by Jeff Alan, Contributing Writer

When the news broke that the failed streaming service, DC Universe, was moving all of its original content to HBO Max, it was a little unclear if shows like Titans were going to survive the move, or — if they did — if they were going to continue or gain quality being in a new home. Thankfully, the show gained traction thanks to being accessible to a wider audience, and was quickly awarded a third season. And after the success of that, it was also awarded a fourth. The first part of the fourth season of Titans hit streaming with a two-episode premiere on HBO Max in early November, and right out of the gate, it brings all of our beloved superheroes back for another adventure and mystery that has clear callbacks to the first season, while also forging a new path with new characters coming into the ensemble.

Fresh off their victory against Jonathan Crane trying to kill everyone in Gotham City, gaining a new member in Tim Drake (Jay Lycurgo), who wishes to become the next Robin, and parting ways with Jason Todd (AKA Red Hood, the old Robin, played by Curran Walters), the Titans are invited to the city of Metropolis, where Conner Kent (AKA Superboy, played by Joshua Orpin) is requested to meet with the one and only Superman, in Conner’s attempt to meet his biological creators. While in town, they are also invited to visit Star Labs, where they will be given new tech, lessons on becoming better superheroes, and information. Conner is informed that Superman had to urgently go off world to attend to a collapsing star in another galaxy, leaving Conner slightly crestfallen.

At the same time, Conner is also sought out by the other side of his genetic make-up — well-known and feared villain mastermind Lex Luthor (Titus Welliver), who seemingly intends to meet Conner and nothing more. While the majority of the Titans are skeptical of Luthor’s intentions, Conner accepts the meeting due to his curiosity about his creation. Meanwhile, within the group, Rachel (AKA Raven, played by Teagan Croft) starts detecting a form of magic in the city that is unlike anything she has felt before.

Discovering that Luthor only has months to live due to Kryptonite poisoning, Conner visits Luthor and he begins to tell Conner that he asked to meet with him in order to convince Conner to help save his life and take over as the head of LexCorp. Conner agrees to stay with Luthor to better learn more about his genetic parentage, but at that moment, Luthor starts coughing up copious amounts of blood and dies. Simultaneously, Raven senses the attack and confirms that something much more sinister is happening in Metropolis.

Conner is detained by the police, thinking that he had something to do with Luthor’s death, and the rest of the Titans get to work on trying to discover the truth behind it. Dick Grayson (AKA Nightwing, played by Brenton Thwaites) and Raven use her magic to find clues leading to other victims of this unknown presence, and Kory (AKA Starfire, played by Anna Diop) tracks down an associate of Luthor, who reveals that before his death, Luthor had become obsessed with the occult to help put off his impending death. Meanwhile, a young taxidermist named Sebastian Sanger (Joseph Morgan) starts seeing hallucinations and hearing voices like what Raven is experiencing though he cannot deduce what it means.

As the Titans attempt to leave Metropolis after clearing Conner’s name, they are stopped by a mysterious magical woman, who picks off the Titans one by one in battle, and takes Raven’s powers. It isn’t until Starfire joins the fray that this woman retreats, leaving all of the Titans incapacitated and looking for answers.

This season takes a step back into the world of magic by delving more into the mythos of Raven’s parentage and the secret society known as The Organization, revealed to be the ones behind the attacks on Luthor and others, and the cause of Sebastian’s manic hallucinations. What is a welcome inclusion is regarding the character Gar (AKA Beast Boy, played by Ryan Potter), who is integrated into the plot and made a part of the strange disturbances happening to Raven and Sebastian. It’s nice to finally have Gar have more to do in the show, beyond just being the occasional comic relief. Conner also gets a hefty increase in story arc this season, and his character takes a sharp turn toward the end of this first part of the season, which is a little surprising and hopefully will pay off a little more when the season returns sometime in 2023.

My only concern — if you even want to call it that — is the decision split the season into two parts. I don’t love when shows do this to begin with, but with a highly anticipated Netflix series like Stranger Things or Ozark, it makes sense: it keeps the suspense building, and will guarantee that viewers will be back for more. And while this show does indeed have an audience, this first half doesn’t completely leave me in a place to really say, “Oh my god! What’s going to happen next?!” I am mildly interested, but I don’t feel the burning desire to refresh my Google search repeatedly when trying to find out when the show will return.

All in all, the new half season of Titans is a welcome reentry into the DC TV universe. It circles back to the magic that brought the group together, but the half season definitely feels like a half season, and leaves me wanting a more compelling cliffhanger to anticipate a second half. If you’re already invested in this series, are looking for a quick six episodes to binge over the weekend, and want to get back into the DC TV world, then by all means catch yourself up on Titans. But you can probably skip it for now if it’s not a priority for you, and it’s not a must-watch at the moment.

Score: 6/10

Titans is currently streaming on HBO Max


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