#clone orm

That opening scene is just… I don’t even know - it just hurts my heart. Clone!Orm’s response to the whole conversation is just a flood of emotions - from refusing to acknowledge somethings not right inside his head, to refusing to trust someone he thinks he’s supposed to hate. You can see there’s a battle going on in his head and it really makes you feel for him. Also as we learn more from him over the episode - it’s revelations like this which really reminds us why Vandal is truly a villain - everything we get with Clone!Orm this episode breaks my heart.

On a brighter note… M’gann’s here! I love this show best when we see how outside characters interact with the different storylines… I don’t if that makes sense — but I mean like in the MUC when Ironman’s in a Spider-Man film or Falcons in Antman and then Falcon brings Antman into Captain America. I like seeing heroes helping other heroes because they have the unique skill needed for a particular situation. I like seeing connections between plots and characters… Another thing, this scene gives me serious s2 vibes - both when Batman requests her help with that Krolotean and when she was supposed to get a read on Green Beetle - however her approach here really highlights how much she’s grown since then.

“I AM NOT A CLONE—” Orm goes through so many emotions in this one line and the music really emphasises how he’s feeling with that harsh stop.

I love the colour palettes used for all the Atlantis content - it all looks so beautiful and otherworldly with the use of soft pastel colours and vibrant luminous features

Sha’ark’s love of conflict reminds me of Black Beetle fighting with Mongul and Green Beetle being like - “your lust for needless battle eludes me.”

You do get the sense throughout the arc that Mera has a way better head for diplomacy while Orin is just a little too raw and ready for action.

Has Lori’s voice changed?

Gnarly deep sea fish

The beard has arrived - and Wyynde’s got one too! Yep… I still don’t likey - though at least it’s not there as an emotional response to trauma… Though this does beg the question- when Atlantean’s get their, hair cut what happens to the hair - they’re in water so wouldn’t it just float instead of dropping to the floor - and in that case do they have someone who goes around with a little goldfish net to catch the cut hair?? Why is this image my head?!? I suddenly want to know everything about Atlantean grooming…

Batmans influence shining through…While its a line that comes across as rather harsh - because it is - bad things do tend to happen when someone lets their focus slip from where it should be when on mission… when Batman originally said it to Kaldur, Kaldur’s lack of focus had almost gotten the entire team and himself killed by Clayface - it was important that Kaldur understand the fault he made to reduce the risk of it happening again on another mission. They’re apart of a dangerous business where lives can literally be lost if someone’s not paying attention - had Kaldur allowed La’gaan to continue splitting his focus the way he was, then he’s opening everyone else on that team up to peril. That’s why ensuring focus is so important - to ensure as few mistakes as possible. Whilst on mission it is Kaldur's responsibility to get his team home safely…. (There’s a lot more I want say on this subject so I might do a separate post on it.)

La’gaan really looks up to Kaldur - he doesn’t show any hint of complaint or offence at the way Kaldur speaks to him - he understands the importance of what his leader is telling him. We never got to see La’gaan interact with Kaldur much in s2 - outside of Kaldur being undercover - the only moment we got was when they dealt with the MFDs together. In that scene we see La’gaan’s more emotionally reactive side that still hasn't quite processed the Kaldur situation and instead throws a snarky comment over following Kaldur’s instructions - his response is childish, but after Kaldur explains the trust he always had in him, you can see the admiration La’gaan had and once again has for Kaldur. The comparison of these two scenes emphasises the growth La’gaan has gained since s2 - he respects the chain of command and his admiration still shows for Kaldur - even when he's being reprimanded by the elder.

Wyynde calling La’gaan "My friend" is something I did not realise I needed to hear - but I am so happy I did. The two are friends and I love that so much!

1) I love the whole conversation between Wyynde and La’gaan. 2) I love hearing La’gaan talk about his past grudge with Conner & his regrets over never having made amends. 3) Can we please have a moment when Conner comes back where La’gaan just runs up an hugs him and Conner’s like, “Whoa- what was that?” And La’gaan’s like, “I’m just so happy you’re alive!” — the same way gar did when Artemis came back from the dead — it would be cute.

MONSTER CRAB!

I like the reaction shot on Wyynde as La’gaan takes on the giant crab — it continues the connection they established earlier.

Team Flashlight

It’s taken a month for Orm to ask for help - has m’gann just been chilly in Atlantis waiting for Orm to open up?? That’s one way to avoid your own grief.

Who’s in the other cloning pods? I feel more clones may be a coming.

Who’s brain is Psymon holding? Never mind - I just looked up what a Psy-back is and apparently that’s what the brain is - that’s what holds Orm’s memories - and Vandal’s apparently got a load more of them… how? What? Where? When? Who? I have all the questions!! All except why — because he’s insane!

Have Orin’s eyes always been purple?

Vandal needs to stop expecting his clones won’t liberated because they always are and they always cause him more problems.

I DON’T TRUST CHIAN!! There’s something sketchy about her.

“Guess it can’t eat us if we’re riding it, right… Right?!”

Wyynde’s magical vine constructs look so cool - it’s different from the usual sea life constructs

Ok so this is where I get a bit confused… Is Orin supposed to have confronted Arion about being Orm between the vote and the crowning scene? How much time has passed since the vote? How long did it take M’gann to get the Orm information to Orin? How did Arion know Kaldur had the crown… oh wait - it might have just clicked in my head that that was the whole point of vandal’s plan… okay, scratch that last one. There’s no surprise from Orm!Arion at being called brother by Orin - so he knows he knows? Or does he just not care at this point? I do feel like there’s something missing from this scene - it all just came off a bit too abrupt.

