Intervention

"Intervention" is the 18th episode of the second season of Young Justice, and the 44th of the overall series. It aired on March 2, 2013.

Logline
The team embarks on a desperate endeavor to free Blue Beetle.

Synopsis
Black Beetle and Mongul continue to brawl, with Black Beetle starting to lose ground. He resorts to heckling his opponent. The arrival of Green Beetle turns the tide; both Beetles are able to outmaneuver Mongul and once again lock him inside a stasis cell. With the conqueror locked up, Black Beetle turns his attention to the whereabouts of the crystal key. It's missing, and since the ambassador refuses to authorize an attack on the Justice Leaguers guarding the key chamber, the Reach soldiers must patrol the perimeter like mere security guards. Black Beetle finds it galling, but as a Reach warrior, he lives to serve.

The Bio-Ship reaches the makeshift headquarters, and the Team disperses after reaching the warehouse. Impulse makes a bee-line for Nightwing; he knows that the crystal key is important, but they need to focus on Blue Beetle. Before Impulse can complete his sentence, Cat Grant finishes it for him as Nightwing turns on the television. Blue Beetle is dominating the current news cycle, with the UN Secretary-General announcing his plan to award Blue Beetle with the international medal of valor for saving the Earth. Robin grumbles that the traitor is getting too much good press, but Impulse defends him. Jaime is as much a captive of the Reach as they were, and he must be set free before the Reach wins.

The Toyman, safely ensconced in his massive toy robot, cuts a swath of destruction through Metropolis. His target: the vault of the First Bank of Metropolis. Before he can get away with grand larceny, Blue Beetle intercepts him and makes short work of his robot. After turning over the Toyman to the authorities, Blue Beetle is approached by Cat Grant for an ambush interview. He hams it up for the crowd, but his actions and words aren't his own. The words leaving his mouth came straight from the ambassador's mouth, who is controlling him from the Reach ship in New York.

The ambassador comments that although crime-fighting confers no benefits, getting the adulation of the crowd is priceless. The scientist is worried: they are lucky that Blue Beetle is appreciated at all, given the recent negative publicity surrounding the revelation of the Reach's hidden invasion fleet. The ambassador tells her not to worry—the human meat love their heroes too much to turn against them.

Back in Metropolis, Blue Beetle, under the ambassador's thrall, continues playing to the crowd. Impulse and Batgirl observe him from the rafters, before running off.

M'gann intercepts Lagoon Boy, whose leg has already recovered. She has come to take him back to the surface. He is happy to see her again; he was planning to return the next day via zeta tube. Miss Martian wants to use their trip back as an opportunity to talk.

As Blue Beetle makes his way back to Jaime Reyes' home, he is ambushed by Batgirl and Impulse. Although Impulse succeeds in dislodging his rocket pack and taking him to the ground, the two heroes are no match for him. After they are subdued, Jaime wants to leave, but the ambassador has different ideas. The street is deserted, and this is the perfect opportunity to kill both of the heroes. Jaime watches helplessly as his arm sprouts warblades, and his body walks towards Impulse. Before he is able to bisect Impulse, he is encased in an energy field. He attempts to cut his way out, but it is futile.

In the Reach ship, the ambassador orders the scarab to analyze the energy field. It identifies this to be consistent with the Cooperative, which the scientist recognizes to draw power from kinetic energy. Blue Beetle's physical attacks only serve to strengthen it, but the scarab should knows this. The scarab is being strangely passive, even though it already knows a sonic attack can disrupt the field. The ambassador demands that it breaks free, but Zatanna reinforces Rocket's force bubble in the last second with her magics. The scarab has no countermeasures against this sort of combination, and could only observe passively as Zatanna frees Impulse and Batgirl. The scientist sarcastically exclaims that things are going well.

