Today is the day! After a cancellation six years ago, the fan-beloved Young Justice is back for a third season: Outsiders. Yesterday, the first three episodes of the series were released and every Friday we will get three more. Before I get too much further, for those of you who are unaware, Young Justice is a show about a covert team of upcoming superheroes (they hate being called sidekicks), who handle missions that are either too delicate or just not in the scope of the Justice League. The series had very warm reception and is probably one of the best-received superhero animated series since Justice League Unlimited, but despite that, the series was canceled in 2013 due to its inability to move merchandise, specifically toys. After years of fan petitions, online movements, and rumors of a Netflix revival, DC confirmed the series revival in 2016 as a part of the upcoming DC streaming service. So now that we are caught up, the question that's probably burning in everyone's minds is "does it live up?" and the short answer is yes, but I have some personal reservations that I will go into a bit later.
The set up for this season is true to Young Justice form with a recap of the final moments of the previous season for The Team, and then a time jump, except this time it's only been 2 years instead of the previous 5-year jump that was very controversial, and right from the get-go the series establishes itself apart from the previous season with a MUCH more mature take on the show. The crux of this season's plot is based around a metahuman trafficking ring, where children with a latent meta-gene are being abducted from hospitals and being turned into Metahumans by the activation of that gene through a substance called "tar." At the same time, The Justice League has pushed their dominion past the reaches of our galaxy and are doing most of their work off-world as Lex Luthor, whose influence in the UN has skyrocketed in the time between season 2 and 3, has restricted the League's Earth operations through increased regulation in their UN charter. This, in turn, has caused a schism in both the League and The Team as Batman tenders his resignation to start Batman Incorporated. All of this happens in established within the first episode of the season, and it sets the tone.
These first three episodes deliver fantastic animation and writing that this series has become famous for, and by shifting their target audience to adults (I mean just look at what I just wrote, most of that stuff would go straight over a kid's head) they are able to embrace darker themes and have more intense situations and fights. That being said, it's this very fact that gives me some very big reservations going ahead. There is a misconception that because something is targetted at adults, that it shouldn't be fun or have any humor. This notion is ridiculous because a balance of tone, throwing in a moment of laughter here and there, allows you to appreciate the intense moments a lot more because that's ultimately how life is. Even on our worst days, there is light and those small instances can at the very least make the day a bit more bearable or at the best can completely untether you from all the bad that happened on that day. Ensuring a balance is there allows for the truest suspense of disbelief because it makes these stories more relatable and real. If intensity is the norm, then why should I be invested in any of it? Sadly, these first three episodes lack the joy and charm that the drew me into the show in the first place and I think that is a huge mistake.
Where the show has pushed it's more mature themes and storytelling, it has abandoned the personality and the essence that made it so compelling. Goofy Wally West flirting with everything that moves, but still have a heart of gold when it counted; Dick Grayson with his wry remarks on grammatical nuisances to exhibit his whit, but deep down he's struggling with whether or not he's ready to inherit this massive role that the Batman has for him; M'gan acting the ditzy teenage girl in order to hide who she really is for fear of not being accepted by the team; Kald'r struggling with the weight of leadership over his friends; Connor dealing with coming to terms with his own identity due to being a clone of both Superman and Lex Luthor; Artemis being ashamed of the criminal past of her mother, and the current status of her own sister. All of these things made for a fantastic dynamic where storytelling was made even more enjoyable by fantastic character interactions: drama, humor, sadness, etc. While I understand that character progression is important and that the characters they are now should not necessarily be the same as they were in season 1, completely leaving out their dynamic as characters is a mistake and get rid of the investments people have in the show.
Now, these are only the first three episodes of a 26 episode season, so I am not trying to dissuade people from watching the show. These first three episodes set up a lot and there is a lot of directions they can go, and these writers have yet to let me down. It's just that I came to watch Young Justice, and while Outsiders has had a very good start, it doesn't feel like Young Justice to me anymore and at the end of the day, that's the show I was looking forward to coming back. I would still give these episodes an 8 out of 10, they are very well written, the animation is some of DC's best, and I am even digging the fact that they are bringing in the DC Animated Universe's designs for characters to make it feel like cannon within that Universe, and it does have some moments that really will hit home for fans of the show since its start. The show is still good, it just is missing a key element of personality, that again could be there in future episodes, we'll just have to see.
This has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you have enjoyed and we'll see you again next time!
No comments:
Post a Comment