Young Justice: Outsiders episode 22 review: An ode to villainy

This week’s episode of Young Justice: Outsiders is all about villains and deceit, but it doesn’t really focus on the main Big Bad of the season.

The entire season of Young Justice has been building hints for Darkseid’s antics. From the cryptic messages in the titles to Apokoliptian tech, Outsiders has been building a case for what Darkseid is truly capable of. However, he isn’t the only villain this season. Episode 22 illustrates the series’ many different types of monsters, but leaves us wanting more from the Big Bad of the season.

In the many multiverses of heroes, villains, and the ambiguous line between the two, there are a lot of reasons metahumans become villains. Heroic integrity is sometimes hard to uphold—even for the most seasoned and moral people. As episode 22 proves, even villainy can be messy. And it creates some truly menacing villains that manage to overshadow the ruler of Apokolips himself.

While Jefferson has questionable taste in women (specifically Dr. Helga Jace), he makes a lot of valid points. Piecing together the Outsiders’ unethical practices is odd in regard to timing in the storyline. However, Jefferson was ready to retire at the start of the season for the sake of his family and his mental health. Through coercion and lying through omission, Dick and  M’gann and various other members of the team convinced him to get involved with the group.

Surfacing these lies causes a rift in the team, but it also develops some of the moral ambiguity that this unconventional superhero group has always exhibited in the comics. Batman might be sold on this whole “lying to protect the young heroes” philosophy, but we’re not. The team has bigger problems ahead, such as stopping Darkseid and saving the universe. Nonetheless, Bruce’s deceit just reminds us of how shady his moral code can be.

While we’re sure the team will make amends somehow, this breach of trust doesn’t just draw comparisons to the comic accurate attributes of the team. It also parallels the manipulative impact within the Outsiders team due to Slade Wilson’s manipulation.

Honestly, Deathstroke is one of the creepiest villains. Although Darkseid is trying to create an endless army of mindless followers, somehow Slade’s skill at manipulation makes him a more convincing threat than a nearly all-powerful New God. So far, Slade has a better record of controlling people than Darkseid himself, and Tara is the proof.

Even though we know Deathstroke is a sly jerk who lies and controls others to do his bidding, we still almost believed that he cared about Tara’s well-being. Almost. His theatrical monologue to Tara shows the depths of his control over her. By throwing Jace under the proverbial bus he further convinces Tara that the heroes she lives with are the supposed bad guys, which means she only trusts him right now. His manipulative tactics make him one of the most dangerous foes this season, especially when you take into consideration that all the villains are striving for control.

With her deluded motherhood complex aside, Jace’s speech ensures that Tara would distrust anyone who isn’t Deathstroke because it proves his earlier monologue about the rest of the Outsiders right. (After all, Tara still doesn’t know that Jace was just one of the Light’s pawns.) Jace’s divisive behavior this episode makes Deathstroke look like the only trustworthy person in Tara’s life. Where Deathstroke has already succeeded with his terrifying manipulation, Darkseid is still struggling to gain control (at least long term).

In a season that focuses on the villains, Darkseid doesn’t particularly act like the Big Bad this episode. He’s still the main antagonist, but Slade and Jace’s villainous actions are currently more gripping than the Overlord’s plot for total domination. We’re not mad that episode 22 developed a couple of nefarious figures, but it’s all a bit distracting. The series should be building a narrative framework. Thus far, Darkseid is… both underwhelming and overshadowed.

There are only a few more episodes left, but Darkseid still primarily exists as a background piece in his own villainous narrative. While there’s still some time for the season to create a convincing adaptation of Darkseid’s usual shenanigans, he currently acts as a side character even though he’s apparently the season’s main antagonist.

We’re still contemplating several fan theories and crying about Dick Grayson, but can we talk about how raw Jace’s confession was? Plenty of bad guys have a god complex, but Jace has a series parenthood complex. Sure, she basically has a warped god complex because she thinks she created and rebirthed Brion and Tara. However, the lengths that she’s taken to protect them is disturbing in ways that make her a terrifying villain with somewhat sympathetic motives (if you look at from her point of view, at least).

We’re ready to see how Vic and Violet and Vandal Savage takedown Darkseid. After all, Vandal was disgruntled by the mere mention of the anti-life equation. That wasn’t a coincidence, which means Vandal’s character development could be the turning point of the season.