Titans

DC Universe

Season 1 Episode 6

“Jason Todd”

A ghost from Dick Grayson’s past comes back to haunt and to hurt him in this new episode.

In the aftermath of Dick’s confrontation with Dr. Adamson, he and Jason Todd (aka the new Robin) escape with the unconscious doctor and take him to a safe house owned by Bruce Wayne. We finally get to see the extent of Dick’s estrangement from Bruce in small ways like his retina scan not working to get access to the condo or when Dick can’t log into the Bat Computer. They are both humorous and sad and make one chuckle that Batman can be that petty.

Dick takes a call from Kory who, surprise, is wearing a different outfit! Thank Trigon for that. Dick tells the team to meet him at the safe house and he and Jason trade stories about their past. It turns out that Jason wasn’t sent to be taught by Dick, he was sent to keep an eye on Dick because someone is murdering people Dick knew from the circus and the deaths all have the same signature as the man who killed Dick’s parents, Tony Zucco.

One of the last people left that is close to Dick is the former strongman and Dick’s former guardian. Dick and Jason decide to track him down to protect and warn him, but it might be too late because someone with a personal vendetta against Dick Grayson has gotten to him first.

This is a great episode on many levels. First, the story keeps to the source material in ways that allow for references to other events involving people like Harvey Dent. Those easter eggs do a great job of enhancing the experience of watching the episode. Second, there is a real sense that the wider story of many of the characters, especially Batman and Jason, are continuing even as Dick is dealing with this situation in the show that we are following. Finally, this is the Jason Todd that I remember from the comics. There were several reasons why Jason Todd was not meant to put on the mantle of Robin and this episode showcases those reasons both in his history and his personality. Everything that you see from Jason Todd in this episode highlights the trajectory that leads him to taking a crowbar later in life.

The episode takes a pretty dark turn when it comes to Dick’s reckoning with Zucco, but it works in regards to the tone of this series. Even the end works with the confrontation between Dick and Jason and Dick finally coming to an understanding about what he needs to do next.

Titans S01XE06 0.00 8.7 Overall 8.7/10

















