Ooooh.

[greenygal]

And I thought this one was going to be dull...

Mind you, I thought it was decent odds that the bad guy would turn out to be somebody familiar, since so far I don't think they've had any totally original characters. (Characters who share nothing with the original but the name, yes, but they do keep the name.) But I wasn't expecting that.

I've complained about Robin being cardboard, and it's been true. Finally, they managed to get him beyond that, without altering any of the workaholic perfection that's been making him so dull. He wants Slade for all the right reasons (including a concern for Kory that warms my heart, not that he can be bothered to express it by, you know, spending any time with her), and where does it lead him? Obsession, theft, and betrayal. Hey, it was the best way to get the job done. *sighs ruefully* Batman would be so proud.

I like this. I like this a lot. I like that Robin screws up in his own special perfectionist way, I like that all that scheming accomplished precisely nothing (I am getting curious as to what the hell Slade's up to; I hope it's more original than taking over the world), and I like that the episode ends on a dark, no-resolution note. And I really sat up and took notice when Kory--sweet, naive, polite-to-bad-guys animated Kory--stabbed him straight through the heart without even raising her voice. Who knew?

Of course, next week, we'll probably have forgotten about the whole thing. Ah well, it was fun while it lasted...

Comments

[vagabondsal.livejournal.com]

I heartily agree with you, the exploration of Robin's character was impressive; see, I think that, considering that the animated Titans is more light-hearted and action-packed than the other animated DC titles, Robin's maintaining a lot more character fidelity and staying truer to form than he was in, say, the more recent incarnation of the Batman Adventures.

And man, animated!Kory rocks my tartan socks off.

[greenygal.livejournal.com]

I can't speak for Batman Adventures, which I don't read. But to be perfectly honest, I have trouble really putting "character fidelity" and "Teen Titans" in the same sentence. Especially where Starfire is concerned; I can only contemplate liking her after closing my eyes and chanting repeatedly "Not my Kory, not my Kory, nothing to do with my Kory." (Which, honestly, probably includes that last line--Kory is ruthless to her enemies, not her friends.) And I like animated-Raven a lot--snarky is always good--but comics Raven she ain't.

The guys are closer to type, admittedly, especially Robin--but in his case, I think they're only giving us half the story, and that hasn't been good enough. It's possible to do Ultra-Competent Leader Guy without rendering him void of personality, and that's where I think they've been falling down on the job, and why I was so happy to see this episode.