"Terminus" is the 23th episode of the third season of Young Justice, and the 69th of the overall series. It debuted on August 20, 2019 on DC Universe.
Logline
The hunt for Halo is on. Pray the team doesn't find her.
Synopsis
Guy Gardner, Hal Jordan, and John Stewart all fly towards the Orphanage and use their Green power rings to trap the base inside a construct. Elongated Man flies in with a squadron of ships. He signals Wonder Woman to deploy her squad but to be careful because he has noticed that the Orphanage isn't counterattacking. Guy agrees that that is suspicious. Nevertheless, Wonder Woman and her team, consisting of Superman, Martian Manhunter, Captain Atom, and Icon exit their ship and approach the Orphanage. All of a sudden, the Anti-Life Equation device is activated, ensnaring the entire Justice League, causing them to pass out. Granny Goodness laughs maniacally as the Anti-Life Equation was a complete success.
Jefferson Pierce is sitting on the beach, coping over the recent betrayals of the Team and Helga Jace. Virgil Hawkins sits down beside him and offers him a hot dog. The hot dog reminds Jeff of a certain date with Helga, so he rejects it.
At the Hub, Garfield Logan is watching an interview with Gretchen Goode claiming that her company has been violated by Meta-Humans, even after all of the money that she donated to the Meta-Human Youth Center. Upset, Gar turns off the screen. Tigress advises Gar not to let Gretchen get into his head. Forager wishes that he could sniff out Halo. Tigress explains to him that the Team has already raided several of Gretchen's properties, looking for her, but have failed. Aquaman suggests that since neither Sphere, Motherbox, or Victor Stone could find Halo, the best guess is that she is off-world now. Dick Grayson suddenly walks out of the medical bay assuring everyone that they will find her. He asks them not to tell Barbara Gordon that he's walking around as it took forever for him convince her to go home and rest. Aquaman admits that the only reason Barbara went home was because he promised her that he would watch over him.
In the kitchen, Conner Kent and Megan Morse are still mentally discussing the fact that Megan has secretly been working with Batman's team behind his back. Megan defends herself, saying that the League was losing the war against the Light. Conner admits that he understands why the group was formed. What he doesn't understand is why Megan went along with it, given that she once brain-fried Aquaman after Tigress faked her own death. Megan argues that her intentions weren't like that. Conner fires back that she doesn't get to choose what it's like. He then brings up the time they almost split up because of she tried altering his mind. Stung by his words, Megan says that she wouldn't alter anyone's mind or try to hurt them this time. Conner states that lies both alter and hurt. Before they can continue, they hear a buzzing from the main room. Forager answers the call. The Doorman, Kirby Jacobs, informs him that there is a gentleman here to see them. A video comes up on the monitor to reveal Vandal Savage.
Savage is brought up and says that he is here to offer the Team coordinates to Halo's whereabouts. Conner asks what the catch is. Savage asks that after they rescue Halo, they let her abductor know exactly who sent them.
Later on, the Team prepare to depart through a boom tube with Savages information. Miss Martian informs them that she can't get ahold of Thirteen. Since it's a Team mission to rescue one of their own, she should be here. Nightwing offers to fill in for her. Tigress objects but Aquaman stops her, explaining that they couldn't stop him even if they tried. Plus, since he promised Barbara that he'd watch over Nightwing, Aquaman decides to join in. In the kitchen, Geo-Force tells Superboy that he is joining them. Superboy accepts, but insists that Geo-Force keep his head in line for Halo's sake. Geo-Force agrees.
Miss Martian sends a text to Garfield, informing him to wish them luck as they try to recuse Halo. Gar texts back "Luck". Terra joins the group as well, as they set to depart. Miss Martian a psychic link and warns everyone to be on guard in case this is an ambush. Loading Savage's coordinates into the Motherbox, Superboy opens a boom tube and the Team travels through.
The Team jumps through the boom tube and attacks the Parademons. Superboy activates the Motherbox again to find Halo's location. He confirms that Savage's intel was legit as the Motherbox locks on to her. Miss Martian thinks it's strange that she can't mentally link with Halo. She orders Geo-Force to lead Beta Squad in finding Halo as the rest of the Team distract the Parademons. Superboy hands Geo-Force the Motherbox to beam them home if they get into any trouble. Geo-Force thanks Superboy for trusting in him. With that, Geo-Force, Terra, and Forager set out leaving Superboy, Miss Martian, Nightwing, Tigress, and Aquaman behind.
