#titans 2018

seeing ep title “Aqualad” I JUST SCREAMED. GARTH INBOUND. GIVE HIM TO ME.

oh god immediate flashback to five years ago—oh ew it’s shirtless Slade Wilson. no one wants to see that

Slade Wilson pov as he kills a bunch of people literally who cares. my fault for thinking a flashback would be relevant

someone hired Slade to go after the Titans he didn’t just go after them himself bc he’s Like That?

who is this he’s been sent to kill. IT’S JERICHO?

ACTUAL TITANS CONTENT YAY

show me Garth right the fuck now

YAAAAAAAAAA

OH MY GOD HE’S SO COOOL

immediately the Garth/Donna i’m laughing i did assume they’d be doing that

IT’S GARTH’S BIRTHDAY

are Dawn and Dick fully together rn what’s this

the Nicki Minaj pumping through the speakers as i’m trying to process every nuance in this Titans flashback is rly something

Hank making fun of Garth with fish jokes and Garth talking back as he gets physically close to him and the homoeroticism of it all. there are Roy Harpers everywhere for the eyes to see

wait they’re all meant to be 21/22 in this? and the flashback said five years ago? literally what is the spectrum of their timelines and ages here.

GARTH’S BIRTHDAY CAKE IS A KRAKEN

AND THE WHOLE PARTY COLORS ARE GREEN AND BLUE BC OCEAN. IT’S CLASSIC

i was fully not getting that Dick and Dawn were in a committed relationship in the past from the season 1 stuff i thought they just hooked up before she got with Hank

i can’t lie blond Garth is killing me

who the fuck is J that Donna’s texting. does she have a secret lover and that’s why she keeps rejecting Garth

so does Garth die in this flashback? does Slade kill him and that’s why they disband and are so reluctant to be a team again?

who is this woman Diana’s talking to who just clocked that she’s having Garth issues. some sort of Themyscira liaison? travel agent?

ohhhh Garth/Donna

HE BROUGHT HER A CLOWNFISH TO NON-TROPICAL WATERS WHEN THEY WERE KIDS WHEN HE CONVINCED HER TO SWIM AND SHE WANTED TO FIND NEMO 😭😭😭

like literally hop on that Donna why are you not

“Right time, right place. After Dawn’s crash-and-burn with Hank, she probably just needed someone to fill the void.” i mean that’s a rly weird way to talk about how you started dating your girlfriend, Dick. but ok sure finally shedding light on what went down after Dawn telling Hank they can’t be together, then starting to date Dick apparently. and Hank’s just unaffected by them being together in front of him?? i guess the real canon Titans team has everyone dating each other at diff times without issues so sure

“I thought Bruce made you read the classics.” “If it wasn’t about power, domination, or suppressing my emotions, Bruce didn’t have me read it.” i laughed

Dick comparing chasing after a woman with flooding a car engine with gas. it’s giving “You have to treat a woman like you treat a car” like Garth why are you going to this dumbass for advice

“I’ve been waiting for Donna Troy since I was 12.” MMMMM

Garth is just so dead by the end of this ep. Donna’s finally gonna accept she wants to be with him and them boom he’s dead i bet

bro WHY is Donna lying to Dick about being forced to return to Themyscira. just tell him you want to go back!!

and who the fuck is Jillian still?? would love any context about who this random woman is that can just sanction Donna’s time away from the island

multiple Robinarangs confirmed

this suiting up close-up montage of everyone and then the strut through the hall. it’s called Titans aura farming

every mission they go on conveniently has a water source on-site for Garth to open and use his powers on

“Garth, don’t!” “Should have sang to me on my birthday. Might have been your last chance.” literally why are you about to sacrifice yourself to this walking glow stick of all villains

how is Garth just resisting the light attacks he doesn’t even have water rn. guess he’s just built different

LITERALLY WHY IS DONNA LEAVING I DON’T UNDERSTAND

OHHH GARTH CALLED HER BY HER LAST NAME THAT’S GONNA CEMENT IT—AAAAND YEP SHE’S KISSING HIM. THE LAST NAME WORKS EVERY TIME.

bro she left him naked in bed asleep to go to Themyscira without telling him. not cool, Donna!

oh Garth :( Dick having to be the one to tell him Donna left ughhh

HE’S SHOWING UP AT THE AIRPORT TO CONFRONT HER. WHY IS THEIR ROMANCE THIS EP JUST A ROMCOM ASS PLOT

i’m sorry i’m laughing at how dramatic this is why are we making this romance the pinnacle of the ep

“I love you, Donna Troy. I always have. And I always will.” THAT’S SIMPLY JUST THE MOST CLICHÉ OF ALL ROMCOM LINES OF ALL TIME

now he’s walking away in slo-mo—aaand she’s running after him.

