TV Review: Titans Season 2 Episode 8

Titans Season 2 Episode 8 “Jericho”

Director: Toa Fraser

Starring: Brenton Thwaites, Teagan Croft, Anna Diop, Ryan Potter, Curran Walters, Conor Leslie, Minka Kelly, Alan Ritchson, Chelsea Zhang, Esai Morales, Chella Man

Rating: TV-MA

Runtime: 48 minutes

Welp, that last episode of Titans got a little heavy towards the end. Jason Todd is literally standing on a ledge because he blames himself for all the current Deathstroke and team drama. To talk him down, Dick Grayson reveals that he is responsible since he killed Jericho, Deathstroke’s son. That bombshell leads us straight into this episode, titled “Jericho” giving us backstory on Deathstroke, Jericho, and why the Titans broke up.

Following the death of Aqualad, Dick Grayson befriends Jericho, a mute kid who loves vinyl records. Unknown to Jericho, it’s all for some very insidious reasons. Making friends with the team, Jericho tells them about his war hero father, Slade Wilson, and why he’s mute now. Learning this, half of the Titans grow a conscience and don’t want to use Jericho just to get Deathstroke. All too late, Deathstroke finds out about the team getting close with his son, and tragedy follows.

First things first, Chella Man is fantastic in this episode. The strongest part of this show is the cast, and I don’t think this would work if he wasn’t a likable character. He’s just a kid with some bumps in his past, and he makes some friends. And then it all gets turned sideways and you just feel for him. This episode serves as the backstory for Deathstroke as well, and I’m fully 100% on board with Esai Morales as the terminator. It’s not too physical, but there’s an action sequence where you can see his face, and I’m pretty sure it’s not a stunt double. And it’s as badass as Deathstroke should be.

The rest of the cast is great, as always. Brenton Thwaites is pretty much my definitive Robin/Dick Grayson at this point. Conor Leslie, Minka Kelly, and Alan Ritchson don’t have as much screen time, but they’re there when needed. Including a fun scene involving Jericho’s powers to take control of other people. That’s also something that I don’t even think is bad in this episode, since it does use special effects. It’s not entirely subtle, but it works in the small doses we see it in action.

Dick Grayson being responsible for killing Jericho falls in line with his character. He also “killed” Tony Zucco, the man who murdered his parents, and he “kills” Jericho in the same way. He’s not responsible, but the guilt weighs on him. This is a really strong episode of Titans. We get a lot of backstory that’s been mostly hinted at throughout this season. I don’t think I could say it’s the absolute best episode, but it’s definitely up there in the rankings.

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