The Outlaws are forming, if I'm reading this episode correctly and the Titans writers' room intention. Dick won't let Jason back with the Titans (he's right to do so after Jason killed Hank, a stupid decision from the writers), Superboy has been disillusioned with the Titans because the writers made Dick act like a... dick and Blackfire likes him. So I see a very Red Hood and the Outlaws kind of team, except instead of Bizarro we have Superboy and instead of Starfire, who's with the Titans, we'll have Blackfire. I say go for it with ONE big mention: if you're going to make a RHATO show, please, please change the writers and directors. Give it to someone else. These guys have made this show for 3 seasons and they still can't get it right. I just hope they'll end it decently next week.
13 Reviews
Oh Come On!
Gislef18 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Jason manages to beat Nightwing (with some help) last episode, but he can't handle Crane? Did I miss the part where Crane came back from the dead as a super-athlete fighter type? No? Oh, well.
What's poor writing is not only does this undermine Jason, but it undermines Batman. Batman had any trouble with Crane? I keep talking about it, but the Titans had trouble against toughies like Trigon and Deathstroke. The fact that Crane has done better makes him seem like a better tactician and manipulator than those two. And nothing in season 3 has told us that Crane is. Granted, Batman beat Crane and threw him in Arkham. But you wonder how, when 'Titans' makes Scarecrow out to be some major tough guy they can't handle. Who the heck chose Crane as the Big Bad for Season 3?
And Vincent Kartheiser isn't to blame. He does what he can, in what's written for him. As a villain in, say, 'Gotham', I'd buy him in a second. But as a major Titans nemesis, he just isn't cutting it. Kartheiser give it his all: even DeNiro would have trouble emoting while waving an obviously bogus rubber hand around. Actor Kartheiser pulls it off, and kudos to him. I just have trouble with things like Jason cowering in terror before Crane's onslaught.
Otherwise it's mostly Dick, Dick, Dick. Dick is dead, long live Dick as he goes through resurrection at the Pit. What's the significance of the bats? I have no idea: did Bruce, the bats, and the Lazarus Pit have some kind of contract where if a Bat Family member dies, the bats show up and take the body to the Pit for resurrection. Cool transformation sequence with Gar, but it just leads to a set-up to explore... you got it, Dick's psyche further.
I can't help but think that if they spent as much time on Kory, Conner or Gar as they spent on Dick, it would be a much better show instead of 'Gotham 2.0'.
Credit to Brenton Thwaites. He rocks a Joker suit. And is it just me, or is anyone else as sick of Curran Walter's Jason Todd as I am? I don't need a Lazarus Pit-inspired vision to want to beat Jason to death with a crowbar. Somebody give me a stick! And I don't get it. Are we supposed to be sympathetic toward Jason? Did he have a chance of becoming a Titan again after pre-meditatively killing Hank? No! There's no coming back from that one. I get the impression the production staff wants us to feel sympathy for Jason, the most unsympathetic of characters on the show. I have more sympathy for Crane than I do for Jason. I wish they'd quit pushing Jason on us.
As for the rest of the Titans, I still wonder what their power levels are. Rachel can do whatever the plot demands, as does Conner. Even if he's only half as strong as Superman: superspeed rush and beat Crane into a wall a dozen times. Game over, man, game over. It makes scenes like the roadblock near the end frustrating. If Donna is even half as powerful as Wonder Woman, why are the policemen at the roadblock any kind of threat to her?
Like with Crane. Okay, he might be a tough threat for Nightwing. Or Beast Boy, if they ever decide what he can do. He talks to Rachel like he's spent the last three seasons on-screen practicing his shapeshifting. But here he says that changing shapes is extremely painful. Be nice if we could have seen that. Gar doesn't seem to be in pain when he turns into a tiger. Is that his default and thus presumably painless? Or something else? Or what?
But Crane versus Starfire and Conner? Not even a sweat-raiser. They do resolve the Blackfire/Starfire thing, and Damaris Lewis is a trooper, no doubt. I'd pay good money to see her and Conner become the new superhero pair like they hint at here. At least she has a personality and some conflict.
