The slate of DC movies and shows is in a state of major change, with James Gunn and Peter Safran taking over as the heads of DC Studios. Fans got a general idea of what was to come in the new DC Cinematic Universe from James Gunn back in February, with many of the current DC projects either canceled or their fate in limbo. Just before Gunn’s presentation, HBO Max’s Titans was announced to end with its current season, giving viewers six more episodes before the story is wrapped up. With the final episodes of DC’s Titans upon us, fans are hoping for a satisfying conclusion to our heroes’ journeys.
So how exactly do these episodes rank among the rest of the series? Will the heroes prevail in their last battle with Brother Blood? And will Dick Grayson (Brenton Thwaites) and Koriand’r (Anna Diop) finally get together? Continue on to read my thoughts about these last six episodes of Titans season four.
[Warning: light spoilers and impressions from DC’s Titans’ final episodes are below!]
Picking up moments later in team Titans’ journey
When we last saw the Titans in episode six, the team wasn’t in the best of shape. Having failed to stop Sebastian’s (Joseph Morgan) baptism in blood, the group was beaten, bruised, and without much hope. The situation looked dismal, with a new reign of terror beginning now that the son of Trigon has assumed his birthright. However, when viewers meet up with them again in these upcoming episodes, the team is returned to the Temple of Trigon, sans Gar (Ryan Porter), who vanished.
The heroes are incredibly confused, about what happened, where Gar has gone, and how Rachel’s (Teagan Croft) hair and costume transformed to pure white after getting her powers back in the 4A finale. There’s little time to dwell on their lack of information, as the son of Trigon along with Mother Mayhem (Franka Potente) and their followers set off on the next leg of their journey. Their devious goal is to summon Trigon to Earth, bringing about a new world order that favors those who worship him.
This feels like a full circle moment for the Titans, who stopped Trigon from coming to Earth back in seasons one and two. Together, they must work together to stop the villains and their cult from doing so, bringing about the most dangerous fight of these young heroes’ lives.
A fractured story continues in DC’s Titans
Throughout these last six episodes, the story is the most divided it has ever been in the show’s history. Balancing out the race to stop Brother Blood from bringing about the apocalypse, are the continued stories of Gar and Connor (Joshua Orpin), which began in the first part of the season in a collaborative approach with the actors.
Connor continues his exploration of his heritage, which is more directly tied to the main mystery of this season. Where Connor once appeared torn between the two aspects of his shared DNA of Clark and Lex, it’s gone in these episodes. Instead, the writers attempted to take Connor into an exciting new direction that fell flat to me.
Any growth that I’ve felt from Connor and Orpin’s performance as the mini-Superman was lost in his cold and calculated Lex persona. Even when he wanted to do good, it came out callous and left me wanting more of the warm Connor we had in previous seasons. Overall, his story felt out of character and seemed like those who created it didn’t understand the character at all.
As for Gar, his disappearance at the beginning of this season is tied to his powers in an extremely personal way. His journey is removed from the other Titans for a good chunk of these six episodes, in a story that should have been exciting and refreshing. And yet, it was perhaps the slowest slog of the entire season.
Through his storyline, we get many “cameos”, which honestly feels too strong of a word for what viewers get. Glimpses of other characters from DC’s films and shows are more of what it was, shoehorning in the idea that a larger multiverse is still at play. It almost means nothing knowing the franchise is about to get a reboot from Gunn and Safran.
The best part of the second half of season four was when the storylines are reunited in the last few episodes. The heroes hit their stride once again as they bring the fight to Brother Blood. That being said, the ending felt rushed and unsatisfying. All the potential from the first half of the season felt squandered by a lack of direction and questionable writing. It was rather disappointing for someone who liked the first part of this season quite a bit.
The pleasures and problems of Tim Drake
A highlight from this season was Jay Lycurgo’s Tim Drake, who became one of my favorite characters from the series. Lycurgo brings a lot of levity as the happy-go-lucky Tim, who wants nothing more than to save the world. Watching him embrace the Robin persona this season brought me a lot of joy, as I have been waiting for him to do so since he was introduced last season.
On top of becoming a full-fledged hero, Lycrugo’s Robin costume was one of the best I’ve seen for Batman’s sidekick in a long time. It blows Dick’s suit from season one out of the water by a mile. Thankfully, he doesn’t get it at the very end of the season finale, but instead has it for two episodes and viewers will get to see it fully in action.
Perhaps the most questionable storyline of the entire season was the romance between Tim and Bernard (James Scully). When we first met Tim, he was established as a High Schooler, no older than 17. Essentially a child, he fits in well with the younger members of the team when he joins them in season three. While there is no direct acknowledgment of how much time has passed since then, it does not feel like it’s significant in the slightest, as Tim is still a novice to the hero business.
And yet, the writers pushed him together with Bernard, an established scientist at Star Labs who is somewhere in his 20s or even early 30s. It felt like a storyline from a show like Pretty Little Liars where age and time are irrelevant, which left me feeling uncomfortable. Even more so when this is one of the only LGBTQ+ relationships we have in Titans, which made it feel even worse for some reason. Representation is important, however, there is a better way to achieve it than whatever this was.
Final thoughts from the final episodes of DC’s Titans
Overall, the final six episodes of Titans left me disappointed after the positive trajectory that the first half of the season provided. There are some aspects of these last six episodes that work, such as the action sequences and fighting that are top-notch. At times the action reminded me of Arrow at its finest with tons of hand-to-hand or weapons combat, however, it wasn’t enough to fix every problem this season has. The potential is there for something great, however, it missed the mark and kept on going.
As someone who loved this series from the first episode, I wanted so much more. The episodes felt more like filler than anything, with storylines that don’t add up to much. These characters deserved a better conclusion than what we’re getting. If you’ve watched Titans up to this point, obviously you’ll want to finish up the episodes and see what lies ahead. However, for those casual viewers, it may not be worth the effort to watch it.
DC’s Titans returns on April 13th on HBO Max with two episodes. Are you excited to have the Titans return? Let us know on Twitter or in The Cosmic Circus Discord.
Review: Titans Season Four Premiere A Vast Improvement
