Because Conner knew he was dead and the others weren’t so he saw him as a phantom. Notice how he switched to his Kid Flash suit without transition. Only a hallucination could’ve done that.
@@FloofMotherWally was a huge influence on my Young justice run since the show came out, I kept watching in hope he comes back but if he really comes back next szn I’m being Deadass when I say tears may be shed, but I thought it wouldn’t be possible because of the part where he told Artemis to move on
@@jdinero5226 that part was specifically an illusion of him if I remember correctly. Though if young justice follows the comics closely, the season with sanctuary is about to get real fucked up really quick.
Loved this season! I loved that the connecting story was Connor's 'death' instead of a liar/ conspiracy plot, gave the whole season a more unique vibe to it
What was even woke in it? In season 3 they mocked islam by making halo non-binary and they made a girl kiss her. Aqualad turned gay. Lagoon boy was polyamorous and half the episodes were really boring excluding the episode with vandal savage fighting the starro creatures, superboy's death.@@_somerandomguyontheinternet_
Like you said, the show can be frustrating, quality is all over the place, but it has healthy intentions and when it hits, it hits a spot that not any other show does. Definitely worth watching, probably for all ages.
let's just take a moment to appreciate that this series took Razer, a character who is from an almost completely separate series (a lot of shared creative team, but canonically only adjacent), and gave him such a wonderful conclusion to the character. They didn't have to do this, he didn't appear in Young Justice before nor was he mentioned, but they still included him and gave him a decent send off. I hope we might someday get to see more of his character, especially with were he ended up.
FINALLY! Some Young Justice Season 4 appreciation! I love Phantoms! I feel it didn't get the coverage or the same amount of engagement past seasons did because of Season 3. This was a vast improvement over Season 3. Things just felt more focused, with the arcs really doing wonders in delving into certain characters with more depth than we have in the past. It had its problems: The first arc was a bit of a drag, the Beast Boy stuff got a bit tiresome, and some arcs could have been shorter episodes. However, I just loved the character development it gave to the OG members, as well as some side characters who I was like "Who are they?" in Season 3 (e.g. The Sentinels Of Magic). And yeah, The Rocket/New Gods arc RULED! (Particularly with me being a massive fan of The Green Lantern Animated Series) With Season 3, I felt there was a lot going on, but Season 4 reframed everything and it made me excited to see more of the vast tapestry the showrunners are constructing. They're playing the long game. If it ended with Season 3, I would not be as heartbroken. But after Season 4! #RenewYoungJustice Also, yeah, it was all about trauma, which is always fun 😆
I gave up during the offensively awful depiction of an autistic child episode. Like I'm not a easily offended individual, far from it, but God damn was that in poor taste, especially considering how woke the show was trying to be in past two seasons. Not to mention how much political shit was jammed into what was one of my favorite shows. I mean they had a living dead girl who has met literal gods talking about how she wants to become Muslim while wearing an outfit that is entirely haram besides the hijab. Literally the first and only time I have ever quit on a show I liked
BeastBoy's breakdown mirrored my own following my brother's death. It tore me up and forced me to look at how I was treating myself and others around me.
I appreciate what you've done with this channel. You don't rely on clickbait titles or trendy topics, you just make extremely high-quality analyses and people show up for it.
Show was never the same after season 2. Some good moments in season 4, but not a great season. Highlight was definitely the episode about Razer from Green Lantern the Animated series. I’m still disappointed the show never brought back Wally, kept teasing Red Hood with no payoff, and just kept pushing back Darkseid’s invasion
Season 1 was the best. The team dynamics and balance are unmatched. After that, it just lost momentum although Season 2's plot focus was a nice change of pace in retrospect
If the show had a confirmed 8-9 seasons, this slow burn of different groups and slow pave would make sense, but with all time drama of cancellations makes it umbareable
Loved the season. It had it's lows, but the overall structure of the season was a REALLY great choice. Also absolutely adored the focus the original group got this time around. If this is how the show will forever end, I'll be pretty whelmed.
See, I can never hate M'comm as much as the show tried hard to get me to hate him. Not just because of the tragic backstory, but at least M'comm was actually willing to do SOMETHING about the problem instead of just waiting for royalty to magically eliminate racism, even if he committed evil acts. M'gann abandoning her people was understandable when she was a child, but as a powerful adult, she could do WAY more for them instead of just leaving it all to M'comm and his terrorists.
Agreed. Also want to point out that M'comm DID have a point about his siblings adhering to the cast system/racism. He rightfully pointed out that their Garun siblings wouldn't even bother to show up for her wedding bc they disapprove of her marrying an off worlder/non martian, despite the fact that they are all literally the products of an intercaste/interracial marriage. Racism and class divides DO exist in families and people do choose to subscribe to them, and it's worth calling it out.
Thanks for making me cry Leo. For me YJ was a grand tribute to everything the DCU is. Phantoms was beyond anything before it. Such a nuanced study on trauma and adversity in life and how we overcome it and heal.
