TITANS season one: ep 1

 

Rachel (Raven) and Dick Grayson:

 

“This is yours?”

“Inherited it from the family business.”

“The circus?”

“Yes but not that one.”

 

 

This is the show I’ve waited almost twenty years for. Sure, it’s not the show the way I would have made it but it’s …fantastic. The show is perfectly cast, beautifully filmed, and respectfully serious, more a horror show than a super hero one. It resembles nothing like its own genre except maybe THE GIFTED, ironic as that is a Marvel series. Only this is aiming to be better, much more cinematic and brazenly scripted and with young but seasoned actors.

 

Brenton Thwaites may look young but he’s been in the business a long time, with a lot of experience under his utility belt. He’s the perfect Dick Grayson and the perfect lead. His action sequences are fast and believable.

 

Ryan Potter of SUPAH NINJAS, who only has a cameo in this first episode (and btw, Beast Boy is lovingly introduced in a funny way), was born to play this role. The one transformation in this episode is amazing.

 

I have not seen the actresses who play Raven and Stargirl but they convince equally. Raven and Stargirl are both coming to terms with their newfound situations. There are some genuine shocks in this episode that I didn’t expect coming, even given that they were going to be edgy and have Robin say stuff like, “Fuck Batman.” 

 

These heroes can and will kill. Stargirl, the hero I know the least about (and that only from a few comics and all of TEEN TITANS, the animated series from years ago) almost takes joy in what she’s doing.

 

At first I thought they miscast Raven and made a mistake in the writing. She seems almost too innocent, unwilling and upbeat. But quickly, I saw where they were going and that storyline is a delight and the glue that holds this episode together.

 

Edgy, fast paced, surprising, elegantly filmed and not at all cheap, this series is primed to be one of the best live action DC adaptations ever. I just hope they can keep the quality of this first episode going. It’s tense, interesting, and wild, going places you don’t expect it to. I can’t wait to see where they go next!