OH AND HE IMMEDIATELY GETS SHOT AND DIES. BY SLADE. WOW. I’M SO SHOCKED. NEVER COULD HAVE PREDICTED THAT WOULD HAPPEN.

i really do have to laugh. most predictable plot points ever. the flashback having him in it alone was giving “montage of the dead wife at the beginning of a movie” from the jump

“Now’s the time. Be Batman.” ??? so earlier in the ep Dawn was telling Dick how she doesn’t want him to be like Batman but now that they’re going after Garth’s killer she wants him to be? how would that change anything? it’s not like Batman is any more ruthless than they already are. wait i forgot this show paints him out to be a violence-loving vigilante. whatever

one week later. what’s this. oh right back to this guy i was just wondering why we saw him at the start of the ep randomly without anything ever happening

it is Jericho 🙂‍↕️

now is Dick trying to recruit him or is he using him to hunt down Slade and get his revenge through his kid

Dick just (fake) funnied 😄then he serioused 😐 to show he has sinister motives in case we couldn’t tell

that certainly was an episode. wish the Garth death wasn’t so predictable from the very beginning but nice to see him at all i guess. i’m not really a Garth/Donna truther but him having feelings for her since they were kids and referencing that friendship was cute. not sure why they had to make it a low-budget romcom film at the end though. the feelings confession and “maybe i am your destiny” stuff seemed weird and ooc for both of them and out of place with the show. we know they can do genuine emotional connections (see my shining stars of Hank and Dawn) so why did they make that feel so cheap?

would love to have a clear idea of when everyone met and the start of the team. we know Dick and Donna knew each other as kids and also that Donna and Garth hung out when they were 12 but apparently it’s only been 4 months of Garth being on the team? this whole flashback was 5 years ago, but at start of s1 Hank and Dawn have been together 3.5 years i think they said. and that the team broke up 4 years ago? i honestly don’t remember bc nothing was ever clearly stated but if you’re gonna give me reference points and now flashbacks i do need them to spell out when key events happened. maybe i’m the only one who cares about a little thing called plot continuity 😝

“Old Titans business” so def going with New Titans for this team name

H.I.V.E.

Jericho like 😶🪕Jericho? as seen in TT03?

who are these people in the Titans flashbacks. give me names.

why would Donna assume Kory left of her own volition she very clearly disappeared in the middle of getting them food

immediately Dick not telling the ogs about Rose and her connection to Slade. brother

“Robin two-point-whatever” I LOVE HANK’S DISDAIN FOR JASON

ok now he’s telling them about Rose phew thought it was gonna be some keeping secrets bullshit

classic case of character watching Looney Tunes in DC media

please give me a scene of the ogs showing off how to actually spar to the newbies

“Houston, we have contact!” what the fuck does that mean in this context Jason 😭 you’re sparring, you don’t need to be shooting off quippy one-liners ALL the time

damn that’s so crazy Rachel went demonic and nearly killed Jason. oh no i was so worried for his safety and well-being. i am so glad she didn’t finish the job. yippee. 🫥

Rose and Rachel bonding over having The Worst Fathers

“Guess we’re both members of the bad dads club.” well…yes

aw yay for new teammate bonding

wait i love Dick training Gar to be a detective and track stuff at the computer

immediately i don’t care about this Slade and Dr. Light interaction

why is Dr. Light a dudebro idiot

“I’m glad we see eye to eye on this matter.” “Well given that you’ve only got one, we fucking better, right?” OK THAT ONE GOT ME I LAUGHED

ugh the Hank and Dawn scenes really are the best. they feel so grounded even in a show about heroes and vigilantes

PRESIDENTIAL ALERT: THE WONDER TWINS ARE FIIIIGHTIIIIING

Gar being a lil genius iktr

HANK TRYING TO CONSTANTLY GET RID OF JASON I AM LAUGHING SO HARD AT EVERY UTTERANCE

what is this dumb ass looking Dr. Light suit. why is he wearing a knockoff gladiator/Magneto helmet

so the ogs are all showing up in civvies. no suits. no weapons. no nothing. great plan guys!!

does anyone care about maintaining their identities??