I really did adore Phantoms, but as an autistic person, I had mixed feelings about the conclusion to the Rocket arc. Like, putting aside the fact that I related more to Orion than I did to Amistad, because I know that people with autism have it impact their lives in different ways, I just really didn't like the way Amistad was portrayed as such a burden early on. Raquel eventually coming to understand Amistad would have hit better if it was made clearer from the beginning that she wasn't really *trying* to do understand him at first. As an autistic person, I'm really just *extremely* fucking tired of parents of autistic children being given basically 100% of the attention in media, with basically no focus being given to the feelings of the autistic children themselves, and also no focus being given to autistic adults. I am not counting Big Bang Theory or The Good Doctor or Sherlock in my portrayals of autistic adults because watching those shows had me constantly thinking "I would honestly rather just be called a slur than be represented in this way"
I'm going to be the wet blanket. I wasn't a fan of this season. I'm fully aware of how real it got with the mental health issues. But man, that was 90% of the plot this season. Beast boy was sad, Martian was sad, superboy wasn't sad, which was sad.. rocket couldn't understand her son, which was sad...like, I get that it's important, but I am watching an escapist fantasy for a reason!
there's a million "avengers endgame" movies and cartoons for every one young justice, why are you looking for cheap entertainment here as if you can't get that anywhere else? young justice has always been about intertwining mature themes in with the superhero genre, and it's always been melancholic. ppl love spiderman for the same reason. it takes a fun setting, and puts real characters and real themes on the stage. it's not often you get good writing, or characters that feel authentic in comic book adaptations. or works of fiction that do a good job at representing the PERSON behind a hero. young justice, although it doesn't always hit the mark, is atleast trying to do more with a genre most people are getting bored of, or have always maintained was subpar art exclusively for children with nothing of value to add to culture. there's "escapist fantasies" all around you if that's what you're looking for, the last thing we want is more dumbing down.
Trauma and recovery has been the defining theme of the last decade of my life. As a child, I masked, hid my autism and my synesthesia, and more importantly, my pain, from the world. Recovery defined my twenties, and this retrospective came during a day when I reflected on and realized and even confessed to my family that I never once felt like I belonged when I was growing up in my home neighborhood. The pain of isolation was a lot for me to chew on today and this video was a wave of relief and catharsis that I needed after such a long day.
This once again shows why we should #SaveEarth16! There is so much here, every single episode, every single season… I know seasons 2 and 3 felt a little like they were getting away from what was so great about the first … but it did come full-circle (it always does…) The budget cuts were painfully apparent, sadly, but I know if they #RenewYoungJustice for another season, the fans will go nuts. I absolutely adore DCAU. Not only was it my childhood, but it was the universe that told me comics could be done well for television and have genuine meaning to them. Young Justice elevated that in one show. James Gunn, please finish the story.
One of the best things about this season was the four-episode arc structure. It felt properly paced and unlike previous seasons it didn't feel like they were cramming everything and everyone into the story at the same time with limited episodes to do anything significant with them. Plus it allowed for the show to explore the vastness of the DC Universe. Some parts were slow, but the highs definitely outnumbered the lows in my view.
I’ve been watching Young Justice since it originally aired. Although I still prefer season one over the other 3, the 4th season was somewhat refreshing, as they (quasi) focused on the original team of season one. The Artemis/Jade arc was my favorite with the final 5 episodes, being led by Nightwing, a close 2nd. I can’t romanticize this season like you did, but I did enjoy it.
I admire how you managed to write a positive essay about this season, which was way too different from the previous seasons. Like with this low budget they focused on psychotherapy rather than the drama and action.
I really do enjoy some critique of superhero media that has something decent to say with occasional frames of a person in a funny dinosaur suit myself.
I just finished season 4 a couple days ago, so it’s pretty timely this video came up! Young Justice is one of my favorite series ever and I’m glad I found out about s3 & 4 years after I watched the first two seasons when i was a kid. Loved your analysis in all the other videos as well!
The editing at the ending was phenomenal, well done old boy. Also, the ending with Lor-Zod’s bicth (in that order) ass was soooo satisfying and a sterling exemplar of “congratulations, you played yourself.”
I love that you actually talked about the title of 'Phantoms' as an overall theme and not just 'well its about the Phantom Zone', although yes since it was the climax it could be brought around to that as well. I really hope we get another season!
I also liked how they brought in "phantom" characters like the Phantom Stranger and Phantom Girl. Even Danny Chase was once known as Phantasm. No Phantom Lady, though.
This was a break down I didn't know i needed. I feel like i have grown a decade after listening to you talk, thank you for the effort and hard work you put into this essay. Know that your work has helped and please continue, as long as you enjoy it. I say not only to you but anyone who needs to hear it. Thank you.
Juxtaposing an in-depth analytical look at trauma through the lens of fictional characters with the absolutely absurd nonsense of a video title is just PEAK Implicitly Pretensious👍
I was relatively happy with this season, I have hope that we will get a season 5 and I still hope and feel like Wally will come back but if this is where it truely does end Im glad i got to see these characters grow even more.
Young justice to me is a very special series, a series that with very little can just deliver an emotional gut punch that just breaks you, if you see it coming and if you don't. It's a series where the characters, their emotions, mental health, and relationship comes first, and that genuinely does feel like something that is just so hard to come by nowadays. The two moments that - I don't know if I can call them my favorite - but that just absolutely wrecked me the hardest were just that, two single moments, a two sentences delivered to perfection to just makes one break down. It was that one kinda big moment of Harper Roe admitting her father was abusive, and that one simple scene during the end credits of the episode where Giovanni Zatara was finally set free where he completely broke down after a decade of holding himself together through sheer willpower, love, and faith. It also makes me think of how much I *love* the way Young Justice treats religion. It's not for everyone - it's a journey. Personally I'm an atheist, that is where my journey lead, but so many use their faith to draw power and get them through their darkest moments that it was really nice to see the show take time to explore that with heroes. Giovanny's faith helping him through Dr. Fate. Khalid using his faith to overcome Dr. Fate's trial. Violet exploring what Islam meant to her. Olly going to the Church after Roy woke up. It's such an amazing series, with such an amazing way of respecting the mental toll all of this hero stuff would very much inevitably leave on the heroes.
12:02 Implicitly pretentious is my favorite DC content creator. His content is logical, he analysis movies/comics and can peer into what the writers intended, he convinced me to watch the entire tommarowverse simply because of how beautifully he explained it. His breakdowns prove that beauty can be built by looking at something logically... and in between that all, there are moments like this, and I love it.