Lagoon Boy's mind reels as Miss Martian decides to terminate their romantic relationship. She explains that her weeks in captivity gave her time to think, and gain clarity. She hasn't treated Lagoon Boy fairly; he is only her rebound guy, and she only hooked up with him because he made her feel better about herself. Now that she has come to terms with herself, she is unwilling to go any further with him. She tells him that he deserves better than her; he despondently agrees.

Blue Beetle, still in the magic force bubble, is shanghaied by the Team in the Super-Cycle. The ambassador, speaking through Jaime, threatens them with complete obliteration, and demands to know where he is being taken to.

He finds out soon enough, as the Team infiltrates the Bialyan complex they entered months ago in a previous mission.

They enter the Bialyan facility, only to meet with a squad of soldiers. Zatanna disarms them, while a disappointed Impulse knocks them out for fun. He runs straight into Devastation, who is defending the facility with Mammoth and Shimmer. Rocket is focused on keeping up the force bubble, and cannot assist. The other members, however, are enough, as they manage to trap the trio in a hole inadvertently provided by Shimmer.

The Team reach their objective: a temple beneath the base, with a giant scarab carved on the wall. Zatanna does not have enough power by herself to accomplish their goal, but she will summon it from someone who does. Rocket sets Blue Beetle on a dais in front of Zatanna, and she puts herself into a mystical trance.

At the Reach ship, the scientist grows even more apprehensive of what the Team is doing. They still have no idea what placed Blue Beetle's scarab off-mode for four thousand years. The ambassador tells her not to worry—help is on the way, and the entire Team will now die.

Green Beetle makes a dramatic entrance, but is intercepted by the Super-Cycle. Impulse and Batgirl initially keeps him at bay with his Martian weakness to fire, but he phases through the ground and shoots them down. A gecko drops down on Green Beetle, and shape-shifts into an elephant that crushes him. Down but not out, Green Beetle flips the transformed Beast Boy over his back, and prepares to dissect him, but Bumblebee appears out of thin air and shoots her stingers in his face. Wonder Girl lassos him, and Robin attacks him with a flying kick.

The scientist is now frantic—Green Beetle is outnumbered, and Black Beetle must be dispatched immediately. The ambassador refuses, as Black Beetle must guard the Warworld's key chamber. Nor does he require his help.

Green Beetle soldiers on, and Rocket reminds Zatanna that they have no time left. Still tranced, Zatanna summons the power of Isis, who responds by embedding a beetle emblem on Zatanna's temple. Isis and Zatanna reconstruct a tessera mosaic depicting hieroglyphs and a giant scarab. The slab activates, bathing the area in light and activating four obelisks set at the corner of the dais. Isis and Zatanna instruct Rocket to release the energy bubble, and Rocket flies away.

Seeing his chance, the ambassador has both Beetles aim their weapons at Zatanna. Isis and Zatanna unleashes a cleansing incantation, after which Green Beetle discharges his weapon. Impulse grabs the lasso still hanging from Green Beetle's waist, and rushes towards Zatanna at high speed. Blue Beetle discharges, and Impulse throws Green Beetle in front of Zatanna in the nick of time. Green Beetle is hit by both blasts, and both Beetles are thrown to the ground. A searing pillar of light materializes from the middle of the dais, quickly expands outward, enveloping both armored soldiers. Blue Beetle screams out in pain, as energy crackles from the light pillar.

Back in the Reach ship, the viewscreens linked to the vision of Blue Beetle and Green Beetle now crackle with static. Both Beetles are off-mode. The scientist is enraged, and blames the ambassador for not listening to her warnings. His face now contorted with rage, the ambassador silences her after he tells her to say one more word, in a dangerous voice. She is dumbfounded, but shuts up.

Back in Bialya, the scarab from Zatanna's forehead shatters, and she is released from her trance. Both Beetles awaken, and Zatanna deactivates their armor to check if the spell worked. It did—Jaime and B'arzz O'oomm are back in control of their own bodies. Robin confirms this—he no longer detects any transmission signal after Zatanna's mojo. Jaime hugs Zatanna in gratitude, and the scarab surprisingly congratulates him. He is skeptical of the scarab's intentions, but it assures him that it far prefers their partnership to being both under control of the Reach.



