Atonement

"Atonement"
Information
Episode number	20
Original premiere date	November 1, 2019
Written by	Jeffrey David Thomas
Directed by	Boris Mojsovski
Chronology
Preceded by	"Jericho"
Followed by	"Fallen"

"Atonement" is the ninth episode of the second season of Titans, and the twentieth episode overall. It premiered on November 1, 2019.

Synopsis

In the aftermath of Dick's confession, the Titans' world is rocked to the core – and Dick’s fear that his secret would break up the Titans comes true. Abandoning Titans Tower, the heroes all go their separate ways. Hank and Dawn return to Wyoming, Jason and Rose leave together, and Donna agrees to take Rachel with her. Kory, meanwhile, is surprised to hear from Faddei, who’s returned with bad news from her home planet. Leaving Gar alone to tend to the still wounded Conner, Dick departs as well, in search of absolution for Jericho's death.

Cast

Starring

• Brenton Thwaites as Dick Grayson
• Anna Diop as Koriand'r
• Teagan Croft as Rachel Roth/Raven
• Ryan Potter as Gar Logan
• Curran Walters as Jason Todd
• Conor Leslie as Donna Troy
• Chelsea Zhang as Rose Wilson
• Joshua Orpin as Conner
• Alan Ritchson as Hank Hall
• Minka Kelly as Dawn Granger

Special appearance by

• Esai Morales as Slade Wilson

Guest starring

• Robbie Jones as Faddei
• Damaris Lewis as Blackfire
• Mayko Nguyen as Adeline
• Elizabeth Whitmere as Peg

Co-starring

• Colin Doyle as Bar MC
• Kevin Dennis as Dermot The Singer
• Ellora Patnaik as Ticket Agent
• Katherine Trowell as Bartender
• Durand Allan as Lone Patron
• Nicolas Van Burek as First Airport Cop
• James Mark as Second Airport Cop

Plot

At the Tower, Dick admits that he lied to the old team because he was afraid they'd leave the Tower and him. He explains that Jericho died trying to save Dick from Deathstroke, and apologizes. Hank gets up and punches Dick, and Donna asks what other half-truths Dick has told them. Rose tells Dick that her brother is dead because of him and says that she's out, and Jason says that he's going with her. Donna agrees as well and leaves, and Rachel goes with her, telling Gar that she can't stay there. Hank and Dawn go too, leaving only Dick, Kory, and Gar. Faddei texts Kory saying that they need to talk downstairs, and she tells Dick that she has a loose end to take care of. Kory assures Dick that least it's out and it will all end soon.

Faddei pulls up in a car and Kory gets in. As they drive off, Faddei says that Blackfire sent her friends to kill both of them. Blackfire now wears Kory's crown, having had Kory declared dead. Faddei warns her that Blackfire is taking apart everything that they've built, and that anyone who gets in her way dies. He advises Kory to run, and Kory tells him to take her to her ship. He says that he destroyed it escaping, but they can fix his ship.

Rachel points out that Donna was there as well and they all played a part and decided to keep it a secret. Donna says that she thought it was for the best. When they stop in a traffic jam, Rachel's darkness surrounds Donna, pinning her in place. Rachel gets out and goes off, and by the time the darkness fades, Rachel is gone.

Dick prepares to leave and Gar says that he doesn't have to even if the others have. He figures Dick can't do anything else, and Dick says that he can't do anything else there. Gar wonders what he's supposed to do, and Dick tells him to run the place and focus on helping Conner, and call Bruce when Conner wakes up. They hug and Dick says that he'll be back, and leaves.

On day 1, Gar goes to work on his plan to save the Titans. He wakes up, drinks coffee, makes a smoothie, spars in the training room, washes dishes, puts up motivational post-its, and reads to the unconscious Conner.

On the second day, Gar does the same thing. However, while still doing the same routine, he is growing increasing bored of it by the third day.

In Wyoming, Hank is working on the sink when Dawn returns home with groceries. He suggests that they go somewhere else, and Dawn says that they need a win. She tells him that she knows exactly where they're going.

On day 4, a naked Conner gets up and visits Gar, and Conner gets dressed, Gar says that they have the place to themselves until the others come back. Conner wonders how he got there, and asks where they are. Gar says that it's Titans Tower, and admits that it sounds weird without any context. He explains that the Titans are heroes and Conner saved Jason, and calls Bruce. However, he hangs up before connecting and walks off.

