Monsters of Television

“Oh, really? Would you have felt the need to justify an all-male squad for a mission?”

I rather liked “Beneath” but that could have entirely been because Batgirl figured prominently into it.

The episode isn’t too busy, balancing only two plots with each other, plots that do tie into together, so the episode has a solid footing on which both plots can be executed without feeling disparate. It also isn’t overly convoluted or inserts action sequences for the sake of action sequences. Instead, it stages a really nice set piece at the end that feels earned and exciting.

It’s a nice change of pace for the show, even if I do feel like we’re about to rehash some plot points from another show.

We spend some more time with Jaime here as he searches the El Paso area for his runaway friend, Ty Longshadow. It’s a nice enough plot as plots go. It gives us more insight into Jaime’s relationship with the alien scarab, and how he has to struggle to maintain control of it in any given situation (and how it can be helpful as well). And a nod to the animators when the episode visits Ms. Longshadow. All the little touches, particularly a lack of contact, do a decent enough job of hinting at the domestic violence that Maurice is bringing into that house without actually saying it.

I do wish they had dealt with that aspect more fully, but it would’ve been a high-wire act for the show to perform in an episode that didn’t have the space to fully address it. Perhaps Maurice will return and get his comeuppance.

Meanwhile, the episode’s Team Alpha (and, let’s be honest, Team Alpha of our hearts) of M’gann, Bumblebee, Batgirl, and Wonder Girl infiltrate a base in Bialya to see what Queen Bee is up to. The episode does a lot of really nice work here as well, properly dramatizing Wonder Girl’s desire to be more integrated on the team despite her particular skill set, but not overselling it either. It results in a nice character moment for the episode as the rest of her team congratulate her after the mission, and it’s the sort of thing that’s been missing from the season so far.

But here’s the groan-inducing plot point. The Partner wants himself a bunch of kids. And they end up at the end of the episode with only a few tanks, including Ty, who is wearing Apache Chief’s bandanna from Super Friends. Longshadow was the name of the Apache Chief-inspired character in Justice League Unlimited‘s Ultimen, the team that figured prominently into that show’s Cadmus arc. While it does kind of make sense that the Light or the Partner or whoever is running the show would want their own super team, no need to be so obvious about your intentions, Young Justice.

But, then, ‘obvious’ is kind of your M.O.

DC Nation Short – “Super Best Friends Forever”: I kind of missed a lot of this one due to a wrong phone number calling me, but it was delightful enough as they fight over Batgirl recommending that they begin to call themselves Super Best Friends Forever. And poor Cheetah.

FINAL THOUGHTS

• Icicle Jr: It’s been five years. Just let M’gann go. Seriously.
• “Because you’re Wondergirl, not Stealthagirl.”
• Queen Bee flying through the vents and then just having Batgirl in the background, wedged in the vents? Pretty funny.
• “Can you say Temple of Doom?”
• “Psimon says…he doesn’t care.”
• “You’re the only qualified to fly the plane to safety. Which is ironic since you’re the only member of the team who can’t fly.”
• “Devastation is right: Your brain is pretty.”
• We need more Queen Bee. By which I mean we need more Marina Sirits.