DC Universe’s Titans season 2, episode 2 recap: Rose

A new member of team Titans is introduced in the second episode of the new season, while a supervillain wreaks havoc on the team.

It’s been three months since the Titans defeated Trigon and found a new home in San Francisco. With Dick leading their training, Rachel, Gar and Jason are itching to get out and become heroes again. This second episode of Titans lays the foundation for what this new team is. It doesn’t matter what they’re called, the team will not stand by doing nothing.

Well, they’re going to be doing something soon. Dr. Light (Michael Mosley) breaks out of prison and Shimmer (Hanneke Talbot) is on the loose.

Not a Team of Sidekicks

The original Titans comics were created to attract young readers who loved DC’s sidekicks. But the team evolved into being much more than that moniker. Episode two of this season addresses this same issue – even though Dick and Donna’s team were made of sidekicks, they always intended for the group to work as partners. In Titans Tower, Dick wants to instill that same ethos in his new team, starting with Jason. To fan Jason’s ego, Dick tells him that as the new Robin, the other youngsters look up to Jason. He must lead by example because they will all follow him. Jason, of course, loves this idea. But if he’s the new Robin, then what’s Dick? Dick doesn’t know yet, but he will soon. The slow build-up to his Nightwing reveal is killing me! I really hope the suit lives up to the hype.

Everything isn’t as rosy as Dick would like it to be. Rachel is feeling the aftermath of Trigon ‘breaking’ her heart and turning it into a ruby bindi on her head. It seems like the demon tries to attack her in her sleep.

Dick is policing every aspect of his team’s life – he’s making healthy food and giving them lots of homework. He’s also being extra nice to Gar, which should be a good thing, but it’s not. Gar knows that Dick’s doing this out of guilt for almost killing him when he was under Trigon’s sway.

Seems like neither Gar nor Rachel has recovered completely from their encounter with Trigon, but they’re afraid to disappoint Dick by revealing their worries to him.

There’s a New Dynamic Duo in Town

Elsewhere, Starfire and Donna Troy are on a surveillance mission to track a villain called Shimmer. Kory seems to be enjoying herself on Earth, and the two already have a buddy-cop rapport that all fans are going to love. While Kory has plans to holiday in Florida after this mission, Donna seems slightly discontent that Dick hasn’t asked her to join him tutoring the new Titans.

The surveillance is boring, especially since Kory refuses to play any music made after the 1970s, but they get lucky. On a trip to get tacos, Shimmer shows up and she is quickly dispatched by this dynamic duo.

Shimmer is locked up in a van, and Kory agrees to get Donna those tacos she promised. Donna walks away to take a call from Roy Harper – so Speedy/Red Arrow/Arsenal exists in this universe! When can we see him, DC executives?

When Kory walks away, she is accosted by Faddei (Robbie Jones), a Tamaran sent to Earth to retrieve hers. He tasers Kory and abducts her. Donna tries to look for her but gets a call from Dawn Granger.

Hank and Dawn

Out in Wyoming, Hank and Dawn have begun a comfortable farm life. Hank’s a horse trainer helping kids recover from their addictions. He’s also a mean cook apparently. Dawn looks content with their serene existence, but you can see she’s itching for more action; to get back in the game. An invite from Dick to visit Titans Tower in San Francisco is just what she needs.

Hank seems to have recovered from his constant injuries and he’s taking his sobriety seriously. He wants to help the kids he’s working with, but Hank knows the kids have to fight to stay away from the drug labs of their friends. Though Hank is willing to sit still, Dawn isn’t. She raids a lab behind Hank’s back and doesn’t even get a scratch on herself.

But when Dawn returns to their cottage, Hank is awake and distraught that she’s returned to the vigilante life. He quit the game because his body couldn’t take it, but also because Dawn was in a coma for a month. That rattled Hank into giving up Hawk for good. The couple made a pact to put their masks behind them with the intention of settling down and starting a family. But that’s not enough for Dawn. Just because Hank can’t handle the rigors of being a superhero, doesn’t mean she can’t.

Before they can continue their argument, though, the young boy that Hank was helping stumbles into their home and explodes in a blaze of light. Hank and Dawn are able to escape, but it looks like the superhero life may have found them again.

They inform Dick that Dr. Light is on the attack, so Dick asks them to come to the Tower.

A Rose by Any Other Name

The Titans catch a news report of a young woman being chased by police. She’s feisty, strong, a great fighter and resilient. While the suspect is unnamed, viewers will recognize Chelsea Zhang as Rose Wilson. The moment Dick sees Rose on television, he realizes she’s got abilities like the rest of his team and needs help.

Dick leaves the team at the Tower to locate Rose, who he finds unconscious and brings her to the Tower. Rose is intent on leaving, despite Dick’s hard-sell that she can be the ‘best version’ of herself. He almost gives up the fight when Rachel reminds Dick that this is why he made the new Titans.

Dick doesn’t know how to reach Rose, so he turns to the only person he can – Bruce Wayne. Bruce explains that taking Rose in echoes Bruce’s experience of welcoming Dick. Dick was young, scared and angry, so Bruce made himself a target of that anger to give the boy focus. Despite it all, Dick wanted to leave, but Bruce has no regrets. He’d do it all again if he could. Dick must make a similar choice when it comes to Rose.

It’s almost a relief to see Dick rely on Bruce in this season of Titans. We’re only two episodes in, but the show is inching closer to creating a more comic accurate version of the pair’s oft-strained relationship.

Dick gives Rose the option to leave and go wherever she wants, but he doesn’t stop with the hard-sell. Why is Dick so intent on bringing this girl into the fold? The whole scenario feels forced because Rose is destined to be a recurring cast member. Perhaps their interaction would have felt a little more authentic had the team been given more time to settle in. At the moment, we know Dick is an earnest leader, whose over-zealousness may be to his detriment. Is being with the Titans the best option for Rose? We don’t know because we don’t know her yet.

Before Rose can make a decision, however, the back of Dick’s truck explodes in a blaze of light. The two of them narrowly escape Dr. Light’s attack.

The episode ends with Jason being a bad influence. He and Gar are keen to find out who this new team mate is. Since Rose won’t talk to them, and Dick is mum, Jason hacks the Batcomputer and identifies her. Rose is the daughter of Slade Wilson, aka, the original Titans’ nemesis Deathstroke.

Two episodes into season two, and Titans is already a huge improvement from its previous season. There’s a good mix of action and humor and the vast cast of characters brings a kind of vibrancy that the first season lacked. The showrunners are doing a great job, and we can only hope that this quality keeps improving.