LIKE WHAT WAS THE PLAN HERE?? YOU JUST SHOWED UP TO TALK?? YOU’RE ALL IN JEANS AND HE CAN SHOOT BEAMS OF LIGHT

well Donna just lassoed a motorcycle and threw it at him i guess she’s the only useful one there

the B plot of this episode being Kory with her Tamaranean love interest and being convinced to return to Tamaran to be queen on orders of Blackfire

can Dick please deck Jason

“I don’t take orders from you anymore, man. I do what I what, when I want.” LITERALLY LEAVE THEN NOBODY WANTS YOU HERE

DICK SHOVED HIS ASS TO THE FLOOR LETS GOOOOOO

oh please with Jason storming off all in a huff. stop trying to make me feel bad for Jason. he’s a punk talking shit and was about to hit Dick he deserved to be put on his ass like that

Rose slicing Dick’s training staff in half so he’s now sparring with dual batons ala escrima 🙂‍↕️

is this Rachel plotline just gonna be The Dark Winged Queen

aw one call from Rachel being like hey please help something’s happening to me again and Kory’s all “You’re in a crisis, I’m on my way” ala Supernanny

“You’re not a reject either, Jason. We’re Titans.” i just snorted. sorry Gar i would say you’re all still very much in the training phase of actually being a team

aaaand of course Jason is like let’s go out ourselves! we don’t need the others or to tell anyone where we’re going! i honestly thought he was gonna pull that when the ogs first went out to confront Dr. Light

“I’m not saying we go rogue.” well you literally just said you’re not taking orders from anyone and going to do whatever you want. so i’d say you’re quite literally saying that

WHY IS JASON CONSTANTLY PUTTING ON THE ROBIN SUIT WHEN NO ONE ELSE IS SUITING UP HE’S SUCH A LOSER AND THE SUIT LOOKS DUMB AS HELL

“Let’s split up.” “😨Huh?” GAR MY SILLY

Jason immediately chooses the correct tunnel and walks up to five feet in front of Dr. Light before getting noticed naturally

gee thanks for the flashback to scenes from last episode as if i didn’t just see them

you want me to believe Jason alone can completely take down Dr. Light via the power of punches and over-usage of the f-bomb when the four actual Titans couldn’t?

Slade took Jason. bro.

guess i’m about to see some Slade and Rose Wilson father-daughter bonding on my screen?

three month time jump naturally bc this should’ve ACTUALLY been the season opener

Rachel’s about to rebrand them as Teen Titans

“The New Titans”

TITANS TOWER LOCATION TITLE IKTR

Gar and Jason sparring with swords i’m already laughing

GAR WHACKED JASON ON THE BACK OF THE HEAD LMFAOOOO

“When do I get to go back to Gotham City?” “Bruce doesn’t think you’re ready yet, and neither do I.” i mean why would Bruce ever let Jason be Robin in the first place then. he just rly doesn’t want him around i can’t blame him

“And those websites you bookmarked? You know that’s not what the Batcomputer is used for.” I’M CRYING

AQUALAD MENTION

they keep hinting at New Titans surely that’s the name they take

“They need your leadership, Jason.” literally nobody needs or wants that

Dick still is having an identity crisis and doesn’t have any idea of who to be. when is he gonna unlock his final form as Nightwing??

who’s this breaking out of prison. according to closed captions it’s Dr. Light idk who that is

now who is this Hank’s teaching to ride a horse. ok some boy named Ellis i don’t recognize the name surely can’t be important

aw domestic Hank and Dawn retired on a farm

Kory in Chicago what’s she up to

KORY AND DONNA WORKING TOGETHER LET’S FUCKING GOOO

Shimmer

ROY HARPER MENTION. EVERYBODY SHUT THE FUCK UP. I JUST GOT ACTIVATED.

oh Donna you wanna be a Titan again so bad

hi Rose Wilson. like does having an eye patch run in the family orrr

DICK’S MAKING THEM READ THE ART OF WAR BY SUN TZU

RACHEL’S DEMON AURA GOOP IS TURNING PURPLE???

oh bbrae i’m kicking my feetsies and they’re just talking

them complaining to each other bc Dick’s such an obsessive leader, and now being too nice to Gar bc he feels bad for killing him, and there’s too much pressure for Rachel not to fail just so Dick himself won’t feel like a failure of a leader. and them being like damn we miss Kory 😭

yeah Jason’s gonna love Rose—and yep immediately “A total badass.”

