Last week I said some very negative things about Teen Titans Go! I said it was trite, lazy, and just not entertaining.
This week, Robin tries to get his driver’s license by acting as the getaway driver for a bank robber played by a Ben Stein impersonator and Raven’s inter-dimensional demon dad Trigon wears a sweater vest.
I take back everything I said. Spoilers ahead!
The first half of the episode is about how Robin is bumming rides from everyone because he crashed the Batmobile. Everyone gets tired of this because of his constant interruptions, Cyborg being interrupted while re-calibrating his memory systems which leads to a great recurring gag where he has no idea who Starfire is, and as a result Robin goes on Craigslist and finds a driver instructor. The instructor, who isn’t voiced by Ben Stein but by the guy who played Johnny Bravo doing a Ben Stein impression, robs banks and has unknowingly act as his getaway driver. It’s a fun Silver-Age style idea that takes a not-Silver-Age turn at the end when, after the Titans defeat Evil Ben Stein, Robin reveals that he knew he was an accessory in felonies this whole time and allows Raven to throw Evil Ben Stein into Hell. Teen Titans Go! goes hard.
I said last week that the problem with the plots of both episodes was just how weak their plots felt, like we were just watching a half-finished Mad Libs page. This week, though? Some really good ideas were thrown out there: bank robbing driver’s ed teachers, Cyborg’s amnesia, casting Ben Stein into the bowels of damnation. It was clear that some actual thought was put into this week’s plot compared to last week’s “Uh, they have to find a magic sandwich so Raven can watch My Little Pony and stuff with pie happens?” Even the second segment of this episode is leaps and bounds over either of last week’s.
Raven’s dad, Trigon, shows up to visit, bringing with him a sitcom style laugh track. Raven’s upset because her dad wants her to be a warlord like he is but since she never explains that everyone just assume she’s being another wacky old teenager. The other Titans warm up to Trigon who grants them all wishes. Beast Boy can now turn into anything, Starfire talks like those types of teenagers that only exist in the dying visions of the elderly, Cyborg has a dog for a hand and Robin…
Robin gets some stuff too.
Eventually, the Titans learn Trigon is bad and use their new powers to send him back to Hell (which seems to be a recurring theme in this series). They apologize for Raven for not believing that her demonic dad was a butt and everyone makes up.
Teen Titans Go!, so far, isn’t exactly the strongest series. It’s fairly shallow, although the latter did have a good message about how some parents don’t know best underneath all of Robin’s muscles. In the end, it’s dumb fun. Maybe not Brave and the Bold, which was more self-aware and had some really sincere episodes, but Teen Titans Go! offers some really dumb jokes if you’re into that sort of thing.
Review Score: 7/10 – Fun, but pretty shallow.
