Young Justice has now been on the air for more than a decade despite airing only four seasons, and it's entirely possible the animated series could be nearing some sort of conclusion. There's still no official word on whether HBO Max will be renewed for season 5, but regardless, the show's creators have made it known they intend to never write an ending for Young Justice. In the eyes of showrunners Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti, the show should create a world that mirrors our own in the sense that life continues going on despite whatever threats emerge or are eliminated, especially in the DC Universe in general.
The idea of Young Justice ending with some big unresolved threads is not an unfamiliar one, as for years it looked like that would be the case when Cartoon Network canceled the show after season 2. That season ended with the reveal that Vandal Savage and Darkseid had allied themselves together, a partnership that would be expanded upon in season 3, titled Young Justice: Outsiders. Due to viewers' eagerness to see more, fans launched a massive online campaign that helped revive the series, with the announcement coming nearly four years after the initial cancellation.
Whatever the future has in store for Young Justice, it's clear it holds a unique place in the legacy of DC animation. While no series can possibly deliver an ending that satisfies every single one of its viewers, the show deserves more than to end with more unresolved threads. It’s crucial the creators work to eventually deliver a satisfying ending for this saga, especially considering they can do so without going against their intentions for the show.
It's entirely possible for any show to deliver a series finale that wraps up the main story threads in a satisfying way without fully closing the door on future adventures. While Young Justice has established Vandal Savage and Darkseid as the universe’s biggest threats, there have also been dozens of other villains who have posed varying degrees of danger, and that will continue to be the case in both the short- and long-term future. Even in an ending where the forces of The Light and Apokolips are taken down for good, at least seemingly so, these other threats will ensure the audience knows the heroes' work will never truly be done. This is a fact that doesn't need to be specifically spelled out by introducing new villains indefinitely, only for some of their threads to not be resolved due to an abrupt ending.
Additionally, just the idea of continuing a show indefinitely with no real ending simply isn't feasible. Regardless of how it happens, every scripted show ends at some point, and the recent cancellations of Batwoman and Legends of Tomorrow underscores for DC how many shows don't get a chance to go out the way the writers want. Because of this, it's best to try to wrap things up as well as possible given the chance, as opposed to leaving viewers confused as to how major plot points will get resolved.
Whether or not the show continues for one more season, 10, somewhere in between or not at all remains to be seen, but regardless of how that plays out, the creators are in a unique position. For years, they were able to see viewers' reactions to the assumption that Young Justice would end with big questions unanswered, as there was a substantial amount of anger and frustration during that period. While the announcement of the revival was largely met with excitement and relief, Weisman and Vietti risk putting viewers through that same sort of animosity again, only this time it would be because of their decision instead of a studio's. After over a decade of endearing itself to viewers through a unique form of superhero stories that appeal to both kids and adults, Young Justice deserves nothing less than to go out on a high note.
New episodes of Young Justice release Thursdays on HBO Max.