Jason in red clothes, Gar in green, and Rachel in black while watching the tv. oh how i love simple color coding of character’s casual outfits

like does Dick recognize Rose or is he just going after any troubled teen he sees on the news to take in. if so, wow he really is Bruce’s kid

OHHHHOOOO DAWN’S GOING OUT AS DOVE ALONE TO TAKE DOWN THIS DRUG OPERATION. AFTER SHE SAID TO HANK THAT BEING AROUND MASKS WOULDN’T BE GOOD FOR THEM. RELATIONSHIP STRIFE IMMINENT.

HANK JUST SAID IF DAWN CAN’T GIVE UP BEING DOVE THEY’RE DONE. DON’T EVEN JOKE LAD.

WHAT THE FUCK. THIS KID JUST TURNED INTO A LIGHT BOMB AND BLEW UP THEIR FARMHOUSE.

oh so everyone knows Dr. Light. sorry idk that Titans ball i guess

Dick with the hands clasped in front of him in a had to do it to ’em pose. i’d laugh in his face in all honestly

wait immediately i’m vibing with Rose

the Donna Kory bestiesm banter of it all

“That’s what he does cause he can’t resist a stray.” yet again, Dick is Bruce’s son for sure

Jason being suspicious of Rose from the jump

“I didn’t help Jason.” “Can anyone help Jason?” and Dick laughing at that from Rachel. no, no one can. y’all got that right

DONNA AND KORY FIGHTING TOGETHER UGHHHH THEY’RE SO COOL

like are they just unmasked vigilantes tracking people down together now

WE BACK IN GOTHAM

why is ancient Bruce Wayne a recurring character now dear god

that is an obscene amount of glass chandeliers in Bruce’s study

Dick asking Bruce if he could change the past would he take him in again. like dude that’s your papa. why would you have to ask

why is there a ~vibe~ between Donna and Shimmer. Kory was right for asking what the deal was between them 👀

ROY HARPER CALLING DONNA

who is this man and how does he know Kory’s real name—IT’S A TAMARANEAN

“Your Highness” OH WE ARE GETTING MORE KORY LORE REVEAL SLOWLY BUT SURELY

HOW ARE THESE LIGHT BOMBS JUST MANIFESTING

NOOOO RIP DONNA’S JEEP SHE GAVE DICK. must every cool vehicle Dick drive go bye bye

oop Gar and Jason have identified Rose and Slade

Jason already knows Slade as Deathstroke oh no

like the Deathstroke design is SO bad. where is the orange. where is the half-mask split with only one eye . if you’re gonna do it, do it at least close to right

that was a pretty solid episode, a lot of diff stuff going on for all the characters spread out but it’s making them all come back together as needed. plus new character introductions and starting up the overarching plotline of the season. what a good should-have-been opener!

if Kon isn’t even in this episode :/

ok so Dick is just Trigon’s possessed lackey to attach Rachel and Gar

oh yippee Jason’s back. riding a motorcycle through the manor and falling down stairs.

fuck his jacket is so cool though i gotta give him that

TITANS NAME DROP. WHEN NO ONE HAS EVEN BEEN CALLED THAT OR REFERRED TO ANYONE ELSE AS THAT EVER SO FAR

HANK AND DAWN LAUGHING AT JASON BEING ROBIN THEN HANK SERIOUSING AT HIM CALLING DAWN “BABE” CAN THEY PLEASE KICK HIS ASS.

there’s no way Bruce put a second tracker in Dick that’s just Jason lying surely

“I’m gonna kill this kid.” i mean Hank i don’t blame you

Donna and Kori are beefing outside the force field

they’re really just throwing around the Titan title all of a sudden huh

“What the fuck is that and why is it wearing Dick’s costume?” god i hope Donna puts Jason in his place i am begging

why is Dick going all The Shining on them this is laughable

really thought Donna was queuing up for a “Titans…together!” there but it was just a “Titans…And new Robin. Let’s go.” naturally

