difficult decision to come clean, and admits that their father abuses her and Colin. At the end of the episode, we see that Megan has taken both Colin and Harper to Child Protective Services. - Giving Closure: Though we all knew that Violet ran away in the last episode, we finally get our confirmation. While Vic goes through his crisis, Tara runs out with a letter from Violet, explaining her absence. Artemis tasks it upon herself to go and find her, and because Tara feels partly responsible, she tags along as well. They use Supercycle to locate Violet, and away they go. Meanwhile, Violet is actually doing something rather noble. She has gone to visit Gabrielle’s family, in order to give them closure over their daughter’s disappearance.
At first she pretends she is Gabrielle, and tries to explain how she’s sick and is going to die. After further prodding, however, she breaks and decides to tell Gabrielle’s family the entire story. Gabrielle’s cousin rejects Violet, calling her a demon, but Gabrielle’s mother is more understanding. She thanks Violet for giving them closure, kisses her forehead, and wishes her peace among her new family. Just a side note, if you hear some odd wails coming from afar, please pay no attention, it’s just me.
Artemis and Tara arrive at Gabrielle’s home and embrace Violet before taking her back to where she belongs. In the final scene of this episode, Tara partakes in a phone call with Deathstroke. However, she seems to be turning a new leaf, and remarks she has no news to give.
Let’s see, did I miss anything? Oh, Dr. Jace continues to be shady and has a mysterious phone call with her mentor. Then, she talks to Brion and tells him how proud she thinks his parents would be of him, now. I don’t like her, I don’t trust her, mark me at my words: that woman is up to no good. I will rue the day when I am finally proven right.
That seems to be it for Episode 20! Feelings everywhere, lots of tears, but lots of good moments too. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I hope you did as well.
Before I end this recap, I do want to take a minute and repeat the message displayed at the end of this episode. The National Domestic Hotline is available to help victims and survivors of domestic abuse. If you find yourself needing help, please call 1-800-799-7233, or visit www.thehotline.org.
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