Tim is in the same boat at Gar. He's come across as an overeager fanboy in previous episodes, and now he's saying he wants to be the new Robin. Like with Gar's background shapeshifting efforts, the Tim Drake = New Robin thing just comes out of nowhere. What's the point of 11 episodes of supposed build-up, when the production doesn't build major story arcs up?
And do we need another Robin? We've already had more of Tim this season than we have of Rachel, Gar, and Donna. So now we're getting another non-superpowered
Barbara gets to beat up Fletcher, which is nice. And she's reactivating Oracle, which will probably give her something to do in next week's finale. But that's part of the whole mess, too. They have to wrap up everything in last week's episode, when "Prodigal Son" feels like it's starting the wrap-up for stuff that should have happened six episodes ago. After spending episode after episode with the production staff dinking around with Dick, and Jason, and none of the other Titans, and trying to give Kartheiser an Emmy-worthy role, they are and are going to have to rush everything to wrap up the season. Fails all around.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
What's poor writing is not only does this undermine Jason, but it undermines Batman. Batman had any trouble with Crane? I keep talking about it, but the Titans had trouble against toughies like Trigon and Deathstroke. The fact that Crane has done better makes him seem like a better tactician and manipulator than those two. And nothing in season 3 has told us that Crane is. Granted, Batman beat Crane and threw him in Arkham. But you wonder how, when 'Titans' makes Scarecrow out to be some major tough guy they can't handle. Who the heck chose Crane as the Big Bad for Season 3?
And Vincent Kartheiser isn't to blame. He does what he can, in what's written for him. As a villain in, say, 'Gotham', I'd buy him in a second. But as a major Titans nemesis, he just isn't cutting it. Kartheiser give it his all: even DeNiro would have trouble emoting while waving an obviously bogus rubber hand around. Actor Kartheiser pulls it off, and kudos to him. I just have trouble with things like Jason cowering in terror before Crane's onslaught.
Otherwise it's mostly Dick, Dick, Dick. Dick is dead, long live Dick as he goes through resurrection at the Pit. What's the significance of the bats? I have no idea: did Bruce, the bats, and the Lazarus Pit have some kind of contract where if a Bat Family member dies, the bats show up and take the body to the Pit for resurrection. Cool transformation sequence with Gar, but it just leads to a set-up to explore... you got it, Dick's psyche further.
I can't help but think that if they spent as much time on Kory, Conner or Gar as they spent on Dick, it would be a much better show instead of 'Gotham 2.0'.
Credit to Brenton Thwaites. He rocks a Joker suit. And is it just me, or is anyone else as sick of Curran Walter's Jason Todd as I am? I don't need a Lazarus Pit-inspired vision to want to beat Jason to death with a crowbar. Somebody give me a stick! And I don't get it. Are we supposed to be sympathetic toward Jason? Did he have a chance of becoming a Titan again after pre-meditatively killing Hank? No! There's no coming back from that one. I get the impression the production staff wants us to feel sympathy for Jason, the most unsympathetic of characters on the show. I have more sympathy for Crane than I do for Jason. I wish they'd quit pushing Jason on us.
As for the rest of the Titans, I still wonder what their power levels are. Rachel can do whatever the plot demands, as does Conner. Even if he's only half as strong as Superman: superspeed rush and beat Crane into a wall a dozen times. Game over, man, game over. It makes scenes like the roadblock near the end frustrating. If Donna is even half as powerful as Wonder Woman, why are the policemen at the roadblock any kind of threat to her?
Like with Crane. Okay, he might be a tough threat for Nightwing. Or Beast Boy, if they ever decide what he can do. He talks to Rachel like he's spent the last three seasons on-screen practicing his shapeshifting. But here he says that changing shapes is extremely painful. Be nice if we could have seen that. Gar doesn't seem to be in pain when he turns into a tiger. Is that his default and thus presumably painless? Or something else? Or what?
But Crane versus Starfire and Conner? Not even a sweat-raiser. They do resolve the Blackfire/Starfire thing, and Damaris Lewis is a trooper, no doubt. I'd pay good money to see her and Conner become the new superhero pair like they hint at here. At least she has a personality and some conflict.
