Titans – Season 3: The Rise of the Red Hood

Teen Titans was the first DC book that I bought.  It was the series that brought me into the DC universe.  So when the HBO series Titans came out in 2018 I had mixed feelings about it.  These were not the characters I had come to love in the 80s.  It was dark and gritty, but I opened up and reminded myself that this is not my story to tell and that these characters don’t need to be “My” versions to still be amazing.  So I let go any preconceived notions and just enjoyed the ride.  The first two seasons were full of intrigue, action, drama, mystery and some sadness.  In direct opposition to the CW shows, Titans is gritty and vulgar.  It is dark and ultra-violent.  The characters are broken and have deep rooted issues, but by the end of season two, we finally get to a point where the Titans understand that they are each other’s family.

Season three sees the Titans in their hometown of San Francisco, where the team is loved and respected.  The team consists of Dick Grayson / Nightwing (Brenton Thwaites), Kory Anders / Starfire (Anna Diop), Gar Logan / Beast Boy or Changeling (Ryan Potter) and Conner / Superboy (Joshua Orpin) with Krypto (The super dog).  Rachel / Raven (Teagan Croft) was not in the episode, but the audience is reminded that she is off on Themyscira trying to find a way to bring Donna / Wonder Girl (Conor Leslie) back from her untimely death in Season 2.  Prior teammates Hank Hall / Hawk (Alan Ritchson) followed Dawn Granger / Dove (Minka Kelly) to Washington DC Hank has become a DC Police officer.  All their lives are rocked when Jason Todd / Robin (Curran Walters) is murdered by the Joker and they all go to Gotham City to mourn and solve the mystery Jason Todd left behind.

HBO Max released the first three episodes all at once and I was riveted to my screen.  From the beginning to the last few seconds of the third episode, the show just flowed well.  The storyline is intriguing with a mystery to solve and there was no longer the annoying “in team fighting”.  The first two seasons the inner squabbles were really starting to get to me.  There was a point where everyone seemed to be an “A-hole” and you don’t really have anyone to like.  But this season, the team feels like a family.   Everyone seems to have found their place and it all just feels “right”!  There was some tension between characters, Hank and Dawn still trying to work out their feelings for each other and Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon who had been an item in the past, but now she is Commissioner, taking over for her father when he died and hanging up the Batgirl cape when she was put into a wheelchair by the Joker.  But the characters had all come together and really worked well as a team.

That familial bond is fragile and the events of the first three episodes could rip the team apart.  The main villain so far is The Red Hood, and many of you will know what that means, and if you don’t, you will soon find out.   All I can say, without giving it away is, I really enjoyed the first three episodes right up until the very end.  And then…And then the world comes crashing down and I am still coming to terms with what happens.  I want to scream and yell “WHY!” at the TV, but that really does no good!  And now, I must wait a whole effing week to find out how the team will cope! But I will be tuning in!  And I will be glued to the television!