Review by Andrew Bloom

Teen Titans: Season 2

2x08 Titan Rising

8

Review by Andrew Bloom
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BlockedParentSpoilers2021-07-12T18:58:58Z

[7.6/10] An oasis of quality T.V. in a rough stretch of episodes! It’s nice to see Teen Titans picking Terra’s arc back up, and I like where they go with her here.

Specifically, they set her in opposition to Raven. Everyone else on the team welcomes a returning Terra, who claims to have mastered her powers, back with open arms. But Raven is suspicious, worried that this newcomer isn’t in control as much as she says, and particularly that she needs to learn to trust the other, more experienced members of the team when push comes to shove.

THe conflict is strong. We understand Terra’s motivation here. She’s a newcomer but one who already has insecurities about not being accepted due to the instability of her powers. Raven is the most direct and, frankly, blunt member of the Titans, so she’s the most likely to bring those issues up with Terra.

More to the point, I like how the episode justifies Raven’s skepticism. She too has to focus and meditate to be in control of her powers, a daily struggle. So her doubt that Terra went away for a few weeks and came back “fixed” rings true from her own experience. The two learning to move past their mutual mistrust and work together to save the day succeeds as a resolution of those issues, with plenty of bumps along that already rocky road. Add in the hints that Terra may be working with Slade, heightening the potential mistrust at play, and you have a strong inter-character dynamic to build the episode around.

YOu also have a pretty ripping plot to keep the team occupied. I didn’t think much of the giant robotic worms Slade deployed to hinder our heroes. But the Bond villain-like scheme to use lasers to dig a giant hole around Titans headquarters is cool visually and epic in terms of scale. THe threat makes the urgency of the team’s response at issue, and means Raven and Terra’s issues are all the more vital to resolve, lest their disagreements threaten the Titans’ home.

Overall, this is another strong arc episode this season, which makes me wish the show would focus more on these continuing and more serious storylines, than on the one-of episodes where it’s been less successful.

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