I love that M’gann’s S2 power abuse arc more or less resolved itself without Conner.
Conner’s S1 Shields arc resolved itself without M’gann, even when needing Dick to yell at him to get M’gann out of the fire in “Performance” should have been as much a red flag to Conner that his Shields use was wrong and dangerous as M’gann being unable to end their conflict about her power abuse without resorting to trying to tamper with his memories and getting broken up with over it should have have been a red flag to her.
And Conner, her boyfriend, starting to prioritize going to beat up a bad guy over saving her life not being a source of actual conflict between them was… arguably because she was not secure enough in herself and the relationship to even be offended (unlike his response to where his feelings fit among her priorities in S2), but his Shield use in general not being something she picked up on was explicitly because she been watching him grow out of his aggression and was forgiving of his slip-ups, and that her thinking was so much as simplistic and naive as his was that she didn’t think his excessive violence against criminals was wrong if the mission was accomplished.
Conner’s wake-up call in S1 was nearly killing Artemis in the avalanche he caused by wailing on Mammoth, combined with the convenience of having run out of Shields giving him a chance to be without access to that power and decide if he was willing to do what he had to for Lex to get more. M’gann was not a major factor in him changing himself. Being safe, happy, and comfortable in a romantic relationship with M’gann was not the end goal of his narrative arc.
M’gann’s wake-up call in S2 was rendering Kaldur comatose and realizing what she’d become by attacking someone in rage and not for any purpose even she could justify–Artemis asks her what she’s done and M’gann can’t even finish putting into words that she thought Kaldur killing Artemis meant he deserved what he got, because hearing it put in words disturbs her that much. M’gann in S2 was never gonna lose access to her own innate psychic powers the way Conner easily lost access to the power the Shields unlocked in him–at least, not without something traumatic happening, and it did. And though she tried, the sight of him in immediate danger was not enough for her to overcome that trauma in that moment–and even his (non-romantic!) words after that scene just gave her the kick-in-the-pants needed for her to temporarily snap out of it and look to her other friends for help, a theme continued in “The Fix” and “Complications” as Artemis helped her fix Kaldur’s mind and M’gann helped Artemis and Kaldur keep Sportsmaster and Cheshire from killing either of them. Conner was not a major factor in her changing herself. Having a good relationship–romantic or otherwise–with Conner again was not her narrative goal in devoting herself to learning and to changing.
She never majorly changed for Conner, despite loving him. Not in S1, when he told her she didn’t have to hide her true appearance from him, and not pre-/in S2, when he told her the way she was using her powers against enemies was wrong. And Conner never majorly changed for her, despite loving her. Not in S1, when he nearly let her die as a consequence to his pursuit of power, and not pre-/in S2, when he caught her trying to literally change his mind so they’d stop fighting and continued to defend what she was doing to their enemies (though not what she tried to do to him) afterwards.
Their relationship, in both seasons, was a significant part of their arcs as characters, but never the point of those arcs. Their shared S3 plot thread so far of trying to balance the responsibilities of their individual superhero lives with their romantic relationship, and having minor differences in their top priorities, doesn’t exist separately from the past two seasons and shouldn’t be looked at as such. It’s a shared plot thread that’s earned, because despite having mutual attraction between them implied as early on as the second episode of the series, they have been fully developed as characters outside of their romantic relationship.
That engagement, those kisses, those hand-holds, THIS:
is earned.
