#Titans Season 3 Episode 4 Review: Blackfire

“#Titans Season 3 Episode 4 Review: Blackfire”

If you thought Titans would stop for a beat following Hank’s death, then Titans Season 3 Episode 4 should have proven you wrong.

Titans is telling very intricate storylines on Titans Season 3 that are more balanced than the previous two seasons, so it was a surprising decision to ship Dawn off to Paris.

Both Hank and Dawn have been treated as afterthoughts by the writers for a while now, so taking Dawn out of the equation was inevitable.

Still, it would have been much more intriguing to see how she copes following the loss of the love of her life, and of course, how she comes to terms with the guilt of detonating the bomb attached to his chest.

Titans has always struggled to serve all of its characters, probably explaining why Rachel and Donna are still not back.

It’s hard not to feel a little short-changed at the way Dawn was written out of the story, but hopefully, she can return stronger down the line. Being Dove will always be a part of her, but maybe she’ll be unable to suit up again.

Hank did want them to give up their superhero identities. Maybe there will be a grief process for her to come back when the team least expects it.

Seeing how cut-up Connor was about not making it to Hank’s bedroom in town was tougher than watching Dawn get on the plane to leave that Titan life behind for good.

I shouldn’t have been afraid of the wolf. The wolf should have been afraid of me.
Dick

Connor is still trying to find his place in the world, and someone dying because of his lack of success will be with him for some time.

Connor is also still trying to understand his powers and what he can do to help the good guys. It’s going to be a real shame when the Luthor side of him comes out to play because it will happen eventually.

Starfire and Gar’s trip to the bunker was exciting because any scene featuring Starfire and her sister is sure to end in disaster.

Blackfire has very old-fashioned views on how the world should work, while her sister adapted to being on Earth in a way that seemed foreign to Blackfire.

Blackfire being holed up in a government facility was probably the best way to secure the safety of everyone on Earth, so it’s hard to understand Starfire’s logic in breaking her sister out.

You were just a boy. Those were the lessons that he taught you. It’s not your fault. But you need to make sure this doesn’t happen to someone else. That it stops with you. Now you let Gotham take care of Gotham. The water will find its level. Stop trying to prove something here.
Scarecrow

Does she expect Blackfire to no longer want to attack her or the people she cares about? It’s times like this that make me question the people behind the plots because I like Earth’s chances much better with someone as wicked as Blackfire locked up.

Then again, maybe Starfire thinks there will be a way to bring her sister on to the side of good. The truth is that Blackfire might prove crucial in the fight against the Red Hood, but is it worth bringing a liability out of what can only be described as imprisonment?

What if, god forbid, she sides with Jason and has all of her powers? That would completely and utterly weaken the defense of Team Titans.

I’m going to leave you in here. Let justice run its course.
Starfire

Then there’s the Scarecrow of it all. Vincent Kartheiser is chilling as this villain, and while Bruce’s cabin in the woods was needed to convey the true extent of the past for Dick and Jason, there should have been higher stakes.

The hit on Scarecrow was a surprise, but with Red Hood, he seems to act first and think later. Red Hood wants to take down the Titans, and he knows the only way to dismantle them is to take them by surprise.

Bruce is horrible. There’s no getting away from it. He’s turning children into killers under the guise that the city needs help. What gives him the right to mess with these people’s lives, only for them to grow up and join these teams and inevitably get harmed?

I’m still on the fence about whether Bruce played a part in bringing Jason back as Red Hood. It’s hard not to wonder whether the Lazarus Pit is to blame here. We’ve known in previous works that people come back without their souls and struggle to get acclimated to life again.

I know in my heart there’s a way out. There’s something more on the other side. You could always come with me.
Dawn

There was also much emphasis on the way Bruce said Jason’s burial had already taken place. Surely he would have known if there was more going on than a simple burial. Nobody can pull the wool over the eyes of a master manipulator.

Barbara’s kill order wasn’t as concerning as I thought it should be initially, but it highlights her desire to put this villain down once and for all.

However, something tells me she’ll want to enact revenge on Bruce, especially after the verbal beatdown she gave him on Titans Season 3 Episode 1.

Titans Season 3 is off to a much darker start than before, but some of the storytelling decisions still feel like they are for convenience than compelling.

The true test will be in how the series follows through with Red Hood as a villain. He’s scary, but will we be tired of him by the end of the season.

Titans, as a whole, has struggled to stick the landing of its first two seasons, so this might be the season it grows into something fascinating.