On their way back, the Team explains to Blue Beetle what had happened. Batgirl had encountered the temple on a previous mission, and she had noted and taken recordings of the blue scarab images and hieroglyphics. Doctor Fate translated the hieroglyphics, revealing an ancient ceremony used to free the scarab of Reach control. The human ritual could not be performed by Fate, so he prepared Zatanna for it instead. Meanwhile, Robin and Batgirl had hacked Ted Kord's files, revealing the scarab and temple had been discovered by archaeologist Dan Garrett on a dig in Bialya. Believing the scarab to be mystic artifact, Dan used it to become the first Blue Beetle. Upon his death, he left the scarab to his protegé, Ted, who realized its alien origin. Unwilling to fuse with an alien device, Ted put it into storage. He still became the second Blue Beetle, but without superpowers. Ted came to suspect the Light wanted the scarab, and died trying to prevent its theft. The explosion that killed Ted threw the scarab into Jaime's path.

Jaime wonders why it had been kept secret from him; Zatanna explains it had taken her months to learn the ritual and Jaime realizes they couldn't risk the Reach finding out about the temple until they were ready. Jaime then marvels that Impulse had managed to keep the secret. Bart had been motivated: keeping Jaime a hero was the main reason he had traveled back in time.

Nightwing finishes receiving a report from Batgirl, as Miss Martian and Lagoon Boy arrive. M'gann asks why he is so pleased, but Blue and Green Beetle's freedom makes little impression on La'gaan, who heads off to watch TV. M'gann asks Nightwing if Conner is around. He tells her he is out with Wendy Harris, leaving M'gann disappointed.

At the temple, Queen Bee sympathizes with Devastation, Mammoth and Shimmer for her having ordered them to throw the fight against the Team, but explains it was necessary: Now the Light's plans for the Reach, the League and the Team may proceed on schedule.

Title
The word "intervention" is commonly associated with an orchestrated attempt by one or many individuals to get a friend or relative to realize that he/she has a serious problem (usually related with an addiction or a traumatic event) and needs to seek professional help. Figuratively speaking, Jaime is the friend in trouble, because he is under the Reach's control, and the Team gangs up to give him the help he needs by freeing him. In a more literal sense, "intervention" means interference in the affairs of others. By releasing Blue Beetle and Green Beetle from the Reach's grip, they have interfered in their affairs, as the scarabs, and by extension their hosts, belong to the Reach. Also, Green Beetle intervened in the battle between Black Beetle and Mongul on the Warworld, and intervened again when the Team was cleansing Blue Beetle. Finally, the Light intervened in the cleansing operation by ordering Queen Bee's agents not to intervene.

