Hank and Dove
Episode 3 of Titans Season 3 begins with Jason Todd’s grave being dug up,. It’s Dick Grayson, and he’s determined to figure out what happened to Jason. Well, given the grave is completely empty, it only reinforces that Red Hood is definitely Jason Todd. Could someone be bringing the dead back to life? That’s certainly one theory, although Kory and some of the others believe it could well be that Jason faked his death. Revolving around this is the real crux of drama here between Hank and Dawn. Hank sees Jason as a threat while Dawn believes they need to think through their options. Only, when Jason rings Hank he claims there’s something wrong with him and he begs his fellow hero help. Well, Hank decides to go off alone and promises not to tell Dick. Hank heads off to Gotham observatory, where he’s forced to give up his phone and destroy it. He stupidly agrees to the terms, only to grab a burner phone and head forward to Gotham Gym. And would you believe it, Hank falls hook, line and sinker for Red Hood’s plan, where he’s naked and impaled with a “gift” for back home. Thankfully Hank stumbles back to Wayne Manor (well, that was quick!) but Conner realizes there’s a countdown timer – it’s a bomb. This bomb is actually wired up to go off when Hank counts down a set number of heartbeats. In order to stop this, Red Hood requests 50 million gold bars. Dick, desperate to save his friends, decides to go ahead with this – but not before speaking to Crane at Arkham. He helps guide Dick toward the prospect of Jason working with (or for) someone else. It’s very obvious gameplaying but something that gets under Dick’s skin nonetheless. As Kory investigates further, it seems like someone took Jason’s body out the coroner’s and did something to him. Well, the guy who left with the body is a man called Cyrus Beake. With a solid lead to go on, Nightwing heads out to investigate. Well, with Cyrus dead and Dick Grayson following Red Hood’s scent, it all looks very bleak and hopeless. Meanwhile, Jason manages to convince Dawn to do his bidding in a ploy to try and help Hank out. Well, when she shows up at an abandoned warehouse Dawn is offered a choice. If she faces her fears and kills Jason, then he’ll switch off the detonator and free Hank. It’s all part of Jason’s elaborate plan and with less than 20 heartbeats to go, Conner manages to find a solution…but it’s too late. The detonator blows, Hank is dead and the gun Dawn was given was actually the detonator. Uh oh.
The Episode Review
Wow, what a shocking ending! So often we’ve seen these last-ditch countdowns play out with the heroes saving the day but Titans completely changes the game and has the bomb blow – and with it Hank’s prospects of starring in the rest of the season. The moments leading up to Hank’s death are swamped in plot contrivances though, especially with Hank stupid enough to go it alone. Surely he must have known he was walking into a trap? Alas, clearly not. The ramifications for this are likely to ripple through Wayne Manor though and quite how the characters will recover from Hanks’ death remains to be seen. One thing’s for sure though, Titans is much-improved from the show it was last year and right now it seems like the series has managed to redeem itself. Then again, half of season 2 was good too and then we had a “death-by-debris” ending so we’ll have to wait and see. For now, Titans season 3 is turning into a very good proposition for the future!
