User blog comment:Thailog/Ep. 125 "Usual Suspects" discussion/@comment-4803246-20120418015236

Apparently, this is where this goes.

Hey, I'm back. I know I haven't posted on this wiki in a few months, but what can I say, I got lazy. Anyway, the forum I usually post my reviews on is down at the moment, so I will be using this wiki at least until it is back up. I may or may not continue posting on this wiki after it is back up.

In terms of entertainment, this episode was fantastic. It did not, however, go anything like I expected it to. Specifically, I was not in the least anticipating that Conner, M'gann and Artemis would simply come out and tell everyone all their secrets, and that it would go over so well. But, looking back, it is beginning to make more and more sense. The more I think about it, the more I realize how incredible this episode was.

First of all, before now I did not consider Conner, M'gann and Artemis's secrets to be related at all. But they were. I thought that all their secrets and lies would be revealed to the Team separately, and that in doing so, problems would be created, not solved. However, now that it is all said and done, I can see that all of that was an impractical expectation, and in fact it works much better this way. Conner, M'gann and Artemis have always been the three primary mole suspects, thus the reasons behind the suspicions on them, namely their respective secrets, are related. The fact that the three's respective secrets make them mole suspects superseeds the secrets themselves, which means that their secrets needed to come out into the open together. This is what I didn't see before, but now that I do, I really like it. The entire mole plot line has been magnificently handled. Let's look at its progression: That was more for me than anyone else, as it helps me organize my thoughts, but it also shows how in-depth this plot line has become, and how well it was handled. Weisman and Vietti effectively kept us guessing throughout the entire season, offering up four, convincing decoy suspects while the real mole was under our noses the whole time. I know many people have suspected Roy for months, but there wasn't any definitive point in which his guilt could be ascribed until the finale moments of Usual Suspects. Also, this shows that if Conner, M'gann and Artemis's secrets were handled separately, it would have disrupted the entire mole plot line.
 * 1) It is established that Conner, M'gann and Artemis are hiding something. What is not revealed.
 * 2) The possibility of a mole is revealed to Aqualad and Red Arrow.
 * 3) Red Tornado becomes a mole suspect and is cleared.
 * 4) Conner, M'gann and Artemis move to the forfront of suspicion. Red Arrow becomes more involved.
 * 5) Conner, M'gann and Artemis's secrets are revealed to audience. None of them tell the rest of the Team. Red Arrow starts to actively suspect the three of them.
 * 6) Three are shown to "betray" the Team.
 * 7) They share their secrets to the Team. None are the mole.
 * 8) Red Arrow is revealed to be the mole. How has not yet been revealed.

So, overall, I very much enjoyed the revelation of the identity of the mole in Usual Suspects. Like I said, at first I was unsure of how this episode handled Conner, M'gann and Artemis's confessions, but I did love that moment of panic when it seemed all three were traitors to the Team, just before we had the flashbacks to their confessions. It was a great climax to the mole plot line as well as their own respective character progressions.

I loved the cliffhanger ending, and the parallelism between the Justice League and the Team, especially towards the end of the episode. The Team clearly succeeded in its two battles with The Light and its minions, but at the end of the day, their actions allowed Vandal Savage to take control of the entire Justice League. So, the question remains: who won? And that is the cliffhanger left at the end of Usual Suspects, charging us right into the season finale. Throughout the entire season there has been a rift between the Team and the Justice League, so it is fitting that it end with an epic Team vs. Justice League face-off. However, if the Team is fighting the Justice League, then there won't be much time for them to fight The Light, at least not head on. The Team is still not even fully aware of The Light's existence, though they are getting close. Because of this, I find it hard to believe that the Team will discover and soundly defeat The Light all in twenty-two minutes. It seems to me that The Light is going to be more than just a seasonal antagonist.

I also want give praise to The Light's brilliant maneuvering in Usual Suspects. Obviously, The Light intended for Riddler's ambush to fail so that the Team would capture the newly improved Starro-fragment-things, which would then be used by Red Arrow against the Justice League. I don't think, however, that Luthor and Queen Bee intended to lose their new moles, so that was a definite victory for the Team. In any case, The Light sacrificed the Riddler, Shimmer and Mammoth, as well as Hugo Strange and the entire Belle Reve operation, in order to get the Justice League under their control. This is most certainly the end game. But again, the question remains: what did The Light want with Conner, M'gann and Artemis? Hopefully, that too will be answered in the season finale.

Many of us have suspected Red Arrow of being the mole for months, though in truth I only started to after Performance. I was never sure how Roy was the mole, but I didn't ever think it was through mind control. To me, that is the easy way out, and not very creative. However, after putting so much effort into the mole plot line, I doubt Weisman and Vietti are going to make Roy the mole simply from mind control alone. There is something else going on here, something bigger than that. I just have no idea what. Roy has always been a rather severe character. In that respect, it makes sense that he would be the mole. I doubt that he was the mole as Speedy, though. Roy took up the identity Red Arrow in Infiltrator, the episode in which the possibility of a mole was first introduced. Roy therefore became the mole just before Infiltrator, at exactly the same time he took up the identity Red Arrow. Interesting. Red Arrow is the mole, but I think that Roy Harper never meant to betray his friends and mentors. This supports a notion I have had for a while: that Roy will take up his thrid persona, Arsenal, sometime in the future of Young Justice. I think that after this, Roy will no longer be able to carry on the persona of Red Arrow. But none of this answers the bigger question here: how is Red Arrow the mole? Your guess is as good as mine.

Rocket made her speaking debut in this episode. I was a little shocked that we didn't get any kind of introduction for her. She was just in the room when we first saw the Team. It works, though, since we've seen her in so many cameos. She kind of has a stereotypical black girl voice, but she's still a pretty cool character. It seems she is the headstrong type, but we didn't really get much else in terms of characterization for her. Apparently, though, she will have a romance with Kaldur at some point. I actually like this. Specifically, I'm looking forward to seeing how their relationship will progress. At this point, all Raquel has shown for Kaldur is an attraction to a strong, handsome young man. Kaldur has shown no interest whatsoever towards Raquel, though the fact that it was he who saved Raquel when she was hit by the Apokoliptian weapon gives the writers' intentions away. From here, I'd say that Raquel will continue to pursue Kaldur, and will eventually develop actual feelings for him. Kaldur, of course, will eventually return the feelings in kind, but what interests me is the period of time that will come when Raquel is pursuing him, and he doesn't return the feelings, or better yet, he holds them back because of Tula. Kaldur is such a cool, calm character that the times when we actually see his true feelings are few and far in between. But they are there, which is one of my favorite things about his character. I'm not sure exactly what role Tula will play in Kaldur and Raquel's upcoming relationship, but I think she will play a part. Another thing that interests me is the staunch difference between the respective characterizations of Kaldur and Raquel. Kaldur is calm and distant, while Raquel is hot-headed and an in-your-face-type of girl. It makes me wonder what common ground Weisman and Vietti will give the two in order to develop their relationship.

Overall, this was indeed a fantastic episode, and I CANNOT wait for the season finale, and season two. It is going to be EPIC.