Rachel what the fuck are you talking about obviously Kory is not going to kill you. you’re wasting time

oh this is just Kory’s mind prison

if i have to see everyone go through what Dick did last ep i’m gonna scream

Donna’s memory of the fire :(

well one of them is going to have to NOT give in to the darkness so who’s it gonna be

let’s see what Jason’s worst memory is. oh it’s a visualization of a future where Dick killed Bruce and is trying to also kill him. mmkay

it’s giving Jason attacking Tim in Titans Tower

Chekhov’s gun who’s gonna use it!

wow Jason is soooo cool and edgy for flipping Dick off! you show him!

naturally it’s Jason with the gun

“The gun that killed Bruce’s parents.” i just don’t think he’d keep that around actually

JASON HEADSHOTTING DICK. WHY AM I BEING MADE TO WATCH THIS.

oh my god is this the continuation of the flashback of Hank and Dawn where we left off in the coma

“Real life horror movie! Real life horror movie!” that’s what i’m saying Gar

they’re all beating Gar to death. this is so fucked-up that’s literally my silly little guy

i just don’t think talking to Dick and begging is gonna work

he’s just gonna kill Gar himself surely

EVERYONE LEAVE GAR ALONE

RACHEL LOCK THE FUCK IN RN GIRL

ok so Trigon just ripped Rachel’s heart out of her chest no worries all good

HE’S TURNING INTO HIS DEMONIC FORM

HER HEART BECAME A CRYSTAL THAT HE PUT IN HER FOREHEAD AND NOW SHE’S EVILLY POSSESSED

Trigon’s design is so bad what is that

he’s so killing Angela

yeah she’s dead. i mean maybe don’t believe a demon cares for you and have his child who you then trick into doing your bidding to summon him to eat the world.

GAR BECAME A SNAKE?? HE UNLOCKED A NEW FORM

OH MY GOD THE POWER OF BBRAE IS BRINGING RACHEL BACK. STFU THAT’S CINEMA

the crystal now being a lil plastic gem stuck to her forehead

Rachel asking Dick “What happened to you?” well your father the all-powerful evil demon got in his mind and put on the worst episode ever that’s what happened

“Dick, you would never kill Batman.” “Are you kidding? I’ve been dreaming of this since I was 12 years old.” no you haven’t shut up

yeah let’s make him relive his parents’ death that’ll surely help

wow the power of love and acrobatics brought Dick back from evil. and you know what, i’ll allow it because that would work on him

if they beat Trigon by the end of the episode i’ll laugh with rage. this should’ve been the s1 finale. what happened.

Rachel really thinks she’s eating with this talk to Trigon doesn’t she

ok yeah just decimating Trigon casually and everyone is saved from possession

LITERALLY WHY WAS THIS NOT THE FINALE????

Jason jumping in front of the news camera in his Robin suit to yell “Titans are back, bitches! Woo!” i’m rocking back and forth and reminding myself this version of Jason Todd isn’t real and can’t hurt me

DICK SUPERMANBAITING GAR

Dick is taking Rachel, Gar, and Jason on a roadtrip

i genuinely don’t get it. this definitely was meant to be the finale. why was it not?

is this Kon in a cabin in the woods.

nope. Slade fucking Wilson. 🫩

with a really bad costume design nonetheless

the prodigal son returns to the manor!

ALFRED REVEAL

IT’S BRUCE. I JUST LAUGHED SO HARD. WHY IS HE SO OLD. WHY DOES HE LOOK LIKE THAT AT ALL. HE NEVER LOOKED LIKE THIS IN ALL THE SIDE PROFILES AND DARKENED SILHOUETTES FROM SEASON 1.

AND HE DEFINITELY IS BRITISH OR IS DOING A SEMI-TRANSATLANTIC ACCENT??

sorry for this meaningful convo going on between Dick and Bruce about their unspoken issues i’m simply not processing it all due to the whole #NotMyBruce of it all. is this anyone’s Bruce? is this even Dick’s Bruce? i just don’t believe it. was it the rights issue. they couldn’t use any of his likeness on tv surely so they stole an Alfred design.

