Get your notes and red string ready, because this episode jumps here, there, everywhen, and everywhere. So many moving parts, but things will no doubt come together, but in what way we will have to wait and see. We have four concurrent storylines, so this breakdown is going to jump a bit more than usual!
We open on Supertown in front of the newly created Forager statues where Rocket and Orion seem to come to a meeting of the minds. Only to find out that it is instead M’comm disguised as Orion seeking additional information. He tells Lor Zod of the Ruction cell being taken to the vault by Metron, and a plan is set in motion to track the cell through both space and time using the time sphere and a tracker.
We cut to Gar showing up for his mandatory annual mental health check in with Dinah. He toes the line and starts saying all the things he is supposed to say. We see Dinah begin checking off boxes and listening to Gar’s words claiming he’s all good.
Back in Supertown we are at the council room with the New Gods, Justice League, and Lantern Corps where we learn that the New Gods want both Cyborg and Halo to be turned over to them because they are both hybrids using Mother and Fatherbox technology. The request is withdrawn as Bear enters the room in a way that only Bear could. The mood quickly changes as the group collectively mourn the loss of Conner.
We head out to the Phantom Zone to see Dru Zod leading Conner to where he and his other Kryptonian companions are staying within the Phantom Zone. We get some brief explanation of what the Phantom Zone is and what is inside of it. We see that several houses of Krypton are represented and they all kneel before Zod.
M’Comm, Lor Zod, and Mantis arrive at Metron’s vault to begin looking for the Phantom Projector when a red cloud begins to move towards them.
Dinah asks Gar about his relationship with Perdita and he has a slip of the tongue before feeding the right lines once again. She asks about the sleeping pills and starts to push more into Gar being fit to rejoin the Outsiders. The conversation continues to push into what he long term and the facade begins to break. We find out that Gar blames himself for Conner's death.
Back in the council room Bear continues to make small talk about Forager and Mountain Hive Forager possibly being together and Forager staying on world. There is talk of ages and how fast some species court each other to the ultimate frustration of Orion.
In the Phantom Zone, Dru Zod takes Connor to his wife Ursa Zod who explains that in the zone all people are only consciousness. She tells of how they don’t age, heal, or die but that they will take care of each because that’s what family does.
Lor Zod’s group continues to search for the Phantom Zone projector to no avail. They find a glowing eye moments before being taken down by the red cloud. M’Comm manages to stop it for a moment with a mind blast. The group phases out of sync using the time sphere and continues their search for the projector.
We see that Dinah has been making fake check marks, and follows up on Gar’s thought that he is the reason that Conner died. Dinah quickly and expertly walks back the reasons that Gar claims it is his fault, and continues to do so with all of the losses that Gar has been holding on to. In the end Gar admits to having been powerless in those scenarios and that he needs help.
Metron enters the vault again, and Lor Zod’s group watches him closely. They manage to time his entrance from earlier when he is knocked back in by Razr and they attack him. The group is able to trap Metron and ask him to show where the projector is located.
Dur Zod further explains to Conner that the Phantom Zone functions based off of one’s willpower and for anything to happen one needs to will it so. The kryptonians begin to chant in the name of the House of Zod as they continue to build. Conner commits to staying with Zod and kneels before him.
Under duress Metron claims that he will give over the projector, but instead opens a case of Kryptonite taking down Zod and calls to the sun eater to take down the other two He bursts into the council room and calls for the others to come with him. Mantis manages to escape and shift back in time using the time sphere and manages to find the Phantom Zone projector.
It gets timey, it gets wimey, and it gets a little tough to follow this episode. That said, we need to discuss upfront the fact that Gar is finally starting to address the emotions he has been working through. Dinah is still the pillar that the team has always needed, and of course the best supporting character for the episode is still a clipboard. Hopefully we will be able to see that continued progression of his healing.
It isn’t totally clear what all Lor Zod has done, or can do, while leveraging the time sphere that he has taken. We also have a few tin foil hat theories about when people have and haven’t entered the Phantom Zone, but we will save those until we learn more from the series. That said, Mantis now holds in his hand the option of pulling forth people from the Phantom Zone or putting them into it. We don’t know yet what plans Lor Zod has for the projector, but with it in his possession and no threats currently around them will they be able to use it before Metron can stop them?
With potentially one episode left in this arc, it is hard to think what all can be resolved within those 20-30 minutes. Likely the Gar and Conner storylines will continue throughout, but what echoes from the other two storylines will carry us through the season? Will this be the answer to how Conner can be freed from the Phantom Zone? If so, won’t Phantom Girl be found out no matter what happens and the Legion be revealed? What can’t a person do when they have a time sphere at their disposal? Let us know in the comments, the forum, or on our Twitter!