Right off the bat, I will say that the story is good, albeit the pace is slow at the start, with Beast Boy not really factoring into the story until episode 4 and Dick not telling them he's Robin until episode 5. It's basically a combination of the team origin story and the Trigon storyline. While the latter has been done before in animation, the realistic setting of the live action series gives us a unique take on it. And despite the seriousness, they do give us time to breathe so that we could enjoy the characters getting to know each other, as well as get some laughs in.
When the series begins, Robin is the only established hero of the team, with Dick Grayson trying to make it on his own after leaving Batman and Gotham. Therefore, this is also the origin story for Rachel/Raven, Kory/Starfire, and Gar/Beast Boy, meaning they don't have legit super suits yet. Nonetheless, the costume designers did a good job creating looks for the characters that still have some semblance of the classic depictions. You have direct homages like Gar's jacket being red and white and Rachel wearing her hood at times (you know she has to have the hood), but you also have minor details one may not notice, like Raven's forehead gem on a necklace and orange make-up on Kory's eyes. People will probably complain about Starfire and Beast Boy not actually being orange and green, but not all TV shows get the same budget as movies.
Brenton Thwaites does a really good job as Dick Grayson/Robin. As Dick, we see this guy wanting to leave his past behind for a normal life, but still feeling pulled to his old ways. As Robin, we see the legit protégé to Batman who can kick a ton of ass. On that note, there's a lot of brutality to his fighting style; while this isn't part of the DCEU, I kept picturing Ben Affleck's Batman as the one he worked with considering how similar they fight. And going off of that, what's really interesting is that we learn about Bruce/Batman through Dick's eyes and how he feels about him. In many versions, Bruce and Dick's relationship is strained, especially after Dick leaves, but we usually see it from both sides. Here, it's all Dick, and I can actually agree with the problems he has with Batman, like taking on young sidekicks like him and Jason Todd, or even putting trackers in their arms. A lot of Dick's struggle in this series is trying not to be like Bruce, even though at times he goes as far as Bruce would. While Dick can blame Bruce for his problems, it was in episode 6 where I started to see it as about half and half. Without spoiling too much, Dick goes too far in a certain situation, and while that's on Dick's head, I can't help but feel Bruce failed Dick in a way; Dick was going through a tough time and Bruce should have done more to help him.
Two characters give a good contrast to Dick in different extremes. The first is the aforementioned Jason Todd, the new Robin. He basically embodies all the negative aspects Dick believes happens when being a sidekick to Batman. While I wasn't around during the time Jason was Robin in the comics, if he was anything like he was in this series, I see why fans at the time voted for Joker to bash his head in with a crowbar. Of course, it's obvious that was the intent with what Curran Walters brings to his portrayal as the character, and he does well making Jason so unlikeable. It also does well showing his potential future as the Red Hood should that ever happen in this series.
The other extreme is Donna Troy. As kids, she was Wonder Girl to Wonder Woman and was a friend to Dick. Now grown up, Donna has left behind the superhero life but still seeks to do good as an investigative journalist. Basically, she's the more well-adjusted former sidekick between the two. Of course, having Wonder Woman as a mentor is probably less stressful compared to Batman. She and Dick have a good back-and-forth with each other, showing a strong friendship, and she plays a big role in the last few episodes of the season, and I hope that continues to be so in season two.
Despite Dick getting A LOT of focus, I think the show tends to forget Rachel/Raven is the most important player here. She's the target most of the show's villains are after, all working in some way for her father Trigon, and the reason the Titans come together to begin with. Unlike the animated depictions, this is the youngest we've ever seen Raven and she's just discovering her powers. It's interesting to see her in a vulnerable state as she's realizing where she came from and trying to remain good despite the darkness inside her, along with the nice moments where she finds comfort in the other Titans; in Dick's case, it reminds him of when he lost his parents and how Bruce took him in. I've said before how Raven's powers would do well in live action with a horror flare to it, and man, they do not disappoint on that. There were times where her visions, powers, or outbursts really did scare me.
This depiction of Starfire is quite different and I'm not sure how I feel about it. She's still an alien from Tamaran, though it's unclear if she's a princess. Considering in this version she was sent to prevent Trigon's rise, I'm going to have to say "maybe", as it's possible either her sister Blackfire sent her or she felt the need to go herself. I'm guessing this is something that will be explored next season. As for what we know now, Anna Diop does a good job of showing her caring attitude and her warrior nature; she's a partner to Dick (helping reign him in at times), a big sister to Gar, and a mother figure to Rachel.
Besides Dick, if anyone is closest to their traditional depiction, it's Gar/Beast Boy. Ryan Potter brings a cheerful attitude that helps bring levity to a serious show. He likes to have fun, make jokes, and has a lot of geeky tendencies, which I think a lot of us can relate to. It's his relationship with Rachel that I enjoy the most though and how far the both of them will go to protect each other. The one complaint I have though is that he can only turn into a tiger. Granted, he's still new to his powers and maybe it's a budget thing, but I little more variety would have been nice. Prior to this, Potter was lobbying to play Tim Drake/Robin in the DCEU, and while I think he would have done well there, it's still nice to have him part of the DC universe.
Besides our main heroes, we have two other groups introduced this season.
* Doom Patrol: Gar at first lives in a mansion with a few other odd individuals, whose lives were saved but appearances drastically changed by scientist Niles Caulder. This includes Robotman, Negative Man, and Elasti-Woman. The episode they appear in was a lot of fun, making me think of an amalgamation of X-Men and Fantastic Four with how they interact with each other. There's a good mix of practical make-up and CGI, and I give a lot of props to them having a full-on Robotman suit instead of being computer generated. The Doom Patrol are getting their own series this year, and after seeing them here, I'm definitely looking forward to it a lot more.
* Hawk and Dove: Old friends of Dick, Hank Hall and Dawn Granger are partners in crime fighting and in real life. Hank's a hot head (which is very faithful to the source) while Dawn's this sweet girl, and it made me wonder how these two could have ever become a couple. Then there was a flashback episode showing how they got together, and it was one of the best of the season, showing how something beautiful can come from tragedy. On that note, like in the comics, Hank's brother Don is the original Dove who dies. But unlike the comics, his death here is just a freak accident having nothing to do with superheroes and villains. It's a nice subversion of expectations considering how superhero death in comics nowadays has lost the impact it used to have.
I figured I'd get all my positive thoughts and character analyses out before I dive into the negative.
I guess the biggest issues I had with the series is how far they took with the dark tone. When the first trailer hit, I said that this was DC's answer to Marvel's Netflix series. While that is the case, much like "Suicide Squad", this is another instance of DC trying too hard to be like Marvel. In this instance, they take more advantage of the TV-MA rating, and it gets to immature levels. "Hey, we're using the "F" word a lot! Robin just stabbed that guy in the crotch! We're so edgy!"
My other major issue is how the season ends. See, the season was originally set for 12 episodes, but ended at 11, with episode 12 going to act as the season two premiere. The problem there is that the final episode is a fantasy episode that is so clearly fantasy that there's no investment to be had in it. Even then, there's no proper conclusion to this season's storyline, plot threads were set up that won't go anywhere until next season, and I'm left with many other questions about characters' pasts. While there's nothing wrong with ending on a cliffhanger, there still has to be some resolution. It's just a crappy way to close things out, and it boggles my mind why DC would do it this way.
Overall, despite the difference in tone, I feel "Titans" is a worthwhile adaptation of the superhero team. The positive traits outweigh the negative, but the few negatives it does have are hard to ignore, and that's not including the lack of proper ending.
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