I’m back to talk the latest episode of Titans. Is it an improvement from season one and the “meh” season premiere?

The GOOD

Love a Teen Drama: Something I talked about at the conclusion of the first season was how the entire thing felt more like a prologue/introduction instead of a complete story. As a comic fan it was fine for me. I believed doing this was certainly creating a mediocre first season, but it was also setting up an exceptional foundation for the future. This second episode is allowing me to see some of the rewards of that base.

I had a great time seeing Jason and Gar train, getting to see more of Gar and Raven’s awkward relationship unfold, getting to see more of Donna and Kory interact, and even just seeing everyone hanging out at the luxurious Titans tower!

This season the showrunners have created two groups; Titans and Teen Titans. This is perfect. Taking me back to the most recent comics set-up.

Dick, Donna, Hank, Dawn, and Kory are now in these positions to be mentors, and they even seem ready to embrace that. Dick wants to help Rose, Donna looks bummed that she hasn’t been called to help with the new generation, and Dawn and Hank are dedicating their time to helping a kid get clean.

This is a context I approve of 100% for characters who often seemed scattered and unguided in the first season. Time will tell if Aqualad (Drew Van Acker) will make more than just a cameo and join this roster, but I’m glad for that division with who we have so far.

As for the younger group, the Teen Titans, we’re getting all that classic teen drama goodness; the love story, the bad boy, the lost and troubled teen- I’m all for it!

I enjoy the younger cast, and Rose (Chelsea T. Zhang), looks like she is going to make a great addition. I’m looking forward to what Joshua Orpin is going to bring to the table as Superboy as I suspect he will be joining the ranks of this newbie team.

It all feels very Xavier Institute meets Young Justice so far, and I’m more than happy with that! Like I said, I like a good coming of age/Teen Drama.

Doctor Light: If you’re a Teen Titans fan from the early 2000’s the character of Doctor Light should sound more than familiar. For us comic fans we know this C-list villain made infamous through his role in the graphic novel Identity Crisis. What is he up to in live-action? No clue, but I’m glad he’s here!

I mentioned last week that I feel this show will be strongest if it finds its balance between rated R materials and properly tipping the hat to the early 2000’s animated property. Doctor Light showing up making a teen drug addict blow up in a cabin? (Chef’s kiss) Perfection.

THE BAD

Explosion at the Wig Factory: We GOTTA do something about these wigs, ya’ll. I’m glad they immediately fixed Anna Diop’s (no, not because it’s straight now but because the last one’s color looked like a muppet blew up on it). However, Minka Kelly and Teagen Croft are still wearing some ROUGH pieces. I know for some they might not care, but this s**** matters to me, alright?!

We’re just Gonna Put a Dead Chicken on Ya: As season one clearly served as a testing pallet for what worked and what didn’t work for the future of the series, something I wish they had left in the costume trailer was Dove’s f******* cape. I’m sorry, but that thing still look like a chicken got whacked and she’s been carrying the body ever since.

Dove’s a dancer, her movement’s are more fluid than Hawk’s, there’s an elegance to her fighting and techniques; that cape is too clunky! Her small cape during Sterling Gates’ run on Hawk and Dove is PERFECT. Please put this woman in that! She is looking like mega ultra chicken up in this meth lab. Absolutely not!

Speaking of meth lab, I am glad to see her be a bit more assertive and take a lead for once. Her lacking a nightmare vision last week felt slightly disrespectful, and her constantly serving as Hank’s soft-voiced support can get TIRED. She often feels like a 1992 X-Men: The Animated Series’ Jean Grey minus collapsing every episode and moaning Scott’s name.

So We’re Sticking With This Bruce…: I thought Iain Glenn’s Bruce Wayne was going to be a one and done deal. That might still be the case! Yet, he appeared again this week with a slightly improved, though still not great, american accent. Look, I just don’t think it fits. He doesn’t embody that character for me. I hope we don’t need to see him dressed as Batman because- F***.

Needs Binge: The thing about Titans, as much as I’m already enjoying this season more than the first, is that it has the same factor that Sabrina and Umbrella Academy have over on Netflix; they’re great because I can binge them at my pace. This show might be a bigger hit if audiences could use the binge factor on it. I don’t know if casual television consumers will be able to commit to week-by-week. Now, with HBO Max set to arrive in the near future, and all DC Universe properties set to be available on the platform, there could be new fandom to the show once new subscribers have two seasons to binge. Time will tell.

FUN FACTS

Roy Harper?!: Ya’ll! If you’re a comic fan, an Arrowverse fan, a Young Justice Fan, or an animated Teen Titans fan then you KNOW who Roy Harper is. He is Speedy (Arsenal? Red Arrow?), the sidekick to Green Arrow!

With Arrow set to conclude with the upcoming eighth season, there may be a chance that the character will make his way over to the DC Universe. Now, will Colton Haynes reprise his role? Will they cast someone new? We’ll see! Yet, with Aqualad, Wonder girl, and original Robin already set that would just leave him and Wally West to make their way over.

Fingers crossed!