Advance Review: TITANS Goes Even Darker With Part 1 Of Season Four

TITANS returns tomorrow, November 3, on HBO Max for the first part of its fourth season. With two episodes debuting tomorrow, and four more episodes airing through December, fans are in for quite the ride. This new season opens with our favorite band of heroes making their cross-country journey from Gotham City to San Francisco. As with any road trip, the group opts to make a pit stop in Metropolis to surprise Connor, but as it seems to go with the Titans, the surprise takes a more sinister turn. A turn that will leave them wishing they had never made the stop in the first place.

The first part of the fourth season of TITANS leans heavily into the horror elements of DC Comics with the introduction of Mother Mayhem and Brother Blood. The inclusion of these elements, and the smattering of jump scares added throughout the first few episodes, will not only continue spooky season for those who aren’t ready to let it go but allows for Raven to become more of a focal point this season. Her powers and abilities add a great layer to this season, especially since she was missing for most of the last season. At the end of the day though, I would say Although, even with all of the horror and blood, there is a playful side to this season that was vastly missing last season. The Titans are less gloom and doom now that they are no longer residing in Gotham City and are in Metropolis, which might be because the two cities are complete opposites of one another. There are more jokes and personal anecdotes that balance the horror elements out as well. These moments do well to highlight the family side of the Titans, which has been strongly missing over the last three seasons. It’s these elements that also help to expand the storyline of some of our characters, including Gar and Connor. Though both of their storylines are a little slow moving, it is nice to see both of these characters getting more character development.

Joseph Morgan is a wonderful addition to the season as Brother Blood. His character, so far is nothing more than an insecure entrepreneur, looking to sell his new interactive game. However, behind the bumbling façade, Morgan manages to bring an air of mystery to him that will lend beautifully to his villainous persona. Lisa Hayley Ambalavanar takes on the recurring role of the mischievous and magical criminal, Jinx. She is fun addition to the group and manages to add another interesting layer to the season.

Brenton Thwaites, Anna Diop, Teagan Croft, Ryan Potter, Joshua Orpin, and Jay Lycurgo return as our young heroes and continue to be the shining piece of this series. The group gets a chance to truly act alongside each other as an ensemble, which is one of the biggest highlights of the season thus far.

Part 1 of season four is less moody and spookier than its previous seasons. However, even with this change, the series is still the same old TITANS, and if you enjoyed the previous seasons, you will most likely enjoy this one too.