Titans
Man, I can't believe that we are starting the fourth season of "Titans." It is a series that I initially started hate watching and now I kind of, begrudgingly enjoy some of the time. What a journey we've been on. HBO Max has split the season in two. I wanted to wait until all six episodes of the first half of this season were out before I started recapping. We don't know when the last half will drop. But let's jump right in.
"Lex Luthor"
Mother Mayhem: "Soon the gods will know your name."
Lex Luthor: "I can assure you, Ms. Bennett, the gods already know me."
The Titans are in their RV heading to San Francisco, but they take a detour when Dick gets a call from Bruce. Superman is ready to meet Conner so the team heads to S.T.A.R. Labs. When they arrive, they find out that Superman had to go off world, but Bruce has arranged for the team to get some upgrades. Things take a turn when Lex Luthor contacts Conner to meet with him. Kory and Dick are not keen on Conner meeting with Lex, particularly when they learn that he is dying and that Conner might be the key to saving him. At the same time, Raven and a man named, Sebastian Sanger, are having blood soaked visions that have something to do with Lex.
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| Father and son. |
Welcome back, "Titans" watchers! Like I said in the intro, I can't believe that we are starting season four of the Titans... experience. Yeah, experience is a good word. Did anyone notice the date on the newspaper they were looking at in the archives of "The Daily Planet?" It appears that in the Titans-verse it is still 2018, maybe early 2019. That makes total sense when you stop and think about it, but I was still a little shook. It feels like so much has happened but so little has happened in these last three seasons.
One thing that is still not clear to me is how secret identities work in the "Titans" universe. It fees like a lot of people know that Dick Grayson is Nightwing. Don't they? Or do they think he's this random normie who hangs out with the Titans? I don't get it. And if everyone knows that Dick is Nightwing then does everyone know that Bruce is Batman? Like, I feel like the people at S.T.A.R. Labs have to know. I mean, Tim is openly talking about getting a Robin suit. I just don't get it. I guess it doesn't matter, but I do fixate on it.
The big news for this premiere is that Lex Luthor makes his "Titans" debut. He is played by Titus Welliver. You may recognize Welliver from "Lost" as the Man in Black and he had his own show on Amazon Prime called "Bosch." Welliver is a great addition to the list of actors that have played Lex Luthor. Welliver is up there on my list. He's not Jesse Eisenberg who is probably the worst person to ever play the villain. Welliver has this quiet menace. He is very charismatic. He projects this aura that he is the smartest man in any room that he walks in, which is perfect for Lex Luthor. Also, how dare these casting directors try to get me to lust after Lex Luthor. Is it sad that I will lust after most older, bald men with an amazing beard? Don't answer that.
My favorite scene in the premiere is when Starfire makes a visit to see Luthor before Conner goest to see him. The scene where Lex is at the table eating dinner while Starfire is letting his security team has it is gold. It's maybe one of my favorite scenes in the history of "Titans." The camera work is really great and it Welliver kills it. He's not reacting as Starfire does her thing. The conversation that they have is great. Kory more than holds her own when it comes to Luthor. He's trying to unnerve her by talking about her new powers and Blackfire taking the throne in Tamaran but Kory is non plussed and quickly turns things back on Luthor. Though, the question is, how does Lex know so much about Tamaran?
We get a fun sequence at S.T.A.R. Labs. S.T.A.R. Labs is very DC so I appreciate it making an appearance. It's great to see the Titans get these upgrades and we learn a few interesting things. Gar's powers are still in flux. He blacks out and transforms multiple times, unleashing his beasts on the morphology lab, but not remembering it. During his black out, Gar sees a tree in a desert with skeletons hanging from the branches. It's interesting that we are just now, in season four, exploring Gar's powers and what is going on with them.
Tim Drake was kind of a late addition to the team but he is making his presence known in this premiere. Jay Lycurgo is really great as my favorite Robin. He's charming. He's amiable. His excitement is palpable and infectious. And they are bringing Tim Drake's bisexuality on to the show. Bernard Fitzmartin, from the lab, is so cute and I can't wait to see this relationship develop. It was so cute to see him posing with his bo staff for pictures to send to Bernard as a thank you. I love how everyone knows exactly what is going on.
We get tastes of the actual big bads of the season. Joseph Morgan, Klaus on "The Vampire Diaries" & "The Originals," plays Sebastian Sanger, the man who is destined to become Brother Blood. We don't get to much. Sebastian is a taxidermist who has dreams of launching a video game that he thinks will bring people together. He's also having hallucinations of his animals bleeding from their eyes and he's seeing a menacing version of himself covered in blood in the mirror.
The other big bad is Mother Mayhem aka May Bennett who was working with Lex to find the Temple of Azarath until he boots her. This leads to the final moments when Conner finally meets with his "father." Lex lays his cards on the table and tells Conner that he really just wants Conner to know him. The real him. Welliver does great here too because you don't know if he's being sincere or not. He admits that he created Conner in an attempt to become Superman through his "child." Conner seems convinced but then things go bad. Lex starts bleeding from the eyes and mouth and then a snake comes out of his mouth and he dies. That is shocking. I don't think anyone expected Lex to not last through the premiere. And now, Conner is being blamed for his death.