Cast and characters
! colspan="3" | Non-speaking roles
 * Denise Boutte
 * colspan="2" | Rocket
 * rowspan="2" | Cameron Bowen
 * colspan="2" | Robin
 * Toyman
 * rowspan="2" | Lacey Chabert
 * colspan="2" | Zatanna
 * Isis
 * Kevin Grevioux
 * colspan="2" | Black Beetle
 * rowspan="2" | Phil LaMarr
 * colspan="2" | Reach Ambassador
 * colspan="2" | Green Beetle
 * rowspan="2" | Eric Lopez
 * colspan="2" | Blue Beetle
 * colspan="2" | Scarab
 * Yuri Lowenthal
 * colspan="2" | Lagoon Boy
 * Jason Marsden
 * colspan="2" | Impulse
 * Jesse McCartney
 * colspan="2" | Nightwing
 * Danica McKellar
 * colspan="2" | Miss Martian
 * rowspan="3" | Masasa Moyo
 * colspan="2" | Reach scientist
 * colspan="2" | Cat Grant
 * colspan="2" | Bumblebee
 * Marina Sirtis
 * colspan="2" | Queen Bee
 * Alyson Stoner
 * colspan="2" | Batgirl
 * Jason Marsden
 * colspan="2" | Impulse
 * Jesse McCartney
 * colspan="2" | Nightwing
 * Danica McKellar
 * colspan="2" | Miss Martian
 * rowspan="3" | Masasa Moyo
 * colspan="2" | Reach scientist
 * colspan="2" | Cat Grant
 * colspan="2" | Bumblebee
 * Marina Sirtis
 * colspan="2" | Queen Bee
 * Alyson Stoner
 * colspan="2" | Batgirl
 * colspan="2" | Bumblebee
 * Marina Sirtis
 * colspan="2" | Queen Bee
 * Alyson Stoner
 * colspan="2" | Batgirl
 * Alyson Stoner
 * colspan="2" | Batgirl
 * colspan="3" | Aquaman
 * colspan="3" | Atom
 * colspan="3" | Beast Boy
 * colspan="3" | Bio-Ship
 * colspan="3" | Despero
 * colspan="2" | Dan Garrett (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Deathstroke (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Devastation
 * colspan="3" | Doctor Fate (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Flash
 * colspan="3" | Guardian
 * colspan="3" | Mammoth
 * colspan="3" | Mongul
 * colspan="3" | Shimmer
 * colspan="3" | Sportsmaster (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Sphere
 * colspan="3" | Superboy
 * colspan="3" | Ted Kord (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Wonder Girl
 * colspan="3" | Flash
 * colspan="3" | Guardian
 * colspan="3" | Mammoth
 * colspan="3" | Mongul
 * colspan="3" | Shimmer
 * colspan="3" | Sportsmaster (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Sphere
 * colspan="3" | Superboy
 * colspan="3" | Ted Kord (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Wonder Girl
 * colspan="3" | Sportsmaster (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Sphere
 * colspan="3" | Superboy
 * colspan="3" | Ted Kord (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Wonder Girl
 * colspan="3" | Superboy
 * colspan="3" | Ted Kord (flashback)
 * colspan="3" | Wonder Girl
 * colspan="3" | Wonder Girl
 * colspan="3" | Wonder Girl

Continuity

 * The events of the opening scenes in the Warworld and Blüdhaven directly follow the events of "The Hunt".
 * Impulse mentions having been a captive of the Reach; he was captured in "Darkest" and freed in "Before the Dawn".
 * Lagoon Boy is recuperating in Atlantis after being wounded to his leg in "The Fix".
 * Miss Martian tells Lagoon Boy about her in captivity which happened back in "The Fix" and "Complications".
 * Batgirl mentions she and Bumblebee came across the temple months earlier, which was shown in "Beneath".

Ratings
"Intervention" garnered an average of 2.045 million viewers.

Trivia

 * Number 16: Queen Bee meets with her operatives at the Bialyan temple at 20:16 UTC+2.
 * Denise Boutte replaces Kittie as the voice of Rocket.
 * This episode is featured on Young Justice: Invasion – Game of Illusions: Season 2 Part 2.

Cultural references

 * The Reach ambassador tells Blue Beetle's scarab that fighting human crime is without benefit, but making sure the crowd appreciates it is priceless. This references MasterCard's decades-long "Priceless" advertising campaign, which began in 1997.
 * After comparing himself to the Queen of England for having to wave a lot, Blue Beetle thinks his next pose, with his hands on his hips, evokes the image of Peter Pan. In most interpretations of the character including the Disney movie and the Mary Martin stage show, Peter Pan would often assume this pose, especially to mock Captain Hook.
 * Zatanna's reverse invocation "Oh mighty Isis" was the incantation used to transform into the superheroine Isis in the 1970s television series The Secrets of Isis.

Unanswered questions

 * What are the plans that the Light has for the Reach, the League and the Team?