The Enemy Below (2)

Episode Summary & Review

Summary

A nuclear submarine is attacked in the Atlantic, forcing the League to come face to face with Aquaman and his Atlantean army. Aquaman takes Superman up on his advice to go to Metropolis and take his problems up with the various governments of the world. When a mercenary Deadshot attacks Aquaman, the League steps in. Aquaman discovers that Lord Orm, his own brother, was behind the attack. Orm takes Aquaman and his infant son and places them on a cliff over a vein of molten lava, leaving them to die. In order to save his son, Aquaman must make the terrible sacrifice of severing his own hand.

Our Take

The conclusion leans hard on Aquaman’s hand-severing moment, and honestly it earns it. The brother-versus-brother stuff is standard villain plotting, but the cliff scene gives this episode a genuine jolt of stakes the show rarely attempts. Some of the League feel like bystanders here, though. Worth it for that brutal sacrifice alone, even if the buildup is just okay.