Review - Titans Season Three Eps 1 - 4

 First shown a year ago, season three finds the series re-locating to Gotham

One of the more fascinating aspects of US episodic shows is their ability to morph into something different. Ostensibly a series about some super heroes ought to be repetitive and focussed mostly  on action but the season three opener Barbara Gordon, shoehorns most of its fight scenes into the opening section.  Now back in Gotham and Robin once again, Jason remains as hot headed as ever plus he appears to have cooked up some sort of mega inhaler of yellow stuff. Yet for all his bravado in defying Batman to confront the Joker, he falls woefully short. Flinching from the first body he finds and some manic laughter he’s easily taken down and, it seems, killed by the villain whom we only see in silhouette. This contrast vividly with the very cool re-introduction of the Titans as they take out another villainous brigade with supple skills all to the soundtrack of `Ca Plane Pour Moi`. It’s a great sequence, perfectly directed and edited. As a season opener you couldn’t ask for more.

 

Titans Season Two Episodes 9 - 13

`Atonement` brings us back to the present as Dick’s confession to everyone about what really happened causes a parting of the ways leaving only Gar. Trusted to look after the still unconscious Conner we have a lighter interlude as Gar tries to keep himself occupied with positive thoughts, healthy eating and reading classic literature to the sleeping stranger. His positivity lasts all of a few days and then Conner wakes up. Eager to fill him in on the role of a superhero, Gar takes him outside only for Connor to misunderstand the fundamentals and take on a whole squad of police! Ryan Potter has been left on the sidelines in recent episodes so it’s good to see him exercising his comedic side again and the scenes between Gar and the baffled Conner are great fun. It’s good too that at least one person still maintains a sunnier outlook on the Titans and believes they ultimately do good which counter balances the older members angst this week.

 

Titans Season Two Episodes 5 - 8

 The fifth episode `Deathstroke` packs an enormous amount into its thirty seven minutes, perhaps too much. There are times when it plays like a clips show zapping from one revelatory conversation to another with gusto though the cumulative effect is hugely enjoyable. It’s a plot that pulls at the relationships between young and older Titans and asks questions of their working methods. Has Dick recruited the younger Titans without really telling them what could lie in store? How can Rose come back to life? And just what is that black thing that looks like wings which keeps sprouting from Rachel? It’s a heady brew punctuated by violent action and some heartfelt scenes though I did find the latter somewhat basic at times. Some conversations seemed to just have characters saying one cliched line after another. Yet it all comes together somehow.  

 

Titans Season Two Episodes 1- 4

Have heroes of any series been in such a difficult corner as the Titans find themselves at the start of season two? The only issue with having a cliffhanger ending to a season is that casual viewers may be bewildered so you  have to commend the producers of this show for creating a succinct summary at the start of the episode which is called `Trigon` (episode titles are not the series’ forte) It’s a scenario that places the characters very much in harm’s way as the released Trigon divides and defeats them one by one with the ultimate attempt of breaking his daughter’s heart. Literally. Most of the episode deals with the immediate moments after the first season ended and by any standards it’s a dark, grim way to begin. Of course a lot of what we see is illusion or dreams so the true condition of the regulars is not immediately clear but there were definitely moments when I thought we were going to end up with a smaller cast.

Titans season one

 Given the similarities between superheroes across various franchises it is becoming more difficult for tv shows and films about them to stand out. This series, launched in 2018, is from the DC stable whose television work has generally surpassed their big screen offerings, Wonder Woman being the exception. Based on the Teen Titans comics, the series is clearly aimed at a younger audiences with it’s cool stylings, outbursts of kinetic violence and edgy characters. It is an earnest narrative full of teenage angst even if some of the characters are older.