Welcome back once again for the surprisingly penultimate episode of Titans Season 2, “Faux Hawk.” This episode objectively wasn’t the best but it was weirdly charming so I will refrain from bullying it as much as I have but I fully expect my lunch money, next week Titans! Do you hear me?! Anyway let’s get into it and Beware Spoilers Ahead!
1. Cadmus Hunt
In an early scene, we get our sweet boy Gar at a coffee shop, telling the barista he went to get his head screwed on straight before hearing some classical music, which triggers Gar to attack the patrons and turn into the Adobe After Effects Tiger in a green filter. He returns to a van where Mercy Graves is waiting for him. He transforms back to his naked self, covered in blood and asks what he’s just done. Mercy responds that it was a test. Ryan Potter sheds a real tear for what has become of his sweet boy.
The next scene sees Walter, the Otis to Mercy’s Luthor, as he watches exactly what happened on the news. A statement from the Mayor states that the attack was evidence of a metahuman threat and that the city is bringing in a private security firm called…Cadmus to fix the problem. You all don’t think…Aw shit! Aw shit is exactly what Walter is thinking until his sushi order arrives, delivered by Titans’ very own Donna Troy and Dawn Granger. Walter is eager to show them his hydrofoil, which gets him lassoed and interrogated. He reveals the details of the brainwashing but doesn’t know much else, but that’s enough to raise the concern of Donna and Dawn. Donna says that with the other Titan’s in the wind they probably should grab Hank, which Dawn obviously is not into. It doesn’t matter, Hank is probably fine!
Off in…I want to say Nevada? Kory and Rachel are struggling. Kory’s powers aren’t working which is a whole new plotline with one episode left in the season but ok. Kory and Rachel have an argument in the car over whether to find Dick or go back to San Francisco. They toss out insults that they immediately apologize for and it’s very cute.
A LOT OF THE EPISODE HAPPENS and then–
In the closing moments of the episode, Walter returns and explains his interrogation to Mercy who then says Phase Two is moved up. Which then cuts to a carnival where Gar sits in a van before classical music plays. Ruh-Roh.
2. Rose Wilson: Who She Is and How She Came to Be!
Jason and Rose are still squatting in that goddamn house because the show spent too much money on that set for them not to use it. They have banter about breakfast hotdogs, before Jason gets a text from Rachel saying all hands on deck because of the whole Gar thing. Jason dismisses it because he thinks the Titans think he’s useless or that it’s one of Dick’s games. Rose ensures that they are going to need help because if they get back together Slade will kill them all. Jason asks how she knows this and Rose begins a surprisingly long flashback.
Three years ago Rose is hit by a car and heals really fast prompting to ask about her real dad. Her mom says he was nobody. Three weeks later, Slade walks into his house where Wintergreen says look its this weird girl. It’s Rose who says she’s his daughter before she shoots herself in the hand to prove that she’s a freak. Slade insists that her mom was just a hook up at a hotel, and that if she comes back he’ll hurt her because he knows how. Rose says she can hurt him too.
Ten days later, Rose is getting ready for prom and she’s bummed out that the man threatened her and whom she also threatened isn’t there for her big day. Just then that man who threatened her pulls up and offers to take her away to be a part of his life. Rose has to be convinced which is INSANE because she just wished he was there which was the opposite of her threatening, which was the opposite of her finding him to be apart of this life! Grrr I said I’d be nice this episode…but come on now.
Continued belowA vague amount of time passes where Rose has her costume from the comics and is training with Slade. The costume doesn’t make sense because one of the eyes is blacked out but Rose hasn’t lost that eye yet… I shouldn’t complain because this episode is the first in so long to acknowledge that these characters wear costumes so I’ll shut up.
Later at dinner, Slade talks about his son who was killed by psychopaths called the Titans and that revenge is on his mind. Rose reveals that she broke out Dr. Light and in another flashback reveals that her joining the Titans was all apart of Slade’s plan, including losing the eye.
In present day, Chelsea T Zhang and Curren Walters are on two different shows. Rose apologizes as though she went to Chipotle and didn’t get him anything while Jason is rightfully betrayed and ACTING. Jason begins to leave on his own before Rose tries to stop him and punches him to get him to fight. Jason wipes the blood off and declares “fuck everyone”. 🙁
3. Dick Grayson and the edging of Nightwing
Backtracking to the beginning of this episode, we flashback to the moment of Jericho’s death where we see him body hop into his daddy. Then present day where Jericho is inside this funky black and white set that represents Slade’s head. Jericho still roots heavy with the Titans and tries to kill his dad by making him walk in front of a truck. Ah we’ve missed you, Jericho.
