Titans
"Titans" season three is pulling from a lot of Batman lore, so I thought it might be fun to use these intros to give a little background on some of the characters. We will start with Jason Todd aka the Red Hood. Jason Todd was the second Robin. He was a lot different than Dick. His father was a petty criminal who ended up in jail and never returned to the family after he was released. Jason was noticed by Batman when he tried to boost the wheels off the Batmobile. After finding out that Jason's mother had died from an overdose, Bruce took him in. Jason's rage was an issue from the beginning. On his first official mission as Robin, he found out that Two-Face killed his father.
Jason was not a super popular character when he was introduced. DC decided they were going to let fans decide Jason's fate. There was a toll-free number they could call to decide whether Jason would live or die. Overwhelmingly, they decided he needed to die. That led to Jason being beat with a crowbar by Joker and left for dead in a warehouse. Jason was dead until Infinite Crisis where some inter dimensional punching from a tantrum throwing Superboy brought him back to life and caused Jason to become the Red Hood. Red Hood is now back in pseudo good standing with his Bat brothers and sisters, but he's always ready to cross the line Batman won't if he feels it's needed.
"Blackfire"
Kory Anders: "Get out of my way, or I'm going to burn your dick off."
As always, there's Dick and the other Titans. After seeing Dawn off, Dick learns that there has been an attempt on the life of Jonathan Crane by someone claiming to be working for the Red Hood. He ends up kidnapping Crane from the GCPD during his transfer to Blackgate. Meanwhile, after almost barbecuing Gar and kidnapping him, Kory decides that it's time to get to the bottom of her visions. It leads Kory and Gar to an underground bunker and her sister, Blackfire.
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| Family, man. |
After the death of Hawk last episode, I kind of thought there would be more focus on that and the grieving the team is going through. It is in the background, for sure. Dawn decides she needs to head out and go to Paris. I'm not made that they are cutting down on some of the characters. We have a lot to focus on and frankly, Hawk and Dove are probably the least interesting. It was nice to give Hank a big death, but Dawn taking off is kind of unceremonious. I would love to say that she'd be missed but I probably won't think about her much after this episode until she inevitably shows back up again.
Conner is upset that he wasn't able to save Hank and he did literally watch him explode which has to be scarring. Gar is doing his best to hold things together but no one appreciates it and then he is almost set on fire by Kory so he's finished. I'm kind of hoping that Hank's death will continue to be a through line of the season and won't be swept under the rug quickly.
Jonathan Crane is a great addition to this season. Vincent Kartheiser, who you might remember as Angel's aged up son Connor on "Angel," is doing a great job. This is a Crane that I don't remember seeing in other Batman media. This like stoned, Hannibal Lecter take is really great. There are a lot of quieter moments in this episode with Crane and Dick and it's really Kartheiser that carries this scene. Thwaites does his best but he doesn't really have the levels and range to make these monologue's sing. That story about Dick, Bruce and the wolf's head is super fucked up, but I think Thwaites could have really made this more emotional but he just doesn't quite meet the measure. It's really Crane and his takedown of the Bruce and his treatment of his young protege's that really stings and really sticks with you and it's great.
I touched on this last week, but characters continue to make some baffling choices and the writing doesn't do enough to justify them. Like, Dick, face fully on display, taking down these guards and taking Crane. Dick is smarter than this. I get that he had figured out that Crane was working with Red Hood, but like, maybe give Barbara a heads up? Wear a ski mask? Something?
The episode really soars when it comes to the Kory/Gar portion. I love when shows put together pairings that we don't really see and I definitely think we need more of this. Gar's reactions to Kory kidnapping him are so good. We finally meet Blackfire and it's good stuff. Anna Diop and Damaris Lewis have a ton of chemistry and you believe they are sisters. I love that the show really plays up that this is family drama and family drama is the most complicated of drama. All we've heard so far is Starfire's side of this. Blackfire did murder their parents which is awful, but it sounds like they might have been abusive and Starfire may have been complacent in that abuse. It adds lots of layers to things and it colors things in shades of gray, which really adds depth to things.
I'd love to find out more about this government facility and I hope that Dr. Artie Kind makes another appearance. And, Kory relieving the facility of Blackfire and taking her back to Wayne Manor is going to introduce a lot of organic drama that will hopefully make season 3 any better. In the comics, Titans has always been a big soap opera so I'm all for more of those elements being introduced into the series.
Grade: B+
"Lazarus"
Jason Todd: "Please don't give up on me, Bruce."
Bruce Wayne: "I never will."
The big question of season 3 so far, is how did Jason Todd get hooked up with Jonathan Crane and how did he escape certain death. This episode flashes back and tells that story.
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| Silhouette. |
So, a flashback episode was inevitable. This is "Titans" we are talking about. Let's just hope that this is the only flashback episode that we have to sit through. The story of how Jason Todd went "bad," was beat to death and was resurrected is kind of what you'd expect but this is a nice showcase for Curran Walters, who plays Jason. I think Walters does a great job as Jason Todd as Robin. He brings that perfect combination of rage and bravado mixed with scared little boy. It works really well and it is on full display in this episode.
Jason is clearly struggling with his near death experience fighting Deathstroke. He's having nightmares starring the deceased Donna Troy. It's nice to see Conor Leslie for the first time this season and it also reminds me how much I freaking miss Donna. Due to these issues, Bruce puts a moratorium on him being Robin until he works things out which leads to Jason seeing Dr. Leslie Thompkins. In every iteration, it feels like Leslie is doing the lord's work. Ok, maybe not in "Gotham," but "Gotham" seems to be the exception to everything. These scenes between Jason and Leslie or Jason and his good friend, Molly do more to really deepen the character than anything else the show has done, including his WTF relationship with Rose last season. In these moments, you really see that the anger and bravado is just a shield and when it cracks, the real Jason peeks through. A troubled young boy who desperately wants to please whatever parental figure is in his life. Man, Bruce really knows how to pick 'em.
Speaking of Bruce, in this episode, you get to see Bruce really struggling to do the right thing. He might initially use Robin as a carrot to get Jason to see Leslie in the first place, but it is the best thing for the boy. When he tells Jason that his time as Robin might be over, it's really heartbreaking all around. Bruce is finally doing the thing that is best for his sidekick but because of all of the mind games and approval as reward that he has given, Jason can't see that and it sends him running right into the arms of Jonathan Crane, who is more than willing to provide Batman's partner with all he needs including a way to make a toxin that will take away the boy's fear. That's what sends Jason to meet the Joker that fateful night.
We get a more concrete idea of what Crane is after. He's definitely using Jason. He wants to spread his fear toxin throughout Gotham with only he and Red Hood holding the antidote and using it to control the populace. This is a classic comic book plot. It's kind of rudimentary but I'm not mad at it. He's, of course, using his toxin to control Jason, which I'm sure will work out fine in the end.
Despite the many good things here, the episode kind of Peters out towards the end. I don't think we really needed that chemistry montage with Jason and while I love what Walters does in this episode, I'm still not sold on him as the Red Hood.
Grade: A-
Next up, the assassin Lady Vic arrives in Gotham and the Titans take the fight to Crane.
What are your thoughts on this season as a whole so far? I'd love to hear them. Did anyone else think that Red Hood sounds like Hawk when he's using the voice changer? Was the "I want you to tell all your friends about me" line an homage to Michael Keaton's first "Batman?" Let me know in the comments.
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