I think perhaps you we focusing on the right angle for this show. 👍 I admit, I've always appreciated the way you can tie themes, character and plot together in interesting ways. But I also admit that deep down, I actually carry a lot of resentment towards YJ. Because instead of enjoying the journey and fun, I got tangled up in the plot detailing. The exposition drops, the returning elements, the fears of every encounter, the hopes to see some characters in new ways. And a part of me will never fully enjoy Weisman's storytelling ethos because it means that no matter how grand or deep things go, you always feel left out of whatever end you get. Hence how so much of his animated work is beloved, but also always blaming executives for not seeing "the genius" through to the end. It's kind of an inverse of how we feel about the DCAU. Where every end of season, while not necessarily an end all, feels satisfying in its own way. Hence how even after this character focused, well tied together season, there will still be those who will call this series a fraud for getting into the details of a superhero universe, but didn't care about their own fragility to finally make that All Out War against Darkseid and the Light that so many were waiting on. I suppose this is what happens when the toy gods are unsatisfied, and you get...testy about needing to move over to streaming only. I personally suspect that season 6 would be the invasion survival storyline, but even then, there are no guarantees. 😢 I dunno. I just think that this show was a surprise that became a tour, but which turned into a struggle that in the end I don't know how to feel about anymore.
I wasn’t really a fan of this season. What capped it off was the 4 episode arc of Rocket and her struggles with having an autistic son. How can you compare something like that to Orion and Darkseid? I’m sorry but comparing a child with a disability to the son of one of the most evil characters in the entire of DC because they’re “misunderstood” is the epitome of divisive.
I definitely liked season 4 more than 3. A lot of that was in the start, the time on Mars felt like a nicer kickoff than the Markovia plot. And a bunch of characters basically f*cking off didn't help either. The time on New Genesis was also great, and *spoiler* seeing Forager become a Green Lantern got me more hyped than anything. Dunno why, it was just cool.
This was beautiful, idk what crazier the fact that I just commented on the video essay for outsiders saying how we needed this vid, or the fact that I just started watching season 4 again a couple days ago😭either way thankyou for this vid
I totally agree that this season finally seemed like we returned to the origins of the series. Even though each character separately had a focused arc (except Dick he didn't get much of the spotlight), it made me feel very proud to see them united in working towards getting Connor back. Also another thing that made me really happy this season in particular was the amount of representation shown; from lgtb, neurodivergence and different faiths these it's just so heartwarming to see diverse role models on screen. Last thing was that I found the end snippets of each episode really cute (minus the ones with the characters crying)
I don’t think the telepathy talking was meant to save budget. The creators have talked pretty openly about a lot of the process, and pointed out it doesn’t actually save them animation money to have them speak telepathically. Their budget hadn’t decreased so much as it hasn’t increased, and costs get higher every year. So yeah, it means that they’ve had to make certain choices to accommodate that, but the slideshow thing has been an aspect of the series since the first season. I’m not saying it isn’t used more now, but it’s something that the show has always done. I also thought a lot of the animation this season was really nice - the fight scenes always looked good, and a lot of the interpersonal emotional moments looked great too. Anyway, good analysis! I really love this show and while I don’t necessarily agree with some of your criticisms it’s clear you’re coming from a place I’d love as well.
It's always weird that Season 4 is the one that got flack for doing that, when Season 3 was the one that did it the worst. The slideshows became more frequent and interrupted the flow of various fight scenes. Meanwhile, Season 4 only reserved them for the storytelling involving Vandal Savage, Dr. Fate, Klarion, and Zatara, which I thought was the smarter choice.
@@GamerSlyRatchet1 see, I’d agree with that! I enjoyed s3 a lot but I think they still improved on some of its shortcomings, animation included. I think using the still frames during moments of in universe ‘storytelling’ really worked!
Everything about Phantoms being weak is they decided subtext and allegory needed to be text and overt. Instead of using heroes to explore issues about the various ways the pressures of the world can effect you, it just rolled out 5 or 6 characters that just declared they had a mental disorder so the characters could talk to the camera about the disorder. Instead of characters showing how the rectify faith in a superpowered world, we can just have 4 characters monologue in the dark about their literal religions for an episode. Instead of Halo slowly discovering herself through her friendships and encounters, we can just cut to her telling the audience she is a non-binary possibly religious panromantic. The issue is that when the subtext is text, it becomes...problematic. Oh look, the literal victims of racism have banded together to slay the monarchy that has oppressed them, but the show wants us to see them as villains because there's lots of "good people" maintaining the racism? We want to draw a comparison between autism and someone who is genetically driven to rage and violence unless they keep their biological drive in check? I'm not even going to touch the wrongfully imprisoned black Kryptonians by the white Kryptonians that do a literal slave song as they perform manual labour in their prison, who once again are the villains of the show because they did an oopsie on their social commentary by making it too on the nose.
I think your videos are fantastic, they really explain to people why someone like me, who's been through his own trauma and can find relatability in these characters, but can't find an informative way to articulate it to others, likes these characters. I think a character that you could make a real killer video for is wolverine, that guys nothing but trauma, sorry for the long comment
i love this show it gave me everything i ever wanted and seeing both Damian Wayne robin and Jonathan Samuel Kent superboy even as little kids on this show was so cute and adorable that I cannot wait for more young justice which is going to be awesome.
