Fallen

"Fallen"
Information
Episode number	21
Original premiere date	November 8, 2019
Written by	Jamie Gorenberg
Directed by	Kevin Sullivan
Chronology
Preceded by	"Atonement"
Followed by	"E.L._.O."

"Fallen" is the tenth episode of the second season of Titans, and the twenty-first episode overall. It aired on November 8, 2019.

Synopsis

After his intentional attack on two police officers results in his arrest, Dick finally finds peace in a Nevada prison. But the hero he's left behind has not been buried forever. Meanwhile, Rachel befriends a runaway girl and takes her under her wing – only to find that her powers might not fully be under her control. Back at Titans Tower, Gar is reunited with Conner and Krypto, but when Mercy Graves sets her sights on retrieving "Subject 13" for Cadmus, Gar finds himself caught in the crossfire.

Cast

Starring

• Brenton Thwaites as Dick Grayson
• Teagan Croft as Rachel Roth/Raven
• Ryan Potter as Gar Logan
• Conor Leslie as Donna Troy
• Joshua Orpin as Subject 13/Conner

Guest starring

• Evan Jones as Len Armstrong
• Orel De La Mota as Rafael
• Julian Works as Luis
• Rey Gallegos as Santos
• Natalie Gumede as Mercy Graves
• Raoul Bhaneja as Walter Hawn

Co-starring

• Delia Chambers as Daughter #1
• Lyla Elliott as Daughter #2
• Jill Niedoba as Mercy's Wife
• Sydney Kuhne as Dani
• Ish Morris as Caleb
• Michael Reventar as Carlos
• Tameka Griffiths as Eriel
• Nicky Lawrence as Soup Kitchen Employee
• Patrick Haye as Guard 1
• Ahmed Moustafa as Police Officer

Plot

Dick is arraigned and processed for assaulting Federal airport officers. He pleads guilty and is taken to Kane County Correctional Facility in Nevada to serve seven years with no chance of parole.

In San Francisco, Mercy, her wife, and their two children are driving across the Golden Gate Bridge. Mercy tries to get her daughters interested in board games, but they're not. Mercy's wife shrugs and doesn't back her up, and Mercy insists that they're playing a board game that night. Mercy then calls Walter, who says that there's been a development. Conner has been reported attacking the police, and Mercy tells him to put a team together. She then tells her family that game night's canceled.

Conner and Krypto walk through the streets and Conner sees a newspaper article about his attack on the policemen. He tells Krypto that it's not safe to be around him anymore, saying that he's the one who did something wrong. When Krypto refuses to go, Conner calls him stupid and yells at him to go, and the dog runs off.

Dick refuses to take his permitted call, and the guard named Len Armstrong identifies him on his computer. He takes Dick off and talks about how he wanted to be a police detective. Dick tells Len that he wanted to plead guilty and he got what he deserved, but Len doesn't believe him and says that they take care of their own. Len takes Dick to the west wing and his private cell, and asks Dick to tell him about anything going on. Dick refuses and Len suggests to perhaps rethink his approach.

Len tosses Dick in a different cell with three prisoners. The guard makes sure they know that Dick is a police detective and leaves, and Dick lies on a bunk bed while the three prisoners play dominoes.

At the Titans Tower, Gar watches video of Conner's attack, He then calls Dick and leaves a voicemail saying that he screwed things up and needs Dick to call him. Krypto arrives downstairs, setting off the security alert, and Gar goes down to get him.

Donna calls Dick and says that Rachel has gone missing.

At a soup kitchen, Rachel is getting food and sees Donna trying to reach her on her phone. She turns the phone over and sits down next to a girl named Dani. She jokes with Dani, who smiles briefly and continues eating.

Dick goes out on the yard and sees his cellmates playing dominoes on a picnic table. One of them, Santos, glances up at the guards on the wall and the departing transport van, and Dick notices. When Dick walks past, Santos asks if they have a problem and notes that Dick keeps watching him and the others. Len takes Dick away and apologizes for throwing Dick in with the "animals", but says that he had to make a point and now it's time to get down to business. He assures Dick that he's got his back and can move him back to the single cell, and Dick tells him not to because he isn't helping him or anyone. Dick admits that he wants to be in prison, and Len warns him to play along and wishes him a good stay before leaving.

