Titans returns to its normal story track this week to follow-up on Episode 8’s cliffhanger. Being the next to last episode of the season, does “Koriand’r” accomplish what it needs to? To find out we are going to have to dive in!
[Warning: The following review contains several spoilers]
When last we saw the core Titans team, Dick and Donna were on their way to Rachael’s mother’s home. During the drive, Donna translates the text from Kory’s notebook, only to realizes that Kory’s mission is to kill Rachael. At this same time, Kory regains her memories and has attacked Rachael. After several failed attempts to stop Kory, Donna uses her lasso to pull Kory off Rachael and knock her down. Rachael’s mother is naturally upset and tells Kory to leave, with Dick and Donna following after her.
Naturally with this episode being titled “Koriand’r,” viewers get to learn a lot about Kory’s backstory. After rediscovering her ship, Kory along with Dick and Donna discover that she is from the planet Tamaran. Tamaran sent Kory to Earth in order to stop Rachael from bringing forth her father, Trigon. There is a prophecy on Tamaran that Trigon will eat multiple worlds starting with Earth, and eventually will reach Tamaran. Kory’s mission is to prevent this from happening. Now, seeing Kory rediscover her memories and her mission is really satisfying to watch as the season has been building up to it for so long. What’s most fascinating to see is that Kory does not really change drastically after learning her past and mission. Kory wants to keep Rachael alive, protect her and prevent Trigon’s arrival. Sadly, as I have seen the season finale at the time of this writing, this is the last major development for Kory. Hopefully Season 2 will pick up Kory’s story, and viewers will get to witness some of her past life on Tamaran, as well as balance herself between her duty and her heart. Kory has been one of the characters I have enjoyed the most, quickly becoming my favorite of the main cast/ series. I seriously cannot wait to see more of Kory in the future!
Now, Rachael is the other major focus of the episode. Following Kory’s abrupt attack on her, Gar and her mother try to help her get over the event. However, Rachel begins to push Gar away as her inner darkness comes to life. A very poignant line comes from Rachael as she answers her mother for asking why she’s mad at Gar, “He tried to make me feel better.” For me, this is the moment when Rachael’s demonic side started taking more control; the darkness is coming forward even more than ever in this episode. However, Rachael still cares for Gar and the other Titans to the point where she brings Trigon into the world in order to save Gar’s life. Similar to Kory, this episode is the last time Rachael receives character development during this season. There will definitely be consequences for Rachael in season 2 and beyond as the threat of Trigon rises, especially when she was the reason the team came together. Overall, Rachael has been a charming and fun character, but has also been something to fear when her powers would emerge.
Then as for Gar, he got a surprising amount of screen time in this episode. Most of Gar’s time revolves around his own post traumatic stress over the Asylum incident. Gar is deeply bothered by what happened and he has not recovered from having killed his torturer. After having visions of the dead scientist, Gar starts to feel sick and starts coughing up blood. While not explicitly stated, I believe that Gar’s sickness is caused either by Trigon or Rachael’s mother. I came to this conclusion as Rachael only summons Trigon to save Gar, and when he discovered the old family photos earlier on. In addition, like the others, Gar’s story ends here for now. I feel like out of all of the main Titans, Gar got the short end of the stick. It feels like Gar was placed into the series to provide levity and not much else, as Gar did not get much to do this season; Gar barely changed forms and while it is a budgeting issue, having him only be able to turn into a tiger is definitely a cop out. I hope in season 2, the series can get a larger budget, so Gar will get more time to shine as Beast Boy.
Now, Rachael’s mother and Trigon’s lover, Angela seemed sweet and innocent mere episodes ago. However, as this episode goes on she becomes more and more sinister. In an unsurprising twist, Kory, Dick and Donna find out that in the Trigon prophecy it shows Angela alongside Trigon which is what prompts them to head back to the house. Angela overall is not the most developed character in the series, but she does serve a very distinct purpose; to help turn Rachael and make her bring Trigon to Earth. Angela is essentially is a plot device in the season as a whole, so let’s talk about her lover, Trigon.
After being built up all season, Trigon finally arrives! In Titans, Trigon is not presented as a giant red demon, but instead as a normal looking man. Yet, as Trigon comes through the portal viewers get a brief glimpse of his true form, a form which is also seen on the computer in Kory’s ship. Now, interestingly enough having Trigon in human form helps to bridge the gap in logic as to why Rachael and Angela would be trusting of him. In addition, Trigon’s arrival creates a barrier around the house that prevents Donna and Kory from following Dick inside. From the brief interactions with Trigon, I think he is going to develop into a very interesting villain in season 2.
With Donna Troy making a huge splash with her debut back in episode 8, fans could only hope that she would get to do more in this episode. However, Donna does not get to do much, but she is essential to the story. Donna’s presence is what saves Rachel, as well as her ability to translate the Tamaranian language allows Dick, Kory and herself to figure out Angela’s true plan. I really hope Donna gets promoted to being a full-time cast member next season, as there is a lot of potential with the character. Dick also did not get much in the way of development this time, but that will all change in the next episode.
Episode 10 feels more like a season finale for everyone in the cast not named Dick. We have some wrap ups to season long drama, but a lot of things left open for the series’ second season. Overall, this episode is good for development of its characters and the climax of the story. Whereas, next time on Titans it is the season finale, “Dick Grayson,” an episode that falls into the series’ biggest flaw, making unnecessary detours. Nevertheless, the finale pits the Boy Wonder against the Dark Knight, where one will die…
Soundout Side Notes:
- When Angela gets approached by a long lost high school friend, I honestly expected him to be a killer or a creep, so let us blame the previous episode for making me unable to trust new people.
- Ironically, Angela turned out to be the unexpected killer of the week.
- Wheelz believes Angela is an “evil twin,” posing as her sister and biological mother to Rachael as an old family photo indicates there as twin sisters. The real Angela having been the one to sire Trigon’s seed, whereas the other is his preferred partner.
- Not sure what significance episode 9 has in its placement, as the only real connection is Rachael calling out to Hank and Dawn while she is being attacked by Kory.
- Fans got their wish this week as we get to see Kory fly… across the room… after being thrown by Donna…