A few other random notes on the episode. Do you think we will ever see Superman on this show? It was a cool moment when Conner kind of got a taste of what the Man of Steel does. Raven is having visions and lying about them initially which is definitely a great thing. This is why I don't like you Rachel. Was that Jimmy Olsen leading the team around the "Daily Planet" archive? What is up with the bone mask dude? Is this the first "Titans" episode named after a character that was actually about said character? The ninjas action scene was cool, but a little too short. The special effects in this episode were weirdly bad. That snake looked rubber and CGI at the same time. Get it together, y'all. This is HBO Max not the CW.
Grade: B+
"Mother Mayhem"
Dick Grayson: "And when all the shit stops getting to you, that's when you know you got a problem."
Kory Anders: "Is that when one starts dressing as a bat?"
Conner is being blamed for Lex Luthor's death. LexCorp spills the beans about Conner's true nature, that he is a clone of Lex and Superman. The Titans investigate to try to get Conner cleared. Dick reveals to Kory that Luthor had been watching her for a while, but no one knows why. When Kory tries to figure out what Luthor's interest in her was, she learns from a LexCorp employee that all of the LexCorp inner circle died at the same time he did and then he dies right in front of Kory. While investigating a murder committed by the bone faced man, Rachel has a vision that leads the team to a slaughterhouse that exonerates Conner. But, things get worse when the team is confronted by a mysterious woman on their way out of Metropolis.
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| Titans about to get they asses whupped. |
So, "Titans" likes to do this thing where it names its episodes after characters or places and then that episode has little to do with that character or place. They do it all the time. I was actually impressed that the "Lex Luthor" episode was about Lex. I thought maybe things were turning around. Maybe this episode was actually going to give us more background on Mother Mayhem. Her origin. A taste of what her plan is. But nope, she just shows up in the last five minutes of the episode. I get that naming an episode is maybe difficult. But like, when you name an episode after a character there is an expectation and you're not living it up to it. I wish I didn't get so worked up about this stuff y'all, but I just can't help it.
Much like the opening couple episodes of "Superman & Lois" season two, there is a lot of set up happening here. We are getting little tastes of what the season is going to give us. I'll quickly check in on our season baddies. We get small doses of Sebastian in this episode. He's giving very like Jim Carrey as Edward Nygma in "Batman Forever" vibes. And I know I said the same thing about Jamie Foxx's Electro in "The Amazing Spider-Man 2." I think maybe it's officially time to retire that trope. I kind of feel bad for Sebastian. I thought that scene with his ailing mother was sweet and I was bummed when he didn't have a great meeting with the tech company. The hits just kept coming for the poor guy as his mom died at the end, potentially at the hands of Mother Mayhem? At the end of the episode, he's hearing the chants of the cult and seeing his coffee cup fill with blood, so that seems like a bad sign.
I'm excited to learn more about Mother Mayhem because she's played by Franka Potente who I love. She was in the movie "Run Lola Run," which is one of my favorite foreign films. She's a great actress and she already is radiating this badassery even though she's barely said anything. So, I'm going to need them to give me more of her in the next couple episodes stat. She is the center of the big fight that ends the episode and basically whups most of the team. She absorbs Raven's power, leaving Raven forehead crystal-less and with white hair. It's of course Kory that sends her packing because as I've said so many times Starfire is amazing and the best Titan.
The majority of the episode is focused on springing Conner from prison and proving his innocence. It looks like are going to push this "Conner showing more of his Lex side" narrative this season and I'm not necessarily against it, but I'm not sure if the show can do it in the correct way. I get that it would be de-moralizing for Conner to consistently hear the negative things that the prison guards and such are saying about him. And the woman on the intercom calling him "it" had me ready to give her an earful. But on the flip, the news reporter is on his side and you'd think his actions would engender some public support. So, we will just have to see where things take us.
I know I kind of read Raven for keeping her visions a secret initially but I have to say she's annoying me a lot less this season. She's finally more in control of her powers and using them to be helpful rather than a hindrance. She enters into the mind of Aria Murphy and is for all intents and purposes the reason that the team is able to locate the actual killer who is revealed to be Arthur Holmwood, a man who was helping Lex with his occult studies. So, props to you Raven, even though Arthur basically self immolates before they can get any information.
Speaking of Aria, I'm curious if she's going to be more of a player this season? I'm glad that her dad survived and she has a nice moment talking to Dick about the loss of parents at a young age. I'm getting vibes that she may be important but I could just be making things up again, Arnold.
I do like how they are veering into horror territory this season. It's not like full on horror, but they are making it work within the confines of this superhero show. And the Cult of Blood are the perfect antagonists to do that. I'll be curious to see if that horror element remains or kind of falls by the wayside.
I have to say the CGI in this show is very disappointing. Raven's power effects are groan inducing. Where is the money going? Honestly? We get another bad looking snake when Starfire confronts the LexCorp guy. I can't. The effects on "Superman & Lois" look better than this. And on "Doom Patrol" What are you doing "Titans" effects team? Because it's not cutting it.
Grade: B+
Next up, Jinx enters the scene and the Titans try to help Sebastian.
What do you all think of this season so far? I think I've said this so many times, but I'm cautiously optimistic. Let me know in the comments.
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