Lady Vic
Episode 6 of Titans Season 3 begins with a look at a brutal femme fatale. She leaves two officers a bloody heap on the edge of Gotham before heading into the city. Flashbacks to six years ago shed more light on what’s going on here. Dick Grayson, operating under the Robin alias, heads into a jewelry store where Barbara Gordon happens to be working as a thief. Anyway, the pair eventually head out for drinks. It turns out Barbara is trying to forge her own identity. Unlike Jim, who has his nose in paperwork, Barbara wants to do some real work in the city and she’s sick of living in his shadow Dick suggest she become the Batgirl, which is laughed off. Instead, it’s Dick who takes a turn down a dark path and steals a whole bunch of jewelry with her. Meanwhile, Blackfire arrives at Wayne Manor with Kory and Gar. She believes Conner is her boytoy but although he agrees to indulge her, Kory is quick to point out that’s not what’s going on here. Back in the present, Robin sports a nasty gunshot wound after the incident in the woods. Heading back to the Manor, Kory patches him up while Gar loses his temper and lashes out at Dick, given how badly the Titans family is doing. With Jason now working as Crane’s lapdog, he wants the serum to go public. Before that though, Crane takes him away to the surgical ward where he shows off Exhibit B. This happens to be another supervillain of sorts – none other than the blonde bombshell we saw at the start of the episode. This woman completely eradicates the room full of surgeons and leaves the place a bloody mess. Jason can only stand and gawp at the carnage. Back at the mansion, Dick meets Blackfire and Kory, determined to head out following the surgery massacre. Before that, Dick stops by GCPD to see Barbara, determined to work together again and try to forge an alliance. Despite being shot, he’s prepared to try and make another go of this. Dick wants to use Oracle but Barbara is having none of it. Instead, the Titans concoct a plan which involves Kory heading inside to look around the lab. Both Blackstar and Conner end up outside in the car together though, discussing their past. It’s a fascinating way of exuding exposition, with both playing up the roles of outsider but finding solace in one another because of this. Conner suggests she try to be part of the family too but he’s suddenly interrupted by Kory finding another bomb victim inside the lab. Conner hurries inside and manages to stop the bomb before it’s too late. There’s certainly not goin to be another Hank today. At GCPD, Barbara manages to contact Bruce secretly, who encourages her to show up and talk in private. While they do, Dick takes the audio from the crime scene and manages to use his skills to figure out (thanks in part to Gar’s slashing skills) the exact blade and profile of the killer. Sighing, Dick realizes exactly who this assassin is. Ringing Barbara, she refuses to pick up. Instead, she heads down a dark alleyway alone, tracking a plea from Bruce Wayne to meet in private. When out femme fatale drops from the sky, Barbara realizes she’s been outsmarted. Bruce’s voice is just a recording and Lady Vic is ready to fight. After a brief skirmish she eventually leaves, with Barbara left to reflect on what’s just transpired. Teaming up with Dick, the latter agrees to have a look around her apartment just to make sure she’s alone. Thankfully she is. Meanwhile, Lady Vic shows back up to see Crane, armed with a photo of Barbara. Jason meanwhile, heads out into the night after snatching up a whole stack of anti-fear serum and hands it out to a group of thugs.
The Episode Review
Episode 6 of Titans starts to deepen the lore and story as we see cracks and doubts starting to form with Jason. It’s clear that this anti-fear serum has got a bit out of control and it seems like he may well even turn in a redemptive arc, with a possible death in store for him (y’know, like a proper death this time) Either way, that’s guesswork at this point and the show has done a good job keeping things interesting. Crane is a decent villain for this season, along with red Hood of course, although this chapter injects more humour into the fold with mixed results. The decision to turn Blackfire into comedic relief, off the back of last season’s cliffhanger no less, seems like an odd choice but it’s way too early to be jumping to conclusions with this. We’ll have to wait and see where this goes for now. Titans looks like it’s back on track after a misfiring second season and certainly sets up some intriguing developments to come over the coming weeks.
