Date: January 1, to January 2.
Location: Hollywood, The Source Wall, Happy Harbor, Dhabar, Taos, Poiseidonis, Minosyss Ring.
Cyborg's Father Box implants are consuming him, so Conner seeks help from Metron to cure him.
Tropes Used in This Episode:
- Abusive Parent: Harper and Cullen are abused by their father. M'gann convinces her to admit it so she and her brother can be taken from his custody to a safe place.
- Ambiguous Situation: Like last episode it's difficult to gauge Terra's motives. Did she tell Slade there was nothing to report because she genuinely believes none of what she witnessed was useful information or was intentionally omitting details from Slade?
- Big Damn Kiss: We get to see Kaldur have one with his boyfriend, Wyynde, confirming his sexuality.
- Blatant Lies:
- Harper Row tries to claim to M'gann that Violet brought the gun they were caught shooting on the beach in "Early Warning". She seems to immediately realize no one would believe that just as soon as she says it. M'gann chooses to ask her why she would have it if it were "hypothetically" hers, which gets Harper to admit she stole it from her father so he wouldn't be tempted to use it while drunk.
- Similarly, she claims her and her brother's bruises are the result of roughhousing, instead of her father beating them. She admits it's a lie, but won't tell M'gann the truth because M'gann would have to report it to the police if she directly stated it.
- When Artemis states she hasn't spoken to Violet, Jace says she has but claims they were nothing more than casual conversations that couldn't explain why Violet ran away. Jace recently told Violet that she (Violet) was dying. Despite Violet running away, Jace still doesn't share this information with anyone. Which totally isn't suspicious. (Though it still might be explained by her wanting Violet to be able to disclose that information to her friends in her own time.)
- Casual Danger Dialogue: While tailing Metron via Boom Tube, Conner and his group run into Superman as he's fending off a Parademon attack. They wind up pitching in to help with the fight. Conner uses the opportunity to ask Clark to be his best man. After they just as casually take off with Metron, Superman is left bewildered by the whole exchange.
- Demonization: Gabrielle's cousin Samad accuses Violet of being a demon of some kind once she explains her true nature. Downplayed in that Gabrielle's mother shuts him down and thanks her for telling them what happened to her daughter.
- Facial Dialogue: True to this episode's title Brion has several conversations with others but doesn't say anything, just letting his expressions carry it.
- Fastball Special: Seeing Superman stunned by a combined attack by three Parademons, Conner helps out by pitching Forager full tilt at them, ricocheting between them.
- A God Am I: Metron does not take kindly to Conner manhandling him and uses his status as a New God as proof as to why he should never be touched. Thankfully, despite being a New God, Black Lightning's power is more than enough to keep him held down while Conner uses Metron's chair to cure Victor.
- Graceful Loser: Metron is a mostly good sport about Conner jacking his chair to cure Victor and Jefferson zapping him for a good minute or so, merely grousing about the lost opportunity for study and leaving without further conflict. At worst, he's deliberately vague on Jefferson's question about Gretchen Goode's true identity, saying she and Granny Goodness both are and aren't the same person.
- Heel–Face Turn: Since being seen in the Young Justice tie-in comics as a purist follower of Ocean-Master circa Season 1, Wyynde has mended his ways, joined Orin's royal guard, and is even in a relationship with Kaldur, an "impure" Atlantean.
- Insufferable Genius: Metron has a full god complex and is completely dismissive of others' suffering. And he's apparently not much better among fellow New Gods, if Bear punching him is anything to go by.
- Loophole Abuse: Things look dire when Metron refuses to help Victor and only came to witness his death. Until Jefferson realizes that Dreamer said they needed the Mobius Chair, not the god sitting in it to heal Victor.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Brion is usually very hot tempered but following on from last episode he doesn't say a single word here.
- Power Incontinence: Cyborg's body starts to suffer as the Father Box takes control of him and slowly kills him.
- Right Through the Wall: During the credits, you can clearly overhear Jace and Jefferson having sex, as can poor Sphere on the other side.
- That Man Is Dead: The aquatic meta (who is a dead ringer for the DC Comics superheroine Dolphin) chooses not to reveal her name because she isn't that person any more, suggesting a traumatic past of some kind. Orin assures her that she can pick her own name when she's ready.
- Translator Microbes: Kaldur uses a spell to help him and the aquatic meta speak to each other. As Kaldur explains, they're both speaking Atlantian.
- The Unintelligible: The aquatic meta can't be understood clearly speaking Hindi, or any language from the surface, because they were never designed to be spoken underwater.
- Very Special Episode: The B Plot focuses on M'Gann talking to Harper about the latter's behavior, which reveals that Harper and her brother have an abusive father. The episode ends with M'Gann helping them, closing out with a message for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
- The Watcher: Metron, as he is in the comics, is a largely passive observer more interested in seeing new outcomes than actively helping anyone. He's willing to let Victor be consumed by the Father Box simply because it's new to him and he wants to see it happen.
- We Are as Mayflies: Metron shows little concern for Victor's life because death is "commonplace."
- Wham Shot: As the heroes are chasing Metron, they run out of a cave and find themselves staring into the depths of space. Then the camera zooms out to reveal a nose, then a face. Cue Title In: The Source Wall.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Kaldur lies to Orin about the False Flag Operation he helped set up in the previous episode, which the aquatic meta notices. When she has a chance to talk to him in private, she assures him that he's not a bad person because bad people don't mind lying, while Kaldur is clearly broken up about having to do so no matter how well he hides it.
