Titans 1.04 review: 'Blackfire'

 This post contains spoilers for Titans episode 4 ‘Blackfire’.
Check out our last review here. 

With the fourth episode titled ‘Blackfire’, we finally get to meet Starfire’s (Anna Diop) infamous and jealous sister, Blackfire (Damaris Lewis). Unfortunately, she is found captured by the government and placed in a cage that strips her of her powers. It is quite sad to see one of the deadliest villains be trapped in a cage for the rest of her life. Despite all the terrible and unforgivable things Blackfire has done, I understand why Starfire decides to help her sister. Starfire is actually a decent person and probably feels guilty for abandoning Blackfire in solitude for the rest of her life. I don’t know how Starfire is going to deal with Blackfire now that she is out and will regain her powers soon. Blackfire has a lot of hate and vengeance in her heart. I don’t see how she is going to behave while with the Titans. 

I am a little disappointed that Blackfire was able to be so easily captured. She’s supposed to be the big bad of the season. How did she get captured by the government? I’m really hoping that it’s a red herring and Blackfire wanted to be found in order to draw her sister in and gain her trust. There is always an angle with this series. 

As for Conner (Joshua Orpin), he is going through the seven stages of grief and blames himself for Hank’s death. He blames it on the Lex Luthor side of him, even though it is his Lex Luthor IQ that enabled him to build the device that could have saved Hank. I don’t blame him for being so angry. He saw a man die right in front of him. He is also a young kid who never experienced true loss and pain.

But the person I really felt bad for during this episode was Gar aka Beast Boy (Ryan Potter), who had to deal with both Conner and Starfire’s problems. After being told off by Conner, Gar continues to be the moral support and glue for the rest of the team. Although they really don’t deserve him. He’s a kind kid who is just trying to keep the family together, but at the cost of him being tossed around and locked in the trunk of a car. I am glad that Gar and Starfire went off on their little adventure together, but it still doesn’t erase the fact that Gar has been a punching bag throughout the past three seasons. Give him some wins. 

Back in Gotham, we find out that Scarecrow (Vincent Kartheiser) is the reason Jason Todd (Curran Walters) is alive. I don’t know how Dick (Brenton Thwaites) figured it out and I have no idea how to connect the two--Jason and Scarecrow--together. I’ll just accept this to be true since Scarecrow eventually admitted it. 

I also have no idea what Dick was thinking, going to a cabin in the woods by himself. Dick is truly becoming like Batman--doing things on his own. He has an entire team of superhumans and he decides to take on Red Hood alone. Of course, Barbara Gordon (Savannah Welch) steps in to help Dick by sending in a sniper to shoot Jason, but fails to get him. I did enjoy Barbara in this episode. As a huge Batgirl fan, I am quite protective of the character, but I did like her more when she is by herself without Dick to bring her down.

Overall, the episode was great when the Titans spent time together. I didn’t like what happened to Gar, but at least he got screen time with Starfire. I’m looking forward to what Starfire is going to do with Blackfire--especially since she will regain her powers in full soon. Hopefully Blackfire will remain a baddie and not have a change of heart because of her sister’s decision to save her. I want to see the Blackfire we all know from the comics and cartoons--fierce, scary, and villainous.