Aquaman notices the Javelin over in the corner, meaning that the Justice League is on the Orphanage base, where the League was supposed to stage a raid. Superboy replies that he hears no sound of battle. Miss Martian says that she can't mentally link with her uncle or any of the other League members. Nightwing reminds them that, according to the Markovs, Granny Goodness can use Halo's power to control anyone without a fight, meaning that the League is most likely captured. Superboy hears the approach of more Parademons and warns everyone to take their battle stations. Nightwing wipes sweat from his brow and notices Aquaman staring at him. Nightwing assures him that he's fine.
Jeff and Virgil walk silently towards Virgil's front door. They pound fists as Jeff takes his leave. While walking, Jeff thinks about all the betrayal that he has experienced recently.
On the Orphanage, Geo-Force sneaks through the corridors with Motherbox guiding him towards Halo. Terra and Forager follow him. Forager warns them that he smells enemies approaching. The three of them hide just as Gilotina, Lashina, and an army of Parademon pass by. Forager notices Mantis among them. Once all is clear, Terra contacts Alpha Squad to let them know that they have incoming enemies as the three of them head in the opposite direction.
The Team is prepared for the Parademons once they arrive. Gilotina lunges at Miss Martian but flies right through her. Superboy takes out both Lashina and Mantis. Aquaman and Tigress take care of the Parademons. Another squadron of Parademons enter from another corridor only to be taken out by Nightwing's bombs. The explosion causes a cave-in, sealing the tunnel. Satisfied with his work, Nightwing is suddenly attacked by another Parademon, causing a pile of crates to fall on top of him.
Nightwing tries to get rise from the crates, only to have a hand reach out and help him. He looks up to see Wally West as Kid Flash smiling down at him. Nightwing can't believe he's here. Together, like when they were all kids, the Team and Kid Flash take out the Parademon army. Kid Flash notices the League's Javelin in the corner and calls it a personal souvenir. Suddenly getting an idea, Nightwing, now Robin, uses his wrist computer to activate the ship's drones. Robin warns Kid Flash to get out of the way as the drones begin firing on the incoming Parademons. Kid Flash appears next to Robin, activating his own wrist computer. The two laugh as they make a tournament fighter game out of the battle.
Once the battle is over, Kid Flash is gone and Robin is suddenly Nightwing again. He sees the rest of the Team standing over him. They tell him that they all experienced his fever dream of Wally through their psychic link. Nightwing is embarrassed. Tigress hugs him, acknowledging that they all miss Wally. Aquaman breaks up the moment by informing them that more Parademons are on the way. He insists that Nightwing leave if he is not at full strength. Nightwing enthusiastically argues that he hasn't felt this good in years.
Jeff is visiting Lynn Stewart-Pierce and their kids. Jennifer Pierce is running around in a Bumblebee costume. Anissa Pierce runs in wearing a Black Lightning costume. The sight brings a genuine smile to Jeff's face. Laughing, he grabs Anissa as Jennifer jumps on his shoulders.
Back on the Orphanage, Geo-Force, Terra, and Forager enter the main room to find Granny Goodness with Halo by her side. Geo-Force demands that Halo be set free. Granny mocks him about losing his parents; his brother stealing the throne of Markovia from him; and being betrayed by a confidant, to which Terra flinches; and now the love of his life is about to wipe them all out. Forager mentally warns Geo-Force that Granny is just trying to make him angry. Geo-Force informs him that he is aware of Granny's intentions. He's just making it look like it's working. Suddenly, Martian Manhunter appears and cuts off the trio's psychic link. Geo-Force strikes at him only to be stopped by Superman. Superman tosses Geo-Force into Forager and Terra. Martian Manhunter picks up the dropped Motherbox. Granny laughs hysterically.
The rest of the Team heads down a corridor. Miss Martian informs them that she briefly felt her uncle's mind. Nightwing advises that they need to be ready for anything. Aquaman orders Miss Martian to brain-fry everyone once they reach the control room. Superboy argues against it but Miss Martian agrees that it seems to be the only way to save the universe at this point. In the control room, Granny explains to Geo-Force that she is going to have Halo spread the Anti-Life Equation throughout the entire universe. Geo-Force begs Halo to snap out of her trance. Granny orders Overlord to form a cube around her and Halo as she turns on the machine. Suddenly, eveyone's brains start to hurt. Miss Martian begs the Team to hurry as they rush in. Aquaman orders the Team to target the machine. Overlord activates the machine, ensnaring everyone in the room. Miss Martian tries to keep her concentration. Granny shoves Halo out of the cube. Halo begins to chant as the Anti-Life Equation is activated. Everyone gets caught in the radius as Halo's powers reach out far and wide into the cosmos. Elated, Granny proclaims the Age of Darkseid has begun.
