Episode 20 of Young Justice: Outsiders is appropriately named "Quiet Conversations," as most of the episode's subplots involve private talks and secrets being revealed. However, the episode is far from lacking in action and excitement, despite this emphasis on dialogue and character development.
The chief plot of the episode centers around Victor Stone and his struggles with the Fatherbox technology that threatens to take over his body and transform him into a robot. Superboy, Forager and Black Lightning embark upon a quest to locate Metron, the only person in the universe who may be capable of saving Vic's life. At the same time, Terra and Artemis go off in search of Halo, who has run away from home after revealing that the woman whose body she now possesses was responsible for helping assassins kill the parents of Terra and Geo-Force.
In Atlantis, Kaldur takes some time off from leading the Justice League to help a young metahuman who grew gills but lost the ability to breathe on land acclimate to life in Atlantis. And at the same time in Happy Harbor, Ms. Martian tries to reach out to Harper Row - a troubled teen whose behavior has becoming increasingly self-destructive. Here's all the big questions remaining after the end of "Quiet Conversations."
5. Who Is Metron?
After consulting with Dreamer of the Forever People of New Genesis, it is determined that the only thing that might save Victor Stone's life is the Mobius Chair of Metron. The only one of the New Gods not born of New Genesis or Apokolips, Metron is the New God of Knowledge and the most enigmatic of all the Fourth World's population. The inventor of much of the New Gods' technology, Metron remains neutral in the war between New Genesis and Apokolips, concerning himself only with the acquisition of new information. He gathers this while traveling the universe in his Mobius Chair - a magnificent throne-like device that allows Metron to teleport to any point in space and time instantaneously.
4. How Does Ms. Martian Do It All?
"Quiet Conversations" reveals that Ms. Martian is now working as a guidance counselor at Happy Harbor High School, in her secret identity of Megan Morse. It is in this capacity that she reaches out to Harper Row - a troubled friend of Halo and Forager, who ran afoul of the law after stealing her father's handgun and raiding his liquor cabinet in episode 18, "Early Warning." While this was seemingly done just to blow off some steam with Halo after-school, Megan senses that there is something bigger going on after she notices that Harper is hiding bruises on her body. By the episode's end, Megan gets Harper to open up and admit that she stole the gun and the booze so that her abusive father wouldn't accidentally kill someone and Harper and her younger brother are taken into custody by Child Protective Services.
This subplot leads to a closing title card informing the viewers on how they can help combat domestic abuse and shows Ms. Martian's skill as a counselor. However, it does raise the question of just how Ms. Martian manages leading a superhero team while working such a demanding job. This question is particularly pertinent since earlier episodes revealed Megan also works at STAR Labs' facility for at-risk metahuman teenagers in Taos, Arizona as a guidance counselor, along with Black Canary. Ms. Martian is powerful, but there's still only so many hours in the day.
3. Who Is "Unnamed Meta-Teen-A-Four-One"?
The young woman listed as Unnamed Meta-Teen-A-Four-One in the credits for this episode first appeared in episode 18, "Early Warning." One of the many trafficked teenagers whose metagene was magically triggered by Klarion the Witch Boy, this unnamed woman underwent a shocking transformation that turned her hair white and left her unable to survive outside of water. The Outsiders took her to STAR Labs, but they didn't have the facilities to care for her, nor could they restore her to who she had been. "Quiet Conversations" sees Aquaman offering the young woman a chance at a new life among the Atlanteans.
The unnamed woman seems to be based on Dolphin - a DC Comics heroine who first appeared in Showcase #79 in December 1968. Falling overboard from a cruise ship as a young girl, Dolphin was saved by a mysterious group of aliens who experimented on her, giving her enhanced strength and durability as well as webbed toes and fingers and the ability to breathe underwater. Abandoned after the aliens decided to discontinue their experiments and return to their homeworld, Dolphin lived alone for many years until she was discovered by a group of undersea explorers. It was they who gave her the name Dolphin and taught her how to recognize several languages (including American Sign Language), as Dolphin seemed to be mute but capable of comprehending spoken words.
Strangely enough, Dolphin never came into contact with Aquaman or the Atlanteans before Crisis on Infinite Earths. She was, however, part of The Forgotten Heroes - a team assembled by New Teen Titans co-creator Marv Wolfman, made up of various DC Comics characters who had never achieved lasting fame after their first few appearances. The team also included Animal Man, Time Master Rip Hunter, and soldier Rick Flag Jr., who would later go on to lead the Suicide Squad.
Dolphin eventually learned how to speak and became a regular part of the Aquaman titles in the 1990s, going on to marry Tempest, aka Garth, the first Aqualad. More recently, she was reintroduced into the Aquaman Rebirth series in a form closer to her original concept. Once again mute but now possessing a bio-luminescence power that let her generate blinding flashes of light, Dolphin became Arthur Curry's sidekick as he led a revolt against the corrupt King Rath, who usurped his throne.
2. Who Are Sha'Lain'A & Calvin Durham?
Aquaman makes arrangements for Unnamed Meta-Teen-A-Four-One to move into the home of his parents, Sha'Lain'A and Calvin Durham. Calvin tells the young woman that he's sure he can help her get used to life underwater, having had to adjust to it himself. While Calvin does not go into the details of his past, he says that he was originally from San Diego, California.
While Sha'Lain'A and Calvin Durham previously appeared in the Young Justice tie-in comic book, this marks their first appearance on the television show. However, the comic series was co-written by Executive Producer Greg Weisman and staff writer Kevin Hopps and is considered canon to the history of the show. It is also worth noting that while Sha'Aain'A is an original creation, the character of Calvin Durham has been part of the Aquaman mythology for over 40 years.
Durham was Black Manta's lieutenant and received experimental surgery that gave him gills as part of a plan to infiltrate Atlantis. Durham had a change of heart, however, when he realized that Black Manta had been lying about his plans to establish a new sub-aquatic homeland for the victims of racial discrimination on the surface world. Durham has a similar background in the reality of Young Justice, but here his heart was turned from evil after he fell in love with Sha'Lain'A. Unbeknownst to Durham, however, she had previously met Black Manta and was carrying his child when she and Durham were married.
Despite not being biologically related, Kaldur still considers Calvin to be his true father. Spiritually, Calvin Durham was the new Aquaman's father in one respect, as his name was used as the basis for Kaldur's full Atlantean name, Kaldur'ahm, before Calvin was introduced into the show's mythology in the comics. Durham's mention of San Diego is another shout out to the Aquaman comics, where part of San Diego sank into the ocean in 2004 and the residents mysteriously developed the ability to breathe underwater while becoming unable to survive on land. Calvin Durham became the mayor of this new sunken city, which was dubbed Sub Diego.
1. Will Terra Betray Her Teammates In The End?
The final scene of the episode shows Terra on the phone with Slade "Deathstroke" Wilson, explaining why her latest report on the activities of the Outsiders is late. Terra claims that she didn't call or text to report anything because there was nothing to report. This is an outright lie, given the turmoil caused by Victor Stone's near-death experience and the search for the runaway Halo. When she hangs up the phone, Terra smiles to herself, apparently satisfied with what she has done.
When Terra was introduced into the Outsiders and it was revealed that she was in communication with Deathstroke, it was assumed that Young Justice: Outsiders would be presenting their own take on the classic Teen Titans storyline The Judas Contract. Given Terra's apparent bonding with the rest of her teammates over the past few episodes and her actions in the end of "Quiet Conversations," however, it doesn't seem like this is the case. Could this series be doing the truly unexpected and presenting the first version of Terra in existence that isn't a treacherous traitor?