WARNING: Spoilers for Young Justice season 4.
Teen Titans. However, Young Justice quickly established itself as its own thing thanks to three-dimensional characters and bold creative choices.
Young Justice viewers took a hit at the end of season 2 when the series was unceremoniously canceled. Several loose ends and cliffhangers had remained unresolved, including Wally West's death, and those who had connected to the characters and world of Young Justice couldn't help but wonder what direction the show would have taken. Fortunately, the social media campaign to get Young Justice back worked, and the show returned for seasons 3 and 4.
Young Justice creator Greg Weisman has said more than once that he and Brandon Vietti did not and will never plan a proper ending for the show. They want to convey the idea that the DC world is always alive, meaning that there will always be new threats, the heroes will continue to age and go through a lot of stuff, and there will never be a final boss whose defeat ends all the problems once and for all - not even major villains like Vandal Savage or Darkseid. It's a risky take, especially considering that Young Justice was already canceled once and is always on the verge of being canceled again, but it also offers a fresh perspective on the idea that every superhero story must have an endgame moment and that characters necessarily have to "conclude their arcs” as if life stopped from then on.
Young Justice approaches its universe in a different way compared to other superhero shows. The various time-jumps, especially between Young Justice seasons 1 and 2, helped the viewer to realize that their favorite characters were aging and made events like the death of Wally and the apparent death of Superboy hit harder. Young Justice created a connection between the viewer and the DC heroes, mostly those the show has followed since the beginning, and elements such as Artemis' family matters or the relationship between Conner and M'gann became as important to the audience as the battles against the Light.
For that reason, it makes sense that Young Justice would never have a definitive ending. No matter when the show is canceled, the in-universe lives of the member of the Team, now spread across the Justice League and the Outsiders, will keep going. After all the trauma that Young Justice characters have been through, it would be weird for the show to set an arbitrary point in time from which everyone would be happily ever after. There are still important battles to be fought, namely the one against Darkseid and Apokolips, but it will be interesting to imagine what other threats the heroes in Young Justice are facing even after the end of the show.
Young Justice has yet to be renewed for season 5, and the fact that the show's creators will never plan an ending for the story may be troubling for fans. That said, after four seasons developed by the same creative team, the show's riskiest and most controversial decisions are no longer any surprises. It is precisely thanks to that bold approach that Young Justice stood out and will continue to be ed even after its inevitable end.
New episodes of Young Justice release Thursdays on HBO Max.