Titans, Season 2, Episode 9: Atonement
So, uh... an interesting episode? It feels like more of a 'what happens after a huge climactic moment' catch-up episode, except the climactic moment is apparently just Dick telling the previous episode's events to the gathered Titans, almost all of whom leave the tower in disgust thanks to various levels of betrayal that they feel from Dick. And, sure, it's thematic and stuff, but on the other hand I do really feel that this episode underscores just how little we actually see of many of the present-day cast members and that honestly leads me to shrugging when some of them leave. Like... Rose really doesn't have any sort of real bond with the rest of the cast; Gar's larger role in this episode is more than he had over the past eight episodes; Kory, while better than the previous episode, is also pretty detached from the rest of the cast.
And... there are some neat, decent moments here, but also some that just ultimately made me shrug and go 'yeah, I get the gist, can we move on?' Gar getting some actual spotlight as he does a Star-Trek-inspired log as he watches over the Tower, the comatose Conner and just plays video games is an interesting one but one that ultimately didn't have a whole lot of real oomph beyond giving poor Ryan Potter something to do. Conner's little walk and trying to really comprehend how to do this superheroing thing with Gar is adorably and predictably disastrous, but ultimately that doesn't really feel as epic as the episode wants it to be.
And... I dunno. I feel like a lot of the characters could've done more? Rachel, Donna, Jason and especially Rose sort of disappear from the plot after leaving Dick behind (Rachel also leaves Donna behind), and I genuinely do feel like they probably could've highlighted at least Rose's response to Dick's role in her brother's death a bit more. Instead, we choose to highlight Hank and Dawn, who... uh... goes singing in a small town pub in which they instantly get recognized, and Hank decides their relationship is toxic and drives off. Also, Kory ends up being embroiled in a B-plot with Faddei, who gets mind-controlled by some parasite courtesy of her sister Blackfire, who staged a coup d'etat in Tamaran, seemingly killed the parents, kills Faddei and blows up Starfire's ship. I really want to say that I'm invested in this B-plot, I really want to, but while it's a bit more exciting than Gar's Star Trek logs, it's also so far removed from anything that's going on in this season that it's really hard to care.
The writing, at least, is relatively well-done for Dick, whose guilt leads him to try and seek forgiveness and absolution from Adeline... who absolutely refuses to grant him anything of the sort. Deathstroke also shows up and gives a grand speech about taking from Dick the same family that he took from Slade, and basically drives and condemns Dick to leave the Titans forever and ever knowing that the team and family is fractured. It's a great take, and this mourning, vengeful and utterly spiteful daddy Slade is a very interesting take on the character that makes him no less manipulative and scary, but a lot more tragic. Ultimately, Dick ends up having a bit of a breakdown at the airport, refusing to leave America and ends up beating up random beat cops and getting arrested for his troubles. Which... okay? Sure.
Again, the episode itself isn't bad or terrible, it's just perhaps a display of the endemic problem in this season -- the show has a lot of characters, but at least one-third of its total screentime is devoted to flashbacks, more than half of the characters jockey and struggle for screentime, and while the show does a great job at fleshing out Dick, Slade and the backstory of Titans 1.0... it perhaps needs a bit more push in the right direction in terms of everything else.
DC Easter Eggs Corner:
- Blackfire, a.k.a. Princess Komand'r, makes her debut in this episode. Starfire's psychotic sister, Blackfire was born without the innate powers of flight that the other Tamaraneans have, causing her to grow up with an immense inferiority complex and bitterness towards her sister and the rest of her family, and ultimately would cause her to commit multiple plays for power at the cost of her family.
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