Monsters of Television

“There’s no static on a psychic link!”

Sorry if you were hankering for a post about last week’s Flash-tacular episode. Between Impulse (my exposure is limited to last week’s episode and the current Teen Titans comic, and in both cases I don’t really like Bart) and time travel (an unnecessary attempt to raise the stakes for characters we barely know/haven’t developed a relationship with) I didn’t have much to say about the episode that I didn’t just say in a few words.

“Depths” on the other hand does offer something to talk about, whether we like it or not, and perhaps serves as a minor corrective to the issue of not knowing/haven’t developed a relationship phrase I used above (though I’m sure that a nuclear apocalypse isn’t going to happen, so it’s still unnecessary stake raising), though I’m not sure how much I even care now.

What is the bigger offense? Showing Kaldur as a villain, and encouraging us to think about him as such, and apparently doing doing a shoddy job of going through that emotional arc that would’ve led him down that path of darkness, or is it the reveal that he’s actually deep undercover in Black Manta’s organization, inching his way closer to the Light? Is it worse to feel sucker punched by Kaldur’s “betrayal” (and annoyed by its lack of narrative progression) or just feel suckered into thinking the show was willing to be kind of bold, albeit in a sloppy sort of way?

I’m not really sure which is worse. A little bit of me does like that Kaldur is still on the side of the angels, but at the same I did like the idea of him as a villain as well. It gave some drama to a show that is otherwise lacking in it (you can add, by the way, faking Artemis’s death to that list). Like the time skip, it’s perhaps best just to accept it instead of dwelling on it. But like the time skip, it does all feel just a tad…lazy (as does this “secret” (which I assume means Kaldur’s assignment, but may be something else), which is increasingly par for the course for Young Justice.

So let’s talk about the good, not that there’s too terrible much that is good in the episode. The highlight was M’gann and Conner’s exchange aboard the bioship, and not only confirmation that Conner was increasingly uncomfortable with who M’gann uses her abilities but that she used those abilities in an attempt to alter Conner’s memories and emotions about the break-up. It’s to Nolan North’s credit (something I never thought I would write as I’m not a huge fan of North’s work) that he makes the rather trite (but sweet) speech about the touch of M’gaan in his mind and how much it meant to him work. It was an earned exchange for the pair, and I dug it.

The rest of the episode is just kind of there on the screen. The action set pieces aren’t very engaging (perhaps if we knew why Manta didn’t want the rocket to launch that may have helped?), and while I enjoyed the reunion, of sorts, among the original team, I am somewhat interested in why Dick, Wally, Artemis, and Kaldur haven’t informed M’gann and Conner about their little plan. I can’t think of a reason why (damn that five year time skip), so I am curious.

But it’ll have to wait. We seem to have hit a hiatus point in the season. When Young Justice is back, I shall be back.

DC Nation Shorts: So, interestingly, even though Green Lantern is in reruns, they’re still showing new shorts with it. This means that the “The Sword of The Atom” is still going, and is still passingly interesting. It’s not doing much to stand out, really, but it’s still a bit entertaining. On the other hand, we’ve gotten two “New Teen Titans” short. Both have been good (though I preferred the one attached with “Depths” and its “YOU CAN’T DIVIDE TAPE WITH TAPE! YOU CREATED A PARADOX!” work. Hilarious).

FINAL THOUGHTS

• “Maybe I’m the only one not drinking the space cola…” and “Borrow a cup of Martian sugar while our world is being invaded!” may be the best lines that Tim Curry has ever uttered. Great stuff.
• I appreciate Mal’s perspective that the team is going to end up responsible for both Speedy and Impulse. I wish he did have more to do than just hang out in the HQ though.
• O HAI Carol Ferris! Glad to see you’re not all pointlessly Star Sapphire-y here at least.
• In perhaps the best bit of news as we go into a break for DC Nation, Teen Titans Go! has been announced as a 2013 series for the programming block (with the entire original voice cast). I am, as you could have guessed, pretty damn excited for this. Now if only we can get full series version of “Super Best Friends Forever.” My fingers are crossed.