Synopsis
While Jefferson, Connor and Artemis find homes for their Markovian strays, Dick assembles a new squad and hits the road – but may not survive the trip.
Review
With this episode Young Justice: Outsiders is taking a leaf out of the Titans book. It steps away from the overall story arc of the season (slightly) to focus on a character who has had little screen time so far this season. But we’ll get to that in a minute.
It’s only now that I’m realising just how subtly this show is bringing together the Outsiders. With Halo and Brion now under the care of the squad this episode spends some time focussing on their adjustment to life outside Markovia.
Meanwhile Dick heads off to see not one, not two but three Roy Harpers. The original, now going by the name of Will, plus his two clones.
It all adds up to a much lighter episode in tone and visuals. Unlike the previous episodes much of “Private Security” takes place during the day where previous episodes have been mainly set at night. Even the action featuring Dick and the clones is all set during the day. It’s a great step away from the norm and I welcomed seeing something a little more light hearted.
Even the scenes of Brion struggling with his powers and Halo struggling with her own lack of self are more easy to digest. We get to see both Artemis and Superboy acting as mentors to their new friends. It’s a welcome departure for both characters which helps flesh them both out overall.
We’re continuing to see the revived Young Justice put an emphasis on the growth of its core cast. Whilst other characters pass through the episodes as one-offs or guest spots the core team are showing serious growth when compared to, for instance, the pilot episode.
The new additions to the show are having to play catchup but the writers are affording them the time to develop. Halo in particular has gone through quite the change over the space of these four episodes following her ‘death’.
It’s understandable why DC Universe has chosen to release three episodes at a time for this season. Whilst “Private Security” adds some character moments to the show it doesn’t forward the narrative enough to make it worthwhile as a standalone watch.
I found myself immediately jumping in to the next episode purely to following the action. But I was also still satisfied by the humour of Dick’s side adventure with the clones.
It’s a mixed bag of an episode but not one which I found at all unenjoyable.
Verdict
“Private Security” brings some levity to Young Justice for the first time this season. Although it deviates from the main narrative for a period it’s a welcome break from the weighty metahuman trafficking storyline.
6.5/10
Young Justice stars Jesse McCartney, Nolan North, Stephanie Lemelin, Khary Payton, Zehra Fazal, Troy Baker and Jason Spisak. The series is directed by Christopher Berkeley and Mel Zwyer and producers by Sam Register, Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti.
The series premieres new episodes weekly via the DC Universe streaming service.
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