Teen Titans, Season 1, Episode 7: Switched
No, Teen Titans is not a very... logical show, simply put. It runs on on Rule of Funny, basically a non-campy version of Superfriends. It's hard to compete with the far more story-driven and character-driven Justice League, yet both shows have very legitimate ways to show great character storytelling. And Switched is a great example. On the surface, it's your basic zany plotline. Two characters get their souls switched and have to learn to live each other's life and maybe get some moral out of it... except the Teen Titans live in a giant T-shaped building with no civilian life to speak of, so Raven and Starfire are forced to literally learn about each other to learn how to survive, because the two -- beyond being both girls -- have powers very tied to their emotions. And it's a great moment of character building as we see Starfire forced to have some control over her hyperactivity lest Raven's emotion-based demon powers go wild, and Raven is forced to lighten up a little from her somber disposition to activate Tamaranean powers that are empowerd by the SENSE OF GLORIOUS HAPPINESS.
This episode mixes things up a little by having Raven and Starfire fight not a villain, but rather the mind-controlled feral bodies of their teammates. Local villain Puppet King isn't much of a threat (though I really, really want to know the origin story of this particular demonic doll) but he traps the souls of Robin, Beast Boy and Cyborg in mini-dolls and sics the bodies to hunt down Raven and Starfire
It's a standard episode as Raven and Starfire learn to lean away from the extremes of their respective emotional spectrums, a nice little story that ended with Puppet King being violently exorcised and having his soul ripped out and sent to the tenth circle of hell, but it's an entertaining, charming little episode.
DC Easter Eggs Corner:
- We don't hear the whole story of Raven's origin (BOO!) but we did learn that she was raised in Azarath.
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