Titans Season 1 Episode 11 Review: Dick Grayson
Paul Dailly
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Well, that's not exactly how I expected the Titans Season Finale to play out, but it was still a solid conclusion to Titans Season 1.
Titans Season 1 Episode 11 found Dick in a dream-like scenario that started off with our hero at peace, but it quickly went sideways thanks to Batman and his murderous ways.
As someone who was not all that excited about witnessing Gotham City on the most recent Arrowverse crossover, I was not surprised the Gotham City of Titans blew the Arrowverse iteration right out of the water.
The beauty of a show like Titans is that it plays out like a movie set in the DC Universe as opposed to a TV series. Titans has a knack for going darker than the shows that have come before it.
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As the flagship show for DC Universe, Titans has crafted its own DNA, and the best part about the show is that it's not formulaic like some of the other DC TV shows on the air.
Kory: He lost his conscience.
Dick: He never had a conscience.
Batman was brutal. He was the type of person you would hear about in nightmares, and if Trigon's take on the character is close to accurate, then viewers are in for a treat if the caped hero-turned-villain ever shows up in the present narrative.
I've been vocal in previous reviews about not wanting Batman to show up and overshadow our heroes, but having him too far gone, and killing just about everyone in sight was a story that was worth being told on the show.
Batman's killing spree was triggered by the death of people close to him, but it was only a matter of time before he snapped.
I never thought I'd see the day that a TV show would kill off villains as though they were spare parts. The Joker is a huge character and one who Batman has struggled to take down.
It was perfect that the likes of Dawn and Jason were the ones to hit Dick right in the feels. Dawn hurling the "Bruce saved you" schtick was smart to make Dick think it was possible the man could be saved.
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In any case, Jason being in the wheelchair after going too far during a fight will likely serve as a cautionary tale for Dick when he finally battles his demons.
He's the only hero that Gotham has left. If he goes bad, the city goes down.
Jason
Trigon has a vivid imagination, but he knew what he needed to do to tip Dick right over the edge. He dangled the life Dick wanted like a carrot in front of his eyes, only to have it taken from him in a matter of scenes.
It was all perfectly executed and broke our hero down to the point of no return. Not being familiar with the comic book lore, I could never imagine how it would all play out, but ending the season with Dick on the same side as Trigon?
Yeah, that was a bitter pill to swallow. But we now have our band of villains ready and waiting for Titans Season 2, and it's going to be down to Hawk, Dove, Starfire, Gar, and Wonder Girl to save the world.
It was a bit disheartening that there was no action from any of the above heroes during "Dick Grayson."
Kory played an agent in Trigon's little Gotham of Horrors, and I just couldn't deal with her being killed at the hands of Batman.
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Obviously, none of this really happened, but if Starfire can be obliterated so easily, it reiterates the fact that these heroes need to band together and stay together.
They all bring different skills to the table. We also need a Hawk and Dove spinoff or Minka Kelly and Alan Ritchson to become series regulars on Titans Season 2.
My major gripe with Titans Season 1 is that there are too many characters and the show is not servicing them all very well.
It's possible that it's a budgetary issue. When new characters pop up, some of the others disappear with random reasons for it or no reason at all.
The powers that be need to iron out these issues and they will have a top-tier TV series that will be able to survive any bump in the road.
Gotham's gotten worse. Commissioner Gordon is dead. Batman is going to kill The Joker. You need to come back to Gotham and convince him not to do it.
Jason
This was a solid episode, but it did fall short in some aspects. Having 95 percent of it set in the dream-like scenario was not a good idea.
It would have worked much better as the penultimate episode of the season, but I understand the need to keep the plot moving on for the sophomore run.
Okay, Titans Fanatics!
What are your thoughts on the latest episode? Did you like the dark and deadly Gotham City?
What do you think needs to change as we approach Titans Season 2?
Hit the comments below.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
