Titans - Origins - Review
We begin this episode by recapping last episodes happenings and I really liked how they continued the story by going right away to Kory watching The Nuclear Family take Rachel and put her in the family station wagon. Kinda felt like a comic book picking up right where the last issue left off. We know somewhere Dick is racing to Dawn lying in an alley but here and now we get to see that Kory has caught up to another clue as to who she really is.
Flashback to two days earlier and we see Kory is doing a little breaking and entering on Rachel's old house. She walks around quietly inside, examining the blood soaked scene and taking in who the girl is that she's looking for. In Rachel's mom's room she finds crucifixes attached to the door and a photo hidden in a secret compartment underneath a floorboard. Kory is confronted by a police officer and I love how comfortable she is at lying and attempting to confuse the constable, especially by claiming to be from the FBI. She really is the Bourne of the series as she proceeds to quickly kick his butt and toss him down the stairs. His partners try taking her down and we see some more sweet secret agent action as she make fast work of them, leaving them broken and bleeding.
The Nuclear Family drives down the highway playing car bingo as they go. They have Rachel with them and she obviously freaked out by being kidnapped by them and by their peculiar 50's behavior. They pull over to refuel and take a potty break. Rachel uses the bathroom first and tries to futilely escape by climbing out the window. Her evil Raven self insults her in the mirror as Starfire steps out of her vehicle and confronts Father. She strikes a pose and then Flames the Nuclear Family Father to smithereens! Rachel is blasted against the wall but is unharmed. Kory steps into the bathroom and grills Rachel as to her identity. She demands to know she is but Rachel tells her she has no idea. Kory tells her to come on and go with her, feeling she'll do better with her than with The Nuclear Family. Mother, Bif, and Sis come looking for Father and find his smoking corpse on the ground. Mother delivers a great sarcastic "oh Dear".
Dawn lives but is hooked up to life support machines. Hank sits in her hospital room close by the bed, watching over her. Dick shows up and silently observes the scene before him. A flashback to 15 years prior has a young Dick Grayson sitting in the office of his social worker. We see him being told a Mr. Bruce Wayne wants to help him as he was at the circus the night his parents died. The nice lady also tells Dick that his parents dying may not have been an accident, but possibly murder. He's tremendously shocked. The flashback continues and we see him arriving at the stately Wayne Manor! His room is very nice and his walk in closet is full of clothes and shoes in his size. He's not having any of it and opens a window and jumps out! He catches onto a tree branch and gymnastically swings his way down, landing in a nice hero pose. He takes off from the manor as Bruce Wayne's shadow watches the whole thing from on high!! That's Batman's shadow there people!
Hank notices Dick watching he and Dawn from the hospital hallway so he goes out to talk to him. He maintains his cool as he justifiably grills Grayson on the identity of the people who threw Dawn off a roof. Dick tells him he doesn't know but that he'll find them. In a nice acting turn here by Alan Ritchson, Hawk is so pissed off and over Dick Grayson, he doesn't even grace him with a response, he just turns and walks back into Dove's hospital room to be by her side. Dick gets a phone call from his boss back at the station and we learn he's taken some vacation time. She informs him that the evidence shows that the prints on the murder weapon used in Rachel's mothers case doesn't match Rachel's prints so she's free and clear of that case. But she then continues and tells him about Starfire. Seems some camera caught her leaving with Rachel, after leaving a burning body behind. She also tells him that his partner was unfortunately murdered. Oh...poor Amy. We barely got to know thee.
Kory and Rachel rocket down the road getting to know one another. Kory grills Rachel on wether or not she knows who she is. Rachel says she doesn't. Rachel tries to read Kory by touching her but, woah, nothing happens. She doesn't get any impressions at all. Interesting. Kory tells her she doesn't remember anything and gives Rachel a photo she took from her house. She tells Rachel they're heading to the convent for answers. They then intriguingly discuss their powers. Kory says hers comes from a place of light, and Rachel says hers come from a place of darkness. Hmmmmm. They pull into a roadside diner and then the fun begins.
Rachel orders chicken and waffles as a jerk named Travis and his buddies come in looking for beers before noon. The waitress is obviously his ex-girlfriend as he paws her and demands her attention. Kory awesomely is having none of this. She tells the jerk to beat it and then it is on! Kory has Rachel leave and go sit in the car. One of the jerks buddies walks up to Kory and tells her to blah blah blah and BOOM! Kory is up and kicking ass! The amazing soundtrack kicks back in and she is off moving and grooving as she completely dismantles these clueless good ol' boys. In a move of pure wickedness she picks up a fork and uses it to swiftly jam into Travis' fist as he takes swing at her, disabling him entirely. The waitress hands Kory the chicken and waffles and away she goes. Rachel has a fantastically true line when she tells Kory, "well I know one thing about you...total badass".
Dick floors his Porsche to catch up with Rachel. He takes to reflect upon.... another flashback. Young Master Grayson got caught escaping and is back before his social worker. She tells him to try and accept help. She tells him that Mr. Wayne lost his family too. Back at Wayne Manor Dick explores the house. He sees the family portraits. He finds the garage and comes across his Porsche! With a sly grin he steals the sports car and takes it for a joy ride! He leads a couple of Gothams finest on a quick chase until he switches gears and blows them away.
