Titans
I've decided to utilize this introduction space in the gayest way possible and queen out about the outfits that Kory Anders wears. Costume designer Laura Jean Shannon is killing it. Just look at the short purple dress with the lighter lavender corset like overlay that Kory rocks in "Lady Vic." It's killer. Not to mention the purple faux fur coat that she wears throughout "51%." "Titans" disappoints me pretty regularly but the outfits never do.
"Lady Vic"
Dick Grayson: "The way I've been thinking, we make sense."
Barbara Gordon: "You think we make sense."
Dick Grayson: "Yeah."
Barbara Gordon: "That's what every girl wants to hear."
After getting shot, things still aren't great for Dick. He's downplaying his injury. Not to mention, an old enemy, Lady Vic, is back in Gotham and causing Nightwing to reminisce about his relationship with Barbara back when he was Robin. Meanwhile, Starfire and Blackfire are trying to navigate and potentially repair their fractured relationship, while Crane and Jason are locked in a power struggle of their very own.
I have to start this recap by going on a rant. So, if you're not in the mood for a rant, then you should skip ahead a bit. Here we go. I don't understand why some of these DC writers don't understand the character of Barbara Gordon. They clearly don't think that people will find her interesting unless they make random, nonsensical tweaks to the way that she has always been. Look at the animated movie based on "The Killing Joke" where Joker shot Barbara and crippled her. A common criticism of that seminal work is that Barbara's injury is less about her and more about how it affects Batman. Babs is basically robbed of all agency. The makers of the animated movie swore that they would give Barbara her own plotline and they did. They gave her the worst plotline. Falling in love with Batman and then having them bone on a roof.
This is nowhere near like that, but having Barbara go around breaking into museums like some low rent Catwoman because she's "keeping her dad on his toes" and "doesn't like following the rules" is ridiculous and just really dumb. It adds absolutely nothing to the character at all. Then, Dick gets in on it too, for some reason. Like, he has no problems with this, at all? I can't think of any reason for this change that makes any sense. I get that they needed a reason for Lady Vic to have a grudge against Barbara, but they couldn't have thought of a better reason? Apparently during one of these idiotic heists, Lady Vic shows up with a man who was clearly her husband or significant other and Barbara ends up shoving Dick out of the way and no name guy gets a knife in his back and Babs earns Lady Vic's forever ire.
If there is one plus side to this, we do get to see Barbara show everyone that she isn't a helpless victim just because she's confined to a wheelchair. When Lady Vic attacks Barbara towards the end of the episode Babs takes her out pretty handily. Though, she was lured to this area by a pretty obvious ploy. She didn't think to question once this call from "Bruce?" You're better than this, Barbara.
The rest of the team is searching for a shortwave positron multiplier. A device that will allow Crane to make the chemicals he needs for his various gases much faster. This is some sci-fi nonsense and it basically allows Conner to redeem himself for not saving Hank and it allows Starfire and Blackfire to snipe at each other. I have to give it up for Damaris Lewis who portrays Blackfire. She does a great job giving off that regal, arrogant vibe and her chemistry with Anna Diop is off the chain. I love how she assumes Conner is a male servant there to please her and honestly, who could blame her? She and Conner have a nice bonding moment where they talk about the nature of family and Blackfire tries to earn her way into the Titans family by bringing back some mob intel to Starfire. I am pretty sure that Blackfire will eventually turn on her sister and the Titans, but I'm hopeful maybe they show will throw us a curveball.
The less said about Crane and Jason's useless power struggle the better. It's boring and definitely the least interesting portion of the episode. The big bullet point is that Jason takes unfinished gas and gives it to some thugs who go on a crime spree hyped up and fearless and Tim Drake pays the price.
Grade: B-
"51%"
Kory Anders: "I promised him he would be safe."
Valeska: "Never make promises you can't keep."
The crime spree instigated at the end of the last episode got even worse. It lead to dozens of death perpetrated by a handful of mainly normal people turned into psychopaths by the non-fear gas. With the SPM, Crane will be able to put 30,000 inhalers on the streets, something he touts to the mob families when he gets them on board with his master plan. The Titans have an ace in the hole. Oracle, a supercomputer that doesn't care about your privacy that the NSA forced Barbara to mothball. It helped take Crane down before, will they be able to use it do the same this time? Or has Crane learned from his mistakes?
I'm going to get this out of the way up front. This Crane/Red Hood "partnership" is just not working. I was a fan of Vincent Kartheiser's stoned Crane scenery chewing when he was being visited in Arkham but now that he's out, I'm less of a fan. It might be different if Curran Walters played better off of him, but alas, he does not. Also, I'm not sure that Kartheiser is charismatic enough to basically monologue against some no name mob bosses.
Just to get the things I didn't like out of the way, I hated the reveal that Oracle in this universe is a supercomputer that is basically the OMAC computer that Batman created in the original comics. This is another example of them messing with Barbara. It wasn't enough for her to be this computer whiz giving support to the Bat family in the field. No, she had to create this thing that was such a privacy violator the NSA had to get involved. Of course Crane found a way to circumvent it. As soon as I saw the eye scan, I knew that was why Lady Vic got that close up shot of Babs when they fought. I do think it's a little dicey how the show doesn't let us know how Crane was able to pull all this off. A little shady. I don't get why none of these people who are detectives don't for one second think that maybe these are traps they are walking into before it's too late. It makes them look really inept.
And while I'm complaining, I know they probably thought this training sequence with Dick and Gar and matching sword swipes to the sounds of Lady Vic killing those doctors, but it was just kind of dumb.
For me, this episode is all about Starfire and Blackfire. The sisters team up to get information out of mob boss, Valeska Knox. Knox is willing to give them information on Crane but they have to do a favor for her. The favor entails getting her estranged son to her and then her shooting him in the head because he was an FBI informant. This moment legit shocked me so I have to give it up for the show. The title comes from Blackfire when she talks about the ethics of decision making. It's all about the lesser of two evils. The idea that the "right" decision was only a little bit better than the bad ones. It culminates with Blackfire revealing that the Tamaranean people wanted to execute her to bring Kory back. This is an interesting take on Komand'r and it shifts a bit of the blame on Kory. I really didn't think that Blackfire would be the thing I was most invested in this season, but here we are. We are definitely moving in a Blackfire and Conner hooking up direction and I'm here for it.
It was nice to see the Titans actually put their uniforms on and get to work this episode. It feels like this season has been kind of light on action, so I was a fan of watching them go to work against Crane's goons in the Snowy Cone Ice Cream Factory, an old hideout of Mr. Freeze. It's nice to be reminded that these are bad ass heroes and I enjoyed the smackdown that was laid. The Titans destroying the SPM is a development that will hopefully shift the season in a new direction that will make the whole Crane/Todd thing more palatable.
I am enjoying the direction that they are taking Gar. He is basically the only Titan who hasn't given up on Jason. He is the sensitive one and his ability to empathize and place himself in the shoes of other people are what allow him to find a letter that leads him to Molly. Will she be the key to getting through to Jason?
Grade: B
Next up, Crane looks to a new way to distribute his gas to Gotham's populace and we finally check back in with Raven.
Are there any other Barbara Gordon fans out there I can commiserate with? Am I missing something when it comes to Curran Walters as Red Hood? Let me know in the comments.
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