Titans - "Fallen" - Episode 22 Review
Dick Grayson is going to jail. After last episodes surprising ending we start off with Dick being booked for his assaulting two police officers. We learn he's plead guilty and that he seems satisfied with being sentenced to seven years hard time. Dick and Slade Wilson feel he still needs to pay for what he's done so Dick has taken drastic measures to even the scales.
Mercy Graves drives her modern family in her modern vehicle. They are not at all interested in what she is talking about, specifically playing more board games as a family. I can relate, I too hate fish. Mercy receives a call from one of her co-workers informing her that Conner, Subject 13, is still alive and reappeared. She tells him to get a team together and cancels game night, much to the joy of her partner and children. Conner and Krypto walk down an alley and they see the damage they've caused printed on the front page of the newspaper. Conner tries to explain to Krypto that he is better off without him. He pulls the oldest trick in the book by calling him stupid and yelling at him to get lost. Which the dog does. Awww....poor Krypto.
Inside the prison Dick has no one to call on the phone so prison guard Cheddar Bob from 8 Mile tries to recruit him as an asset. He chats Dick up and tries to give him a nice cozy cell in exchange for information. Dick refuses and tells him he's not in the business of helping people any more. The guard takes offense and sticks him in a cell with three tough looking fellas. Dick grabs a bunk and settles in. Inside the Titans Tower Beast Boy tries to call Dick on the phone. He leaves him another message, not knowing that his former leader has been prosecuted and sentenced to prison in the quickest court case the planet has ever seen. The front doorbell rings and the bestest boy ever is there bouncing and saying hello! Yeaaaahhh Krypto!
Donna walks and talks on the phone trying to reach Dick Grayson. She's still looking for Rachel and is frustrated with her lack of success. Rachel meanwhile is in a shelter and making new friends. She grabs a bite to eat and chats up the girl at her table. Dick makes his way into the prison yard and notices his cell mates eyeing the exit gate. When they confront him about it he plays it cool but the leader starts static with the former Boy Wonder anyways. Their little meeting his broken up by the 8 Mile guard and he tells them the guys in his cell are all from Corto Maltese. This fictional land from DC Comics has been used many times over the years, with many different storylines, with my favorite being in the first Batman movie. Vicki Vale is an award winning photo journalist who took pictures of the war there to which the Joker takes a liking. The prison guard tries once again to recruit Dick but he turns him down. He tells him that wants to be left alone and that he wants to stay in general population. The guard is not thrilled. Later on Dick sees some bad guys roughing up his bad guy cellmates. They're former gang partners and they don't like that Dick's cellmates have left the family. They order them to murder Dick for payback.
Conner sports a new overcoat as he walks the through the city. Krypto and Gar find him and ask him what happened with the cops. Conner reminds Beast Boy that he told him that he was messed up and that he can't be trusted. Gar explains that everyone is messed up but that he and the Titans try to help people anyways. Just then a team from Mercy Graves shows up and chases them off. Rachel and her friend continue their meal, bonding over the leftover hotel food. They talk about how the grown ups don't always have their acts together and how some lizards have it good not having any parents. A big bully shows up and orders the girl to leave with him. He threatens her in the alley until Rachel comes to the girls rescue. She uses her Darkness power to pin him up high against the wall! She drops him and the bum runs off. Rachel thinks the girl is going to be freaked out but instead she thinks she's awesome. Cool, new friend. Strangely, some of Rachel's Darkness sticks around and possesses a gargoyle. It comes to life and attacks the fleeing jerk.
At night Dick watches his roomies play dominoes. He asks them when the escape is and they think he's going to rat them out. He explains he didn't do that but that the guards will soon be onto them. He advises them against the attempt. As Dick goes to pee one of the bad guys assaults him. He explains he and his buddies left the gang and are trying to go clean. They know if they go back home they'll be killed so they're trying to escape so they can be free. Gar brings Conner back to the Tower to get him something to eat and call Bruce Wayne. Mercy's team assaults the place and Krypto awesomingly leaps into action to protect his friends but gets a Kryptonite net shot at him for his trouble. Gar gets a chance to finally use some of his training and beats on the guys with guns. Conner beats on some guys too while Beast Boy turns into a tiger. Mercy observes this and wants Gar brought in too. Just as Conner is about to vaporize some henchmen with his laser eyes, Mercy storms in. She convinces Conner to stay calm and that he should come with her because she can help him. She can fix him.
Rachel and her new friend head to squat house and meet some new friends. In jail Dick reads as his cellmates camp out in their cell, afraid to go out and face their former gang members. One of the cellmates explains to Dick the legend of Al Azul and how he is going to help them be free from prison and their gang. Dick marvels at the idea of a bird who swoops down at night and saves people. He bursts the younger cellmates bubble by telling him it doesn't exist but young Luis is confident he will save them. Al Azul's symbol looks mightily familiar.
At the Cadmus HQ they've put Conner into stasis as Mercy looks to study Beast Boy. She talks to him and tells him she can help him more than Niles Caulder ever did. Oooohhh. Doom Patrol reference, nice. Turns out the Dr. and Cadmus have crossed paths in the past. Mercy works over Gar's emotions and he tells her all he wants is to be a Titan so he can help people. Awww. So sweet. Naive, but sweet. Donna reappears and finds the big bully Rachel's Darkness killed in the alley. She tries Dick again on the phone but as we know he's not gonna answer. In the prison Dick lifts weights in the yard and watches his cellmates. When the former gang members approach, they get up to leave but the hit is in. The older cellmate gets stabbed and dies right there in the yard. In their cell the former gang members pray for their leader. Dick implores them to not go through with the escape plan. He tells them they have no chance. They tell him he's blind. Later the guards come to take the two men away for deportation. Outside the two manage to slip out of their handcuffs and get free. They attack the guards with them but are quickly overcome. Out of nowhere Dick shows up and evens the odds. He takes out the guards easily and gives the two the opportunity to escape which they do. Dick stays behind and takes a beating for his troubles.
Donna makes her way back to the Tower and sees all the mess Cadmus has left behind. She sees the tiger prints on the floor and the bloody hand print on the wall. At Cadmus Mercy Graves has talked to Lex Luthor and is now in charge of the two projects they're working on. Gar watches the Wizard of Oz as Mercy makes plans to reunite him with his Titan teammates.
So this episode was just kind of Blah for me. I didn't love it and I didn't hate it. Once again Krypto was the best part and I was glad that Gar had a chance to actually see some action and tiger out a little bit since it's been a while. Really this episode should have been called Origin: Nitewing and been done with it. Hope the suit shows up soon and we move beyond the prison life since I find it to be kind of an unnecessary detour for the origin of the Nitewing character that could have been done much different, and better.
