‘Titans’ Season 2 premiere: Rachel fully transforms into Raven, faces down heartbreak and darkness to defeat Trigon
Spoilers ahead for 'Titans' Season 2 Episode 1 'Trigon'
The very first episode of 'Titans' Season 2 is here and it's all about Rachel Roth/Raven (Teagan Croft). To be fair, the entire first season was mostly about Rachel, following her as she discovered her dark heritage, but in season 2's first episode 'Trigon', she finally embraces the full scale of her powers.
In all honesty, 'Trigon' feels more like a season finale than a season premiere, which is understandable considering it was initially meant to be the finale for season 1. The first season was supposed to have 12 episodes but was cut down to 11, leaving the season on a massive cliffhanger.
Season 2 picked up where the first season left off with Dick Grayson/Robin (Brenton Thwaites) under Trigon's control, Garfield Logan/Beast Boy (Ryan Potter) and Rachel stuck inside a forcefield with Rachel's mother and her father Trigon (Seamus Dever) and Starfire/Koriand'r (Anna Diop), Donna Troy (Conor Leslie), Dawn Granger/Dove (Minka Kelly), Hank Hall/Hawk (Alan Ritchson) and Jason Todd/Robin II (Curran Walters) attempting to stage a rescue mission.
Though the rest of the team tries to rescue Dick, Gar and Rachel, they all, unfortunately, fall to the darkness like Dick and become mindless servants to Trigon. The demonic warlord finally takes on a form more accurate to his giant, red-skinned look from the comics and breaks Rachel's heart, both literally and figuratively.
Trigon uses Rachel's heart to fashion a gem that he fixes on her forehead like a third eye, unleashing the darkness within her, unlocking her full powers and completing her transformation into Raven. For a moment, everything seems lost as the world begins to fall dead at Trigon's feet.
Beast Boy, who barely survives a beatdown at the hands of the other Titans, manages to get through to Rachel and helps her move past her darkness and heartbreak. He breaks the demon's control over Rachel and she, in turn, manages to free Dick.
Once she breaks free, Raven takes down Trigon almost effortlessly and banishes him back to whence he came. In the aftermath of the battle, the Titans go their separate ways with Dick taking Gar, Rachel and Jason on a road trip.
Thanks to Rachel's help, Dick is able to deal with the anger and resentment he has always held against Bruce Wayne (Iain Glen). He finally meets his adoptive father and talks to him about all the pent-up rage he has held on to for so long, reconciling with Bruce at long last.
Bruce agrees to help Dick restart the Titans, under the condition that Dick will take his younger foster brother Jason under his wing as one of the members. Dick takes the kids to a luxurious building in San Francisco which he refers to as "home" -- Titans Tower, his old headquarters.
Meanwhile, Slade Wilson is shocked out of retirement when he sees the news broadcast announcing the Titans' return. He returns from his life in the middle of nowhere and takes up his weapons and armor, once again becoming Deathstroke the Terminator.
The first episode is entirely dedicated to finishing off the arcs started in season 1. As such, it's barely more than a taste of things to come. That said, however, there is the promise that things will start to heat up again when season 2 begins in earnest with the second episode, 'Rose'.
'Trigon' is currently available for streaming on DC Universe. The next episode, 'Rose', will arrive on the service September 13.