As Dick returns to his cell, he sees Santos and his men beating one of Dick's other cellmates, Rafael. Dick ducks back out of sight as Santos tells Rafael to pay the "rent" or he'll slice him. Rafael agrees to do it over his brother Luis' objections. Santos gives Rafael his knife and tells him to kill Dick because he's a cop and down with the guards.

Conner, meanwhile is walking along the street, and Krypto leads Gar to him. He tells Gar to stay away from him, and Gar says that Conner screwed things for him. Conner says that Gar was the one who wanted him to be a Titan, and Gar admits that he clawed a man to pieces once. However, he insists that other people count on them to help them. Conner says that maybe they shouldn't.

Mercy and her team pull up in a hummer and get out, and Conner tells Gar to leave. Gar asks if Conner wants to hurt someone else, and when Conner hesitates, Gar leads him away.

Dani explains that the soup kitchen gets its food from the hotel conventions down the street. Rachel says that she ended up there because her family is fucked up. Dani describes chameleons who lay eggs and then die before they hatch, and Rachel figures that the children are totally free. Dani's father Caleb comes over and tells Dani that it's time to go. Rachel tells Dani that she doesn't have to, and Caleb advises her to mind her own business. Dani tells Rachel that it's okay and leaves with Caleb.

Outside, Caleb tells Dani that he'll kill her if she disappears on him again. Dani sarcastically asks why he should wait, and Caleb starts to hit her. Rachel grabs him with a darkness tendril and pins him to a nearby wall. Caleb begs her not to kill him, and Rachel sees Dani staring at her in horror. Rachel lets Caleb drop to the ground and smiles as he runs off. She apologizes to Dani, and Dani tells her that she's awesome. Behind her, Rachel's darkness flies off on its own, entering a gargoyle on the roof. The gargoyle comes to life and flies off. It hunts down Caleb and attacks him.

Dick is in his cell reading, and finally asks Santos when the escape is. He points out that if he ratted them out, they'd all be in solitary, and warns that the guards will figure out what they're up to soon enough. Dick says that they have no chance of pulling it off, and Santos asks him to tell them how to stay alive. Their cellmate says that they should kill him and goes to sleep.

Later, Dick gets up and goes to the basin. Rafael grabs him and says that he could kill him, but they're not murderers. Immigration picked them up and is going to send them back, and if they do so the gang will kill them. Rafael figures that their only way to stay alive is to escape, and tells Dick to shut up unless he has answers.

Gar, Conner, and Krypto return to the Tower and Conner warns the green-haired Titan that Cadmus is going to keep coming after him. When he advises Gar to ditch him, Gar says that the Titans have each other's backs and figures that he should call in the big guns. As he starts to call Bruce Wayne, a security alarm goes off. The Cadmus soldiers drop down from the roof and through the windows, and Mercy tells them by radio to take Conner alive and kill Gar. Krypto attacks one soldier, and another soldier shoots the dog with a kryptonite-laced net. Conner slams three soldiers away, and Gar attacks another one. Another soldier shoots at Gar and he takes cover.

As the soldiers move in, Gar transforms into a tiger and Mercy orders her soldiers to use tranquilizers only. Conner takes out one soldier but two more tranq Gar. Mercy comes in and tells the soldiers to stop, and tells Conner that she's not there to hurt him. She claims that she's with Eve, who sent her. Mercy assures Gar that he was only shot with tranqs to calm him, and asks Conner if he wants to hurt her or the police officer. Conner says that he isn't sure, and Mercy offers to help him since they created him. Now that they understand the imbalance in Conner, they can stop it... if he comes home.

Meanwhile, Dani takes Rachel to the abandoned apartment where her and her friends are squatting. The other three girls step out and stare at Rachel.

The next day in the cell, Luis tells Santos that he's bored and he's leaving. Dick warns them that escaping is a suicide mission, but Luis insists that they can beat the guards because they're protected by Azul, a winged bird god who saves people in the night and whose image he carved on the wall. Luis says that Azul will save them that night and they'll be free. Dick asks where Azul was when Luis was captured by Immigration Services, but Luis insists that Azul is real and will save them that night.

