Young Justice: Outsiders: episode 14 review: Demon in the details

From heartwarming messages to the resurgence of a retired hero-actor, Young Justice: Outsiders episode 14 keeps us whelmed.

It’s been a few months since Young Justice: Outsiders left us on the Tara Markov drama and Dr. Jace’s impending villainous arc part 2. As “Influence” eases us back into the developing drama, the episode gives us a lot of nostalgia and some questionable hints and canon.

Kicking off the second half of the season from the framed Justice Leaguers, the Outsiders episode builds up more New Gods lore. While on opposing sides of the abridged battle, there’s something that just feels right about Big Barda and Hawkwoman’s short-lived throwdown.

The episode uses early references of the unusual parademons to distract us from Gretchen Goode. Like any season of Young Justice, Barda’s brief reflection of Superman’s heroic gesture is riddled with obvious foreshadowing. We’ll probably have to wait a while before the season formally shows Barda and the Furies switching sides. However, this scene solidifies the transitional influence the episode has on the series.

The way the episode tiptoes back into the Justice League debacle and Goode VR’s shenanigans might seem redundant, especially if you’ve rewatched the series multiple times during the mid-season break. But the episode doesn’t just ease us back into the tension, it gets us ready for some continuous character development. Beyond the framework for future character development with some of the now villains, the episode also showcases some tangible change in Garfield’s arc.

We might not relate to the circumstances of the meta-human trafficking or the parademons or any of the other fictional elements, but Gar’s reaction is reasonable and expected. The Goode VR goggles resurfaced his traumatic memories, and it had an invasive reaction to his psyche.

Further amplifying his grudge and heroic regenesis, the whole contract debacles emphasize the details of the season. Connections are vital to the storyline, and Gretchen and Garfield’s proximity basically ensure that a lot of this season will focus on Garfield.

Like the connections help foster new foes and relationships, Brion and Violet’s relationship is one of the clear highlights of the episode. Though Pride Month is over, Halo’s ongoing arc provides a wealth of positive representation for young viewers.

Her clearly non-binary coded dialogue this episode is a critical part of her identity. Seeing her visibly grimace when she’s called a girl shows that she’s still growing and learning more about herself. But seeing her acknowledge that she isn’t a girl or a boy and then turn to Brion, who immediately accepts, her is such a comforting message.

The person she trusts and respects most in her life validates her and reassures her in one of her most vulnerable assertations. It appears as a simple and natural scene because the series is taking a step to normalize non-binary people and the basic support that we deserve. Despite the powerful scene with Brion and Violet, the episode does present some questionable takes on the canon.

Yes, we’re talking about the snippet where Superman struggles to breathe in space. While Superman’s canon — even the canon of his physiology — changes depending on the writer, he can typically breathe in space. Even when he can’t, he can hold his breath for several hours (or create a sort of oxygenated forcefield around himself, that cloaks him in something he can breathe in for a few hours). Of course, there are even iterations where he doesn’t even need to breathe oxygen at all… due to his solar-powered lifeform. Regardless, given that there are so few versions of Superman not being able to pseudo-breathe in space, this scene was one of my more shocking frames in the episode.

Whether the scenes are shocking, relieving, or somewhere in between, DC Universe’s Young Justice: Outsiders’ “Influence” definitely gets us whelmed for the rest of the season.