REVIEW: Titans: The Complete Third Season
The live-action Titans series has been flawed from the get-go by presenting us with a Dick Grayson that the writers woefully misunderstand. There is no comic book creator who ever depicted Grayson in this manner so it sets the wrong tone. Its low-budget when created for the short-lived DC Universe streaming service didn’t help.
And yet, it has staggered through three seasons, with a fourth now streaming on HBO Max. Just last week, Warner Home Entertainment released Titans: The Complete Third Season on Blu-ray (no DVD or 4K).
We pick up from the end of season two with the team mourning the death of Donna Troy (Conor Leslie), they are jarred to discover that now Jason Todd (Curran Walters) has been murdered by the Joker. The team, and yes, it’s nice to see them function as a unit for a change, journey to Gotham City to console Bruce Wayne (Iain Glen). Not long after, a new vigilante, the Red Hood, is operating and the team takes its sweet time figuring out that it’s Jason, who somehow has been leading a secret life that the ever-aware Batman missed.
A large portion of the narrative features Dick versus Jason with everyone else in supporting roles. The Red Hood is a blood-thirsty, angry teen who happens to have been trained by the World’s Greatest Detective, so he’s very dangerous. When we discover Todd has been manipulated this whole time by the Scarecrow (a wonderful Vincent Kartheiser), we finally gain some sympathy for him. All sorts of psycho games are played during their bouts, making this more of a two-hander than a team show. In between, Dick finds time to renew his long-simmerig love for Barbara Gordon (Savannah Welch).
So, what is everyone else doing? Well, Starfire (Anna Diop) is visited by her also-angry sister Blackfire (Damaris Lewis), who romances Superboy (Joshua Orpin). Oh, and Donna has her own resurrection story (of course). Raven (Teagan Croft) and Beast Boy (Ryan Potter) don’t get to do much, wasting their talent and chemistry.
Based on a numerous stories from the comics, none make the most of super-heroes or teen angst, or good storytelling. It’s more meh than anything else.
The 1080p transfer is perfectly fine for home viewing with rich blacks and a nice color palette.
There are a handful of Special Features including Training a Metahuman; Looking the Part, which spotlights LJ Shannon, Specialty Costume Designer; Inside the Character: Red Hood; Inside the Character: Barbara Gordon; and, Welcome to Gotham.