Titans season 2, episode 11 “E.L._.O.,” brings Dick closer to becoming Nightwing, proves Kory is the best, and gives us one badass Bruce Wayne fight scene.
If you’ve followed my Titans reviews over the course of the season, it should come as no surprise to you that I’ve become increasingly frustrated with season 2.
What started out as such a strong season about Deathstroke and the sins of the original Titans has instead devolved into a directionless season that can’t seem to decide what it wants to be about. Rather than choosing one or two definite arcs, the show has instead decided to spin off multiple storylines at the the same time, all of them competing for time and narrative space to the point that none of them have felt particularly compelling or evocative.
In this season alone, the major storylines we’ve had have been: the history of the original Titans; Deathstroke’s vendetta against the Titans; Kory’s conflict with her sister, Blackfire; Connor and Cadmus Labs; and, Dick’s transformation into Nightwing.
That’s just too many storylines for one season to handle, which is made even more obvious by the storylines they haven’t been able to develop yet hinted at: Rachel’s powers; Gar’s abilities; the formation of the core four into a team; the relationship between Dick and Kory. You’ll notice that all four of those are holdovers from season one that should’ve gotten more airtime, but alas — I guess we really needed to know the entire history of the original four Titans, or something.
This isn’t a problem with the writers, who I all think are extremely talented and have given us some truly evocative single episodes. In fact, just as I mentioned in my last review, the individual parts of this season have been absolutely incredible. It’s only when you take a step back and look on it as a whole does the picture become clear — and that picture is a muddled, aimless mess that tells more about the lost potential of this season than the overall quality.
This show in this second season doesn’t lack talented writers or actors, it doesn’t need more production value or more money — it needed better organization. We’re two episodes out now from the season finale and while I could still eat crow and watch it all come together beautifully, I’m becoming increasingly skeptical that such a thing is even possible at this point.
Please note: I’d love to be wrong here. I love these characters, I love the potential for this show and I love seeing where they might go with it. I’d absolutely love to see all these disparate threads come together to form a beautiful story that I didn’t see coming. Please know that I’ll still be watching the next two episodes and hoping that it does.
But even if it doesn’t, I’m still glad that we’re getting a season 3. I think everyone involved — actors, writers, and viewers — deserves to get more from this show, and I hope that season 3 gives it to us all.
‘Titans’ season 2, episode 11 ‘E.L._.O.’ Review
Despite being called Titans, this show is really fixated on Dick Grayson. I’ve known this since the beginning and been fine with it because I understand the idea behind it.
Dick Grayson is one of the most popular DC characters, with many Batman fans (such as myself) putting him over Bruce Wayne in our BatFam hierarchies. Despite his popularity, he hasn’t really been depicted on screen, which means a show like Titans doesn’t have to worry about go against any pre-established conceptions or holdovers from other major media. Likewise, Brenton Thwaites is an incredibly talented actor who gives 100% in any scene he’s in, which means watching him — whatever insane thing the show makes him do — is compelling television.
But I have to say that Dick’s stint in prison was almost too much for even me to handle.
This is A LOT of Dick Grayson focus this late in the season, despite the fact that the cast has grown from the main four to an overall total of ten. Again, Dick is a major focus of this show and always has been, and his transformation from Dick Grayson, former Robin, to Dick Grayson, Nightwing is an important one that requires weight and time.
I’m just not especially enamored with how the show chose to do it. Part of that is, of course, that we know that Dick is going to end up Nightwing, so pushing towards a foregone conclusion can’t really be that compelling. However, Dick’s self-pity tour was a lot to handle, especially given that the reveal that he ‘killed’ Jericho and the subsequent overblown reaction by his teammates was inelegantly done to the point where I mostly just rolled my eyes.
Still, it’s what we got, and if we absolutely had to do it this way, I am glad that we got to see more inner Bruce Wayne.
(I mean, I’m also not glad, because at this point, this is clearly a sign of Dick Grayson’s own troublesome mental health/mental illness that I’m sure the show will never address, but that’s another rant for another time.)
Bruce Wayne is a sassy son of a bitch who basically slaps Dick Grayson out of the hole he dug out of self-pity, while also helping Dick figure out what we all already guessed last episode: Jericho is still alive and cohabitating the body of his father.
This realization is all that Dick needs to break out from jail, despite apparently knowing that help is coming for him because he scribbles the note “Jericho is Alive” on his cell wall. He leaves before help gets there because for a guy who keeps on establishing teams, Dick Grayson seems absolutely determined to do everything alone.
The title of the episode comes from Elko, Nevada, which is where Kory, Rachel, Dawn and Donna randomly come together after the real Bruce Wayne — not the one in Dick’s head — orchestrates a series of commercials, phone calls and (I guess?) Rachel’s psychic episodes to all plop them down in the same place.
This makes very little sense if you think too much about it, but we’re at, like, Riverdale level logic here at this point, so I just let it go.
The point is, all these badass ladies are together in the same room and it ignites a small flame within me that hopes they’re going to realize splitting apart made little sense in the first place, and they’ll come back together and go bust Dick Grayson’s self-pitying dumb ass from jail.
Except no, Titans is intent on bringing them together randomly just to split them back apart. Donna and Dawn, who’ve known was a self-sacrificing ass Dick has been his entire adult life, decide to peace out on that endeavor and save Gar instead — which I appreciate, but if they’re not going to show it, what is even the point of all of this.
However, Kory and Rachel show themselves to be the real ones, which is something we’ve already known this whole time (and maybe the show should’ve just let them be together this whole season as we thought it might but whatever) and decide to go break out Dick from jail — Rachel I assume to gently berate him for getting himself locked up in the first place, Kory to knock him upside the head and tell him what a dumbass he’s been.
They kick some cop ass, which I’m always down to see, only to find that Dick is gone but was expecting them anyway. So it looks like we’ll see everyone reunited next time, in an episode I’ll hopefully be a lot less salty about than I’ve been these last two. Let’s hope.
Stray thoughts and lingering questions
- I called them out for it last week, but Titans finally remembers that Rose and Jason are alive. They’ve been kicking ass and making out, with Jason also showing his sensitive side to Rose, who mostly tries to blow it off. However, she eventually makes an effort to open up to him in return and then reveals that which we all assumed but hoped wasn’t true: She’s been working for Deathstroke this whole time. Except not any more, I suppose, since she calls and tells him her skulduggery is off. I’m sure Jason will react well when he finds out his new girlfriend has been a spy for the guy who tried to kill him this whole time.
- Anna Diop has been doing such a great job with the crumbs she’s been given, and Kory post finding out her sister killed their parents and took over the kingdom herself while stranding Kory on Earth is a whole mood. She’s gambling, getting drunk and finding hot dudes to bang and I respect her for it. She also gets super angry about not getting donuts, which I found extremely relatable. The rumor is next season is all about her versus Blackfire and I CANNOT WAIT. It’s what she and we as viewers deserve.
- Dawn throws away a bunch of Hank stuff but keeps one photo of her, Hank and Ellis, so I’m sure we can continue to see that dysfunctional relationship go round a few more bends.
- Another thing that made Dick’s time in prison worth it: That fight scene between him and Bruce Wayne. Other things may lack in quality but Titans ability to craft a damn fine fight scene is not one of them. Give an award to the fight choreographers as well as Brenton Thwaites, Iain Glen and their stuntmen. My god, I could watch that scene over and over again on loop.
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