I really wanted to like this season, and I appreciate your analysis of the themes. But as a person of faith, I bounced off of it pretty hard due to the mishandling of their religious themes. "Cool, Zatara is a practicing Christian!... oh, it was just to make him a bad father." "Cool, Halo is asking about Islamic practices!... oh, her host's mom only practices because it makes her think of home and family, not because she actually has any faith in a higher power or our place in the universe." I was excited to see religious expression that wasn't just evil zealotry or hypocrisy, but this was just hollow, almost virtue signaling - plus a reminder that "religion is okay unless you let it change what you think or do. " I know this video is 7 months old, so i don't think this will generate any discussion, but I'd be curious to hear other thoughts.
I really wish they would’nt have cancelled this show. There is so much more story you can get from these characters and there are so many characters to choose from. I would love to see spin off shows in the same universe.
For the third and fourth season are overheated. The way to explore difficult issues and themes is really interesting and original to me. My favorite season is season 3.
Great video. I love young justice, i particulary like the arc about cassanda cain. I would love to see a sixth season about the heroes in their mid 20/30s to start to step up because old heroes, like batman or superman, die in the first part of the conflict with Darkseid. And the seventh all about legacy in which this heroes have to stop seeing the old heroes as models and start to act as models and help develope the new generations
Young Justice is for sure the Best thing DC ever did. And if they dont bring it back i have no hope for DC anymore. The show Really was and is a masterpiece. #SAVEEARTH16 #BRINGBACKYJ #SEASON5YJ
I love Young Justice. I really appreciate it and I am hoping for a season 5 but if it doesn’t come back I’ll be fine. I’ve accepted that it might not come back but if it does, I’ll watch it. It’s one of my favorite dc material.
As much as I hate how the arc treat Zatanna in the third arc, it's actually make me appreciating characters that have burden as a leader in a difficult situation that requires sacrifice for greater good. They are saying I learn when exploring about Roman history "It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience." Obviously it's not 100% right as becoming heroes who sacrifice themselves is also hard things to do, but it does highlighting the heavy burden a leader must shoulder as their decision would always causing suffering either to people under their responsibilities or the civilians that affected by their decision. Simply said it's a trolley problem which whatever decision You take as leader, it's would always end up causing casualties and You must always deal with traumatic guilts that come with living on at the sacrifice of the others or the harm to other people thanks to your decision for greater good. I just wish they could explore Zatanna trauma/guilts as her ideas causing the Lord of Chaos is rampaging through the world. Its never easy to know that You have causing a great harm to other people even though deep inside You have a good intentions. Attack on Titan character, Erwin Smith has similar case with Zatanna when they are being torn apart between their personal goal about their father and their big responsibility as leader against inhuman monsters that want nothing less than destruction of humanity. Erwin Smith have this exploration segment about his trauma and guilts and it's elevate him as complex engaging flawed human being unlike Zatanna who gut slandered as two dimensional heartless selfish monster who prey on kids i.postimg.cc/rsbZyr92/20230617-194558.png
Young Justice became too damn depressing and dark once it was revived. I'll just stick with the first two seasons. Yes, they had moments of maturity, but not over the top like seasons 3 and 4. Plus, they were a HELL of a lot more fun, and were better animated.
Honestly I don’t like YJ, not a fan of how much drama it was filled with, it was less of a superhero show and more of a Soap Opera with how much there was I mean geez
I hope we have a season 5 igrew up with this show and the dcau when wally was racing to save a heart transplant patient on christmas i was on edge but i saw the kid embodying what being a hero meant
Since I discovered Young Justice a couple of years ago, it's become One of my 3 favorite DC Animated Shows
What are the other two?
Good on ya, you were spared the pain of thinking the show died several years ago. Only for it to come back to life
@@joshsears2820only to die again on yet another cliff hanger
@@playfulwriter9796justice league animated > Batman animated series > young justice probably...well for me anyways
@@Lawdevo Good Answer
And now I'm the same age as them...and their still showing me how to walk. That line just hits different but is also so true.
Solid line followed by a silly image. Very on brand.
yeah bro that line made me tear up a littel bit
I’m still so disappointed Wally never came back even though he had a different color pallet than the memories in the phantom zone
Because Conner knew he was dead and the others weren’t so he saw him as a phantom. Notice how he switched to his Kid Flash suit without transition. Only a hallucination could’ve done that.
The next season, if there will be one will be about sanctuary, which in the comics heavily involved Wally west, so if he does come back, it’ll be then
@@FloofMotherI hope it gets picked up fr
@@FloofMotherWally was a huge influence on my Young justice run since the show came out, I kept watching in hope he comes back but if he really comes back next szn I’m being Deadass when I say tears may be shed, but I thought it wouldn’t be possible because of the part where he told Artemis to move on
@@jdinero5226 that part was specifically an illusion of him if I remember correctly. Though if young justice follows the comics closely, the season with sanctuary is about to get real fucked up really quick.
It really is so special having a show where the characters grow with the audience.
Loved this season! I loved that the connecting story was Connor's 'death' instead of a liar/ conspiracy plot, gave the whole season a more unique vibe to it
Hated this season with all the stupid woke crap that just ruined the whole show
@@funkmasterfunk1221you say that like Young Justice hasn’t been explicitly woke for a long while, since at LEAST Season 2 and arguably since season 1.
What was even woke in it? In season 3 they mocked islam by making halo non-binary and they made a girl kiss her. Aqualad turned gay. Lagoon boy was polyamorous and half the episodes were really boring excluding the episode with vandal savage fighting the starro creatures, superboy's death.@@_somerandomguyontheinternet_
Like you said, the show can be frustrating, quality is all over the place, but it has healthy intentions and when it hits, it hits a spot that not any other show does. Definitely worth watching, probably for all ages.
it’s absolutely amazing at its best, but BOY do its’ plateaus hurt my brain
let's just take a moment to appreciate that this series took Razer, a character who is from an almost completely separate series (a lot of shared creative team, but canonically only adjacent), and gave him such a wonderful conclusion to the character. They didn't have to do this, he didn't appear in Young Justice before nor was he mentioned, but they still included him and gave him a decent send off. I hope we might someday get to see more of his character, especially with were he ended up.
