Titans streams new episodes weekly in the US via HBO Max. International airdates are yet to be confirmed.
Synopsis
The Titans come to Gotham to face off against Red Hood.
Review
Returning for the second episode of season 3, Titans continues to cherrypick elements from “Death In The Family” and “Under The Red Hood” comic storylines. This episode opens with one of the most iconic moments from early in Red Hood’s career. It’s lovingly recreated and sets the bar for how Titans will portray the character.
Overall, “Red Hood” pulls back on the pacing seen in the previous episode. Having seen six episodes of the season this episode is an anomaly in that respect. But it also serves an important purpose in moving the characters around the board to where they need to be. It also reintroduces Hank (Alan Ritchson) and Dawn (Minka Kelly) who have now moved to Washington. The episode also drops a new element in to the mix in the form of Jonathan Crane (Vincent Kartheiser).
In many ways season 3 could have opened as a two-parter, mixing together elements from this and “Barbara Gordon” to craft a perfect reintroduction to the series.
What’s striking about “Red Hood” is the level of maturity in the series’ writing. The series has introduced a number of potentially interesting subplots including Kory’s blackouts. There are small nuggets of information inching all of the plot lines forwards naturally in ways we’ve yet to see from the series.
In its 44 minute runtime “Red Hood” is able to balance character and plot development to satisfying degrees. There’s room to balance out the fallout from Jason’s death with the emergence of Red Hood and a group mission alongside Barbara and the GCPD. Interestingly, the lineup of Titans going out on mission remains four, this time Nightwing, Hawk, Dove and Kory. They are supported by Superboy and Beast Boy but all six are never in the same scene. It continues the new found balance in storytelling which the show lacked in previous seasons.
Despite its odd pacing “Red Hood” is able to start and finish strong. Above all, I’m surprised at how rapidly Titans has moved on Jason’s story. Revealing to Dick that he is alive and operating as Red Hood came as a huge surprise. Titans is known for spinning out its mysteries across multiple episodes but season 3 is really pushing things along quickly.
Verdict
Slower paced than the season opener, “Red Hood” falters in moving the cast around the board but makes up for it by proving the series narrative power.
Titans stars Brenton Thwaites as Dick Grayson/Nightwing, Anna Diop as Starfire, Teagan Croft as Raven, Ryan Potter as Beast Boy, Alan Ritchson as Hawk, Minka Kelly as Dove, Curran Walters as Jason Todd/Robin and Joshua Orpin as Conner Kent/Superboy.
Joining the cast in season 3 are Savannah Welch as Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl, Jay Lycurgo as Tim Drake and Vincent Kartheiser as Dr. Jonathan Crane, the former Scarecrow.
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