At Cadmus, Walter tells Mercy that Conner is in stasis. Gar is relaxing in a lounge, and Mercy comes in and introduces herself. He asks to be released, and she says that isn't an option. Mercy says that it was Conner's choice to come back, and Gar points out that he's wearing a rigid uniform to constrain his powers. She offers to help Gar by giving him what Caulder offered Gar, and says that Cadmus and Caulder have met from time to time. Mercy notes that Caulder saved Gar because it served his purposes, and asks Gar if Caulder ever asked what he wanted. She assures Gar that Cadmus will help him explore his powers to his fullest and be everything he wants to be. Gar tells her that he wants to be a Titan.

Caleb's corpse lies bloody and torn in an alley. The police have found him, and the soup kitchen cook says that it was too dark to see who he was with. Donna watches from the street, and then calls Dick and says that she needs him to call her back because Rachel is worse than missing.

Dick is exercising on the yard with the other prisoners, and the transport van leaves. When Rafael looks at Dick, Dick shakes his head. Other ganger come up, and Santos tells Luis and Rafael to go inside. However, another inmate stabs Santos in the neck. Dick yells at Len to call a medic, but Len checks Santos' body and says that it's too late.

Later in the cell, Luis and Rafael pray for Santos. A guard tells them that they're in lockdown until they're transported that night. Dick tells Rafael not to go through with the escape, and Santos being killed is a sign they shouldn't try it. Rafael says that if God wants him dead, it will be his time. If he's alive the next day then it's his sign and God is giving him a chance to be something else.

The next morning at 6 am, the guards come to transport Luis and Rafael back to Mexico. Dick watches them and Luis glances at his drawing of Azul. Out in the yard, Rafael uses a piece of stolen metal to pick the lock on his manacles, and then passes the pick to Luis. The brothers attack the guards but the guards quickly overwhelm them and start beating the two brothers. Dick arrives and takes out the guards, takes the keys to the van, and tells Luis and Rafael to get in. He gets in with them and they drive off, and Dick takes off and takes out a guard blocking their escape. As the van gets out the gate, more guards arrive and capture Dick.

Donna returns to the Tower and sees the destruction caused by the earlier battle. She sees Gar's bloody tigerprints on the floor and a bloody handprint on the wall.

Mercy tells Walter that per Lex's instructions, there have been some changes made concerning Conner. Which included the fact that Walter now answers to her. As for Gar, Mercy figures that it's a good idea to reunite him with the Titans.

Notes

• Some of this episode's easter eggs include:
  • Dick’s prison bunkmates were refugees from the South American nation Corto Maltese. The war-torn country was created by Frank Miller for Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #3.
  • The concept of Corto Maltese has since become quite popular and has been used in subsequent DC stories. It was referenced a few times in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film, where Vicki Vale proudly showed her prize winning photographs of the violent country.
  • The nation of Corto Maltese was brought into the mainstream DC canon in Time Masters #4, and has since been referenced in countless other comics, television shows and movies.
  • Throughout the episode Dick can be seen reading The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. The novel’s protagonist Hans Castorp shares a few similarities with Dick. Both of them lost their parents at a young age, and both can be considered unreliable narrators. Throughout the novel it’s clear that events might not be occurring the way that Castorp says they are. Interestingly enough, Castorp winds up stuck in a sanatorium for 7 years, which is the same amount of time Dick may be facing in prison.
  • Before their breakout, the Corto Maltese refugees told Dick the story of their legendary bird El Ala Azul.El Ala Azul is Spanish for The Blue Wing.
  • The bird carving is similar to the Nightwing chest symbol that was first seen in The New Batman Adventures episode “You Scratch My Back.” The one from the animated series (and seen in this episode) is shaped differently and has feathers.
  • The South American roots of the bird symbol were first established in The Batman Adventures: The Lost Years #3 when Dick met a Brazilian tribe who wore the chest emblem.
  • Although Nightwing’s costume has had a blue bird symbol since 1995’s Nightwing #2.
  • There have been a few versions of Nightwing’s origin where the hearing the story of a legendary figure inspires him to don a new identity. The most famous case is: Nightwing Secret Files #1, where Superman told Dick about a Kryptonian hero who was exiled from his family. The conversation was later retold in Nightwing #102.
  • The song “Smash it Up” by a group called The Damned is a reference to Offsprings' version of the song in the 1995 film Batman Forever.

Gallery

Promotional stills