Tim is in the same boat at Gar. He's come across as an overeager fanboy in previous episodes, and now he's saying he wants to be the new Robin. Like with Gar's background shapeshifting efforts, the Tim Drake = New Robin thing just comes out of nowhere. What's the point of 11 episodes of supposed build-up, when the production doesn't build major story arcs up?
And do we need another Robin? We've already had more of Tim this season than we have of Rachel, Gar, and Donna. So now we're getting another non-superpowered
Barbara gets to beat up Fletcher, which is nice. And she's reactivating Oracle, which will probably give her something to do in next week's finale. But that's part of the whole mess, too. They have to wrap up everything in last week's episode, when "Prodigal Son" feels like it's starting the wrap-up for stuff that should have happened six episodes ago. After spending episode after episode with the production staff dinking around with Dick, and Jason, and none of the other Titans, and trying to give Kartheiser an Emmy-worthy role, they are and are going to have to rush everything to wrap up the season. Fails all around.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
Great penultimate that builds up to the finale and sets up the epic showdown, as standalone it's far from brilliant but Prodigal does most things right
Holt34414 October 2021
"Prodigal" follows the aftermath of the previous episode, after Nightwing and Red Hood's battle, Rachel and Gar try to save their friend. Meanwhile, Jason questions his allegiance. With Barbara behind bars, Donna leads her own resistance operation, and Conner helps Blackfire recover her ship. Episode 3.12 moves the plot forward immensely, each Titan member have something interesting to do and it moves the plot forward whilst also giving them valuable character development. There's a lot of things happening in this episode, good things at that. Jamie Gorenberg and Bryan Edward Hill penned the script for this episode and it's an improvement over the previous episodes, not as much bad writing or plot holes. The characters feel more like themselves. There's also plenty of great character interactions and acting in the episode, Teagan Croft as Rachel Roth and Ryan Potter as Gar Logan being some of my favorites as they got great chemistry and their characters having been through a lot in the events of season 1 and 2.
Regarding the pacing, it was great and was nicely edited with good transitions.
Carol Banker returns to direct another episode after having directed the season's two first episodes and episode 11, a much better script means a better episode and her direction is overall fantastic. There were also some truly amazing cinematography and imagery. The whole episode looked fantastic as the show usually does. Production and art design were great, the musical score and sound design needs praise. Visual effects were mostly alright, much better here than the previous episode.
"Prodigal" was overall a great episode, though it being similar to the season 1 finale, it works much better here as every character arc and story arc builds up for the finale whilst Grayson's dream sequence takes place. Each Titan member get their time to shine and I liked the writing. Gar Logan have had a good character arc throughout most of the season and it have been building slowly towards the events of this episode. Another character that was kind of tossed aside was Superboy, for season 3 it's been clear to me at least that he have been scared to be more like Lex Luthor than Clark Kent, his character arc have been the most human of them all and I have liked it a lot but I won't lie it's too small for a character like him. Like Beast Boy's arc, Superboy's comes full circle in the penultimate episode. I really like this version of Tim Drake, I'm behind Jay Lycurgo's version of the character 100% as it's different in the right way, making him in my opinion more relatable. His portrayal is on point and he has a place on the show. Best performances of this episode goes to Brenton Thwaites, Vincent Kartheiser and Ryan Potter. Episode 3.12 didn't have any memorable performances as the goal of "Prodigal" was to drive the plot forward and building up to the season finale which I can't wait for. Again, this was overall a great episode with things every fan will enjoy, even some Easter eggs.
Regarding the pacing, it was great and was nicely edited with good transitions.
Carol Banker returns to direct another episode after having directed the season's two first episodes and episode 11, a much better script means a better episode and her direction is overall fantastic. There were also some truly amazing cinematography and imagery. The whole episode looked fantastic as the show usually does. Production and art design were great, the musical score and sound design needs praise. Visual effects were mostly alright, much better here than the previous episode.
