Review: Young Justice: Outsiders “Antisocial Pathologies”

Thanks to Dick/Nightwing and Jefferson/Black Lightning, Granny Goodness is now fully aware of the various superheroes of Earth working together – the Justice League, Young Justice, and the Outsiders. She reports the same info to Vandal Savage along with his team “The Light” which also is followed by the previous episode’s big twist the Classic DC Villain/Super-Genius known as “Ultra Humanite” was the “mentor” that Dr. Helga Jace has been contacting this whole time and has “plans for Halo” assuring the other members she’ll no longer be a threat to their operations. While this is going on, Deathstroke/Slade finds Terra demanding more information about Victor Stone/Cyborg and Halo, but tries to brush it off, while Nightwing is still suffering the after-effects of Granny’s method of torture & obedience known as the “X-Pit” while Jefferson is healed, but for some reason, Dick didn’t. Surrounding Dick is, of course, his Bat-Family with Aquaman/Kaldur also being there. But When Dr. Jace is unable to do anything further for Dick, she takes a coffee break with her partner, Jefferson, and suddenly Jefferson puts the pieces together. As we’ve learned over the past several episodes from plot-twists I’ve purposely left out to avoid spoilers, Batman purposely quit the Justice League so he could work with a covert team of operatives for a clandestine mission to take down the Light “without Impunity” or any sort-of legal Red-Tape the Justice League would have to tackle. His team includes his Bat-family, as well as Aquaman/Kaldur, Wonder Woman and Miss Martian. And through under-handed means, Batman has orchestrated events in past episodes where the Outsiders team can publically make a difference and pull Superheroes away from the Negative light that Lex Luthor has been putting them under through his political influence.

Of course, Jefferson is less than thrilled about being lied to and feels the heroes have lost their moral integrity. All this shouting seems to have awakened Dick, who decides to try and apologize to Jeff himself. In all honesty, though, Batman’s little club seriously has a lot to answer for. But because of the in-fighting from this series of exploding truth-bombs, they consequently don’t notice Dr.Jace putting control devices on Tara and Brion, and taking Violet and the siblings to see her ‘mentor’. It’s here where shit gets the most real it’s ever been with a series of even more unexpected twists Because guess what? Jace brings Violet to the Light, where Granny Goodness subdues her with Apokoliptic tech. Ultra-Humanite had wanted Violet’s power, but Granny has need of her, and offers Ultra-Humanite Victor/Cyborg in her stead, because as revealed in last episodes post-credits, Violet is the key to solving something that Darkseid has been trying to achieve for centuries: The “anti-life equation” a Method which removes free-will & individuality from all living beings so Darkseid can rule over everything and everyone unchallenged. Oh, but we’re not even at the bigger twists which are at the heart of this episode…

As Granny throws Violet into the X-Pit, not only does this confirm her theory about Violet holding the key to this “Anti-Life” business, but Granny decides to test this power on Dr. Jace revealing a series of plot-twists during the course of Season 3 even I wasn’t expecting from her, but for a self-proclaimed “motherly” figure, let’s just say Helga is even shadier than Batman’s team and the Light put together. Because of this theory being confirmed, Granny is no longer interested in helping the Light and just wants to get Violet to Darkseid to achieve his master’s goal of absolute dominion & obedience. At first, Granny thinks she’s got the upper hand, but Terra isn’t under the sway of the control chip. When Slade had met her, he’d given her a device to counter this method of control causing Terra to free Brion and attacks Granny, but Granny disappears with Violet, while Ultra-Humanite vanishes with Jace. In the aftermath, Brion & Terra reveal everything they’ve discovered and as they try to process everything that’s happened, the episode ends when Terra decides to side with Slade/Deathstroke 100% because of the drama & mistrust the heroes have done to one another, while the Light’s leader Vandal Savage remains perturbed at Ultra Humanite’s report regarding Granny’s true intentions.

Our Take

Holy fuck this was easily one of the best episodes in the show so far. Not just because of big reveals that have happened, but because as predicted, the Heroes are now facing the consequences of their under-handed actions. I always took issue with shows where people get away with manipulating others for some selfish endeavor, but If there’s anyone I felt bad the most, It’s Terra for now believing Heroes aren’t worth trusting after witnessing them fighting amongst themselves over Batman’s Bullshit, and Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning whom I can get behind the most saying that nobody wants to be manipulated, especially when they’ve been led to believe their actions are their own. Black Lightning desired freedom and he was denied that without even knowing it. And even worse the woman who loved him, (Helga) was also lying to Jefferson along with the rest of the team since the beginning for her own twisted Agenda.

Do you know what hurts a team the most? lack of trust between its own members and this episode further exemplifies it in a multitude of ways. To the episodes credit, we at least get a scene of Barbara/Oracle verbally chewing Bruce/Batman out for the dishonest methods his team has used and admonishes him to realize that while most of his covert-team members consists of protege’s whom he’s raised and served under him without question (Tim Drake/Robin and Dick/Nightwing), these teenage super-teams aren’t pawns in a chess-game he can instantly move around on a whim. He has to understand that this kind of manipulation will not sit well with them in the long run, no matter what desired results Batman hoped to achieve.

With four episodes left before the season three finale, I’m wondering how all the heroes are gonna get their shit together and rescue Violet, assuming every hero right now isn’t at each other’s throat’s enough to plan a rescue mission at all.