What show was he from?
Green Lantern: The Animated Series@@_somerandomguyontheinternet_
FINALLY! Some Young Justice Season 4 appreciation! I love Phantoms! I feel it didn't get the coverage or the same amount of engagement past seasons did because of Season 3. This was a vast improvement over Season 3. Things just felt more focused, with the arcs really doing wonders in delving into certain characters with more depth than we have in the past. It had its problems: The first arc was a bit of a drag, the Beast Boy stuff got a bit tiresome, and some arcs could have been shorter episodes. However, I just loved the character development it gave to the OG members, as well as some side characters who I was like "Who are they?" in Season 3 (e.g. The Sentinels Of Magic). And yeah, The Rocket/New Gods arc RULED! (Particularly with me being a massive fan of The Green Lantern Animated Series) With Season 3, I felt there was a lot going on, but Season 4 reframed everything and it made me excited to see more of the vast tapestry the showrunners are constructing. They're playing the long game. If it ended with Season 3, I would not be as heartbroken. But after Season 4! #RenewYoungJustice
Also, yeah, it was all about trauma, which is always fun 😆
I gave up during the offensively awful depiction of an autistic child episode. Like I'm not a easily offended individual, far from it, but God damn was that in poor taste, especially considering how woke the show was trying to be in past two seasons. Not to mention how much political shit was jammed into what was one of my favorite shows. I mean they had a living dead girl who has met literal gods talking about how she wants to become Muslim while wearing an outfit that is entirely haram besides the hijab. Literally the first and only time I have ever quit on a show I liked
@@benb5308yea s4 was just the worst season
BeastBoy's breakdown mirrored my own following my brother's death. It tore me up and forced me to look at how I was treating myself and others around me.
phantoms was one of the few times i've seen depression accurately depicted on TV and i'm so thankful for that
Bojack Horseman? Rust chole? Punisher? Elliott Alderson?
@@lifeisberserk9566 "one of the few times" doesn't mean the only time
You’re the worst is probably the best on tv
I appreciate what you've done with this channel. You don't rely on clickbait titles or trendy topics, you just make extremely high-quality analyses and people show up for it.
Show was never the same after season 2. Some good moments in season 4, but not a great season. Highlight was definitely the episode about Razer from Green Lantern the Animated series. I’m still disappointed the show never brought back Wally, kept teasing Red Hood with no payoff, and just kept pushing back Darkseid’s invasion
Season 1 was the best. The team dynamics and balance are unmatched. After that, it just lost momentum although Season 2's plot focus was a nice change of pace in retrospect
If the show had a confirmed 8-9 seasons, this slow burn of different groups and slow pave would make sense, but with all time drama of cancellations makes it umbareable
Loved the season. It had it's lows, but the overall structure of the season was a REALLY great choice. Also absolutely adored the focus the original group got this time around. If this is how the show will forever end, I'll be pretty whelmed.
See, I can never hate M'comm as much as the show tried hard to get me to hate him. Not just because of the tragic backstory, but at least M'comm was actually willing to do SOMETHING about the problem instead of just waiting for royalty to magically eliminate racism, even if he committed evil acts. M'gann abandoning her people was understandable when she was a child, but as a powerful adult, she could do WAY more for them instead of just leaving it all to M'comm and his terrorists.
Agreed. Also want to point out that M'comm DID have a point about his siblings adhering to the cast system/racism. He rightfully pointed out that their Garun siblings wouldn't even bother to show up for her wedding bc they disapprove of her marrying an off worlder/non martian, despite the fact that they are all literally the products of an intercaste/interracial marriage. Racism and class divides DO exist in families and people do choose to subscribe to them, and it's worth calling it out.
revolutions be messy
Thanks for making me cry Leo. For me YJ was a grand tribute to everything the DCU is. Phantoms was beyond anything before it. Such a nuanced study on trauma and adversity in life and how we overcome it and heal.
I haven't watched Young Justice since I was a kid, but Season 1's ending of the "What did we do" line always stuck with me
I really did adore Phantoms, but as an autistic person, I had mixed feelings about the conclusion to the Rocket arc. Like, putting aside the fact that I related more to Orion than I did to Amistad, because I know that people with autism have it impact their lives in different ways, I just really didn't like the way Amistad was portrayed as such a burden early on. Raquel eventually coming to understand Amistad would have hit better if it was made clearer from the beginning that she wasn't really *trying* to do understand him at first.
As an autistic person, I'm really just *extremely* fucking tired of parents of autistic children being given basically 100% of the attention in media, with basically no focus being given to the feelings of the autistic children themselves, and also no focus being given to autistic adults.
I am not counting Big Bang Theory or The Good Doctor or Sherlock in my portrayals of autistic adults because watching those shows had me constantly thinking "I would honestly rather just be called a slur than be represented in this way"
I'm going to be the wet blanket. I wasn't a fan of this season. I'm fully aware of how real it got with the mental health issues. But man, that was 90% of the plot this season. Beast boy was sad, Martian was sad, superboy wasn't sad, which was sad.. rocket couldn't understand her son, which was sad...like, I get that it's important, but I am watching an escapist fantasy for a reason!
