Titans Season 2 Episode 9 Review: Atonement
Paul Dailly
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The Titans are over ... for now.
Dick finally came clean on Titans Season 2 Episode 9 in an attempt to clear his conscience following Jericho's death, but by the end of the hour, the former hero made the biggest sacrifice of all.
He's been struggling throughout the past two seasons, and it's only in recent episodes that we've understood that he's felt guilty for everything that's happened.
Hank, Dawn, Donna, Jason, Rose, and Rachel leaving the team made him understand that he had to find a way to make up for his sins, but the last thing I expected was for him to have a verbal beatdown with Slade freaking Wilson.
Conner: So, where is everyone? I mean, the Titans.
Gar: I guess you could say they're taking a break.
Dick owed an apology to Jericho's mom because he manipulated the youngster to get back at his father. There's no forgiving that. Dick put the needs of himself and the rest of the Titans before this teenager, and it brought tragic results with it.
Adeline kept her composure very well when Dick arrived at her door, but she likely thought that it would be a good idea for him and Slade to put this whole scenario to bed once and for all.
Did anyone else think that Jason and Rose were going to be the ones in the room when Dick was ordered in to make things right?
This show really excels when it plays with expectations, and "Atonement" was no different. Slade isn't as strong as he once was, but his threat to murder every single member of the Titans if they ever join forces again was enough to make Dick want to skip the country.
Instead, Dick figured he's so self-destructive that he's better off in police custody. This seems like the type of mess that Bruce will be able to step in and flash a wad of cash to set him free.
Beyond that, it seems the show is finally setting up the Nightwing arc. He'll take a self-imposed exile from the others but will step back into the ring when a more significant threat returns.
Being a leader means that you have a lot of decisions to make, and not all of them will be liked by your followers.
Fadder: Ranch corn nuts and a yoo-hoo if they have it.
Kory: So gross.
Fadder: Yeah, well that's just, like, your opinion, Mam.
Kory: Watching way too much TV.
Dick had so much to say about the way Bruce trained him and used him as a killing machine that he never stopped to think that they were more similar than he first thought.
One person who's not going to get off without something huge happening is Conner. Gar was most definitely not trained to take him into the outside world. Superboy has the mind of a child and is struggling to understand right from wrong.
He's impulsive and doesn't rationalize before acting. The police officers were just doing their job, but because they had overpowered the man, he thought that they were the enemy here. Ultimately, he's exposed his powers to the world and killed a lot of people.
Lex Luthor is not going to want him to be traced back to Cadmus, so there's a chance that Eve will be the one to take the fall in the media for Superboy's creation.
Related: Titans Season 2 Episode Review: Jericho
Gar had no option but to run. If he stayed, both of their faces would have been plastered across newspapers, websites, and TV screens. It was a risk he wasn't willing to take.
Gar: I can turn into a tiger.
Conner: No way. What's a tiger?
For now, Conner is out there on his own, and he runs the risk of getting in with a bad crowd who will want to use his powers for evil rather than good.
Gar will have to reach out to the others for assistance in bringing him back in, but beyond that, there's no telling what could happen.
The Titans are like a family to Gar. He was so positive about waking up every morning, making smoothies, and finishing the night by reading to Conner. He felt like if he stayed positive, then the Titans would come back together.
The team is more fractured than ever, and it's going to take a lot for everyone to be in the same room. Rachel using her abilities to ghost Donna came out of nowhere because, where the heck is the teenager going to go?
Kory having to leave Dick when he was at his most vulnerable, was just a case of terrible timing. Going by Dick's reaction, he thought that he could turn to her with anything. However, he failed to realize that she got her own stuff to deal with.
The introduction of Blackfire was a positive one. We needed something to happen to make Kory realize that he needs to return home.
Related: Arrow Series Finale: Emily Bett Rickards Returning
There's a rivalry between the siblings, and now that Blackfire has murdered their mother and father, the gloves are off.
Both ships are destroyed, so it will be fun to see Kory try to find her way home. It's possible that the war against Blackfire will be saved for Titans Season 3, with Kory taking her friends with her for the big battle.
It would be the perfect set-up to have Kory find her way home on the Titans Season 2 finale, but that's assuming everyone finds a way to recapture that bond.
Hank and Dawn returning to Wyoming was surprising. The very notion that they would return to the place Dr. Light murdered someone they were helping and not face repercussions was simply laughable.
Gar: You know, think of all this, San Francisco, like one big, totally immersive, multi-dimensional videogame and you're player one, okay? And your job is to make sure that everyone stays safe and no one gets hurt.
Conner: Is that what the Titans do?
Gar: Well, we don't. But the old Titans did. Dick, mostly just kept us locked up in a tower. Jason, Rachel, and I talked about how we wanted more real-life experience, and once the team is back together again, I think we'll get it. I know this sounds crazy, but once the team knows your awake, and can see what you do, they'll be back in a hurry.
Conner: So, Gar, what can you do?
Ellis had a horrible upbringing, thanks to being part of a family of people with issues. His sister really had the nerve to drag Hawk and Dove for getting him killed. But something tells me this plot was used to put Hank and Dawn in the hot seat.
This way, they might be able to understand what Dick's going through. Then again, I could be very wrong.
"Atonement" was a perfectly balanced hour that set the stage for a thrilling conclusion to the sophomore run of this DC Universe drama.
What did you think of the way things played out?
Hit the comments below.
Titans airs Fridays on DC Universe.
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Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