Faddei and Kory stop at a gas station, and Kory goes inside while Faddei gets gas. Someone shoots a dart into Faddei's neck, and an alien insect crawls out of it and into his ear which results in Faddei's eyes turning a solid white.

Gar shows Conner the training room, and Conner asks where the Titans are. Punching a bag, Gar says that they'll come back once they realize how important what they're doing is. He invites Conner to hit the bag, and Conner punches through it with one blow. Conner apologizes, and Gar figures that the others will think he did it.

Hank and Dawn go to a karaoke bar, and finally go up on stage to sing. They're good and the audience sing along. Afterward, Hank and Dawn go out to their car, kissing, and a woman comes out and says that they're cute. They don’t recognize her, and the woman realizes it and says that she knows them. She says that she's Ellis sister Peg, and Dawn insists that they didn't get Ellis killed. Hank tells Peg to back off, asking where Peg was when Ellis got hooked. Peg points out that they got him killed. She says that she's going to make their lives a living hell, promises "One day at a time", and walks away. Dawn tells Hank not to listen to Peg and they leave.

Conner and Gar play a video game, and Conner plays at superspeed winning the game. Gar wonders how Conner did it, and Conner says that something took over inside of him. When Gar asks Conner if he wants to be a Titan, Conner says that he doesn't think he can because they're heroes and he has a dark side. Gar tells him that everyone does and they start another game.

In Kane, Nevada, Dick goes to Adeline's house and introduces himself to her. She reluctantly lets him in and Dick explains that he's there to say he's sorry and that he made a terrible mistake. Dick explains that he took advantage of Jericho to get to Deathstroke, and made Jericho his target. Adeline tells Dick that Jericho loved the Titans, and Dick confesses that the Titans are finished. She tells Dick that she can't forgive what Dick did, and figures his sorry is as self-serving as when he used Jericho. Adeline says that she has nothing but pain for Dick then directs him to a nearby room.

Dick goes into the room and finds Slade there, Slade says that he won, because he took Dick's family away from him. Dick points out that Slade killed Jericho, and Slade tells him that he still hasn't accepted his guilt so he must pay. Slade sentences Dick to live alone knowing that he can never be with his Titans family until he's paid for his crime. Dick for his part states that Slade didn't deserve a son like Jericho and neither did they deserve him as a friend because in the end, they all let him down. Adeline comes over and says that Dick should go, saying that Slade tires easily. Slade staggers out of his chair and tells Dick that there's no forgiveness there, and if Dick ever puts the Titans back together then he will kill all of them.

Gar takes Conner out on the streets and tells him to think of San Francisco as an immersive 3D game. He figures that once the team knows that Conner is awake and sees what he can do, they'll be back. Conner asks Gar what he can do, and Gar tells him that he can turn into a tiger. When Conner wonders what a tiger is, Gar briefly transforms his face.

Two policeman grab a man, and Conner speeds over and attacks the two cops. Their prisoner runs off, and more police arrive and tell Conner to get down. They open fire, and Conner remembers the LuthorCorp soldiers attacking him at Lionel's house. He speeds over and attacks the cops, and Krypto joins in. Gar runs off as more police arrive, and Conner uses his heat vision to destroy one car and then runs off.

Faddei and Kory stop at a diner, and Faddei figures that Kory still loves Blackfire. Kory tells him that Blackfire has always been a climber, and points out that she wanted Faddei castrated after he and Kory slept together. Faddei notes that Kory has been hard on Blackfire, and Kory agrees but says that Blackfire was always in her shadow. Faddei notes that they helped each other through rough situations and maybe can do it again. Kory insists that she's a fighter.

Dawn finds Hank in the car, and he says that he couldn't sleep. She gets in and Hank says that he didn't want to come back there. Dawn tells him that she wanted to come back, but Hank says that trying someplace new won't matter because they're the problem. He points out that they're defined by loss, and beat people when they're together. Hank figures all they're doing is keeping the cycle of pain together. He suggests that maybe they should be apart and see if the world is a less fucked-up place without Hank and Dawn. Dawn tells him to go if he wants to go, and gets out. Hank drives off on his own.

