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WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the first six episodes of Young Justice: Phantoms, streaming now on HBO Max.
One of the best aspects of Young Justice is its ability to delve into the rich psychology of its characters, differentiating each of them and how they respond to the world around them. Most recently, the series showed the depth of the grief Artemis Crock, the hero known as Tigress, felt after learning of her teammate Superboy's death. The revelation shattered the life she built for herself following her previous grief over her lost lover Kid Flash and stood out as one of the series' most inspired plot points.
In the latest episode, Young Justice continues to expand on the emotional toll that Superboy's death took on those around him by showing Beast Boy's response after his return to Earth. Though the story retains the series' characteristic strength for psychological nuance, however, Beast Boy proves a curious focal point for the important story.
Whereas superhero fiction from the comics gained a reputation over the years for cheap fake-out deaths that have little consequence and are easily reversed, Young Justice continually aspires to show the impact of its character deaths to make them matter. The best and most relatable way to do that is through the surviving loved ones of the characters that pass away, and to that end, Artemis stood out as one of the most touching characters to delve into. Beast Boy provides a different and valuable perspective on the kind of impact grief can have.
While Artemis is inspired to action, reifying her faith in her mission and pressing her further into it, Beast Boy seems to recede into himself in a fit of isolation. After journeying with Superboy to Mars, where the hero sacrificed himself to a threat that seemed specifically crafted to kill him, Beast Boy was left shell-shocked in the wake of his future brother-in-law's death. When his teammates approach him with a mission, he tells them they can handle it on their own, and the episode periodically visits him to show him listlessly watching TV in the middle of the night or scrolling through his phone as he dwells on his problems.
For those who suffer from depression, seeing such a story unfold in a superhero program can be a valuable piece of representation. It not only shows that grief hits people differently and does not always conveniently disappear after an episode's time, but that even the most powerful and successful of people are as vulnerable to it as anyone else. As the star of a TV show and the leader of a successful super team famous throughout the solar system, seeing Beast Boy struggle with his mental health through fits of rage and depression sends a valuable message.
And yet, Beast Boy still seems like a curious choice for the plot point. The episode that features his struggles does nothing else to tie into his story, and since the Young Justice season overall seems to split itself up into discrete arcs for different characters, it seems almost out of place to maintain focus on Beast Boy after the previous arc when there are still so many other characters yet to be featured. Indeed, if the impact of Superboy's death were to be shown through anybody's experience, it seems more appropriate to focus on Miss Martian, who had a far closer relationship with Superboy than Beast Boy, who only recently had much of a connection with Superboy established at all.
It also seems a tad redundant immediately on the tails of an episode that focused primarily on Artemis' grief. She similarly let her depression affect her personal life and super-heroics after learning of Superboy's death, so while it is valuable to show how that ripple effect cascades out to affect other characters, Beast Boy's story doesn't add much that's unique to the overarching narrative.
Even so, more interesting developments could be on the horizon. Beast Boy was already struggling with mental stability throughout the previous arc, proving snippy on the journey to Mars and downright temperamental on the planet itself. There are surely deeper issues going on with the heroes that Young Justice is setting up, and where they are going could make his story a unique and interesting piece of representation for mental health issues unlike any that a superhero cartoon has dealt with before.
New episodes of Young Justice air Thursdays on HBO Max.