As Young Justice: Phantoms continues to hurtle towards what is sure to be an epic finale, we’re left wondering how on earth all these plotlines are going to be wrapped with only three episodes remaining! Granted, this is Young Justice, so we expect there to be several teases and loose threads for future seasons, so this would be an excellent time for HBO Max and Warner Bros. to bring in that renewal news. In the meantime, “Ego and Superego” takes a momentary breather from rapidly escalating the main plot to check in with some characters we haven’t seen in a while and really hone in on some of the issues that have been taking place in the background this season.
General disclaimer, our recap and review covers a general summary of the episode, so if you prefer going into episodes completely fresh, this is your spoiler warning!
The episode kicks off in Markovia, with a familiar faced lizard boy on the run from a gang set on persecuting him. Luckily, he is saved by a team we’ve been waiting to see all season: the Infinitors! While they save the boy (hereafter known as Lizard Johnny), things get a little suspicious on the Infinitors front where it appears to be like these attacks on metahumans are staged to make the Infinitors look better for saving them. Regardless, King Brion is none the wiser, and throughout the episode you get the general impression that he really is trying to be a good king and make the lives of metahumans better by providing them a safe haven in Markovia. Unfortunately for him, he remains psychologically manipulated by Zviad, and even more unfortunately, he isn’t the only one. Things are not looking great on the Markovi, but fortunately for Brion, he may find a useful ally in Fury, who has become skeptical of the Infinitors’ methods and senses foul play going on.
Meanwhile, Violet moves into college! Feels like only yesterday that they were starting High School with Forager, how the time does fly. Harper helps Violet move in, but also confesses her feelings for them, which we’ve all been suspecting for a while now. Violet is unsure how they feel about this new development and brings it up in Black Canary’s group therapy session. During this same session, we also check in on Garfield (who now has a corgi!) and see some familiar faces again, like Vic, Looker, Mist and Livewire. Ultimately, Violet’s conflicting feelings are boiled down to a lack of resolution with Brion, so they pop in to Markovia for a little visit and show off their amazing new suit. While it’s clear that Brion also has unresolved feelings for Violet, with Zviad’s unfortunate influence, no productive breakthroughs can happen, and Violet leaves Brion behind.
Over at the Phantom Zone, Phantom Girl gives Conner a debrief as to how she saved him from the kryptonite explosion. Due to the trauma and Conner’s high-density, she was unable to teleport them to her home planet and that’s how the two ended up in the zone. She also informs him that the Zods are the bad guys and he definitely shouldn’t be rooting for them. She tries to take them both back to Mard, but sadly, Conner’s broken mental state means he doesn’t trust her and refuses. He then rats her out to the Zods, and Phantom Girl leaves him behind and returns to Mars on her own.
As for the plot we’ve all been eagerly waiting for: the Team! They find the magic school bus in a junkyard, but given that it’s been crushed into a cube ages ago, it’s not looking too good. Luckily, Zatanna makes use of the Trogowogs, and after bribing them with Dick’s SUV and a bag of his chicken whizzees, they happily restore the bus to its former glory. Of course, Dick isn’t too happy about this development but we’re sure that off to the side somewhere, Will Harper finally gets some vindication at this glorious karma. With the bus fixed, the team hops aboard and Zatanna opens a portal to the Phantom Zone… leaving us hungrily waiting for more!
If there’s one thing that “Ego and Superego'' does spectacularly, it’s the characters. Particular standouts include Violet, Brion, and of course, every dynamic with the original Team. Zatanna shines brighter in these past two episodes more than she did as the lead in her arc, and every interaction with the original Team reminds us of how much we loved the first season. We felt big sympathy for Brion, which is quite a turn from our feelings about him following the end of Outsiders. This episode is great at letting you see just how much he’s trying to make amends and never let his trauma happen to another metahuman. It’s harrowing when Zviad continues to ruin this progress and make Brion into a puppet for the Light’s plans, and we sincerely hope that things take a turn for the better soon.
We mentioned Violet, but they deserve their own paragraph, as we loved seeing them come into their own and really owning their identity going forward. Jury’s still out on whether we want to see them in a relationship with Harper Row, if only because we’ve enjoyed seeing Violet solo this entire season. We also have to give mega props for Violet’s new costume, as not only is it amazing and highlights the true rainbow of their powers, but also because it seems to be far more respectful for a hijabi superhero. We’re happy that Violet feels more comfortable with a Muslim identity and that this season has really taken steps to correct the issues many fans took with the representation from previous season.
While we did enjoy this episode on the whole, we did feel like the main plot didn’t quite fit in at this particular time of the season. With three episodes now until the finale, and so much left to cover, it didn’t feel like the right time to introduce another major plot point and that the Markovia plot would have been a lot more enjoyable if it had taken place much earlier in the season. Granted, we have no idea what this season’s endgame will be, nor what the plan is for Targets or any subsequent season, so we’re open to the possibility that this will be relevant soon enough.
We’re very excited to see how on earth this season is going to bring us to its closure. Between saving Conner, battling the Zods and seeing if the Legionnaires ever end up back in their time zone, we’re sure that we’ll be on the edge of our seats from here on out.
What did you think about “Ego and Superego”? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments, on our forum, or by tagging us @tvyoungjustice on Twitter!