"Prodigal" was overall a great episode, though it being similar to the season 1 finale, it works much better here as every character arc and story arc builds up for the finale whilst Grayson's dream sequence takes place. Each Titan member get their time to shine and I liked the writing. Gar Logan have had a good character arc throughout most of the season and it have been building slowly towards the events of this episode. Another character that was kind of tossed aside was Superboy, for season 3 it's been clear to me at least that he have been scared to be more like Lex Luthor than Clark Kent, his character arc have been the most human of them all and I have liked it a lot but I won't lie it's too small for a character like him. Like Beast Boy's arc, Superboy's comes full circle in the penultimate episode. I really like this version of Tim Drake, I'm behind Jay Lycurgo's version of the character 100% as it's different in the right way, making him in my opinion more relatable. His portrayal is on point and he has a place on the show. Best performances of this episode goes to Brenton Thwaites, Vincent Kartheiser and Ryan Potter. Episode 3.12 didn't have any memorable performances as the goal of "Prodigal" was to drive the plot forward and building up to the season finale which I can't wait for. Again, this was overall a great episode with things every fan will enjoy, even some Easter eggs.
Haters don't get that this is the best superhero show out there
hwseayy14 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Almost toward season 4!
cjonesas11 February 2022
Better turn
scarlettyforest2 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Okay this one was way better than the previous episode! There was purpose, character building. It made more sense.
The cinematography in Dick's Lazarus pit vision was top tier. The pearls, the crowbar. Was that shot on 35mm? If not, the filter (maybe black pro mist?) and grade choices were gorgeous. Kudos as always to the cam and lighting team. The scene about John Grayson hit. Also, the hinting at A CERTAIN SOMEONE'S CHILD WAS GREAT. FINALLY.
Loved the bittersweet/slight redemption for Jason. After virtually ruining his version of red hood in this season, the "You'll never be a Titan again" line slapped, and was a worthy course correct to his antihero character.
Likewise, good turns for Kom, Starfire and Oracle.
Connor's arc is questionable which is annoying because he's usually the strongest/clearest character in the show. Anyway, characters felt more in character this go around.
The cinematography in Dick's Lazarus pit vision was top tier. The pearls, the crowbar. Was that shot on 35mm? If not, the filter (maybe black pro mist?) and grade choices were gorgeous. Kudos as always to the cam and lighting team. The scene about John Grayson hit. Also, the hinting at A CERTAIN SOMEONE'S CHILD WAS GREAT. FINALLY.
Loved the bittersweet/slight redemption for Jason. After virtually ruining his version of red hood in this season, the "You'll never be a Titan again" line slapped, and was a worthy course correct to his antihero character.
Likewise, good turns for Kom, Starfire and Oracle.
Connor's arc is questionable which is annoying because he's usually the strongest/clearest character in the show. Anyway, characters felt more in character this go around.
I gave it a 10 because I don't want the show to get cancelled
nazaningustin15 October 2021
Seriously, why? Why would go over the same story again and again?
I was hoping for this to be better than CW shows but it kinda looks like they're being the same thing... I've said it before, the only reason I'm still WATCHING is because of Curran and Brenton, without them it wasn't even worth watching.
If there is a season 4, I hope it's better. And without Greg Berlanti in the show. Stop it with the CW routine. This show has potential to grow and perhaps be the best show in all DC Universe.
The first 8 episodes were insanely good and blew my mind away. Hope this gets better.
I was hoping for this to be better than CW shows but it kinda looks like they're being the same thing... I've said it before, the only reason I'm still WATCHING is because of Curran and Brenton, without them it wasn't even worth watching.
If there is a season 4, I hope it's better. And without Greg Berlanti in the show. Stop it with the CW routine. This show has potential to grow and perhaps be the best show in all DC Universe.
The first 8 episodes were insanely good and blew my mind away. Hope this gets better.
- I like it !
batmanforever-932496 November 2021
This series is ,just like some other reviewer said,the best superhero show of the present (the rest of them are just pure garbage ) and probably one of the best ever and it is good because it has a very well determined structure,but some fans just don't get it,but for me this episode is just as good as the other episodes,i never get tired to watch this series,i like the dark tone and the original style of the story.
Thank God Next Week is the Last One!
MamadNobari9714 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
They seriously killed Dick didn't they? 😂 I mean it makes sense since they found the Lazarus Pit, and apparently The Pit can change your style and give you new clothes? So wtf happened to his Nightwing suit? 😂
I should actually give writers some credits for consistently making the most dumbest death scenes in superheroes history. Even Hank's death that was sad and depressing wasn't immune to the awful writing and they made Hank a dumbass so he would get killed.
