Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Titans: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 4, 2020

Titans powered onto the small screen in 2018, bringing with it an unapologetically dark, gritty, violent, and oftentimes frantic show that assembled a terrifically diverse and powerful team of heroes just coming into their own. The first season was, overall, splendid entertainment, albeit entertainment abruptly ended with a curiously misplaced season finale. Season two begins with a remedy, essentially starting with season one's finisher and moving on from there to build the season two arc, which has its high points but also its lows, namely a scattered feel and a lack of cohesion that even a few new characters and some daring narrative arcs cannot resolve with the finesse the show needs to carry it to success.

Official synopsis: Following the aftermath of an encounter with Trigon, Dick Grayson reforms the Titans. Under his supervision in their new home at Titans Tower, Rachel Roth/Raven, Gar Logan/Beast Boy and Jason Todd/Robin train together to hone their hero abilities and teamwork skills. They're joined by Hank Hall/Hawk, Dawn Granger/Dove and Donna Troy/Wonder Girl, who have attempted to transition into regular lives. But when old enemies resurface, everyone must come together to take care of unfinished business. And as this family of old and new Titans – including Conner Kent/Superboy and Rose Wilson/Ravager – learns to co-exist, the arrival of Slade Wilson/Deathstroke brings to light the sins of the past, threatening to tear apart the Titans family once more.

There's plenty going on with Titans' second season. And that might be its most glaring weakness. The show runners and writers have attempted to cram so many arcs and story lines and character details into the show that none of it has much of an opportunity to more fully explore the promise the show established in season one (its somewhat anticlimactic finale not withstanding). Fans are given plenty of information to devour and the season does at least end with some gusto, rearranging some of the primary story drivers and reworking key elements pointing towards what promises to be a more substantial third season.

But with an ensemble show such as this, it's the characters, the chemistry, the sense of family and togetherness that propels the content, and there's plenty of that within and throughout season two. The cast is comfortable -- in a good way -- in their costumes and around one another, having fully bought into the universe and moved beyond core, established connections to find that more intimate bond that will see the team grow through the season and beyond. The show's characters are supported by a quality production that is certainly a product of small screen limitations but that thrives on content rather than splash, on characters rather than anything to draw the audience away from the show's center.

The following episodes comprise season two. These rather terse summaries are courtesy of an insert included with the Blu-ray set.

Disc One:

• Trigon: Trigon sets out to win the Titans over to his side by embracing their inner darkness.
• Rose: A threat from the past drives the Titans -- old and new -- back together.
• Ghosts: Secrets threaten to tear apart the Titans from within.
• Aqualad: The original Titans thrive as a Super Hero team...until a new villain arrives.
• Deathstroke: The Titans try everything to save Jason Todd from Deathstroke.
• Conner: Conner Kent and Krypto escape from Cadmus Labs.
• Bruce Wayne: Dick Grayson sets out alone to track down Deathstroke.

Disc Two:

• Jericho: Dick befriends Jericho Wilson to gain intel about Deathstroke.
• Atonement: In light of Dick's confession, the Titans disband and go their separate ways.
• Fallen: Titans Tower comes under attack by Mercy Graves.
• E.L._.O.: The Titans team up to rescue Dick and Gar Logan.
• Faux-Hawk: Hank Hall finds himself at a new low.
• Nightwing: The Titans battle Deathstroke and more in the epic season finale.

Titans: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Titans: The Complete Second Season's 1080p transfer is stout and sturdy. The picture, often bathed in blues and grays and devoid of intensive color output, handles its tonal limitations quite well, offering superb black levels and carefully rendered tones within its somewhat limited spectrum. But expect to find a pleasantly diverse and healthy offshoot of grays and blues as various scenes play out. There are certainly some exceptions when color finds more differentiation. High intensity automobile headlights or taillights, illuminated windows and signs, warmly lit candles and light sources are amongst the handful of reprieves from the prevailing spectrum, and each presents with healthy contrast and clarity against even the most challenging surrounding low light and fully dark environments. Details are sharp and true across the diverse character and costume roster while environments never miss a beat. Banding is fairly regular and unsightly in its most intense pushes, which come several times per episode, on the norm. The picture is refined and healthy otherwise with minimal noise and no encode issues of note.

Titans: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Titans: The Complete Second Season's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is practically flawless. It's intense, robust, and fully engaging as necessary but can turn on a dime for quiet, intimate character moments, too. The action scenes deliver high output low end depth while holding detail, too, never simply spitting out a jumble of bass for the sake of bass. That balance extends to music and support atmospherics, which always play in harmony with the action or expert clarity when on their own. Music is wide, exceptionally well detailed, and folds in just enough surround support to keep things balanced and interesting; it's always in proper proportion, and enjoyably so. Atmospherics are also well positioned and naturally immersive, whether fine supportive elements or more aggressive components with a more intense posture and presence. The track is always fluid and full, slowing down only for essential dialogue reproduction that is clear, well prioritized, and grounded in a natural front-center location.

Titans: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Titans: The Complete Second Season contains one extra: Jason Todd - Fate by the Fans (1080p, 11:52). The piece begins with this text: In 1988, DC did something never before attempted in the history of comics. They asked the fans to decide if Robin should live or die. After a montage showing Robin's death on the comic book page, the piece explores how the fans voted again for Todd's fate. The piece looks at the differences between Jason Todd and Dick Grayson, the character's history with Batman, Todd's character traits, the fallout from Todd's death in the comics, and the second chance the character earns in this TV show. A digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships in a non-embossed slip box.

Titans: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Titans' second season is not without issue, but there's enough growth and promise to look forward to what season three has to offer. Warner Brothers' two-disc Blu-ray release of Titans: The Complete Second Season is disappointedly short on extra content but the video and audio presentations are first-class. Recommended.