Titans Season 2 Episode 2 Review: Rose
Paul Dailly
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That's more like it!
Titans Season 2 Episode 2 was a marked improvement over the hastily cobbled together Titans Season 2 Episode 1.
There was just the right amount of action, character development, and humor. It felt like a major return to form for the series.
The three-month time jump is likely to thank for that because it successfully gave some of the characters who were merely taking up screen real estate a purpose.
Dick is striving to be a perfect leader, but he could never have anticipated he would be turning to Bruce for assistance with Rose.
Dick spent much of Titans Season 1 sulking every single time Bruce's name was mentioned, so this is a complete 180.
The decision to flesh out their relationship is a welcome one because we need more insight into what it was like for Dick growing up in an environment in which he was being groomed into the world of vigilantism.
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Dick was trying to help Rose in the same way that Bruce was trying to help him all those years ago, and the two men comparing notes on the whole thing felt necessary to make the addition of Rose worthwhile.
Jason: Fuck, man.
Gar: You said don't hold back.
Jason: Why would you do it when I was fucking blindfolded?
Gar: You said... don't hold back.
Rachel: Should I get the hose?
Dick: What's going on?
Jason: We did what you said. The blindfold thing. Then he went nuts on me.
Gar: You said don't hold back.
Jason: Why do we even learn to fight like this, man? It's idiotic. We have eyes.
Dick: In battle, anything can be taken from you.
One of the most significant flaws with any series with such a big array of characters is that the new additions tend to be put on the back burner to give the originals more to work with.
But that last-minute reveal about Rose's father was an excellent twist because it changed the trajectory of the character for the better.
Rose may be in Titans Tower, but it's hard to imagine her staying put when she realizes that Jason realized that her father is Slade freaking Wilson.
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That genuinely came out of nowhere. The original Titans team has a history with Deathstroke, so it's hard to imagine any of them welcoming his daughter with open arms.
Jason: If I'm Robin, who are you?
Dick: That's a good question.
That being said, there has to be a reason for her to be ostracized from her father. That's one of the more intriguing plots that will be addressed as Titans Season 2 progresses.
Speaking of Jason. He's an easy character to hate because of his cocky attitude, but he started taking his role in Titans seriously the moment Dick lied that Rachel and Gar looked up to him.
That was music to Jason's ears, and it was part of the reason why he stepped up his game. He's the type of person who will do act up for an audience.
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Whether this will continue for long, I don't know, but it's clear Rachel and Gar are still very much shaken up after what happened with Trigon.
For Rachel, she has imprisoned her father, and it's only a matter of time he finds a way out.
On Titans Season 2 Episode 1, I sighed at first because it wasn't immediately clear that Rachel hadn't killed her father. It seemed like a bit of a waste to get rid of him after the whole hoo-ha about him.
Dick: I was mad at fate and death, but those are just concepts, you're a person.
Bruce: More or less.
But he proved to still be around by entering leaving scratch marks on her.
Related: Titans Season 2 Episode 1 Review: Trigon
That's a worrying thought because it leads me to believe that there will come a time in which he will be able to take control of her body and start his wicked plan all over again.
There are a lot of questions up in the air regarding what Trigon can do, and how it will affect Rachel, but it's exciting that he will probably stage a comeback before long.
As for Gar, there's no way he's gotten over Dick almost murdering him -- and why should he?
People can't just shut off their emotions, and even though three months have passed, he's not going to forget the living daylights being beaten out of him in a hurry.
He's implying that everything between him and Dick is cool, but it wouldn't be a surprise if he decided to take a self-imposed exile from Titans Tower for a while.
Hank and Dawn's life on the farm was just a pipe dream. For Hank, helping troubled youths seemed like the natural way forward.
We've witnessed his traumatic past, as well as how taxing on his body it is to suit up as Hawk, so it was really no surprise that he wanted to live a vigilante-free life.
When you factor in that the love of his life was in a coma and almost died, it's easy to understand why he would like to have a life in the countryside away from the drama.
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But this proved to be too much for Dawn. There's a fire inside her that makes her want to go out and keep the streets safe, but her interests just don't align with Hank anymore.
Hank knows how easy it is for one of them to get hurt -- or worse. That's why he gave her the ultimatum about the future of their relationship.
They are one of the best superhero couples to grace the small screen, and that's because they lean on each other for support while also trying to do the right thing.
Their struggles are organic and don't feel forced to advance the narrative.
While Hank may want to give up the superhero lifestyle, it was only a matter of time before a villain caught up with them.
Dr. Light is an exciting villain in that he can legitimately blow people up with ease. The scenes at the barn were well-executed, but it left Hank and Dawn at an impasse.
If Hank does suit up as Hawk -- even short term -- he's going to resent Dawn the moment is body starts failing on him again.
It wasn't all doom and gloom.
Whoever decided to make Kory and Donna teammates deserves a standing ovation. Their chemistry is off the charts, and their scenes are easily the best of these episodes.
Their one-liners to each other as they make their way through the day are witty as hell.
They need to work together from here on out.
The Roy Harper name drop came as a huge surprise because it was confirmation that he exists in this universe.
He needs to pop up down the line, right?!
That's all I got, Titans Fanatics.
What did you think of "Rose?"
Was it the return to form you expected?
Hit the comments below.
Titans continues Fridays on DC Universe.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