End credits scene: Wolf sleeps next to the hologram of Wally West in the Watchtower's memorial garden.
Title
A terminus is a place where something reaches completion, or put succinctly an 'end point'. In this episode, Nightwing finally overcomes the ailment that has afflicted him since the previous episode. Additionally, Granny Goodeness discovers the final piece to the long-sought-after Anti-Life Equation, or so she believes.
Cast and characters
| 2
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Character debut
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| 0
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Speaking debut
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| 0
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Episode debut
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Continuity
- Guy Gardner, Hal Jordan and John Stewart encase the Orphanage inside a Green power ring construct to prevent it from booming tubing away like it did in the end of "Influence". Guy's follow up remark alludes to that.
- Superman says he can see the kidnapped meta-teens they found inside the Orphanage in "Influence".
- Jeff is still processing the betrayals of Helga Jace from "Antisocial Pathologies". When Static offers him a hotdog, it triggers several flashbacks from previous episodes:
- Gretchen Goode mentions her donations to the Meta-Human Youth Center, one of which she was seen making in "Influence".
- Forager refers to the time he smelled out Victor Stone in "Quiet Conversations".
- The Team has been conducting raids to find Violet since she was taken by Gretchen in "Antisocial Pathologies".
- The Team is still reeling from the discoveries made in "Antisocial Pathologies" about the "Anti-Light" working behind everyone's back.
- Superboy reminds Miss Martian how Artemis's staged death in "Depths" led her to brain-fry Kaldur in "Before the Dawn".
- Superboy also reminds Miss Martian about the time—between season one and two—she tried to alter his memories.
- Jeff is also still mulling over the betrayals of Batman and Nightwing from "Antisocial Pathologies" and thinks back on the Batman's staged defection from the Justice League and Nightwing recruiting him in "Princes All".
- Geo-Force and Forager refer to the envents of "Away Mission" involving Mantis.
- Nightwing's fever-induced hallucination contains several callbacks to season one:
- Kid Flash's initial acrimony towards Artemis echoed in his line "Oh, hey, the new girl. I'm gonna keep my eye on her."
- Artemis's lines "We heard that", "You know I can still hear you" and KF's exclamation "Dang it" from "Infiltrator".
- Kid Flash's initial crush on Miss Martian.
- The lines "Today is the day" and "We didn't come for a playdate" from "Independence Day".
- The Young Justice Main Title playing during the held shots sequence of the original Team, all in their season one designs.
- Miss Martian saying "Hello, Megan!".
- Kid Flash calling souvenirs.
- Robin's holocomputer "Robin heads".
- Robin and KF making new unwords from "ject".
- Granny Goodness taunts Geo-Force by reminding him of past misfortunes:
- Granny Goodness says that the Ghost Dimension leaves a residual effect on non-metas, which explains why Dick took longer to recover than Jeff, since he was exposed to the X-Pit in "Unknown Factors".
Trivia
Language translations
| Language
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Line
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Literal Translation
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Figurative Translation
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| Tongue of the Old Gods
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Halo: ENIERSTOHNN, KAHHD-ZOHNN-TORRCH-HIERROH!
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Source, one straight light come!
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I call on the Source to return us to our true, whole selves.[1]
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Goofs
Cultural references
Questions
| Questions
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- Do not answer here.
- Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer.
- Questions should not focus on internal logic.
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Unanswered questions
Quotes
- Elongated Man: Wonder Woman, deploy your Squad. But be careful. They've initiated no counter-measures. It's suspicious.
- Guy Gardner: He's right. It makes you wonder who's trappin' who here.
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- Nightwing: I'm traught, whelmed, and feelin' the aster.
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- Nightwing: Soundin' pretty Big Blue, like a leader.
- Superboy: We both know that's not my role.
- Nightwing: Hey, don't look at me. I hate being leader.
- Superboy: You keep sayin' that, but you already are a leader. So maybe the real question is, what kind of leader do you want to be?
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- Terra: Anger can cloud one's judgement. And we cannot always save people from themselves.
- Geo-Force: He has made his choice as we have made ours, for our hive, for our family. Let's save Violet.
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- Tigress: Wally's always fighting at our side, and always will be.
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- Aquaman: Dick, if you are not one hundred percent in the game--
- Nightwing: You kidding? I haven't felt this good in years. Let's go ject Granny.
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- Miss Martian: If Granny succeeds in using this Anti-Life Equation, then billions throughout the galaxy will be enslaved. I'm prepared to sacrifice my soul to save theirs. Are you prepared to stop me?
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References
External links