Faddei drives Kory to an empty field and decloaks his ship. When Faddei says that Kory couldn't find it in her heart to forgive, Kory tells Blackfire to stop the games. She tells Faddei that if any part of him is still alive, she's sorry. Faddei takes control of his body and tells Kory to hurry, and Kory blasts him to ash. A hologram of Blackfire stands over Faddei's ashes, and she says that Faddei was stronger than she expected. She suggests that they rule together, and admits that she killed their parents. Kory promises to come for her, and Blackfire says "good" and disappears. Behind Kory, Faddei's ship blows up. Cursing, Kory gets in Faddei's car and drives off.

Dick goes to the airport and tells the ticket clerk that he's going far away from people. She offers to get him a ticket to Greenland, and Dick accepts.

Hank goes to the bar and he orders a Diet Coke. He then asks the man next to him where he has to go to get some real shit.

At the Tower, Gar listens to a news report about the brutal attack on the police. He calls Dick, who ignores his phone and tosses his ticket on the floor. Gar leaves a message saying that something bad happened and it's his fault, and he needs Dick's help. Meanwhile, Dick drops his bag, knocks out two airport cops after letting one call for backup, and readily surrenders when more arrive.

Notes

• Some of this episode's easter eggs include:
  • When the team broke up, Gar was left to guard Superboy and the Tower all with just Krypto. During the montage of Gar’s monitoring duty, he could be seen sporting a Toei Animation shirt. While the iconic animation studio is more known for their anime productions, they also have a DC Universe connection. In 1988, Ruby-Spears Enterprises partnered with Toei to produce an animated Superman series which only ran for 13 episodes. Toei’s animators helped keep the series looking crisp and fluid, and famed DC writer Marv Wolfman (who co-created the New Teen Titans) was one of the cartoon’s story editors.

• While seeking forgiveness and closure, Dick traveled to Kane, Nevada to face Adeline Wilson. It is possible the name is a tribute; either by paying homage to Bob Kane, co-creator of Batman, but more likely that a reference to Adeline’s maiden name. Before marrying Slade Wilson, Deathstroke’s ex-wife was known as Adeline Kane.
• After facing Adeline, Dick had a tense confrontation with Slade Wilson and the two finally spoke openly about what happened to Jericho. Interestingly enough, their comics counterparts faced the confrontation differently, with Dick being the angry one and Deathstroke struggling with his feelings of guilt New Titans #86.
• Blackfire was seen in this episode, and she seems to be just as ruthless as she was in the comics. Kory shared some anecdotes from their childhood, and it sounds like Komand'r had a hard time measuring up to the rest of her race. Kory spoke of her sister having difficulty in the Glass Games and the Two Moons Race, which is in line with everything we learned about Blackfire’s background in 1982’s Tales of the New Teen Titans #4. In the story, Kory told her teammates about how her sister didn’t have the abilities other Tamaraneans had, and she was considered a freak because she couldn’t fly. Blackfire’s shortcomings caused her to grow biter, which lead to hate and other negative emotions.
• When Kory rejected her sister’s offer to be co-queens, Blackfire taunted her by implying that she had murdered their parents.Komand’r tried a similar tactic to catch her sister off guard during a battle they had in 1982’s The New Teen Titans Annual #1. In the show Blackfire took credit for the killing, while her comics counterpart blamed the act on their brother Ryand’r. In the comics, it turned out that Blackfire was lying, and was only trying to get a rise out of her sister.
• Dick’s actions during the final scene in this episode don't appear to be reference any comic he was in. However, there is a story where Dick voluntarily got himself arrested in Nightwing #100 Dick was feeling guilty for letting the vigilante Tarantula murder the crime lord Blockbuster, and got himself arrested for atonement.

Trivia

• One of the books read by Gar Logan to Conner is Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, the same book read at Bruce Wayne's funeral by Commissioner Jim Gordon at the end of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises.
• While Hank and Dawn were preparing to ease their stress with a karaoke session, the crooner before them was belting out a heartfelt rendition of "All by Myself".
  • The song was featured during a pivotal scene in Titans' sister show Doom Patrol when Flex Mentallo gave the entire cast a happy ending during the episode "Penultimate Patrol".

Gallery

Promotional stills

Videos

Titans 2x09 Promo "Atonement" (HD) Blackfire