Facts. And many things happened in the comics between season 2 and 4. The show feels rushed.
there's a million "avengers endgame" movies and cartoons for every one young justice, why are you looking for cheap entertainment here as if you can't get that anywhere else? young justice has always been about intertwining mature themes in with the superhero genre, and it's always been melancholic.
ppl love spiderman for the same reason. it takes a fun setting, and puts real characters and real themes on the stage. it's not often you get good writing, or characters that feel authentic in comic book adaptations. or works of fiction that do a good job at representing the PERSON behind a hero.
young justice, although it doesn't always hit the mark, is atleast trying to do more with a genre most people are getting bored of, or have always maintained was subpar art exclusively for children with nothing of value to add to culture.
there's "escapist fantasies" all around you if that's what you're looking for, the last thing we want is more dumbing down.
Trauma and recovery has been the defining theme of the last decade of my life. As a child, I masked, hid my autism and my synesthesia, and more importantly, my pain, from the world. Recovery defined my twenties, and this retrospective came during a day when I reflected on and realized and even confessed to my family that I never once felt like I belonged when I was growing up in my home neighborhood. The pain of isolation was a lot for me to chew on today and this video was a wave of relief and catharsis that I needed after such a long day.
This once again shows why we should #SaveEarth16! There is so much here, every single episode, every single season… I know seasons 2 and 3 felt a little like they were getting away from what was so great about the first … but it did come full-circle (it always does…) The budget cuts were painfully apparent, sadly, but I know if they #RenewYoungJustice for another season, the fans will go nuts.
I absolutely adore DCAU. Not only was it my childhood, but it was the universe that told me comics could be done well for television and have genuine meaning to them. Young Justice elevated that in one show. James Gunn, please finish the story.
One of the best things about this season was the four-episode arc structure. It felt properly paced and unlike previous seasons it didn't feel like they were cramming everything and everyone into the story at the same time with limited episodes to do anything significant with them. Plus it allowed for the show to explore the vastness of the DC Universe. Some parts were slow, but the highs definitely outnumbered the lows in my view.
This season legit made me HATE forager and the bugs species
I’ve been watching Young Justice since it originally aired. Although I still prefer season one over the other 3, the 4th season was somewhat refreshing, as they (quasi) focused on the original team of season one. The Artemis/Jade arc was my favorite with the final 5 episodes, being led by Nightwing, a close 2nd. I can’t romanticize this season like you did, but I did enjoy it.
I admire how you managed to write a positive essay about this season, which was way too different from the previous seasons. Like with this low budget they focused on psychotherapy rather than the drama and action.
*Trauma tends to linger, as I know you know*
-Martian Manhunter _Disordered_
Yay Young Justice
The music you hear in the beginnning is called: OTE feat. Penny Lane - Just Doesn't Feel Right, for anyone trying to find it.
I love this season, i really hope a season 5.
I really do enjoy some critique of superhero media that has something decent to say with occasional frames of a person in a funny dinosaur suit myself.
I just finished season 4 a couple days ago, so it’s pretty timely this video came up! Young Justice is one of my favorite series ever and I’m glad I found out about s3 & 4 years after I watched the first two seasons when i was a kid. Loved your analysis in all the other videos as well!
The editing at the ending was phenomenal, well done old boy.
Also, the ending with Lor-Zod’s bicth (in that order) ass was soooo satisfying and a sterling exemplar of “congratulations, you played yourself.”
Man im so happy to see you cover one of my favorite shows! This show still has me sad over Wally's death that was YEARS ago
When beast boy breaks down in therapy with black Canary. I cried so hard.
I love that you actually talked about the title of 'Phantoms' as an overall theme and not just 'well its about the Phantom Zone', although yes since it was the climax it could be brought around to that as well.
I really hope we get another season!
I also liked how they brought in "phantom" characters like the Phantom Stranger and Phantom Girl. Even Danny Chase was once known as Phantasm. No Phantom Lady, though.
That talk with Clark and his kid had me fucking crying. My grandpa was probably the greatest man in my life and I lost him at a very young age.
This was a break down I didn't know i needed. I feel like i have grown a decade after listening to you talk, thank you for the effort and hard work you put into this essay. Know that your work has helped and please continue, as long as you enjoy it. I say not only to you but anyone who needs to hear it. Thank you.
Klarion/witch boy. is probably my favorite part of the series
Juxtaposing an in-depth analytical look at trauma through the lens of fictional characters with the absolutely absurd nonsense of a video title is just PEAK Implicitly Pretensious👍
Damn you for making me cry there at the end 😢. I miss that whole universe and it just kept getting bigger and deeper.
Your best video yet. ❤ That ending ripped my heart out, ugh.
I was relatively happy with this season, I have hope that we will get a season 5 and I still hope and feel like Wally will come back but if this is where it truely does end Im glad i got to see these characters grow even more.
Young justice to me is a very special series, a series that with very little can just deliver an emotional gut punch that just breaks you, if you see it coming and if you don't. It's a series where the characters, their emotions, mental health, and relationship comes first, and that genuinely does feel like something that is just so hard to come by nowadays.
The two moments that - I don't know if I can call them my favorite - but that just absolutely wrecked me the hardest were just that, two single moments, a two sentences delivered to perfection to just makes one break down. It was that one kinda big moment of Harper Roe admitting her father was abusive, and that one simple scene during the end credits of the episode where Giovanni Zatara was finally set free where he completely broke down after a decade of holding himself together through sheer willpower, love, and faith.
It also makes me think of how much I *love* the way Young Justice treats religion. It's not for everyone - it's a journey. Personally I'm an atheist, that is where my journey lead, but so many use their faith to draw power and get them through their darkest moments that it was really nice to see the show take time to explore that with heroes. Giovanny's faith helping him through Dr. Fate. Khalid using his faith to overcome Dr. Fate's trial. Violet exploring what Islam meant to her. Olly going to the Church after Roy woke up.
It's such an amazing series, with such an amazing way of respecting the mental toll all of this hero stuff would very much inevitably leave on the heroes.
