Titans season 2, episode 1 review: Trigon

In the Titans season two premiere, the team must face off against Trigon, while a new villain rears his head and sets up the premise for the rest of the season.

DC Universe’s Titans is back to conclude the Trigon story arc and to set up the overarching storyline for the second season. The season two premiere picks up where the first season finale left off – Rachel Roth (Teagan Croft) brought Seamus Deaver’s Trigon to Earth to save Garfield Logan (Ryan Potter). But Trigon had other plans.

Through a series of dreams, Trigon turned Dick Grayson (Brenton Thwaites) to the dark side and, in this episode, he’s intent on converting all the Titans to his cause so that he can break Rachel’s heart and turn her into a weapon. Rachel and Gar valiantly attempt an escape, but Trigon is too powerful, and Dick’s mind games slow them down even further.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Titans, and Robin 2.0 (Jason Todd, played by Curran Walters), mount a rescue but end up making matters worse. The only way the Titans can save the world is if they can work together.

The End of Trigon

The entirety of Titans season one focused on the Organization, the Earth-based cult dedicated to capturing Rachel and bringing Trigon to the planet. DC Universe made the odd choice to leave the Trigon storyline hanging until the end of the first season, and we realize why in this episode.

Trigon may be a formidable villain for the Titans in the comics but, in this episode, he is dispatched fairly quickly by Rachel. Seamus Deaver has little to do than smirk his way through his scenes. Admittedly, Trigon’s power is endless – he successfully traps Gar and Rachel in a “real life horror movie” while turning the Titans by preying on their worst nightmares. Those scenes made for great insights into the minds of the characters but didn’t really do Trigon himself any justice.

Even the comic-accurate Trigon look fell short – it was schlocky CGI at best and not at all imposing, which was disappointing. But the lack of Trigon meant more time and characterization for the rest of the Titans, and that, one can readily admit, is a win for the show.

The Titans Come Together

For a show called Titans, there was precious little of the team working together during the first season. The highlights of the first 11 episodes in the series were always when the team worked in tandem, which was rare. While we don’t get to see them in proper action in this episode, they do come together, and Donna Troy (Conor Leslie) actually refers to them directly as Titans.

When the Titans are baited into Trigon’s trap, each one revisits a dark fear or past horror. The montage gives viewers a little insight into the characters, especially Donna, whose past is usually mired in mystery or complications because comic book writers can never get her story straight. Most interesting, but least developed, is the toxic relationship between Hank Hall/ Hawk (Alan Ritchson) and Dawn Granger/ Dove (Minka Kelly). Their characterization has been a rollercoaster ride and, hopefully, the insinuation that Hank has a substance abuse issue was, in fact, just a dream and not reality.

The two shining lights of this episode were Jason Todd and Garfield Logan. Walters’ Jason brings a level of arrogance and bravado that adds some much-needed levity to the show. Potter’s Gar, on the other hand, is the other extreme; he’s a wide-eyed innocent who has a heart of gold.

So far, Gar is likable and relatable in his love for superheroes and his teenaged love for Rachel (be it platonic or otherwise). The new season promises to showcase these characters better, which is such a relief, considering the two of them got short shrift in the pilot season.

An Optimistic Vibe

Titans season one had an overarching vibe of being dark and gritty. The showrunners tried their hardest to include over-the-top violence and edgy stories. But the show eventually won fans over by embracing its comic book origins and giving viewers characterizations that somewhat matched the comic book personae.

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“Trigon” goes a step further with its lighter tone by allowing the characters to riff off each other and incorporate some healthy banter between the group. The old Titans have history, the new Titans have aspirations. Keeping these disparate groups together is Dick, who finally let his hair down and now has some life in his character again. Thwaites comes alive when Dick is joking with his teammates and teasing Gar. He carries the paternal leader side of Dick well, and it’s a pity the showrunners took so long to let him step into this fan-favorite version of Dick Grayson.

Now that Dick is committed to re-forming the Titans, we can expect the first half of the season to introduce the sprawling new cast members and watch the new team being built by Dick. Dick has let go of his darkness and his past – so when will he become Nightwing?

Titans Tidbits

• The biggest drawback of ending Trigon so soon is that we are unlikely to revisit the wonderful spooky, horror aspects of the show. The highlight of this episode was how it ran with its genre visuals.
• We finally get to see Bruce Wayne in this episode, and… he’s not exactly what we expected. Iain Glen steps into the big bat’s shoes, but he comes across as an indulgent grandfather, rather than the holy terror that Dick made him out to be in all of the first season. Glen makes for a very distinguished older Bruce, but he is very unlike any comic rendition of the character we’ve seen so far.
• Esai Morales’ Slade Wilson also breaks the mold. He’s formidable and cowed, living a reclusive life until he sees Jason declare on national television that the Titans are back. We know Slade and the team have history, but how fraught it is will only be revealed over the course of the season.
• Every time Gar and Rachel interact, it’s a worrying sign that the showrunners are going to allow their romance to blossom. They have been a couple in the comics, and the characters do have chemistry, but their romance on the show would be disturbing because Potter is an adult, while Croft is underage. Here’s hoping the showrunners see sense.
• We are probably all a little disappointed that the new Titans Tower doesn’t have any kind of “T” insignia on it. Perhaps the show will build towards adding it later in the season.

Approximately this time last year, fans were rightly outraged by the Titans series premiere. It was a mess and far removed from the comics. The season two premiere is energetic and builds the characterizations of the main cast along the lines of the source material. The episode was fun and brought the team together in a way that the previous season hadn’t. The premiere also set up the central conflicts and nemesis for the rest of the season, all of which are exciting prospects for the show. Unlike last year, we can safely say, we are looking forward to watching the rest of this season of Titans.