REVIEW: Young Justice – Season 4: Phantoms Episode 6 “Artemis Through the Looking Glass”

Television Reviews

*SPOILERS*

In “Artemis Through the Looking Glass,” Artemis tells Jade that she needs her to help with sorting the Shadow defectors. When Jade prepares to leave, Artemis tells her that the Shadows found her house and, therefore, Lian. Later, Artemis introduces Jade to her new boyfriend. She brings Jade in to question Cassandra and Onyx as the Shadows plan to recapture Cassandra. Meanwhile, at headquarters, Gar feels overwhelmed and lets the other heroes take the lead. Jade concludes that either Cassandra and Onyx are being truthful, or they’re too good for her to read. Garfield falls asleep watching a memorial video for Superboy. The Shadows attack and take Orphan hostage, telling Artemis to bring Cassandra to Santa Prisca for a trade. With this, Jade leaves the team as her sister presses forward.  

“Artemis Through the Looking Glass” kicks Phantoms into high gear and is undoubtedly my favorite episode yet this season. Flashbacks are interspersed throughout the episode exploring Jade and Artemis’ complicated relationship. However, this is also the most action-packed episode so far. I like how the flashbacks are used this time; rather than playing over important scenes like Conner and M’gann reminiscing, they serve a specific narrative purpose in “Artemis Through the Looking Glass.” People always say “the more things change, the more they stay the same,” and you can see the truth in this phrase through the evolution of Artemis and Jade’s relationship. They also continue to highlight what a ruthless criminal and horrible father Sportsmaster really is. Abusive parents are a recurring theme throughout Young Justice, with the majority of the show’s leads having some form of dysfunction at home. In taking care of Lian with Will, Artemis has shown her capacity to be better than her own parents, something her sister apparently couldn’t do. 

This is touched upon further with the revelation that Orphan is Lady Shiva’s own daughter and that the reason she can’t speak is that the latter slashed her vocal cords when she was an infant. Yikes. Jade plays this up as a reason not to pursue the Shadows and rescue Orphan, but Artemis can’t risk one of her charges being killed, no matter what. I understand why these characters are the way they are, and I don’t think Jade is poorly written, but I hate her. She doesn’t want anything to do with her mother or sister, won’t raise her own child, and doesn’t seem to believe in anything. I’m tired of this character and all the drama she single-handedly causes at this point. In spite of everything Sportsmaster put the sisters through (of which Artemis clearly bore the brunt), Artemis is leading a surprisingly healthy, productive life surrounded by people she can trust and depend on. Jade’s life is cold and sad and empty, consumed by anger and a lust for revenge that will probably never be satisfied. There’s also a bit of a parallel here to M’gann’s relationship with her sister. While the M’orzz family at least had loving parents, Em’ree abandoned M’gann and M’Comm to the racism G’arunns relentlessly hurl at their pale-skinned kind. Em’ree and Jade both love their sisters on some level and realize too late that they could and should have protected them better. 

The story with the defectors is also extremely effective. I’m the most interested in Cassandra because her motivation to leave the Shadows was born out of pain and loss. She lost not only her sister and her arm but also her belief in her father and the organization to which she previously dedicated her life. I also like her voice and character design more than Onyx, who seems pretty bland to me. She has the uninspired backstory of realizing that the Shadows don’t care about her, while Cassandra has lost everything she ever loved. I also like the way Cassandra relates to Artemis, a fellow daughter of a criminal. I’m not saying that I dislike Onyx, and she could definitely be improved with more time and development. But despite what the characters believe, I wouldn’t be shocked if Cassandra is a genuine turncoat and Onyx was merely sent ahead to cast doubt on her story and muddy the waters. 

As the title would indicate, “Artemis Through the Looking Glass” is littered with references to the works of Lewis Carroll. Like “A Tale of Two Sisters,” this episode ends with Artemis reading an excerpt from the book alluded to in the title. The Alice stories have served as a motif of Artemis and Jade’s relationship throughout the seasons, with them using the famous lines as codes and signals and their childhood bedroom adorned with merchandise. While Young Justice has been around far longer and referenced Carroll’s works before, I find it interesting that both it and Doom Patrol have played up the madder aspects of their stories in this way. I know Black Spider has previously appeared in earlier Young Justice seasons, but I feel the need to mention how funny he is in “Artemis Through the Looking Glass.” He’s obviously a play on Spider-Man, and probably Greg Weisman’s Spectacular Spider-Man show in particular. Josh Keaton, the voice of Peter Parker in that series, even plays Black Spider on Young Justice. 

“Artemis Through the Looking Glass” is the best episode of Young Justice: Phantoms yet. The action choreography is spectacular, and, as usual, the whole episode looks great. But what really seals the deal is the attention to detail with the characters’ backstories and interpersonal relationships. Credit also has to be given to the phenomenal voice actors who have now been playing these roles for a decade.