SAN FRANCISCO

BRUCE MADE DICK TAKE JASON WITH HIM HE DID NOT WANNA DEAL WITH HIS ASS AT ALLLLL

TITANS TOWER

Rachel’s suddenly curled and styled bob is killing me

the suit room showing all the former Titans as Gar imagines them

DONNA IN THE WONDER GIRL SUIT

please zoom out and show me the T of the tower—orrrr not! they used all their cgi budget on bad Trigon design i guess

and in case i haven’t said it enough: why was this the s2 opener and not the finale?? it wrapped up s1’s arc well (albeit rushed and way too easily) and gave me something to look forward to for the next plot developing. plus the Kon teaser could’ve easily gone at the end of this ep as it did at the finale (and maybe then i wouldn’t have missed it 🙃). also the finale would’ve pissed me off less if it was just the penultimate and then everything got addressed in this ep to actually end the season

a little list of what hallucinated-young-dick says to his older self :D:

I hate you. I hate what you did to me.

Robin was the answer. Robin was gonna fix everything. But you ruined it!

You blame Zucco. You blame Bruce. No. No, it was you!

You made him into a monster!

It was your fault! You did this to us! It was you! You did this to me!

as a whole, more entertaining and enjoyable than i expected, to be honest! there are definitely some interesting takes going on, but for the most part i can accept them as the show taking creative liberties and move on. (most notably, the age differences between the characters but over the course of the season i've grown to be fine with it)

shining stars of the season were Gar and Donna!!! enjoyed every scene of them and wanted more. especially the Dick and Donna dynamic, that was sooooo good

best episodes of the season were "Doom Patrol", "Donna Troy", and "Hank and Dawn" which for the most part didn't really have anything to do with the main team/plot so that's pretty telling. but the characters of Doom Patrol were instantly likable, Donna was perfect, and the storytelling of Hank and Dawn's backstory and relationship arc felt so real and well done. i was definitely most engaged for those eps even as it took us out of the main storyline. seriously, they locked tf in for Hank and Dawn and i wish we got that for every other ep!

the whole time i couldn’t care less about the psycho family. sorry they were innocent brainwashed victims but the creepily happy nuclear family that actually is evil is so stale. and they were just killed off shortly before the entire organization that was controlling them also became obsolete. so not sure what the point of all that even was. every scene with them was wasting time away from the story i actually wanted to see and time that really needed to be better utilized elsewhere

continuing on that note, the lack of time developing the team's relationships and dynamic was disappointing. i know there's not enough time to show all the nuances and truly build up a believable amount of connection in a short timeline of events, but i would have even accepted a montage of any amount of time passing and scenes of them truly bonding. at any point in the season. really i would have accepted the bare minimum over the "oh they are bonded for life and love each other suddenly after knowing each other for a very short period of time, don't worry about it" that we got

the finale pissed me off beyond compare. what a waste of 45 minutes! there was so much to wrap up. or, since clearly the Trigon stuff is continuing into next season, at least develop further. i got the gist almost instantaneously that this is Trigon making Dick choose between a normal life and going back to Gotham to do what he feels he's needed for in the fake reality. not sure why it needed to be the ENTIRE ep, besides the "Gotcha!" moment at the very end to show he was under Trigon's control the whole time. which, was made obvious from the jump and continued to be very clearly shown with all the distortions throughout, so wasn't much of a shock or cliffhanger. (truly, i had very little to seriously complain about before the finale, which brought to head so much annoyance about the rest of the season)

the take on Bruce and Batman is mind-boggling. there's Jason's mindset that Bruce intentionally puts the Robins in bright clothes and uses them as distractions/bait for bad guys so he can then swoop in and take them down (never mind the fact Jason is totally ok and welcoming of that, but i can't get into all his issues right now). and Dick's mindset that Bruce trains Robins as weapons and you can't ever unlearn that, so eventually it will take over you and make you give in to the violence as it did for him. also Dick claiming HE served as the conscience that Bruce lacked during their partnership. i get trying to do a darker/grittier version of Batman (even if i objectively disagree with it from a character analysis standpoint) but i feel there needs to be an unbiased and accurate description of him then. all we hear is Dick's thoughts about him, which are inherently shrouded in resentment and anger, and Jason's perception, which feels distorted due to his own warped thinking about vigilanteism as a whole. am i meant to believe Bruce is truly that cold and violent? that he could so easily be led to a massacre of rogues and innocents alike?? (even though it was just in Dick's mind, he still easily believed it was real and was a possibility that could happen). i'm not buying it and if you want me to buy it, you gotta at least show or explain as much. maybe i'm asking too much from the show for what it is, and it isn't meant to be a Batman show but you can't have this sort of take on Batman and not flesh it out. Bruce and Batman are both integral parts to how Dick grows up and why he is the way he is (especially in trying to make a name for himself outside of the Robin identity). if you're doing such a twisted version of that, i need to know why and how.

