DC Universe’s Titans season 2, episode 11 recap: E.L._.O.

Dick uncovers the truth about Jericho in episode 11 of Titans, while the rest of the team must decide whether to reform and save their leader.

Dick helped his cellmates escape, but he himself was re-captured by the prison guards. Gar and Superboy have also been taken by Cadmus Labs, while Rachel has joined some runaways while her soul-self goes rogue. Episode 11 of Titans opens with Cadmus experimenting on Gar as part of Mercy Graves’ Project Rakshasa (the word in Sanskrit roughly translates to demon). As part of the project, Cadmus is manipulating Gar’s brain to find out about his teammates and end his love for the Titans.

Rose and Jason

The two volatile members of Titans ran off to Gotham for a romantic getaway. And they’ve been trashing bad guys as well. This weird romance still doesn’t sit well with me – it’s too 90210, and not very Titans. The romance feels forced and uncomfortable. Did the showrunners seriously add Rose to the cast just so she could be a sounding board for Jason? These characters deserve so much better.

Jason opens up to Rose about his past – it’s very true to the comic books – his dad got himself killed and his mother was an addict. He spent his life in foster care, juvie and the streets. He used to hide in a theatre rafter and fell in love with the art. Jason and Rose bond over their mutual love for theatre. I am rolling my eyes at this tween rom-com nonsense. That’s not the audience for this show, so how about the showrunners respect us older comic book fans and spare us these theatrics.

Though Rose still struggles to open up to Jason about her life, she takes a moment to call her father and tell him that she’s out of the game he’s playing with the Titans. So, she was playing the long game.

Coming Together

Rachel wakes up from a nightmare where she sees Dick being killed by Deathstroke. But this Deathstroke looks much shorter than the real one. Rachel has always had a connection with Dick – it’s the foundation from which the show began. Dick tells her not to give up, and she sees flashes of Elko Diner. When Rachel wakes up she can’t contact Dick, so she tries calling Donna, who has stumbled across the wreckage left by Cadmus. Someone is jamming the call, and Donna only hears a garbled message.

Elsewhere, Dawn is severing ties with Hank by dumping all of his stuff in the garbage, and Starfire seems to be suffering from a bender. Can’t blame her, really. She’s about to battle her sister who plans on waging a war on Earth. Who wouldn’t drink themselves silly?

Rachel knows her dream was trying to send her somewhere, so she decides to take a train. Her destination? Elko. Whether intentionally or not, someone subliminally directs Dawn and Starfire to Elko’s Diner as well. The three of them converge at the Diner, and so does Donna. These Titans are followed by… Bruce Wayne.

Bruce asks the team to make a new decision – they must come together. If they don’t protect each other, then who will? And with that, Bruce leaves – annoying the hell out of Starfire. He magically arranged for them to show up at the same place and then mansplained them into re-forming the team. All this seems bizarre and too convenient, so my guess is we’re in someone’s dream. Or does Bruce have magical powers now? Has he been hanging out with Dr. Fate and Zatanna again?

Dick’s Discovery

The team see a news story about Dick helping prisoners escape. Rachel then tells them about her dream of Dick dying. But Donna and Dawn are fed up with Dick getting into scrapes. They would rather save Gar. Fair point. Starfire, though, decides to help Rachel save Dick.

Meanwhile, Dick is in solitary confinement, gripped by a fever. In his addled state, he imagines Bruce Wayne talking to him, pointing out something that Dick had missed about his recent encounter with Deathstroke.

Bruce – or Dick’s imagination of Bruce – is desperate for him to realize an important detail about Jericho and Slade. Through Bruce, Dick is basically telling himself that he’s a coward for choosing a long sentence in prison over protecting and saving his team. He’s choosing to use Jericho’s death as a crutch, but it’s time for him to move forward.

When Dick starts lashing out at imaginary Bruce, the guards discipline him, believing Dick’s just acting out. The showrunners seem to be revelling in Dick’s self-persecution. But it feels like we’re re-treading Dick’s characterization once again. The guards take away Dick’s bed, leaving him to lie on the floor and wallow in misery. Bruce has disappeared, but a black bird outside his window seems to signify something good.

Bruce returns to Dick and after fighting with each other, ostensibly to signify that Dick is finally being trained by his mentor to take on a new mantle as a bird of prey, Dick remembers a significant detail from his meeting with Slade. It seemed like Slade’s hand was moving off its own accord. Does that mean Slade is also Jericho? This is what Bruce has been trying to tell Dick. When Dick wakes up, his shadow has changed into that of a feathered bird. Very on-the-nose, creators.

Rachel and Starfire break into the prison to rescue Dick. Starfire’s been struggling to control her powers, but she breaks down Dick’s prison door and finds that he’s gone. Dick has left a message: ‘Jericho is Alive’.

The episode ends with Cadmus still experimenting on Gar and manipulating him into using his powers to do the one thing he hates – killing people.