Alright since I started this thread I might as well give my first expression for the episodes 1-3 to everyone who is undecided whether to watch it or no, has heard bad or irritating things about it etc.
Episode 1:
I just watched the first episode and I have to say I am pleasently surprised.
From the very first moment to the very last I instantly got the feeling of watching an alternate universe version of Titans. Dark, Gritty, with less focus on the morale we usually see in the comics or even other DC shows like Gotham or Flash.
I was irritated at the character portrayal at first but it quickly grew on me. Instead of being repelled for being not absolutely true to the comic counterpart or the famous 2003 cartoon I instantly got hooked with a curiousity as to how they flesh out these alternate versions of the characters.
Also there have been some really good feats and hype already, with low wall level Raven when she send someone flying into a housewall, turning a human including its bones to ash from starfire, some mad SoulSelf hax from Raven making a dude puke its guts out and a really big "he will put our sun out" hype for Trigon.
All in all: Very good start if we dont look at it with die hard comic or cartoon eyes but with an open mind.
Gonna watch episodes 2 and 3 now.
Only thing it lacks: Not a single moment of comedic relief. The little BeastBoy incident at the end can hardly called that, seeing how it was meant to be a brief introduction.
Staying with BB for a moment: I was interested to see how they will deliver his animal sides and changes. Cant say I am too impressed yet however also not really disappointed. Was just one animal moment and I dont feel its time to judge yet.
-
Episode 2
Alright watched episode 2 and it gets even grittiers.
This episode solely focused on the Raven/Robin dynamic while advancing the plot. No Starfire, no BeastBoy. Great portrayal by the newly introduced characters Hank and Dawn - the ending had me shocked. I was not expecting Dawn being the one hanging onto her life.
Surprised to see the police women got so gruesomly killed. After the first episode I was expecting her to act as a form of anchor for Robin to keep his sanity. He opened up to her to a reasonable extent and it could have been a possible love interest for some time. Her home invasion incident had me baffled.
The way how Raven and Robin manage to slowly build up trust towards each other only for Robin to sabotage that due to his own insecurity was well delivered - Raven being an empath makes it all the more easy to deliver seeing how for us, the viewers, the question whether Robin was holding true to his words or not are not blurry but get called out loud in the open. You come back? No, you just lied to me.
I am getting used to the brutality in the show. It even more reaffirms me in the believe of treating this as an alternate universer DC. Also I am glad that while Raven is technically still a kid she already is in for the bigger picture. Fittingly Dawn got her to open up in seconds when she "didnt treat her like a kid".
In terms of feats Ravens shout which pushed back Hank and Robin and broke the window stood out. I am expecting this verse to enter the magical sphere pretty heavily. And with Raven being able to summon her Soul Self which performs durability negating "every organ vaporized" stuff she might now already be ready for some lower tier UBD topics.
I am hooked for episode 3 !
-
Episode 3
episode 3 and this was easily the best one so far. so many great things.
lets start with something obvious: starfire is a beast.
yes, i mean it. it doesnt matter that i was expecting a more traditional starfire or even a 03 starfires version at first, the starfire the show has introduced follows a complete opposite path and she does it brilliantly. the light to ravens darkness. seeking her before the story began with knowledge about what might happen is so different than oblivious visitor from outer space that a comparison is absolutely not possible. nowhere in the titans history has starfire been portraied in such a way and this to me is a legitimate new angle which allows for designing her the way she is.
i really enjoy that she is the one taking the lead most of the time, even when paired with quasi-mc robin. the way she handled these thugs was satisfying. the way she stole robins car was funny. the way she bulldozered her way to raven at the beginning of the episode was perfectly in character.
i acknowledge this version starfire as a complete unique character with unique motives and background knowledge compared to the traditional starfire we know from the comics and cartoon - and i am liking it very much.
secondly: i like that they slowly introduce every titan but dont force it upon us that these people need to someday be a world saving team. we are 3 episodes in and beastboy had around 30 seconds screentime in general. i expect him to naturally flow into the story in the next episode, after having been introduced in ep 2 and now having had a brief exchange with raven and the gang in ep 3.
the robin backstory was telling albeit i dont think it was particular interesting. they seem to stick true to its roots and him being roughed up in his teen upon entering the buce mansion is expected. i dont expect any major reveals from his past.
one thing i like to note however: the shot where we see an apparent bruce wayne from behind reminded me of ben affleck. his head and shoulder portion resembled the actor and his version of batman - interesting subjective opinion, but unrelated to the overall plot i guess.
glad to see that dawn survived - by a thread - and now is in recovery. fairly sure that story arc will be developed further.
the big baddie doomsday cult (brother blood intro somewhere down the line maybe?) strikes me as odd. going by what they say, they know trigon will "rip the flesh of the earth" so they know regardless what happens, they are doomed just as well. yet somehow despite that knowledge they pursue the matter. i would understand them doing things if they thought trigon is some form of savior who basically destroys and rebuilds. a god so to speak but it seems to me they pretty much know that he will just **** everything up.
i cant say i blame the sisters tho. they seem to know what is up and hence they take drastic measures to prevent it. even if that means imprisoning and deceiving raven and the gang. all for the greater good.
raven is really well played. i enjoy her shifting from kid to troubled portal of doom depending of the situaiton. be it complex talk or random arcade fun, she always takes the spotlight - unless starfire is in the same scene, then she remains in the background while the tough alien handles stuff.
i am overall happy that, while the overall fsk18 tone remains and sometimes even gets more dark we now have some comedy or joke moments. not too many, in fact very little, but without any at all it would be very hard to keep the tense atmosphere since there is just so much more gritty you can get without relaxing a bit from time to time.
lastly, the feats.
ladies and gents we have officially entered building level. starfire vaporizing that wall was already the first wall+ to low building level feat, maybe i will calc it even later, but raven having an outburst to free herself and in the process severely damaging/destroying the entire - really big - church we have left street level territorium.
surprisingly enough even the bad assasins seem to be superhuman already, as they can throw people flying through the air and wood. something i have not yet realized up until now.
and of course raven/trigon gets hyped again, as starfire describes her/him as "the destroyer of worlds"
this might become a really strong live action verse.
i am slowly becoming a fan.