[7.0/10] This is a difficult episode to judge. For me in particular, it’s a mix of the things I love about Teen Titans and the things I loathe.
I love the Cyborg material. After two seasons, Cyborg is still pretty underdeveloped among the core crew. Outside of one, not very good episode focused on his human side, and the lame car episodes, he’s rarely gotten the spotlight, let alone the character development that comes with it.
But “Deception” improves on that. He gets a holographic emitter that makes him look fully human to everyone else. He gets an offer to have his mechanical hand feel more like his flesh one did. He furiously punches a fully robotic version of himself, an act that seems to reflect a certain self-loathing or at least anger at what he’s become. (It calls to mind a superlative scene from “Who Are You?” in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) The notion that Cyborg still has unresolved issues about his transformation, desires to become more of the flesh and regrets that could cause him to fall headlong into the arms of someone who promises him cures is powerful stuff.
On the other hand, the “Villain Academy” business is the pits. The undercover story of Cyborg infiltrating Hype Academy should be full of tension, since “Stone” could be found out at any minute, Instead, the show plays it all for the cheap seats as usual. The situation is framed as too cartoony and low stakes for any of this to matter. The “back to high school” vibe of the whole thing falls flat, with corny jokes about “initiation” and school dances.
When you combine those two elements, the show averages out somewhere in between. The episode raises the plausible prospect of CVyborg joining the bad guys, not because he’s suddenly turned evil, but because he’s found success at Hype, and because Brother Blood is offering him a tantalizing lure. The twist that Cyborg’s still been acting the whole time lands for that reason, and him using the doomsday device against the school works as a reversal. The character stakes for CVyborg and his emotional state make the plot choices have meaning, which is the kind of narrative synergy good shows aspire to.
I particularly like his conversation with sTarfire at the end. There’s an acknowledgement of Cyborg’s difficulties, of the slippery definition of what “normal” is, and about how his friendship with the Titans has sustained him. It’s the usual power of friendship block and tackle, weighed down by the unavailing Hype academy capering, but given the untapped potential of Cyborg in the show, it results in a touching character story for the show’s most underutilized player.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-07-19T19:48:00Z
[7.0/10] This is a difficult episode to judge. For me in particular, it’s a mix of the things I love about Teen Titans and the things I loathe.
I love the Cyborg material. After two seasons, Cyborg is still pretty underdeveloped among the core crew. Outside of one, not very good episode focused on his human side, and the lame car episodes, he’s rarely gotten the spotlight, let alone the character development that comes with it.
But “Deception” improves on that. He gets a holographic emitter that makes him look fully human to everyone else. He gets an offer to have his mechanical hand feel more like his flesh one did. He furiously punches a fully robotic version of himself, an act that seems to reflect a certain self-loathing or at least anger at what he’s become. (It calls to mind a superlative scene from “Who Are You?” in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) The notion that Cyborg still has unresolved issues about his transformation, desires to become more of the flesh and regrets that could cause him to fall headlong into the arms of someone who promises him cures is powerful stuff.
On the other hand, the “Villain Academy” business is the pits. The undercover story of Cyborg infiltrating Hype Academy should be full of tension, since “Stone” could be found out at any minute, Instead, the show plays it all for the cheap seats as usual. The situation is framed as too cartoony and low stakes for any of this to matter. The “back to high school” vibe of the whole thing falls flat, with corny jokes about “initiation” and school dances.
When you combine those two elements, the show averages out somewhere in between. The episode raises the plausible prospect of CVyborg joining the bad guys, not because he’s suddenly turned evil, but because he’s found success at Hype, and because Brother Blood is offering him a tantalizing lure. The twist that Cyborg’s still been acting the whole time lands for that reason, and him using the doomsday device against the school works as a reversal. The character stakes for CVyborg and his emotional state make the plot choices have meaning, which is the kind of narrative synergy good shows aspire to.
I particularly like his conversation with sTarfire at the end. There’s an acknowledgement of Cyborg’s difficulties, of the slippery definition of what “normal” is, and about how his friendship with the Titans has sustained him. It’s the usual power of friendship block and tackle, weighed down by the unavailing Hype academy capering, but given the untapped potential of Cyborg in the show, it results in a touching character story for the show’s most underutilized player.