Deathstroke makes his move, Nightwing makes his debut, Gar makes a scene and Donna and Dawn have never seen Prometheus.

Well, that happened. A lot of it in fact, as the episode scrabbles to bring every plot into land and once it’s done so, contradicts one already concluded one and kills Donna. As an afterthought, because…

I have nothing.

The Deathstroke arc ends with a punch up in the street, and the body left there. Jericho is rescued, into his sister’s body and the whole thing is parked. As people online have pointed out, no one’s ever stopped to investigate why Deathstroke was assassinating Amazons, the fact Dick is an escaped felon never comes up and the fight benches several characters for no good reason. It’s nicely done, the stunt team on this show continue to amaze, but it’s still kind of there.

Likewise the Gar/Conner/Cadmus plot which leads to Cadmus deciding to field test them both on a carnival in San Francisco and then publicly ‘save the day’. That’s all well and good I guess but it’s a messy situation that leads to Gar killing more people, a one sided fight and a sense of the show marking time a little. Then once it finishes, we get a full ten minutes of every other plot being tied up, including everyone all but saying out loud Donna will be back next year (and she will be.)

It’s loud, and small and brash and staccato in a way the season, hell the show, hasn’t been for ages. It’s easily the weakest episode of the season and continues Titans’ run of not knowing how to do season finales.

And.

Yet.

After 17 endings. After Donna is killed because people don’t turn corners in this world. After two fully able-bodied characters sit in an SUV and watch a friend whose death they’ve been tormented by the visions of fight his mortal foe and do nothing? After all that?

Hawk shows up for the fight with Conner with a funhouse mallet. Dawn and Donna have a surprisingly great double act. The ending actually really works. The episode gives everyone space to understand their damage and everyone a chance to realize how much they’ve changed. The quieter, sadder Gar is especially interesting, likewise Kory whose temporary lack of powers is played to hilarious effect by Anna Diop. The show also leans in, hard, to the idea of Hank and Dawn and Hawk and Dove being both separate identities and separate relationships in a manner that I’ll be very curious to see play out. I figure there’s a non-zero chance that it’ll end up being a hot mess, but hey…

Oh and the best is genuinely saved for last. Dick and Bruce, talking as equals, as family members, watch as a call comes in and the Titans all suit up. Dawn’s up first, Hank following and grateful for it. The others are close behind until it’s just Bruce and Dick. Dick has just made a comment about not knowing what comes next. Bruce watches his son’s friends suit up and tells him.

‘There’s your answer.’

And honestly? It’s pretty touching. This horrific group of barely functional outcasts actually kind of work when they’re together and it’s such a relief to see. For Dick especially, it’s also a signal that maybe the dysfunction will at least be a different flavor next season. It certainly should be.

Verdict: Far and away one of the weakest episodes of the season this still finds time to have some fun. Now, at last, the Titans are all on the same page. So let’s see what season three brings. 6/10

Alasdair Stuart