This was so beautifully put together great job!!!
12:02
Implicitly pretentious is my favorite DC content creator. His content is logical, he analysis movies/comics and can peer into what the writers intended, he convinced me to watch the entire tommarowverse simply because of how beautifully he explained it. His breakdowns prove that beauty can be built by looking at something logically... and in between that all, there are moments like this, and I love it.
I genuinely hope there's one last season to this series and they do it justice.
I think perhaps you we focusing on the right angle for this show. 👍 I admit, I've always appreciated the way you can tie themes, character and plot together in interesting ways.
But I also admit that deep down, I actually carry a lot of resentment towards YJ. Because instead of enjoying the journey and fun, I got tangled up in the plot detailing. The exposition drops, the returning elements, the fears of every encounter, the hopes to see some characters in new ways.
And a part of me will never fully enjoy Weisman's storytelling ethos because it means that no matter how grand or deep things go, you always feel left out of whatever end you get. Hence how so much of his animated work is beloved, but also always blaming executives for not seeing "the genius" through to the end. It's kind of an inverse of how we feel about the DCAU. Where every end of season, while not necessarily an end all, feels satisfying in its own way.
Hence how even after this character focused, well tied together season, there will still be those who will call this series a fraud for getting into the details of a superhero universe, but didn't care about their own fragility to finally make that All Out War against Darkseid and the Light that so many were waiting on.
I suppose this is what happens when the toy gods are unsatisfied, and you get...testy about needing to move over to streaming only. I personally suspect that season 6 would be the invasion survival storyline, but even then, there are no guarantees. 😢 I dunno. I just think that this show was a surprise that became a tour, but which turned into a struggle that in the end I don't know how to feel about anymore.
I wasn’t really a fan of this season. What capped it off was the 4 episode arc of Rocket and her struggles with having an autistic son. How can you compare something like that to Orion and Darkseid? I’m sorry but comparing a child with a disability to the son of one of the most evil characters in the entire of DC because they’re “misunderstood” is the epitome of divisive.
I just finished the 2nd episode of Strange New Worlds. Already cried once. Thank you..
I definitely liked season 4 more than 3. A lot of that was in the start, the time on Mars felt like a nicer kickoff than the Markovia plot. And a bunch of characters basically f*cking off didn't help either.
The time on New Genesis was also great, and *spoiler* seeing Forager become a Green Lantern got me more hyped than anything. Dunno why, it was just cool.
i still say "I'm traught welmed and feeling the aster," at least once a day when i need to psyche myself up
I did the ultimate double take at 12:03
This was beautiful, idk what crazier the fact that I just commented on the video essay for outsiders saying how we needed this vid, or the fact that I just started watching season 4 again a couple days ago😭either way thankyou for this vid
I wish Nightwing got more screen time though.
you deserve the world, fav youtuber
I totally agree that this season finally seemed like we returned to the origins of the series. Even though each character separately had a focused arc (except Dick he didn't get much of the spotlight), it made me feel very proud to see them united in working towards getting Connor back. Also another thing that made me really happy this season in particular was the amount of representation shown; from lgtb, neurodivergence and different faiths these it's just so heartwarming to see diverse role models on screen. Last thing was that I found the end snippets of each episode really cute (minus the ones with the characters crying)
I watched this season while I was in Vegas and having the time of my life, I have such good memories of this show
I don’t think the telepathy talking was meant to save budget. The creators have talked pretty openly about a lot of the process, and pointed out it doesn’t actually save them animation money to have them speak telepathically. Their budget hadn’t decreased so much as it hasn’t increased, and costs get higher every year. So yeah, it means that they’ve had to make certain choices to accommodate that, but the slideshow thing has been an aspect of the series since the first season. I’m not saying it isn’t used more now, but it’s something that the show has always done. I also thought a lot of the animation this season was really nice - the fight scenes always looked good, and a lot of the interpersonal emotional moments looked great too.
Anyway, good analysis! I really love this show and while I don’t necessarily agree with some of your criticisms it’s clear you’re coming from a place I’d love as well.
It's always weird that Season 4 is the one that got flack for doing that, when Season 3 was the one that did it the worst. The slideshows became more frequent and interrupted the flow of various fight scenes. Meanwhile, Season 4 only reserved them for the storytelling involving Vandal Savage, Dr. Fate, Klarion, and Zatara, which I thought was the smarter choice.
@@GamerSlyRatchet1 see, I’d agree with that! I enjoyed s3 a lot but I think they still improved on some of its shortcomings, animation included. I think using the still frames during moments of in universe ‘storytelling’ really worked!
Everything about Phantoms being weak is they decided subtext and allegory needed to be text and overt. Instead of using heroes to explore issues about the various ways the pressures of the world can effect you, it just rolled out 5 or 6 characters that just declared they had a mental disorder so the characters could talk to the camera about the disorder. Instead of characters showing how the rectify faith in a superpowered world, we can just have 4 characters monologue in the dark about their literal religions for an episode. Instead of Halo slowly discovering herself through her friendships and encounters, we can just cut to her telling the audience she is a non-binary possibly religious panromantic.
The issue is that when the subtext is text, it becomes...problematic. Oh look, the literal victims of racism have banded together to slay the monarchy that has oppressed them, but the show wants us to see them as villains because there's lots of "good people" maintaining the racism? We want to draw a comparison between autism and someone who is genetically driven to rage and violence unless they keep their biological drive in check? I'm not even going to touch the wrongfully imprisoned black Kryptonians by the white Kryptonians that do a literal slave song as they perform manual labour in their prison, who once again are the villains of the show because they did an oopsie on their social commentary by making it too on the nose.
