REVIEW: Young Justice Season 4: Phantoms, Episode 13, “Kaerb Ym Traeh!”

"Well, there isn't much to say; my faith in God and my love for my daughter got me through...the long night."

Television Reviews

*SPOILERS*

“Kaerb Ym Traeh!” finds Zatanna, Dr. Fate, and Klarion where “Og Htrof dna Requnoc” left them, joining forces to face Child. Meanwhile, Perdita comes to visit Garfield. The Stranger and Vandal Savage work together to convince the Lords to intervene. Klarion takes the group to an animal shelter in Salem in search of his new familiar. Ironically, a stray speaks to him the most and becomes the new Teekl. Perdita tries to connect with Gar over his losses. Vandal Savage succeeds in persuading the Lords of Chaos to rescind their support of Child. The Lords of Order also agree the girl must be stopped. Perdita confronts Garfield directly about his social withdrawal and sleep meds. Rather than accept help, he tells her to leave, ending their relationship. In the battle with Child, Traci uses bad luck magic to spread Flaw’s crack and destroy them. Child is doomed to return to the other Lords. Zatanna chides Mary for pulling the life force of living things to fight. She asks Traci and Khalid to serve as part-time hosts to Nabu, sharing the mantle with her and Zatara and granting him a reprieve. Mary is enraged at not being asked and goes home as the other two accept the offer. Zatanna embraces her father again at last. The Stranger reveals that Zatanna’s plan is what ultimately led to the battle. Zatanna looks into the past of the school bus and finds Conner’s disembodied spirit. Back in Faucet City, a distraught Mary finally says the magic word.

“Kaerb Ym Traeh!” is Phantoms’ midseason finale, and while I absolutely hate hiatuses and waiting for more content, this is a serious high note to leave us on for however long. I wonder how this five-episode arc (as opposed to four, which Phantoms had previously been doing) will impact the flow of the rest of the season. It would make sense to have one more, longer arc since the season is 26 episodes, but then the season finale would be part of someone’s arc, which seems strange. None of this is meant as a complaint; I’m just genuinely curious to see how the second half of the season will play out.

The episode’s title (“break my heart” backwards) paired with the picture of Perdita had me worried, and rightfully so. I know depression can be a powerful and misleading influence, but it’s hard to watch Garfield lose one of his remaining supporters. It’s infuriating to see him refuse any help and dismiss Perdita for having the audacity to offer it. At this point, I have to wonder what would motivate Gar to work on himself if such a caring, patient approach from someone he loves won’t do it. He is very young and has been through a lot, but it’s understandable that some of his friends are tired of this behavior. I hope it doesn’t take the rest of the season to get him some help. The development at the very end of “Kaerb Ym Traeh!” presents complications to his arc in the form of Conner’s spirit.

The revelation that Conner is dead but his ghost isn’t at rest is puzzling. I had previously assumed he wasn’t really dead, saved by the mysterious time travelers. This confirms his death but keeps him relevant to the story. I’m not sure I’m up for another death of an OG main character, and how would an encounter with him affect M’gann and/or Garfield? I assume that’s why he’s not at rest; they’re both suffering tremendously following his untimely passing. Could this upset one or both of them more? Would seeing him in this state somehow comfort Gar? Of course, I could be way off here, and I still don’t want Conner written off in any way. He’s one of my favorite characters! I like M’gann a lot, but their relationship was a big part of both characters’ developments. That’s one reason I think they were such an unusually well-written pair. I know sometimes you have to kill characters to change up the status quo and keep stakes high, but I hate the idea of Conner being gone for good before long.

Everything with Vandal Savage and The Stranger is great. I still wish they’d use more actual animation in these sequences rather than relying solely on static images. I’m sure this is a budgetary concern, and they make up for it with the action sequences. But I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t distracting. Anyway, though, the dialogue here is appropriately thoughtful for Vandal. He’s often quiet but commands respect when he has something to say, so much so that I find his bargaining with the Lords to be believable. That in itself is impressive. The visuals in these scenes are great, too, even if I was yearning to see some motion.

I love what they do with Zatanna and her students here. It actually hadn’t occurred to me that she was seeking co-hosts for Nabu, but it makes a lot of sense. She was trying to help her students diversify their talent pools, making them better candidates for the shared task. This is interesting because we get the reunion of Zatanna and Zatara, but also because it paints Zatanna in some shades of gray. Heck, this is the most interested I’ve been in her yet! Khalid indicates that Traci doesn’t understand the responsibilities of being Nabu’s host body, and Zatanna does little to explain it to her. She also allows Mary to suck the life force from the other students in the moment, only to punish her for it after the fact. Mary’s later actions could partially be put on Zatanna for misleading the girl. I really can’t wait to see what comes of all this when the show comes back.

Overall, “Kaerb Ym Traeh!” is a great episode and a definite high point to end the first half of the season on. The action, animation, and dialogue are great. This episode features several show-stopping moments like Klarion finding his new familiar, the crew finally defeating Child, and Mary giving in to her worst tendencies. Do I smell a villain for the rest of the season? I can’t wait! My very favorite scene, though, was Zatanna and her father reuniting at last.