Lords of Order be like - we do not associate with vandal savage now get our crown off that false prophets head!

I do think it’s funny — Arion gets crowned and the people are like - ARION! ARION! ARION! Mera gets crowned and the people are like - MERA! MERA! MERA! Orin gets recrowned and… Complete Silence — the people really don’t like him. Orin be like - well I didn’t want to be king anyway.

How the heck did that crown get over that ponytail?!

Mera is high king - a much better fit than Orin - though I can’t quite work out her reaction to it. I do like the degendering of the title of King.

Orin’s enthusiasm at the prospect of rejoining the justice league - that’s the thing we all know he’s most excited about in that list.

Four Green Lanterns? So someone apparently joined since s3. Also this confirms Jay is back heroing - which makes sense - Joan will have been the reason he retired and now she’s gone why shouldn’t he rejoin the life if he enjoys it.

La’gaan is an Aquaman!

Kaldur’s decision to take a break was… unexpected, though that may just be the point? This show loves going again expectations by having its characters not follow the trope. Though I do agree there’s an episode or a scene or something missing that could have strengthened the sense of Kaldur making the decision he did. But, I like that Wyynde is the one, like us, who’s convinced Kaldur will never stop until he’s broken, then is just as surprised as us that Kaldur’s proven him wrong. However, I don’t think he’s going to be on break for long - especially once he finds out Conner’s not dead. Saying he’s on break is one thing - but fully committing to it is another entirely - it’s very easy to fall back into bad habits if you’ve never completely come to terms with why they were bad - as shown with Mary in the magic arc. So who knows what’s still to come for Kaldur.

Traci Fate… I really wanna know what this experience is like from Traci’s perspective - because it must be weird watching yourself whilst possessed by a Lord of Order suddenly drop in on the big bad Vandal Savage to poke fun at his failure then just peace out like it’s no big deal. It’s gotta be weird.

Vandal losing his cool for the first time EVER! That’s not going to end well.

Orm redemption - even though it’s not really Orm - but Orin saying he’d like nothing more than to be his brother — cute! You’ve gotta love a good clone story in young justice. I am now completely invested in this character and want to follow his journey into discovering who he is and be supported by Will and team BowHunter Security.

DID LA’GAAN MAKE IT TO THE BIRTH?! Guess we’ll never know - but the family of three is now a four. And you know what this means… a new kid to add to Baby Justice!

Back to the happy AquaFamilies

Conner’s breakdown monologue feels reminiscent of Gar’s breakdown from arc 1 — “I failed you!” Poor Conner - showing how truly damaging isolation is on the mind - no matter how physically or emotionally strong you think you are - isolation can break anyone.

I was hoping we’d see the bus at some point - it’s impressive Conner immediately recognises it since it was 10 years ago when he saved it s1.

RED SUN!!! What does this mean?!? Is it gonna have an effect again!? What’s happening to Conner? Someone help him now!

Well… Tula’s definitely dead… We may need to have a difficult conversation about the rest.

I’m glad we’re now actually seeing these Canary therapy sessions that were established in episode 1 but never turned up until ep.13 - it just strengthens the legitimacy of that ep.1 statement about wellness checks. I wouldn’t be against seeing more.

So that's another episode done and Kaldur’s arc finished, I really have enjoyed exploring Atlantis and it’s characters - it’s given us so much development that I didn’t realise I needed to see. These have been some of my favourite episodes with so much to love with Kaldur &co. whilst furthering a the other plot of the season. I do think this arc would have benefited from an extra episode just to allow a bit more time to Kaldur and team looking for the crown, instead of cramming it all in with the political stuff with Orin, Clone!Orm and Orm!Arion. Other than that I have really enjoyed the return of the show and am so excited to see what’s to come in the new arc (🤞Please give us more Bart! Please give us more Bart!🤞)

Thanks for reading. With only one episode this week this might mean I can get back to finishing the Zatanna part 2 post I had to put on hold… we’ll see what happens.

Honestly, one of the biggest shocks i have regarding s4 is in just how invested I now am in clone!orm and his fate after leaving Atlantis. I'm rooting so hard for him to find happiness on his new path - he deserse it after the shit the light put him through. so I'm totally here for him finding love and someone who loves him as he deserves... also, at this point, if he doesn't actually get given the name Marius in the end - I'm gonna be so disappointed!

I’m gonna be honest, I saw the name Marius and thought you were about to compare clone Orm to Marius Pontmecy from Les Mis and got really confused for a second… though that would have been impressive…

Anyway… after actually reading your comment, I agree, it would certainly make sense that Grandon would choose that as his name as they love sticking to the original material and making as many references as possible. That being said, I really don’t know if I could take him seriously if he goes by the name Marius - all I’d be thinking of Marius from Les Mis… THOUGH we did have a reference to Les Mis in Artemis’s arc when she was teaching her class before finding out about Conner - and one of her credits quotes did come back up again when Conner was talking to Ghosty in the phantom zone - maybe they’ll callback to that quote/Les Mis if clone orms taken on the name Marius because I would definitely expect one of our literature nerds Artemis/Forager to make some reference to the book if that is the case… or maybe I’ve fallen down a ridiculous rabbit hole and need to stop talking right now…

I’m personally gonna go with the latter…

Anyway… I thank you Anon for enlightening me on the fact that Ocean Master’s original comics name was Orm Marius — I truly appreciate that piece information and the forewarning in case he does turn up calling himself Marius… seriously, if he had - and you hadn’t - I’d have been like - WTF?! Why has clone Orm been reading Les Mis - and why would he choose Marius of all characters to name himself after?!

It would have been an unexpected experience…

…This really turned into something I don’t think either of us imagined…