Review: Young Justice: Phantoms “The Lady, or the Tigress?”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Oracle’s memories challenge Tigress’ decision to trust her new allies.

Our Take:

Another week means another episode filled with references from classic novels. It’s a pattern that’ll indeed be tiring by the time we reach the end of Tigress’ arc. But at least we get to see more of that superhero action and Artemis’ trust issues in this week’s episode.

“The Lady, or the Tigress” continues where the previous episode left off. Artemis, Cassandra, and Onyx travel to Santa Prisca to rescue Orphan from Lady Shiva with the help of Oracle, previously known as Batgirl. The flashbacks center on Orphan’s first mission in the League and how Oracle became paralyzed from the waist down. Meanwhile, M’gann discovers that M’comm had nothing to do with the Kryptonite inside the bomb that killed Conner. She later decides to travel back to Earth with Martian Manhunter and her sister, Em’ree.

The episode paid homage to Frank R. Stockton’s short story, The Lady, or the Tiger?, regarding who’s innocent and guilty. In addition, it offered more insight on Oracle’s connection with Orphan (who’s also named Cassandra) and the aftermath of the Mars scenario. At this point, we’re probably a little tired of the arc’s constant book references, even though they serve a crucial role in Artemis’ quest. But that doesn’t mean I enjoyed the episode even less.

The sisterly bond took a back seat in this episode to focus more on Artemis’ rescue mission and Oracle’s flashback. Batgirl’s transition to Oracle is nothing entirely new when it comes to the DC universe, especially at the hands of Joker. However, this episode provided a different take on the scenario by having Oracle take the hit from Orphan with impressive results. The episode also reveals that Cassandra was the mole the entire time, using the glamour charm to fabricate her injuries. Based on her past actions, this reveal didn’t surprise me at the slightest.

As for M’gann’s subplot on Mars, it might’ve worked best as a separate episode along with Beast Boy’s grieving state in the previous chapter. While there’s nothing wrong with seeing Miss Martian taking her anger out on her brother, it made the episode feel like an unfocused pace-breaker. If they made an episode centering on M’gann’s grief and placed it between “Involuntary” and “Tale of Two Sisters”, it would give Artemis’ dilemma more screen time without any interruptions.

Overall, “The Lady, or the Tigress” fumbled in its storytelling, twist, and focus. But it offered enough intrigue in the action and drama to deliver another enjoyable chapter in Artemis’ arc. I also appreciated its distinctive take on Batgirl’s tragic injury and its exploration of Orphan’s role regarding that incident. I guess you can say that Artemis, unfortunately, chose the tiger.