REVIEW: ‘Young Justice: Outsiders’ Season 3, Episodes 24 – 26

Young Justice: Outsiders dropped episodes 24 – 26 altogether, reverting back to how the show originally was streaming before moving to drop just one episode a week following the mid-season hiatus. Episodes 24 – 26 mark the three-part season finale for the season. Previously, we saw the original Young Justice team, consisting of Nightwing (Jesse McCartney), Aquaman (Khary Payton), Miss Martian (Danica McKellar), Artemis (Stephanie Lemelin) and Superboy (Nolan North), infiltrate the orphanage in order to take Granny Goodness (Deborah Strang) head-on to save Halo, aka Violet (Zehra Fazal), who was kidnapped by Dr. Helga Jace (Grey Griffin) and handed over to Granny.

While the original team is in the Orphanage, the Outsiders work to find new leads for tracking down Violet. Now, having a better grasp on his cybernetic power after sitting in Mobius Chair which reversed the damage from the Father Box, Victor Stone (Zeno Robinson) with Garfield Logan (Greg Cipes), Blue Beetle, aka Jaime Reyes (Eric Lopez), and others attempt to follow leads to find Violet on earth.

Episode 24 focuses primarily on the newer teammates that have been introduced in either Young Justice: Outsiders or the second season of Young Justice. As I have mentioned before, these characters are not nearly as established so it is harder to care about them. That being said, the banter in this episode between the team, especially Kid Flash, is some of the best writing for the Outsiders I have seen all season. Additionally, the episode finally gives us the Victor Stone I have been waiting for all season as he comes into his own and accepts his abilities as Cyborg. As Victor uncovers the truth about Granny Goodness, the team gets that much closer to defeating her and Darkseid.

The remainder of the three-part season finale, “Overwhelmed” and “Nevermore,” episodes 25 and 26 respectively, follows the team as they prepare during the calm before the storm and head into the final confrontation. While the focus is on the New Gods, the Light still schemes in the shadows and Markovia prepares for an all-out war.

Young Justice: Outsiders has been a bumpy season, more so than even season 2. But, episodes 24 – 26 manages to focus on the entirety of the team and show us just how much each member has grown. Victor is accepting who he is and his new powers, Artemis wants to move on from Wally, and Forager must decide if he wants to stay on Earth and continue hiding his identity or return home but lose contact with his new friends. The emotional moments of the episode are done well, particularly with Artemis. Following Wally’s death at the end of season two, she has been struggling with her grief. Artemis has also played a key role this season in mentoring Violet and Tara (Tara Strong). In the season finale, Tara must make her own decision as to whether to continue doing the dirty work of Deathstroke or accept her new family.

Young Justice: Outsiders episodes 24 – 26 sets out to tie up some of the loose ends from throughout the season. However, there is still a lot left uncovered and while it is easy to carry those storylines into the next season, it is frustrating considering just how much Young Justice: Outsiders attempted. From having too many characters to too many subplots, Young Justice: Outsiders was a rough season. Some of these storylines, particularly revolving around Markovia, should have been wrapped up sooner in the season in order to keep the pacing cohesive. That being said, episodes 24 – 26, the three-part season finale, was a strong finish that has me excited for the show’s return.

Young Justice: Outsiders entire third season is streaming now on The DC Universe.