[8.0/10] Very epic, and appropriately so. The message is a little trite.It is still Teen Titans after all. But it’s also effective. The central question of the episode is whether Robin is like Slade, and I like the show’s Big Bad taunting its main hero on that score. Slade goading Robin over the fact that, biologically at least, the Boy Wonder likes stealing on his master’s behalf is chilling in its way.
Robin resents the comparison, but partly because it strikes a nerve He finds catharsis in defeating Slade, but admitting to Starfire that the bad guy isn’t wrong about their similarities THe difference is that Robin has friends he can depend on to bring him back to what’s good and right. I like that message, and even if it’s not groundbreaking as an insight (lord knows we've gotten a million “power of friendship” stories), I like it as a distinguishing factor.
The fight scenes are good too. Again, Slade and Robin in one-on-one combat proves exciting. This one calls to mind Batman: The ANimated Series with its fight in one of those giant, constantly operating warehouses that always seemed to be in and around Gotham. Slade slipping in between the swings of a pendulum or Robin landing a blow through abundant mist kicks up the cool factor.
There’s a lot of Batman in the background of this one, from Robin declaring “I already have a father” as the “camera” pans to an image of bats flying away, to the intra-Titans fight taking place on top of a Wayne Enterprises building. It lends nicely to Slade’s desire to have an apprentice, ostensibly wanting to steal Batman’s out of revenge against the Dark Knight or even just wanting a Bat-trained successor of his own. I hope as the show wears on, we get to know a little more about Slade’s motivation, but either way, his desire to mold someone else into his own image is an intriguing one.
There’s also a lot to be said for the team dynamic with the Titans. Robin’s reluctance to hurt his friends and vice versa makes for a more interesting fight than the standard beat-em-up. The thread of nano-particle destruction adds another wrinkle to the dust-ups, as does Starfire’s steadfast refusal to believe that Robin’s gone over to the darkside. Robin’s solution to the problem -- infecting himself with the same nanoprobes so that Slade can’t hurt the Titans without hurting his “apprentice” either -- is clever and selfless, finding a character-motivated reason to stop the fighting and display Robin’s undying loyalty to his friends in one fell swoop.
Overall, this is easily the high water mark for Teen Titans so far, and a great demonstration of the show’s potential when it makes good on the promise of its premise and character dynamics.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-06-29T22:36:55Z
[8.0/10] Very epic, and appropriately so. The message is a little trite.It is still Teen Titans after all. But it’s also effective. The central question of the episode is whether Robin is like Slade, and I like the show’s Big Bad taunting its main hero on that score. Slade goading Robin over the fact that, biologically at least, the Boy Wonder likes stealing on his master’s behalf is chilling in its way.
Robin resents the comparison, but partly because it strikes a nerve He finds catharsis in defeating Slade, but admitting to Starfire that the bad guy isn’t wrong about their similarities THe difference is that Robin has friends he can depend on to bring him back to what’s good and right. I like that message, and even if it’s not groundbreaking as an insight (lord knows we've gotten a million “power of friendship” stories), I like it as a distinguishing factor.
The fight scenes are good too. Again, Slade and Robin in one-on-one combat proves exciting. This one calls to mind Batman: The ANimated Series with its fight in one of those giant, constantly operating warehouses that always seemed to be in and around Gotham. Slade slipping in between the swings of a pendulum or Robin landing a blow through abundant mist kicks up the cool factor.
There’s a lot of Batman in the background of this one, from Robin declaring “I already have a father” as the “camera” pans to an image of bats flying away, to the intra-Titans fight taking place on top of a Wayne Enterprises building. It lends nicely to Slade’s desire to have an apprentice, ostensibly wanting to steal Batman’s out of revenge against the Dark Knight or even just wanting a Bat-trained successor of his own. I hope as the show wears on, we get to know a little more about Slade’s motivation, but either way, his desire to mold someone else into his own image is an intriguing one.
There’s also a lot to be said for the team dynamic with the Titans. Robin’s reluctance to hurt his friends and vice versa makes for a more interesting fight than the standard beat-em-up. The thread of nano-particle destruction adds another wrinkle to the dust-ups, as does Starfire’s steadfast refusal to believe that Robin’s gone over to the darkside. Robin’s solution to the problem -- infecting himself with the same nanoprobes so that Slade can’t hurt the Titans without hurting his “apprentice” either -- is clever and selfless, finding a character-motivated reason to stop the fighting and display Robin’s undying loyalty to his friends in one fell swoop.
Overall, this is easily the high water mark for Teen Titans so far, and a great demonstration of the show’s potential when it makes good on the promise of its premise and character dynamics.