“That’s what my drug offers. Freedom. Now, what’s more addictive than that?” Spoilers for Titans season 3, episode 7 follow.
As Crane’s drugs begin to flood Gotham, the Titans are up against a time limit before the city descends into chaos.
As the Titans search though, Dick and Barbara access their secret weapon, much to Barbara’s apprehension.
Here’s what went down in Titans season 3, episode 7, “51%”.
Power of fear in Titans season 3
Now that Crane’s fear toxin drug is out in the larger world, the consequences of such a monstrous thing seem inevitable. If the show had decided to have any real ramifications the mass production of the drug beyond this episode, that is. Yes, Jason providing the drug to a couple of guys during the previous episode sets the stage, albeit quickly and relatively poorly, for Tim Drake to take on a larger role, which are basically the only consequences for Crane’s drug in both of these past two episodes. It’s honestly disappointing how easily the Titans were able to curtail the drug rollout because everything about it felt too easy and actually makes Crane seem almost incompetent.
The best parts of this episode with Crane though stem from his manipulation and continuous torture of Jason. While it’s debatable whether it was a good idea to make Jason essentially go from Batman’s Robin to Scarecrow’s, the actual interactions between the two characters have been incredibly solid over the past couple of episodes. Much of the dramatic weight in this episode falls onto Crane though and, while it’s still often off-putting hearing him talk like a stoner, his taunting of Jason is great, and some of the best parts of this episode.
In foiling Scarecrow so quickly in this episode, there’s a great team fight scene in the final ten minutes or so and it’s a lot of fun. We don’t get to see the Titans as a team enough as it is, so it’s very easy to revel in any scene where they do team up.
— DC Titans (@DCTitans) September 8, 2021
Oracle
After being mentioned for a couple of episodes, we now also get the first appearance of Oracle here as well. And yes, this is a first appearance because it’s not Barbara’s alter ego. It’s literally just a talking version of the machine from The Dark Knight that looks like a giant eye. Unfortunately, everything about Oracle just feels pointless as it doesn’t actually help the Titans find Crane, nor does it play any real role after Barbara shuts it down as Crane somehow hacked it.
It’s absolutely baffling why the creative team chose this to be Oracle rather than having it be Barbara’s identity post-Batgirl. Sometimes the easiest solution is the correct solution, and yes, I’m looking at you, Titans writing room.
As for the interactions between Dick and Barbara, they’ve consistently been some of the best parts of the season and that continues in this episode. Sure, them getting together again feels a bit rushed, but it still works decently well. They have solid chemistry together and even though we’ve only seen a bit of their time together when they were younger, they have always felt like they have a history that long outlived the show, something that most of the characters have never felt like, even if that history is shown.
Starfire, P.I.
What felt even more pointless the show’s decision to make Starfire a murderer again. Sure, she was killing a murderer, but the entire thing just felt completely pointless. Making a deal with a mob boss to find her son for information, bringing him back to her just for her to kill him, killing the mob boss, and then getting the info from a henchman anyway. It’s a runaround pointlessness that culminated in Kory doing something completely out of character for who she is now in the show. It was just so disappointing and felt like a complete waste of time.
Titans season 3 has one of its weakest episodes with its Starfire and Oracle additions feeling mostly pointless and not even its strongest aspects can save it.
New episodes of Titans season 3 debut Thursdays on HBO Max.
What did you think of Titans season 3, episode 7? Let us know in the comments below!