Also bats lifting up Dick was really funny thanks for the laughs.
And what's with the dream sequences? How many mores do we need? Do the writers not know any other ways to convey these stuff? Why aren't the writers changed yet? Why is Crane also in Dick's dream/death realm and rule that world? Where is Bruce then?
I really don't like Crane and his dumb arc and how he easily controls everything and everyone. Also why didn't Jason just shoot this mf? Why in tf is Jason such a little bch? It's been 3 seasons and he still doesn't know wtf he wants to do, it's so dumb. His "redemption" arc is as dumb as his main one.
The cell that they keep Barbra in has the worst security I've seen. They keep the fvcking button to open the cell, NEXT TO THE FVCKIN CELL!😂
And it's really funny seeing two grown man not being able to catch a wheelchair lmao.
Also wtf happened to Superboy? Sure, Dick betrayed you, but you're gonna turn your back on the whole team? For Blackfire? Who you just met two days ago? Also who the hell thought it was a good idea to make them a couple? They have 0 chemistry and they're really cringey together. Superboy's actions are really sudden and you can argue his Lex side is showing, but it doesn't make it any less sudden and dumb.
And apparently the guy who lost Blackfire is still employed and still working ALONE without protection right where he was before. OK!
Also why does Dick need Jason's help exactly? Jason wasn't under mind control and he could've killed Crane multiple times but he didn't. So why doesn't Dick go right for Superboy and apologize to him and go with him to kill Crane as he is the strongest Titan? Ah yes, cause he's a terrible leader. Like he was a terrible leader last season and the season before. Great writing guys, keep it up!
Also bats lifting up Dick was really funny thanks for the laughs.
And what's with the dream sequences? How many mores do we need? Do the writers not know any other ways to convey these stuff? Why aren't the writers changed yet? Why is Crane also in Dick's dream/death realm and rule that world? Where is Bruce then?
I really don't like Crane and his dumb arc and how he easily controls everything and everyone. Also why didn't Jason just shoot this mf? Why in tf is Jason such a little bch? It's been 3 seasons and he still doesn't know wtf he wants to do, it's so dumb. His "redemption" arc is as dumb as his main one.
The cell that they keep Barbra in has the worst security I've seen. They keep the fvcking button to open the cell, NEXT TO THE FVCKIN CELL!😂
And it's really funny seeing two grown man not being able to catch a wheelchair lmao.
Also wtf happened to Superboy? Sure, Dick betrayed you, but you're gonna turn your back on the whole team? For Blackfire? Who you just met two days ago? Also who the hell thought it was a good idea to make them a couple? They have 0 chemistry and they're really cringey together. Superboy's actions are really sudden and you can argue his Lex side is showing, but it doesn't make it any less sudden and dumb.
And apparently the guy who lost Blackfire is still employed and still working ALONE without protection right where he was before. OK!
Also why does Dick need Jason's help exactly? Jason wasn't under mind control and he could've killed Crane multiple times but he didn't. So why doesn't Dick go right for Superboy and apologize to him and go with him to kill Crane as he is the strongest Titan? Ah yes, cause he's a terrible leader. Like he was a terrible leader last season and the season before. Great writing guys, keep it up!
The writers continue to halfheartedly phone in a few scenes
gwrugger16 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
While interns pick out scrabble tiles to fill in the pieces.
Yay, Gar finally turns into another animal! And also mysteriously gets to control other bats. I guess I should be happy there was some surprise to that scene since we all knew Dick was coming back after dying last week in a scene written only slightly better than Donna's death last season. (Dick: "helmet? What's that?).
Thank God Donna is back since she (and Alan Ritchson before her) is the only one left with the charisma to shine through this horrible writing. Related: I don't see what people like about this atom Drake, but angsts teens are my least liked trope (and the reason I gave up on The Gifted) so maybe that's on me.
Titans is squandering a chance to be something great. If Theresa season 4 I hope they'll get writers who care about the whole season and not just a handful of moments. And hopefully they'll write the group as a team and not a random collection of duos and triads.
The New Titans was one of my favorite books and too see this series come so close and then the writers apparently not even try to hold up their end...
