Sometimes the first of something points out the flaws and problems that need to be worked on when it comes to the next project. While I thought the first season of "Titans" could have been better, the DC Universe shows that followed after, "Doom Patrol" and "Swamp Thing" were absolute wins in my book. That gave me a little hope for season two of "Titans", and the trailer that came out beforehand got me really excited. Now that the finale has come and gone, I can say that while not perfect, season two was a considerable improvement with "Titans" finding its stride.
First and foremost, the season begins with the final resolution to the Trigon storyline in what would have been the season one finale...sort of. From what I've heard, they rewrote and reshot much of what was originally intended, introducing elements of season two's plot in the process and setting up a parallel scene between Rachel/Raven and Gar/Beast Boy that would play out in season two's own finale. I still hate the fact that season ended on such a major cliffhanger without truly finishing off its story, but for what we would eventually got, it was pretty good with Raven using her powers to defeat Trigon in a way that reminded me of how it went in the original animated series.
A lot of what worked in season one is present in season two, particularly the character relationships, including the ones I enjoyed before (Rachel and Gar, Rachel and Kory/Starfire). Speaking of those three, they still don't have super suits yet, but like in season one, the costume designers still do a good job creating looks that resemble their comic appearances. Gar still has the red/white jacket while Kory wears clothes with a darker shade of purple. Rachel gets a little more closer to her comics look, especially with the gem now present on her forehead.
Of course, we do get some characters with some comic accurate looks. Deathstroke's costume is perfect, creating a menacing presence. The finale sees Dick finally suit up as Nightwing and man is the suit gorgeous. Rose's Ravager costume is also pretty faithful to the comics, but to a fault. The mask seems like something you'd wear on Halloween with huge cartoony eyes as lenses; I don't know why they didn't just give her eyes holes like her father's suit.
Areas they greatly improved on are the story pacing and the mature tone. Within the first four episodes, they establish most of the main characters and their relationships with one another going forward. There are two direct threats this season: Deathstroke (bringing in some elements of "The Judas Contract") and CADMUS (which introduces Superboy into the show). It's similar to how the second seasons of Daredevil and Punisher went with two different threats occurring and intersecting; Much like those, I think viewers will prefer one story over the other. For me it's Deathstroke, which is why it's a shame he's taken care of before CADMUS, even though he's supposed to be the season's big bad.
The mature tone is taken down a notch compared to season one. It's still explicit in the language and violence, but it's about on the level of Doom Patrol and Swamp Thing. I.e., not distracting and less immature. F-bombs are still present, but only really said constantly from characters you'd expect (like Hank/Hawk or Jason/Robin) and by other characters in stressful situations.
The show makes a "Rebirth" style retcon in establishing that there was a prior Titans team before the show began made up of Dick as Robin, Donna as Wonder Girl, Hawk, Dawn/Dove and Aqualad. With "Rebirth" in mind, that brings us to the main theme of this season. Much of the focus is about the tragedies inflicted on and mistakes made by the original Titans coming back to haunt them and new team Dick wanted to set up with Gar, Rachel, and Jason. Titans past and present must overcome their troubles in order to forge ahead and create something better than before. This is the "Rebirth" in question for the both the team and the series overall. This can also be seen particularly with Dick in his journey to becoming Nightwing. Plus, the best lesson to be learned from the season is when you're hurting, it's better to reach out to others for help rather than retreating within.
There are a lot of character developments, moments, and introductions this season, but here are the ones that really stood out to me.
* Bruce Wayne is introduced and portrayed by Iain Glen. I really enjoyed his performance as Bruce, with his voice reminding me somewhat of Kevin Conroy's. It's interesting how between this, the DCEU and Arrowverse, DC seems to be on a kick about making Batman a more seasoned crimefighter, with Glen's depiction being the oldest seen so far. He doesn't suit up as Batman this season, but I hope we get a chance to see this in the future.
* Esai Morales portrays Slade Wilson/Deathstroke and while I greatly enjoyed Manu Bennett's depiction of the character on "Arrow", Morales outdoes him and feels like the character jumped straight from the comic pages. I already mentioned the costume does a good job of creating an air of menace, but it's Morales' performance in and out of the suit that creates an intensity in his actions. Whether he's working on a job or a personal vendetta, he's a man you don't want targeting you. While his exceptional fighting skills are shown against characters like Donna and Dick, the one thing I wished we could have seen was him against all of the original Titans; it may have made him look uber-powerful fighting off a whole team, but I think it would have better established him as such a threat that all the old Titans are worried about his return.
* Ryan Potter shines again as Gar/Beast Boy, quite possibly the most optimistic character on the show. When everything starts falling apart, Gar's the only one trying to keep hope alive and hold on tight to what the Titans represent. Unfortunately he can still only transform into a tiger (save for the one instance where he's a snake during the Trigon situation), and there was even three month time jump. Again, I don't know if it's a budget thing, but can we get a little more variety in season three.
* As mentioned before, Conner/Superboy is introduced, portrayed by Joshua Orpin. While we've seen a brooding Conner in "Young Justice" and a cocky Conner in "Reign of the Supermen", this depiction of Conner is a bit more childlike. Despite the older body, he has the mindset of a child, which can lead to some moments where you kind of feel embarrassed for him. Whether you like this choice or not, it is admittedly unique. The best part with Conner though is his conflict in personality, wanting to be heroic like Superman, but has to fight off the darker tendencies of Lex Luthor's DNA at times.
* Mercy Graves, portrayed by Natalie Gumede, is a freaking sociopath. She has a wife and two daughters, yet shows no remorse for the actions she takes at CADMUS, Seriously, she's responsible for some of the darkest parts of the season, making her a character you can't help but hate.
* The character direction I'm most interested in is Curran Walters' Jason Todd. Like the first season, Jason's an arrogant little brat. There's a real shift in character though after nearly being killed by Deathstroke, showing some PTSD and considering suicide. He's more broken inside than I think any of the characters or viewers fully realized. It leads to him going out on his own, and it's completely understandable. He's already had a rough childhood, but after being passed off to Dick by Bruce, not getting a real chance to prove himself along with Rachel and Gar, being kept in the dark about the old Titans' past with Deathstroke, and being let down by Rose after opening himself up to her, he's just done. Jason's journey is not only once again the opposite of Dick's, but the Titans and the season's overall message. He's cutting himself off from everyone, I assume even giving up the Robin role. I can easily see him donning the Red Hood identity in the future, and he didn't even have to die to do so; and hey, that could also leave it open for Tim Drake to be introduced.
One of the biggest missteps of the season comes in the finale, with the death of Donna Troy. It kind of comes out of nowhere and occurs after both Deathstroke and CADMUS are dealt with. What happens is she prevents a transmission tower that had been damaged in battle from falling on Dove and some civilians, getting electrocuted in the process. On one hand, she does go out as a hero, but it seems like such a lackluster way to do it, especially when it's from collateral damage from a villain and not the villain themselves. There may be some hope for her return, with Rachel's belief that her ever growing powers may the key to bringing her back. Still, if that's the case, just have her be gravely injured and having to return to Themyscira for treatment with Rachel going to help.
Overall, season two of Titans learns from the mistakes of the past to bring some engaging story and character moments. There's still some areas that need some work, but they're on the right track.
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