Titans Review: Barbara Gordon / Red Hood / Hank & Dove (Season 3 Episodes 1-3)
Titans is back and returns to Dick’s past home of Gotham.
Utilizing the newer release strategy of a three-episode premiere followed by weekly releases, Titans Season 3 Episodes 1-3, “Barbara Gordon,” “Red Hood,” and “Hank and Dove,” don’t hold back their punches, setting a new landscape with not only character additions, but also character deaths (or “deaths”).
Even though this season feels more like a Bat Family show with a little bit of Kory and Gar mixed in, this seems to be Titans at its strongest.
This show is an emotional one. Perhaps Titans just needed a season or two to build up character relationships and use those to launch new, better storylines in later seasons.
No matter the reason, there are several good things to say about the beginnings of this season.
Titans must live up to expectations to launch the new era of DC television. Other shows such as Doom Patrol and Peacemaker depend on this show’s success as they follow later this year, and 2022 on the HBO Max streaming service.
So far, so good.
Titans starts off the season in a good place by shaking up the cast, yet not too much where the sense of found family is lost. By the announced cast, it’s clear that both Raven and Donna will destroy (Donna’s return more a mystery), but at this point, they’re not a part of the picture.
While Donna is missed, the dynamic works better with Raven there.
For me, she’s always been the weakest character in the show, so having a few episodes reprieve to focus on the other Titans is appreciated.
On the other side of the coin, Titans also introduces several new characters in these early episodes — Barabara Gordon, Scarecrow, Tim Drake, with more to come in subsequent episodes. (The next episode is titled “Blackfire” whose actress, Damaris Lewis, has been promoted to the main cast).
All of these characters work well for the amount of screen time they’re given, but Barabra Gordon stands out the most. She has a particularly compelling story, living in her father’s shadow and also living as a disabled woman after being injured by the Joker.
What truly makes Season 3 unique compared to past seasons of Titans is how character-driven this season happens to be. Choosing to go down the Red Hood arc makes sense timing-wise, even though if the transition from Jason Todd to Red Hood is a jolt at first.
This is easier to swallow, however, as the season progresses. Despite the jolt, Curran Walters does great, playing to the duality of the role. He finds Todd’s ruthlessness, but at the same time, he’s in touch with the character’s vulnerability and desperation.
Currans isn’t the only stand-out of the first run of the season. Brenton Thwaites holds his own as a Dick Grayson trying to keep it together as his own father figure abandons him. Dick is a real ‘thrust upon him’ type.
Anna Diop also provides familiarity and fun that anchors the cast together. Despite the season, Kory continues to be the glue of the Titans.
But it’s impossible to give shout-outs without talking about Hank and Dawn, heartbreak in human form. Some of the best episodes of the series focus on the relationship between the two, and Minka Kelly and Alan Ritchson nail it every time.
Kelly and Ritchson have a chemistry that bolsters the already great writing for the two. It’s clear the care that Titans puts into this relationship. It’s hard to keep calm when a couple that you love seems to have found their end, but with this show, it’s easy to let go and enjoy the ride of their story’s ups and downs.
But the ending of “Hank & Dove” is really messed up, was it not?
That is the moment it became obvious that Titans is playing a different game this season. Maybe one that could still end up in the revival of all our fallen favorites, if Conor Leslie’s inclusion in the promotional material is any reason to still have hope.
Titans Season 3 started with a bang. With only three episodes, it seems like this series is on a path to be the best version of itself, even if the show has slightly strayed from what it promised to be in its early days.
But as Titans moves to a weekly release schedule, can it keep audiences’ attention and the adrenaline pumping?
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What did you think of the first three episodes of Titans? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Titans airs Thursdays on HBO Max.
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Amanda Reimer
In addition to working as a freelance writer, Amanda also works with animals and stage manages various live performances. She has an invested interest in the perspective and experience of fandoms as well as anything in the science-fiction genre. She also loves spoiling her cats, Drummer and Kiki.