Yay, Gar finally turns into another animal! And also mysteriously gets to control other bats. I guess I should be happy there was some surprise to that scene since we all knew Dick was coming back after dying last week in a scene written only slightly better than Donna's death last season. (Dick: "helmet? What's that?).
Thank God Donna is back since she (and Alan Ritchson before her) is the only one left with the charisma to shine through this horrible writing. Related: I don't see what people like about this atom Drake, but angsts teens are my least liked trope (and the reason I gave up on The Gifted) so maybe that's on me.
Titans is squandering a chance to be something great. If Theresa season 4 I hope they'll get writers who care about the whole season and not just a handful of moments. And hopefully they'll write the group as a team and not a random collection of duos and triads.
The New Titans was one of my favorite books and too see this series come so close and then the writers apparently not even try to hold up their end...
Not sure who wrote this season or at least the last few episodes complete garbage..
andrian213 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Curious if the writes are different from previous seasons? Stuff makes no sense at all, all the stuff they do is opposite of what anyone else would have done.
Examples: Night wing turning his back on the kid with the gun.
Taking out his friend and titan "Super boy" When beast boy find night wing dead they just came from lazeres pit and yet they had no idea what to do until some random bats flew by and gave them a hint. Who wrote this garbage.
Examples: Night wing turning his back on the kid with the gun.
Taking out his friend and titan "Super boy" When beast boy find night wing dead they just came from lazeres pit and yet they had no idea what to do until some random bats flew by and gave them a hint. Who wrote this garbage.
One minute you're gone and the next you're not...
asterblasterth14 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
It's like the Oprah show "And you get your life back, and you get your life back, everybody gets his life baaack!".
I mean come on. How many more characters will die and come back to life? I guess plenty more seeing as there is a pool apparently that can bring you back to life. So no one has to fear dead again. Imagine little kids seeing that who lost a love one. They'll think people just go to this place and can be brought back.
And I guess Gar has become Dracula or something who conveniently knows this pool that can bring people back to life. You couldn't do that when the other characters died, huh?
And how many variations are we gonna get on Nightwing doing his soul searching. It was a narrative in the first season, second season and now the third season. At one point you must be done with the soul searching. Good to know he just have to die to have the simple answer to the Crane problem. He couldn't figure that one out like 7 episodes ago or something?
And that bit at the checkpoint when they were in the armored truck. What was that? So you're in an armored truck, which, you know, is bulletproof and you get out of that armored truck just to take the guards out while being shot at? You couldn't just drive through the checkpoint? And what were the guards doing? They start shooting after the dad knocks the guard out with the door and after he takes his gun? But the kicker is the part where Donna steps out. She breaks the door off the armored truck and grabs it for protection and starts walking. I mean it wasn't easier just to get back into the truck, and instead of breaking off the door you lock the door and ht the gas and drive through the checkpoint? I mean apparently the armor of the car protected them from the bullets.
All in all this show is becoming more of a joke by the minute.
I mean come on. How many more characters will die and come back to life? I guess plenty more seeing as there is a pool apparently that can bring you back to life. So no one has to fear dead again. Imagine little kids seeing that who lost a love one. They'll think people just go to this place and can be brought back.
And I guess Gar has become Dracula or something who conveniently knows this pool that can bring people back to life. You couldn't do that when the other characters died, huh?
And how many variations are we gonna get on Nightwing doing his soul searching. It was a narrative in the first season, second season and now the third season. At one point you must be done with the soul searching. Good to know he just have to die to have the simple answer to the Crane problem. He couldn't figure that one out like 7 episodes ago or something?
And that bit at the checkpoint when they were in the armored truck. What was that? So you're in an armored truck, which, you know, is bulletproof and you get out of that armored truck just to take the guards out while being shot at? You couldn't just drive through the checkpoint? And what were the guards doing? They start shooting after the dad knocks the guard out with the door and after he takes his gun? But the kicker is the part where Donna steps out. She breaks the door off the armored truck and grabs it for protection and starts walking. I mean it wasn't easier just to get back into the truck, and instead of breaking off the door you lock the door and ht the gas and drive through the checkpoint? I mean apparently the armor of the car protected them from the bullets.
All in all this show is becoming more of a joke by the minute.
Please cancel this atrocious show
haylodad-1860615 October 2021
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
