REVIEW: Young Justice – Season 4, Phantoms, Episodes 10 and 11, “Nomed Esir!” and “Teg Ydaer!”

Television Reviews

  ***SPOILERS AHEAD***

“Nomed Esir!” opens with more flashbacks, this time to the development of Atlantis under the watchful eye of Vandal Savage. In the present, Zatanna and her students are licking their wounds when the Stranger finds them. Meanwhile, Klarion faces off against Child. She informs him that she’s here to kill and replace him, not help him out as he suspected. Garfield continues to struggle with sleep and his emotions. Em’ree’s concern for M’gann grows as the latter closes her mind off to Em’ree and J’onn. Back on Earth, the Stranger seeks to persuade Zatanna and the others to help Klarion. Child reveals that she has all the other Lords of Chaos on her side, putting Klarion at a steep disadvantage. The Stranger brings Zatanna’s charges to London to recruit Jason Blood, or rather the demon Etrigan. Aboard Baby, Em’ree manages to connect with M’gann and get her to talk about what happened. Etrigan arrives to join Klarion, but they’re no match for Child even together. Klarion disappears, and Child follows as Zatanna is struck and falls into the water. Her student Khalid revives her, and she tells the Stranger they need more help. Meanwhile, Vandal Savage tries to persuade his son Nabu/Dr. Fate to intervene.

“Teg Ydaer” introduces more flashbacks, this time detailing the thought process of the Lords of Order in choosing Aryan as their proxy. Meanwhile, Zatanna teleports herself and her charges to the study of Kent Nelson by accident. In the past, Vandal Savage ignores the warnings of his son Nabu and allies with Klarion again. Klarion introduces a Starro creature to Vandal’s Babylon. In the present, Fate decides to challenge Zatanna’s students and test their mettle. In ancient Babylon, Starro brings the army under its own control, and a battle ensues. Nabu dies attempting to clean up his father’s mess, attracting the attention of the Lords of Order. Beast Boy finally gets some rest, but his lack of participation in their missions has his team on edge. Zatanna’s proteges eventually overcome their respective challenges, but it is Nabu’s host Zatara who convinces him to intervene. However, it may be too late; Child and Flaw kill Teeku, removing Klarion’s tether to the Earth.

The flashbacks in “Nomed Esir!” continue to impress. The voiceover work here is spectacular, and the visuals of the Ancient Atlantian cities really stand out. The animation in the battle sequences is exceptionally breathtaking, especially in the gradual escalation of Child’s tactics and Klarion’s desperation. The exploration of Vandal Savage’s past and various dealings with Klarion is probably my favorite aspect of Phantoms thus far. Don’t get me wrong; I love characters like M’gann, Garfield, and Artemis. It’s awesome to see where they are after so many years and how they keep learning and growing as people. But the Outsiders episode “Evolution” showed what a driven, relentless person Vandal Savage is while also exploring the patience someone like him would need. Once it became clear he would have a larger role in Phantoms, I was beyond hooked. Suffice it to say I’m not disappointed; for once, the flashbacks are among the highlights of these episodes. I’m almost disappointed when the episode reverts from chronicling the immortal’s rise to power and shifts focus back to someone like Zatanna. Young Justice reminds me of The Clone Wars with its enormous, revolving cast of characters and especially this season’s four-part story arcs. I think this is a wonderful way to tell stories because you get to explore many characters and viewpoints. But I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t watch a whole season just about Vandal and the Light. I have questions, like why Vandal’s progeny live forever like him but aren’t immune to death. Aryan is said to have lived over 200 years, but when Vandal’s statue falls on him (how poetic,) he actually dies, unlike his grandfather, who regenerates after such incidents. Likewise, in “Teg Ydaer!” we see that Vandal’s son Nabu is similarly destructible. This is probably nitpicking, but I can’t help wondering how the mechanics of this ability/lengthened lifespan work and why it’s not the same for his whole family.

“Nomed Esir!” continues the thread of M’gann and Em’ree’s strained relationship in a funny, cathartic way. Em’ree strives throughout the episode to connect with M’gann, who isn’t having it, for once shutting her mind off entirely from her passengers. I really like the resolution with M’gann telling Em’ree she’s a terrible guidance counselor but a great sister. It fits well that M’gann would mend fences with her sister and not be over Conner, but actually more outwardly upset. She feels comfortable showing Em’ree the true extent of her grief now. I wonder how their newfound bond will flourish once they reach Earth and M’gann is reunited with her other family. The sequences with Jason Blood and Etrigan are fantastic, too, especially Etrigan’s attempts to brutalize Child.

“Teg Ydaer!” is even better. The flashbacks that have been delving into Vandal Savage and Klarion’s past reveal a third, unexpected function: telling the story of Nabu and his selection as a Lord of Order. I love this show. This is some truly epic storytelling, spanning centuries and continents to slowly piece together the very foundation of the modern world of Young Justice. I like that “Teg Ydaer!” shifts the narration duties to Dr. Fate this time, as this is essentially his episode. The very end of “Nomed Esir!” showed Vandal trying to reason with Nabu and involve him in the conflict of the Chaos Lords. Still, I didn’t expect this to lead into a whole episode surrounding this character. This is the definition of a satisfying payoff. The presentation of this character’s backstory and worldview is magnificent, and the scene where he internally argues with Zatara about whether to fight is excellent writing. This is the kind of stuff that made me love the show and got me excited for Phantoms. I was absolutely stunned (and still am) at the destruction of Teeku. I love cats, so even though he’s an evil demon cat, seeing Flaw snap his neck hurt my feelings a little. I like that Nabu comes to see the value in Zatanna’s argument just as it’s too late, and I can’t imagine what will happen next. Does this really mean Klarion is gone for good? What does that mean for Vandal Savage? How can they stop Child with all of the Lords of Chaos on her side, even with Dr. Fate’s help? What’s with the school bus we keep seeing?!

“Teg Ydaer!” is also an exploration of faith, which I wasn’t expecting but was refreshing in its approach. One of Khalid’s struggles explored in Fate’s challenge is his inability to reconcile his Muslim beliefs, magical training, and medical studies. I like this because it goes a long way to differentiate him from Zatanna’s other students and the show’s various background characters. I also like that his mother, Kent Nelson’s niece, encourages him (at least in the challenge) to be true to his religion and forsake his meta status while his father, Muhammad, supports his magic. It would be so easy to paint the mother as pulling Khalid towards her heritage and the father doing the same, but it’s more complex than that. For whatever reason (which I imagine will be explained later,) Khalid’s mother has left her family’s beliefs and work behind and embraced her husband’s beliefs. But the father understands that Khalid is both and can’t change what he is. This was good stuff on its own. But then, in the confrontation with Nabu, Zatara references his own Catholic faith as the basis from which he draws the strength to be Fate’s host. At least visually, the cross is likened to Fate’s ankh as the two figures literally stand for what they believe in. Themes like this are interesting to me because I don’t adhere to any particular religion. My beliefs only regard how people treat each other and animals, so I tend to find theology out-of-touch and missing the point. I find it so exciting to see the other side, what faith means to people (even fictional ones). Strangely, I find ideas like this more interesting because I don’t know how I feel about them. The idea that these two magicians (one of whom is also a man of science) believe in traditional religions as well is oddly inspiring.