Holy Nightwing goodness!

Titans Season 2 Episode 13 gave us the hero we've been waiting since Titans Season 1 Episode 1 for, and it did not disappoint. 

This particular development should have happened sooner, but now that the rejigged hero is back keeping the streets safe, the show should be able to go from strength-to-strength. 

Nightwing is faster and more cunning than Robin could ever have been. The changes in Dick's life have allowed him to harness all of the pain of the past and put all of that sorrow into something more positive. 

His relationship with his friends is on the up, and he's starting to respect Bruce Wayne for opening his home to him after the death of his parents. 

Dick has a knack for blaming other people for his problems, but his recent tussles with Deathstroke have allowed him to reflect and think about how his actions affect others. 

The death of Jericho tore the Titans apart initially, but now that a part of him resides within his half-sister, Rose, the sins of the past have been forgotten. 

I told you what would happen if the Titans ever reunited.

Deathstroke

• Permalink: I told you what would happen if the Titans ever reunited.

Jericho is an interesting character, but we barely scratched the surface with him. Now that we know he will always be with the team thanks to taking up residence in Rose's consciousness, he got a somewhat happy ending. 

Being trapped in the mind of his cold-hearted father must have been tough. The most surprising aspect of this is the poetic justice of it all. Deathstroke wanted the Titans disbanded, and now he's gone, both of his children are fighting as part of the team. 

Oh yes, Slade is gone, but his death was not handled very well. There should have been a bigger build-up to such a point, especially given that we know he can heal himself in some ways. 

How do we know he's really dead, and that he didn't reanimate while the others went to war with Conner and Gar? 

Granted, Slade was killed on-screen by his children no less, but we know Rose managed to put herself back together like she was Claire from Heroes just a few episodes ago. 

Slade's storyline seems far from over, but that's something we'll have to chew on until Titans Season 3 gets underway. 

The aforementioned fight with Conner and Gar was the episode's strong point. The visuals and fight-sequences were up there with some of the show's best. 

I keep having these dreams, that I'm being killed by Deathstroke. They're not going away. We need to do something about him.

Rachel

• Permalink: I keep having these dreams, that I'm being killed by Deathstroke. They're not going away. We...

All fans have wanted since the beginning is for the heroes to fight alongside each other because that's what they're supposed to do. The journey to get to this point has been rough, and it's a real shame Donna won't be fighting alongside them. 

Donna's life was deeply rooted in loss, and she was one of the few characters that should have found some semblance of happiness. 

Donna died saving lives, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Coner Leslie's portrayal of the character has been nothing short of spectacular. If "Nightwing" was her final episode of Titans, then the actress has a bright future ahead of her. 

Then again, the emphasis on Rachel leaving town with Donna's corpse leads me to believe there will be a way to bring her back to life, albeit with some very different traits. 

The Lazarus Pit exists in this universe, so there's bound to be a creative way for the Amazons to bring her back into the land of the living. 

Hell, it wouldn't be surprising if Rachel managed to bring people back from the dead. Slowly, but surely, Rachel's powers have continued to grow stronger. 

One of the theorys that crossed my mind is that she's siphoning power from other people. It would go a long way to explain why Kory's powers have significantly diminished. 

There's the whole meeting in the diner to throw in there as well. That particular meeting on Titans Season 2 Episode 12 felt somewhat out of place, with many wondering why Bruce didn't just pick up the phone to call Donna, Rachel, and Kory to tell them about Dick's predicament. 

When we let evil win, it becomes our reality.

Mercy

• Permalink: When we let evil win, it becomes our reality.

Kory and Donna are officially on to Rachel, especially after Bruce revealed he had no recollection of the meeting. Rachel is barely managing to control her powers right now, so it will be intriguing to see where she lands on Titans Season 3. 

Donna's funeral was a sad affair. She was such a pivotal part of the team that her loss is going to haunt the rest of the characters as they push forward into the next chapter as a crime-fighting group of heroes. 

The good news is that the current iteration of Titans have a strong bond, one that is very reminiscent of the OG team. 

It would be a good idea for them to cut Jason loose. He's an angst-filled teenager who needs to experience the world without having everything handed to him. 

His near-death experience changed him for good, and he has a whole new perspective on life, one that doesn't involve fighting crime. 

The best way to tackle this type of storyline is to keep Jason off-screen until enough time has passed for the teenager to make a return. 

He needs to find himself and take it from there. There's no need in him joining his old team for the sake of it. That's how resentment occurs. 

Dawn and Hank's permanent parting of ways was needed. It's not uncommon for relationships that worked for years to stop working. When you do the same things, have the same arguments, it becomes a drag. 

Dawn and Hank bonded initially when her mother and his brother were killed before their very eyes. That's something they will never forget, and even though they're not romantically linked, they can still continue as Hawk and Dove. 

That's a positive thing. 

The takedown of Cadmus was too convenient. Gar's brain was literally torn apart, and the young boy they made a superhero was under their control, so how did it all go wrong? 

Dick entering Conner's mind was very Stranger Things-esque, but allowing sunlight there being the thing that allowed Conner to break free from the mental shackles the company had on him was great. 

That part made sense, but Mercy and her band of evil scientists should have really done a better job. 

As for Gar, the very notion that he is not still under control of Cadmus is laughable. I'm all for semi-happy endings but witnessed him murder Rachel in a simulation of Titans Tower. 

There will be emotional ramifications for Gar. He killed someone on Titans Season 1 and struggled with guilt in the aftermath. 

Which brings me to Kory. We need to get her back to her powerful self on Titans Season 3. One of my biggest peeves when it comes to TV shows is making a character who is the most powerful, one of the weakest. 

With her sister in the mix, there are a lot of directions this storyline could go in. It will all come down to the execution, and given that Titans Season 2 struggled to maintain coherent plotting from start-to-finish, I don't have a lot of faith in the people crafting these storylines. 

For now, "Nightwing" was a successful way to wrap up the sophomore run. 

What did you think of Nightwing fighting?

Were you annoyed with some of the inconsistencies?

Hit the comments below. 

Titans returns in 2020. 

Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.