After a whirlwind second half, we’ve finally reached the final five episodes of Young Justice: Phantoms— say it ain’t so! Feels like only yesterday we were watching M’gann and Conner jet off to Mars. Despite the bittersweetness of it all, we’re very excited to see Nightwing get his turn to shine as the lead for this arc, and this episode delivers. Between the return of Dan Danger, the amazing flirty tension between Dick and Zatanna, and seeing nearly the whole original Team back together again, “Rescue and Search” is a wonderful blend of fanservice moments and action that keeps the plot train chugging forward.
“Rescue and Search” begins where the previous episode left off with the Time Travel Crew (Kid Flash, Saturn Girl, and Chameleon Boy), with them being at the will of Lor Zod, M’comm and Mantis. Bart attempts to use his quick thinking and get out of it, but unfortunately Lor is too quick for him and the three remain at the behest of their captors. Meanwhile, Dick is enjoying a welcome stint at Haley’s Circus, moonlighting as Dan Danger and making us seriously nostalgic for “Performance”. While we could spend forever in Haly’s Circus, Zatanna arrives, as promised, and recruits the former Boy Wonder to help her figure out if Conner is indeed alive.
Over in the Phantom Zone, Conner is questioned as to why he was immune to the Phantom Zone Projector’s security measures. Over the course of the episode, despite how much we yell at the screen for him to stop, Conner reveals every detail of his identity to the Zods, including his parentage and that he belongs to the House of El. Yikes. He also reveals that he killed Superman (or that he thinks he killed Superman), and boy we hope that he gets a regular booking over with Black Canary after this ordeal is over.
As Dick continues to put together the pieces of the puzzle, we get to see all his former teammates roll in, and honestly, it’s the team up we’ve been waiting for! Very ready and excited to finally mark off ‘Get in loser, we’re saving Superboy’ off our bingo sheets, though we never expected having to add “and Bart, too” to it. We won’t spoil too much of the dynamics here so you can experience them in all their wonderful glory for yourselves. After an entertaining fight with Klarion in an attempt to get him to uphold his debt and bring Conner home safe from the Phantom Zone, which of course, fails, Zatanna invokes the only option left: return to the Magic School Bus! Meanwhile, those aboard Bioship start their journey to Oa to recover the Kaiser Thrall.
“Rescue and Search” does a phenomenal job of giving the audience what they’ve been asking for all season: bringing the original Team back together. While it was nice to see the individuals flourish in plots specific to them (for the most part), the dynamics between these characters was sorely missed and the show is all the stronger for it. The dialogue in this episode was top tier, and we give all the kudos to this episode’s writer, Charlotte Fullerton.
Between the character dynamics, the plot train continuing to roll, the excellent dialogue and the sheer fun of it all, “Rescue and Search” is a memorable and solid addition to Phantoms’ roster. The only thing of note to critique is the pacing, which is more of a season-wide issue rather than a fault within the episode itself. It feels a little off that Dick was able to piece together all of the clues to this season’s mystery in a span of a single episode, when we’ve been waffling around Conner’s existence in the Phantom Zone for several episodes (and several months in-show) between all of the different plots. However, the pacing issues don’t detract from the episode overall, so we’re willing to let this one slide.
If you haven’t watched this episode yet, we implore you to stop reading and check it out immediately. “Rescue and Search” is Young Justice at it’s best, setting a wonderful tone both for the rest of this arc and the season’s final stretch. While nothing is certain for what’s to come, one thing is clear: we’re in for a hell of a ride (perhaps on the Magic School Bus?), and a heck of a good time.
What did you think about “Rescue and Search”? Are you also smitten by Dick’s dashing performance as Dan Danger? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments, on our forum, or by tagging us @tvyoungjustice on Twitter!