I think your videos are fantastic, they really explain to people why someone like me, who's been through his own trauma and can find relatability in these characters, but can't find an informative way to articulate it to others, likes these characters. I think a character that you could make a real killer video for is wolverine, that guys nothing but trauma, sorry for the long comment
i love this show it gave me everything i ever wanted and seeing both Damian Wayne robin and Jonathan Samuel Kent superboy even as little kids on this show was so cute and adorable that I cannot wait for more young justice which is going to be awesome.
I really wanted to like this season, and I appreciate your analysis of the themes. But as a person of faith, I bounced off of it pretty hard due to the mishandling of their religious themes.
"Cool, Zatara is a practicing Christian!... oh, it was just to make him a bad father."
"Cool, Halo is asking about Islamic practices!... oh, her host's mom only practices because it makes her think of home and family, not because she actually has any faith in a higher power or our place in the universe."
I was excited to see religious expression that wasn't just evil zealotry or hypocrisy, but this was just hollow, almost virtue signaling - plus a reminder that "religion is okay unless you let it change what you think or do. "
I know this video is 7 months old, so i don't think this will generate any discussion, but I'd be curious to hear other thoughts.
Oh shit, new implicitly pretentious video dropped and it’s a new era, and talking about Phantoms. Fitting.
Beast Boy’s character arch was the highlight for me
I wish season 4 wasn't so trash cuz Connor and Megan plot was one of the only decent plot lines
I really wish they would’nt have cancelled this show. There is so much more story you can get from these characters and there are so many characters to choose from. I would love to see spin off shows in the same universe.
For the third and fourth season are overheated. The way to explore difficult issues and themes is really interesting and original to me. My favorite season is season 3.
YOUNG JUSTICE VIDEO
God Tier as usual! Forgot how emotional this season was!
Despite with the sequel hooks, having grown up with the series, I honestly would have been quite content with this being the last season.
I’m mad that they had a second and a third chance to get rid of darkseid and the light but still failed!
Great video. I love young justice, i particulary like the arc about cassanda cain.
I would love to see a sixth season about the heroes in their mid 20/30s to start to step up because old heroes, like batman or superman, die in the first part of the conflict with Darkseid. And the seventh all about legacy in which this heroes have to stop seeing the old heroes as models and start to act as models and help develope the new generations
Young Justice is for sure the Best thing DC ever did. And if they dont bring it back i have no hope for DC anymore. The show Really was and is a masterpiece. #SAVEEARTH16 #BRINGBACKYJ #SEASON5YJ
A great show that turned into a mess because of too many extraneous characters.
so so so good. Just when I thought I was okay, you reminded me how much I need more Young Justice. Save Young Justice!
I love Young Justice. I really appreciate it and I am hoping for a season 5 but if it doesn’t come back I’ll be fine. I’ve accepted that it might not come back but if it does, I’ll watch it. It’s one of my favorite dc material.
Not me crying minimum one time per season. The writing is so good.
As much as I hate how the arc treat Zatanna in the third arc, it's actually make me appreciating characters that have burden as a leader in a difficult situation that requires sacrifice for greater good.
They are saying I learn when exploring about Roman history
"It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience." Obviously it's not 100% right as becoming heroes who sacrifice themselves is also hard things to do, but it does highlighting the heavy burden a leader must shoulder as their decision would always causing suffering either to people under their responsibilities or the civilians that affected by their decision. Simply said it's a trolley problem which whatever decision You take as leader, it's would always end up causing casualties and You must always deal with traumatic guilts that come with living on at the sacrifice of the others or the harm to other people thanks to your decision for greater good.
I just wish they could explore Zatanna trauma/guilts as her ideas causing the Lord of Chaos is rampaging through the world. Its never easy to know that You have causing a great harm to other people even though deep inside You have a good intentions. Attack on Titan character, Erwin Smith has similar case with Zatanna when they are being torn apart between their personal goal about their father and their big responsibility as leader against inhuman monsters that want nothing less than destruction of humanity. Erwin Smith have this exploration segment about his trauma and guilts and it's elevate him as complex engaging flawed human being unlike Zatanna who gut slandered as two dimensional heartless selfish monster who prey on kids
i.postimg.cc/rsbZyr92/20230617-194558.png
Seeing my boi Razer brought tears to my eyes.
Just finished watching season 4 for the second time bawling my eyes out
Been waiting for this. Loved it!
Let's be honest
Razer's return was incredible as hell
One of my favorite shows all time
Young Justice became too damn depressing and dark once it was revived. I'll just stick with the first two seasons. Yes, they had moments of maturity, but not over the top like seasons 3 and 4. Plus, they were a HELL of a lot more fun, and were better animated.
Season 4 is where they fell off the rails
Can we talk about that title for a second?
This is what happens when they go WOKE
Great video as always my guy
Honestly I don’t like YJ, not a fan of how much drama it was filled with, it was less of a superhero show and more of a Soap Opera with how much there was I mean geez
It felt like an animated CW show
I hope we get another season do the right thing DC
been waiting for this ever since i finished the 4th season
Love this video. love your content. W channel.
Yes good in this season
I only got HBO Max for Young Justice....welp any ways, great vid as always, and always dig the music
Would love a video of you discussing cassandra cain’s comic run
I hope we have a season 5 igrew up with this show and the dcau when wally was racing to save a heart transplant patient on christmas i was on edge but i saw the kid embodying what being a hero meant
I’ll be honest, I never cared for how they incorporated the Killing Joke for Batgirl.
We deal with the past, so our future is a brighter path.
YJ is my 2nd favourite dc show.
YJ was my favourite show from ages 8-14 and I am dying to rewatch it. But I can’t find it on any streaming services
Please do a character study on the Hulk,the 2003 film to be specific. I that the character would be right up your alley.