the Bruce portrayal goes hand in hand with the inherently angry and violently unhinged Jason Todd they're pushing, which i also completely disagree with. both of those takes on these characters are very surface level and the easiest conclusion to jump to if you know pretty much nothing else about them. it's an extremely basic concept to say "what if we had a Batman but he was cold and unloving and all he cared about was his mission to violently beat up criminals, putting that way above everything else" but that just isn't in-line with Batman's character at all. similarly, it's easy to look at Jason's character (in all iterations) and pinpoint him as being angry and violent and viewing vigilanteism as a way to "get back" at those who have wronged him. and in some of his Red Hood days, i'd say parts of that depiction do match. but if you want to do the barest amount of justice to these characters, you would recognize the nuances they have and why those portrayals simply don't make sense for them. and wouldn't you want your adaptations of characters to feel more fleshed out and three dimensional? why are we reducing Bruce to being cold and detached with no sense of empathy and compassion (two driving factors of his character!) and Jason to being excessively violent and taking pleasure in getting to be Robin just so he can cause harm to others and get away with it? it's wrong and nonsensical and completely shifts the entire background of these characters and Dick's dynamics with them, thus distorting Dick’s character

the reason Dick left Gotham and Bruce to work on his own being that he let Tony Zucco be killed was definitely interesting. i can get behind that, and would have loved to see that actually cause some introspection on his part about where he draws the line between justice and revenge, and how he decides who to protect. but not sure it needed to lead into him being a ruthlessly violent vigilante now (which seemingly got dropped halfway through the season as he was like nah i'm done with that, i guess). all while he was still being Robin as a grown man, which is crazy. the actual backstory for him moving on from Robin would've fit just as much, especially if you want Jason there (and an actual version of him, not whatever this disgrace of a version is). just make Dick want to be treated more as an equal, which would fit given he's nearing 30 in this, and after butting heads with Bruce he branches out to work solo elsewhere. why did he have to turn so violent, and blame Bruce's training for that, just to do so??

and not to shit on the finale again but i gladly will: so much is left unanswered. with how last ep ended i kinda suspected the plot would carry over to next season but i thought we'd be at least getting SOME advancement this episode. instead it was entirely Trigon's au world with all the loose threads of the season left hanging. Dick has made no progress in thinking about who he wants to be after letting go of Robin. Hank and Dawn are apparently off to find Jason Todd after Rachel told Dawn to when she was in her coma and Rachel was being choked by Kory?? which we didn't see happen, just Rachel yell for her and Hank. and why would Jason be the answer to anything?? i get there has to be something to bring everyone together but it should make sense and it should have brought them together BEFORE the season ended. it's not even the matter of the cliffhanger but rather it's just uncertainty because nothing was fully wrapped up. you can leave suspense for what will happen next while also sustaining a proper conclusion to the arc of the season(!!!) which they fully didn’t even attempt. spent the whole episode just to take us into Gotham and focus on Batman which would’ve been cool if it was 1) actually REAL, 2) a proper characterization, and 3) had any actual interactions between Dick and Bruce that wasn’t just Dick talking to the clock

no seriously were they not allowed to show Bruce Wayne as a character front-facing or give him any dialogue? was it a matter of securing rights or just them trying to build up the mystery and intrigue of never having Bruce actually fully on screen?? not really a complaint because it makes me laugh as an occurring bit where they’ll throw Bruce’s name around willy-nilly but he will never be facing the camera or have a conversation with any character, but it sure is a decision

and another thing: why was the entire season set in the Midwest? was Jump City not available for on-location shooting? have they heard of this little known place called New York City? anywhere that would possibly make sense? instead of driving through states that have no relevancy?

all that being said, i did tell myself before beginning that i wouldn’t get invested to the point of feeling real anger or annoyance at whatever the show threw at me. failed on that front thanks to the finale but nevertheless we persist 😁