REVIEW: ‘Young Justice: Phantoms,’ Episode 11-“Teg Ydear!”

Young Justice: Phantoms Episode 11 takes a few twists and turns during its runtime, but in my humble opinion, they’re more than welcome to. “Teg Ydear!” begins shortly after the end of  “Nomed Esir!”; Zatanna Zatara (Lacey Chabert) intends to recruit other magic users to stop the battle between  Klarion the Witch Boy (Thom Adcox) and the Child (Erika Ishii) before it destroys the entire world. She takes her Sentinels of Magic to recruit Doctor Fate (Kevin Michael Richardson), who ends up testing Zatanna’s students and revealing their hidden insecurities. Flashbacks reveal the secret origin of the Lord of Order Nabu and his surprising connection to Vandal Savage (David Kaye).

The highlight of the episode is the trials that Traci Thirteen (Lauren Tom), Khalid Nassour (Usman Ally), and Mary Bromfield (Ishii) undergo. Traci deals with her insecurities, as represented by a trio of puppets shaped to look like Blue Beetle (Eric Lopez), Beast Boy (Greg Cipes), and Zatanna manipulated by her subconscious. Khalid feels torn between his mystic abilities, his medical training, and his Muslim heritage. Mary is confronted by her younger self, who accuses her of turning her back on the power of Shazam. Writer Nida Chowdhry works through the various issues each Sentinel is undergoing and how they come to terms with it.

This is especially true for Khalid, whose trial takes the shape of a rising pool of water; his parents even appear to point out that he is literally drowning under the weight of all his responsibility. Yet much like a certain web-slinger in the Marvel Universe, Khalid chooses to embrace all of his responsibilities and also says that his medical practice doesn’t have to conflict with his faith or his magical abilities. Ally delivers an emotional speech that will tug at users’ heartstrings, and I definitely hope Phantoms continues to utilize him in upcoming episodes-especially considering what mantle he takes up in DC Comics canon.

Doctor Fate also takes center stage when it comes to the matter of faith; he believes that the best thing to do is to wait for Klarion and the Child to tire each other out before he steps in. He also doesn’t have faith in the Sentinels of Magic, hence the tests. But Giovanni Zatara (Nolan North) calls him out on this, pointing out that the bond between the Lord of Order Nabu and his human host requires faith as well as intervention — why else would he join teams like the Justice Society and Justice League? Chowdry and director Vinton Heuck also take a different approach to the flashbacks with this episode, as Nabu narrates his death during the rise of Babylon and how he became a Lord of Order; fans of The Suicide Squad will want to keep their eyes peeled for a certain character.

The series also takes time to check back in with Beast Boy, who spends most of his time sleeping and ignoring the Outsiders’ missions. He even seems to miss an important call, a sign that he is still grieving Superboy’s death. Superhero stories, including Doom Patrol and WandaVision, have tackled mental health, so I’m glad that the series is still running with this thread. And unlike the previous episode, this plot thread feels more organically woven into the runtime. I hope that the next episode has somebody talk to Beast Boy because what he’s doing isn’t healthy.

Young Justice: Phantoms Episode 11 explores how its characters deal with mental health and faith, resulting in one of the season’s strongest episodes. With the next episode set to conclude this story arc, it remains to be seen who wins in the battle between Order and Chaos.

New episodes of Young Justice: Phantoms are available to stream on HBO Max on Thursdays.