A year, almost to the day, later.... just rewatched this episode last night, and I was moved by the same sentiment.
Yeah, my favorite JL episode, too. I particularly liked how they were able to convert a two-dimensional villain into a sympathetic character whose motivations we could relate to. I cycle through whatever animated series Netflix happens to have at the time every couple of years - good night caps. Justice League/Justice League Unlimited is one of my favorite series. The writing and exploration of themes is a cut above most television series.
My #2 is 'Tabula Rasa', the one where Lex Luthor "adopts" the android Amazo and nearly uses it to defeat the JL. If 'The Terror Beyond' is about transformation and the power of faith, which I think it is (however naive we may think Grundy's obsession with getting his soul back, it's a motivation we can understand as being something that approaches noble), 'Tabula Rasa' is about innocence, trust and betrayal. Luthor's lie to Amazo is, in its own way, nearly as heart wrenching.
I wish the level of story telling in most DC movies approached that of their animated series. I'm not sure if 'The Terror Beyond' would work as in live action though.
reply
share
ARosser14
9 years ago
Been rewatching this series, the second part of The Terror Beyond is one of the incredibly scant few episodes I caught on Cartoon Network (their airing of the episodes was pretty atrocious in terms of gaps and so forth) so I knew Grundy's fate from way back then. Will admit that even knowing that upon rewatching, I shed a tear, not the ugly-crying waterworks but that single stubborn tear that just refuses to stay in place behind your eyeball. Not just in the context of the episode alone, but I really liked Grundy in his other appearances too. One of my absolute favorite sequences from JL is in "Injustice for All" with him and the Ultra-Humanite (another of my favorite characters from this show) being turned against each other by that master crap-stirrer himself, Batman. Their tussle culminating in Grundy's last bop of Humanite's head makes me cackle every time. His ending here, while difficult, is another favorite.
The thing about the DCAU compared to most animated shows and even a majority of the little live action television I watch is the level of heart it has. There were many episodes that had a similar effect (including "Wake the Dead" when Shayera is forced to euthanize Grundy) and a lot of touching, poignant moments that mix well with the action, peril, and great, laugh-out-loud humor.
reply
share