"Fuck Batman" Titans Recap: "Origins" & "Doom Patrol"

Titans

The first couple episodes of  "Titans" were shaky for sure. A lot of weird choices and a heavy focus on proving to everyone that this show was GRITTY.  This weird focus on ultraviolence and grittiness was heavy handed and other things like world building and characterization were sacrificed. I'm happy to report that the next two episodes are marked improvements and I'm pretty sure that part of the reason is because Starfire is back, baby!

Episode 3: "Origins"

Kory: "That's technically true, dick."

Dick: "Gee, that's a new one."

Kory: "I'm going to change this music before my head explodes."

The Nuclear Family has Rachel. Lucky for her, Kory is on the case. After following them to a gas station and incinerating dear old Dad, Kory suggests Rachel join her. Kory was hoping that Rachel might know who she was, but no such luck. The duo's search for answers lead them to a convent in Ohio where Melissa, Rachel's mother, hid out with her while she was a baby seemingly from Rachel's father. Dick eventually catches up to the pair and after an altercation in the parking lot, Rachel's dark self manifest itself. When Rachel flees back to the convent, the nuns attempt to lock her up for her own safety. Kory finds a storage unit she had rented where she'd been researching apocalyptic prophecies involving a raven. Oh and Rachel releases her dark self to blow a hole in the side of the convent.

You don't want none.

This is more like it. This was probably my favorite episode so far and "Titans" finally felt like a show that I could continue to watch. I'm not going to lie, a lot of that has to do with Anna Diop and her portrayal of Kory/Starfire. I would totally watch a series where Kory and Rachel travel across the country and beat the shit out of rednecks while a badass soul soundtrack plays in the background. Seriously, though? It's just cool. Diop plays Kory with this unshakable confidence and it is a joy to watch. Like, she stabs some dude's fist with a fork for crying out loud. You best believe she got that breakfast for free. Her interactions with Dick are fantastic. She knows he's being an asshole and calls him out immediately. She's not buying his self-righteous act and Dick is his most bearable when he and Kory are together.

It's nice to get some answers, too. I was worried the show would really drag it's feet, but there is some significant progress made here. Kory learns why she was interested in Rachel and we get our first mention of raven. The nun stuff feels a little superfluous in the grand scheme, but maybe more about them and any possible involvement will come to light later. 

What bogs down the episode is Dick and his flashbacks. I get their purpose. They are trying to build this parallel between Dick and Rachel and Dick and his relationship with Bruce. Maybe they are more interesting for people not familiar with Dick's back story, but for me they are like watching Bruce Wayne's murder for the umpteenth time. And can we talk about that terrible CGI where Dick jumps out of his window and into the tree. Shia Lebeouf you are forgiven for your monkey swinging in the last Indiana Jones. And was young Dick joyriding in one of Bruce's cars an homage to the joyride in the Batmobile Dick took in "Batman Forever?" I sure hope so, but I'm not convinced.

Overall, this is a step in the right direction. A few more kinks to work out, but it feels like they are getting it and will get there.

Grade: B

Episode 4: "Doom Patrol"

Niles: "I can remove whatever it is inside you, Rachel. This is for your own good."

Kory: "If you don't bury whatever it is that's going on, you're going to explode. You've got problems."

After fleeing from the convent, Rachel comes across Garfield "Gar" Logan in his tiger form after previously meeting him in town at the arcade. He convinces her to come home with him, saying she'll be safe and normal there. It's there that Rachel meets the band of misfits that Gar lives with. There's Cliff Steele/Robot Man, former race car driver whose brain now resides in a giant metal body. Larry Trainor/The Negative Man covered in bandages from head to toe like the invisible man. Rita Farr/Elastigirl, an actress from the '50's who can expand her body. Rachel immediately takes a liking to these eccentric characters, but not so much to their leader, Niles Caulder/The Chief. He is the one who "saved" them and they help him with his strange experiments. Dick and Kory are also on Rachel's trail and reach the mansion just as the Chief tries to remove Rachel's dark self. All he gets for his trouble is a broken back. Cliff encourages Gar to leave with Kory, Dick and Rachel and our team is born.

Weirdest surgeons ever

Is it bad when the best episode of a new series is the episode setting up a spin-off? It's smart, funny, a little scary and has me legitimately hyped for "Doom Patrol" to premiere on February 15th. The cast is pretty stellar. Brendan Fraser and Matt Bomer lend their voices to Cliff and Larry, respectively. April Bowlby is kind and also quietly menacing as Rita. Everyone gels so well right away. The weak link is Bruno Bichir's Chief. It's not that he's terrible, but when everyone else is so strong, any weakness stands out. It's not a huge shock that for the proper series they recast him with Timothy Dalton and I'm all the way here for that. I always see the Chief as a proper British, stuffed shirt and Dalton will definitely bring that to the table.

This is a standout episode for Teagan Croft who gets to play Rachel as a teenager for an extended period of time. A teenager that smiles and cracks jokes. It's refreshing. We even get to see her use her powers in a different way. In the comics, Raven is not just a demon in disguise, she's also a powerful empath. It's nice to see her use those powers to first help Rita and then the Chief's new "patient."

We get to spend our first amount of extended time with Gar and kudos to Ryan Potter. He's the first actor to really embody his comics counterpart in a way that is completely recognizable to anyone familiar with Beast Boy whether it's from the comics or the various animated series. A lot of praise goes to writer Geoff Johns who uses his deep familiarity with the team to the show's advantage.

This is a great episode to talk about the effects in "Titans." They are pretty uniformly stellar. Gar's transformations are great. The body horror featuring Rita is super unsettling and Rachel unleashing her dark self on the Chief is grandiose.

The weakest parts of the episode are when we diverge from the Doom Patrol and check in with Kory and Dick who are still tracking Rachel. They serve their purpose. Kory witness Dick brutally beating a hunter that Rachel and Gar stumbled upon in the forest. She is pretty shaken and you can tell she's wondering what she's gotten herself into. They just sort of stall the momentum that the episode has going for it whenever they pop up.

That's a minor complaint when the overall episode is so strong. Here's hoping the show can keep it up without the Doom Patrol to help them out.

Grade: A-

Next up, the Titans finally unite to take on a newly reconstituted Nuclear Family and Dick comes face to face with his Robin replacement, Jason Todd.

Anyone watching along? Have watched? What do you think? Are you psyched for Doom Patrol? Is Kory the very best character? Let me know in the comments.