Friday, September 10, 2021

My Review of Titans 3x07: "51%"

 


Written by Kate McCarthy
Directed by Nick Gomez

Blackfire (to Starfire): "Okay, I can see how Earth can be fun."

Yeah, any chances of Blackfire being another villain for this season really has gone out of the window. In the three episodes she's been in this season so far, we've learned that she was the victim of her parents abuse and rejected by her own people. She's also seems to have worked through most of her issues with her more beloved sister to boot.

In this episode alone she even became a Titan. First both her and Kory helped reunite mobster Valeska with her son and when that went horribly wrong, resulting Kory's anger getting the better, Blackfire gave her some context on why she killed their parents. Not to mention that she does seem to genuinely like the Titans, especially one in particular.

After several episodes of the Titans being outsmarted by Red Hood and Scarecrow, this week was something of a victory for them. It didn't start that way with Oracle (Carlo Rota) being hacked by Crane and Dick and Conner being unable to save yet another person from those bombs, but Crane's own conceitedness became his undoing this week.

The Titans and Barbara worked better as a team throughout this episode that they figured out his next move and got him when he least expected it. You could see that it bruised Jonathan's ego getting outsmarted and even Jason himself seems to be slowly losing faith in Crane's mission.

Jason did spend most of the episode tied up as Crane tried to teach him a lesson about patience. He even seemed happy when his former friends and teammates were gaining the upper hand. That along with Gar seeking out Molly definitely means that Jason will be getting a redemption arc as we head into the remaining half of the season.

As for Dick and Barbara - I am not surprised that they're getting back together. However I'm not expecting their reunion to last beyond the rest of the season. Saying that, the chemistry definitely is there with these two and I'm gonna enjoy the pairing while it lasts.

- Barbara Gail Gordon. That's undoubtedly a nod to Gail Simone, who has written many Batgirl comics.
- There's no denying we're getting a romance with Superboy and Blackfire before this season ends. 
- Standout music: Nice use of Nina Simone's Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood.
- Chronology: Not long from where the previous episode left off.

51% certainly weighed up it's options on good and bad choices this week. It was nice to see the Titans continue to work brilliantly as a team and it was definitely due that we saw Crane suffer a setback, though he clearly has a backup plan. Another strong episode.

Rating: 8 out of 10

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