Dick comes upon the scene where Kory flamed the Nuclear Father. He examines the scene and the body and downloads all the video files from the gas station. He ports the files to his laptop using some sweet Wayne Tech and watches as Kory pulls up and leaves with Rachel. He finds out the plate number and using even sweeter Wayne Tech logs into a satellite and finds the two girls at the convent they were looking for.
Kory and Rachel arrive at the convent and I loved how the nun said "You're back" to Kory with that look on her face. Because she must have pestered them something fierce before. Nice. She spots Rachel and recognizes her from when she was there as a small child. She gives Kory and Rachel some information and leads them to Rachel's old room. Along the way the nun tells Kory that she knew Rachel's mother was on the run from the father. She only knew the mother was terrified and that she had marks of abuse. Rachel examines her room while Kory and the nun talk. Kory gets the location of a skating rink that has the lockers that the key she got earlier will unlock.
In Chicago the Nuclear Family reports back to their master, Dr. Adamson. He is making omelettes. They let him know they failed and he tells them that the being that took Rachel is unique but known to them. He is about to push the button that will end their lives when Sis pipes up with a question. She wants to know whats so special about this Roth girl? He informs her that she will bring about the change to the world. He lets her know Rachel's "father" will reveal mankind. He gets very dark and sinister. He lets them know everything is going to be scrubbed clean and different. But only if Rachel opens the door for him. In the end he gleefully changes his mind and decides to give them another chance.
At the skating rink Kory opens the locker and finds an envelope with another key in it. She sits with Rachel and they talk about Grayson. Rachel tells her he's not her father, he just tried to help. Kory goes to change the music while Rachel heads to the arcade. There she plays Twilight Zone Pinball! I love that game and I have spent many hours bopping and tilting that machine in my youth.
All of a sudden Gar walks up and begins to give her tips! They introduce themselves to each other and tell each other they like the others hair. Awwwww. So cute. Raven and Beast Boy have just met!
Dick parks his car in the skate lot and finds Kory at the jukebox. He gets her to take him to Rachel at the pinball machine. She questions him but he gets her to leave with him. He gets to know Kory and her deal as they head outside. In the parking lot Dick tells Rachel that the cops are after her and he wants to protect her. She doesn't want anything to do with him, because he lied, and wants to stay with Kory. She gets worked up and screams at him shattering car windows and mirrors in the lot, setting off alarms. She declares she needs to go back to the sisters so they all bolt in the Porsche. Gar watches them go.
Back in flashback Dick is back in with his social worker, having been busted joyriding the Porsche. He's been out looking for answers to who killed his parents....so he can kill them. Damn Dick! Dark from so young. And who is watching him declare these things, Bruce Wayne in person! Ah! He's there! Later at Wayne Manor Dick reads a letter from Bruce on Wayne letterhead. He offers another way. And then Bruce Wayne appears... out of focus in the background.Cut. But if that scene continued, that's probably the moment he told him he was Batman.
Dick and Rachel talk in the church. They discuss what to do. She tells him everyone is going to leave her. He agrees. He tells her actually, she is on her own. It's up to her. He shares a Batman allegory and coaches her that she can control herself. Channel her energies, that no one else can do it for her. Dick leaves her and talks to the nun until he notices that Kory is stealing his car. The nun brings Rachel a drink and it makes her go to sleep! Uh oh. Bad nun, bad nun.
Kory heads to the storage locker that the key was to. There she finds her office and evidence of her tracking Rachel and researching her. The audio tape she plays hilariously starts by saying her efforts to secure the girl have led her to a "terrestrial" religious convent. Thats our Starfire! I love the tanning bed too. So on point.
The nuns wheel Rachel on a gurney into a heavily secured room. The nun tells Rachel she is safe and that her father will never find her here. It seems as if they are leaving her to die. Yikes.
Dick shows up at the storage unit after using an app to track his car. He grills Kory on how long she's been after Rachel. Seems longer than a few months. He examines all the evidence on the walls, and starts taking pictures. Kory reads something off of one of the parchments but has no idea what it means. And there are lots of artistic interpretations of a dark Raven.
Rachel screams to be let out! Her evil Raven persona accosts her from the mirror. She messes with her mind, blaming her for her mother, for Dawn. The voice continues to break her down more and more. It tells her she's all she's got.
Kory and Dick discuss the significance of the Raven. It is in the Torah and all throughout history as a representative of something dark. Statistics, writings, prophecies, all point to her being part of the end of the world.
The evil voice continues to break down Rachel. It promises power and fidelity! The girl screams as the voice takes her over! The evil is loose.
Dick and Kory react to a large explosion. They see smoke off in the distance. At the convent the walls are destroyed and the rubble is charred and scattered. Rachel emerges from the convent and runs into the surrounding woods, escaping. Dick and Kory see hundreds of Ravens flying through the sky.
Wow what an episode. This was my favorite by far as it had everyone we've met in it and it was lots of fun. We also got to see some great action when Kory went off in the diner. That was a sweet fight scene with very nice choreography. We learned a lot too. Those flashback scenes with young Dick and the hint of Bruce Wayne were cool and informative but without being distracting or unauthentic. Nice to see Dawn make it too. I have a feeling we'll be seeing Hawk and Dove again. I think this show is getting better in both writing and acting, as it seems everyone is coming into their roles nicely. Can't wait for the next episode, The Doom Patrol!