Much later in the episode Wintergreen is filling Slade in on the Titan’s whereabouts, citing that Dawn and Donna are rolling around but Slade wants to know where the big D is. Wintergreen says that he’ll look for his friends eventually and then shows him some gifts for him when he does. The gifts are guns btw.
Dick Grayson wears a hat in Nevada apparently when he visits Jericho’s mom, Adelaide, who…also is in Nevada??
Adelaide reveals that Rose was working with Slade. Dick feels stupid. Dick is stupid. She also didn’t notice the signs of Jericho hiding in Slade until too late. Adelaide then commands Dick to bring her son back.
Dick’s first stop after this to Stu’s Handmade Shoes, where one of my least favorite part happens. Stu and Dick do an improv scene about fruitcakes and then Stu burns his fruitcake to shame Dick for burning his Robin costume. Stu reveals his secret super haberdashery where Lily also roasts Dick for his roasting of their costume. They then reveal the Nightwing costume but cut it in a way where we see it but not in a way where we see it meaningfully. But look we know we’re getting Nightwing.
I can’t put my finger on why this scene rubbed me the wrong way. There’s no REAL reason for Dick to get a new costume or identity. Literally no one in this show cares about identities or costumes. This Nightwing transition really feels so much like “we have to do this.” We don’t even get to see him awkwardly reference him appropriating the culture of his prison friend. The suit is just made when he gets there because apparently Bruce Wayne said that he’d be there. Bruce Wayne is maybe God in this universe??? I cannot tell!
Ugh speaking of costumes…
4. The Titular “Faux Hawk”
Were you too wondering why the heck this episode was called “Faux Hawk” well lets check in with Hank Hall and find out.
Oh-Oh no. Hank is cage fighting for cocaine…and it’s…fun. Like I am fully aware that this is Hank and rock bottom but this feels like the most fun the show has had with itself in such a long time. DMX is playing as Hank goes through a montage of fighting dudes in his Hawk costume. I am not a wrestling fan but superheroes fighting in wrestling contexts is definitely what I am into. Also, Alan Ritchson’s hair is buzzed and he has a beard which is GOOD CONTENT. He looks good.
After this montage, Hank leaves and a fan asks if he’s Hawk. This cuts to a really funny scene where they are having sex but the fan literally can’t touch him because he is sore everywhere. He’s not doing well but I can’t stop watching.
Continued belowLater we come back cage match between Hawk and …DOVE?! Dawn is kicking Hank’s ass and berating that he loved getting high more than he loved her. It’s all a dream though as Hank wakes up in his bed.
Later still Hank is listening to a news report of someone robbing a laundromat in the Hawk costume. Hank, in his undies, checks his costume and it is not there. Alan Ritchson looks great, really.
Hanks checks the laundromat where another man in his underwear gives some exposition (and insults to Hawk) and reveals the Instagram of the Faux Hawk. Hank tracks down the nerd in the Hawk costume and punches him immediately.
After bagging his costume, Hank berates the nerd for completely missing the point of what the Titans are about by robbing a laundromat. This is all well and good but Faux Hawk asks if he’ll get his money back revealing that Hank actually sold the costume in order to get more cocaine and didn’t remember because he was so high. Shit! The nerd says that wearing the Hawk costume gave him a sense of purpose and he knows that Hank knows this…SHIT!
In the final moments of the episode, Hank tries to sleep but can only stare at the lines of cocaine on his table.
Shit.
5. Penultimate Final Thoughts
“Faux Hawk”‘s tone was all over the place. Hank’s struggle with addiction this season has been one of the more grounded stories this season and was delivered incredibly thoughtfully, but in this episode, his rock bottom is presented as a wacky adventure. Hank’s cage fighting feels like a party, which probably is meant to evoke what cocaine does to him, but the lows and withdrawals are evident in Hank’s soreness, him forgetting he sold his costume, and this weird kid telling him what it means to be Hawk. It’s wild that this is probably as much resolution that we are going to get from this arc and it feels so strange.
I would give this episode so much more slack if it literally wasn’t the second to last episode. It makes me so nervous for how the season will wrap up. Will it take a Flying Grayson to stick the landing. I guess we will find out next week in, “Nightwing”!
