Titans Season 2 Episode 8 Review: Jericho
Paul Dailly
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Jericho deserved better.
Titans Season 2 Episode 8 was another deep dive into the past, and it was an exposition-heavy installment into how Jericho became apart of the team, only to die before getting time to shine.
It was obvious Dick's admission of guilt on Titans Season 2 Episode 7 was going to lead to a whole lot of nothing.
Waiting a week to find out that Jericho ran in front of his father's sword to save Dick was no surprise, because Slade is cutthroat, but he's not that cutthroat.
There had to be more to the story, and there was. Slade is a horrible man who has no qualms about murdering people who don't deserve it because he says he's just doing his job.
But killing his own son changed his life forever, and there's no telling how his wife reacted to the news given that she was yelling like crazy at him to get her son back home to her.
Jericho was struggling to find his place in the world. After what happened with the people trying to murder his father, his life was changed forever.
Dick is partly to blame for the death. He manipulated the teenager to get intel on his father, and those scenes were painful to watch.
Jericho was ecstatic that he had a new group of people to call friends, and there were no alarm bells for him.
Had he been able to tell what was going on, he would probably be alive and kicking right about now.
His power was a great one, primarily because we got to see Hank dancing in Titans Tower. That was a great scene that made the flashbacks even more worthwhile.
Dawn: This is who we are.
Dick: Titans.
Dick should have known better than to go after Jericho, but after Garth's death, it was clear the team needed to do something to take Deathstroke down.
The villain was not going to stop, and his very existence was enough to make Donna want to vomit.
Donna had some great moments on "Jericho." Her fight with the villain was breathtaking, and the revelation that Gillian was the intended target the night Garth was murdered was executed very well.
Gillian was an intriguing character who never got much screen-time, but there has to be a reason why she was on Deathstroke's hit list?
Related: Titans Season 2 Episode 7 Review: Bruce Wayne
It's entirely possible that we're in for a reveal that she was up to something all along, and Donna will be left shocked to the core.
Donna's life has been filled with loss, but I liked how she wasn't hostile towards Dick when Titans Tower was put out of commission and our heroes parted ways.
Hank and Dawn didn't want to say so much as a goodbye to Dick because they were so filled with rage.
In their book, it was Dick's fault Jericho died, even if he wasn't the one to deal the fatal blow to the teenager.
Dick: I don't see how Jericho seeing his dad is a good idea.
Jericho: That's why he came to me to talk about it. He's afraid you're going to be disappointed in him.
Dick: And what did you tell him?
Dawn: That you and I would talk about it. Jericho needs your approval for this, Dick. He won't talk to his dad without it.
Dick: He didn't need to tell us at all, he could've just gone.
Dawn: Sure. But he didn't want to lie to you. Cards up, right? It took Jericho for someone to finally be honest around here.
Dick: You know, maybe it doesn't matter what we tell Jericho.
Donna: So, we use him again. What's happening to you?
Dick: You told me. You told me, be Batman. Remember?
Donna: I was wrong. This version of you...
Dick: What? You don't like it?
Donna: You don't want me to answer that right now.
Hank and Dawn were open and honest about Dick making a mistake in the way he was acting, but Dick was too driven by his obsession with taking down Deathstroke to care.
When teams disagree on something and don't work through it, they no longer function. After Garth died, the team was broken beyond repair, and everyone failed to confront that.
Dawn was livid with Dick, and it seems she didn't even dump him face-to-face. She just rushed off into the night with Hank and Donna.
Dawn is the most caring person around. We witnessed the way she took Rachel under her wing early into Titans Season 1.
Related: Swamp Thing Canceled at DC Universe
What Dick did was an act of betrayal, and she needed some time to come to terms with that. It was the beginning of the end of their relationship, and there's probably more story to tell here.
Dick needs to stop trying to play the hero. Playing the hero is what got Jericho killed, and he almost pulled the same trick earlier this season when Jason was taken by Deathstroke.
For a team to thrive, there has to be communication, and if Dick is flipping the script when he wants to play the hero, he is putting other lives on the line.
Hank, Dawn, and Donna should have been more hard on him when he tried to run off to play the hero and save Jason. One or both of them could have died.
He knows about you. What you did, what you've become. And now he's moved out to live with some people. I think they know about you too. They're the ones who told him.
Mom
They play better as a team. There's no getting away from that.
Dick is going to face an uphill battle to come to terms with his guilt about Jericho, but he needs to channel that into his drive to take Deathstroke down.
Rose is a wildcard, and she's probably going to bail the moment she finds out the truth. Time will tell.
"Jericho" was a decent episode. But it was another flashback installment. My hope is that the final five episodes are told in the present.
Related: Titans Renewed for Season 2
Every single time the action picks up, we go on a trip to the past.
What are your thoughts on the way things are playing out?
Hit the comments below.
Titans continues Fridays on DC Universe.
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Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
