Brother Blood

This one is far more enjoyable than last week's disappointing offering. The new direction Connor's character is taking appears to have come out of left field, but I have learned to refrain from demanding too much from the writers. I don't even mind it because the storyline is from the comic books. This episode was rather average, aside from the refreshing appearance of Smug Connor and his spitting of meta-facts at the rest of the team (and cough, cough, at the writers). Bernard and Tim's dialogue continues to equal that of Riverdale in its ability to make you physically cringe. The actors don't seem to be putting in any effort either, which certainly doesn't help. Some recollections of Sebastian's past were as unrealistic as a prank you find on YouTube. Everyone knows "Titans" is one of the most inconsistent shows out there, but if you love the characters, as I do, you keep going back for more. Nothing else to say. On to the next, I suppose.

Rating: 6.8/10 (It Gets the Job Done, Slightly Flawed)

Written by Richard Hatem and directed by Jen McGowan. "Brother Blood" follows the aftermath of the previous episode with Sebastian being taken to go through the ritual to become Brother Blood. There have been a lot of build up towards these events and the execution was actually quite great, maybe a bit slow in the previous episodes but I actually really like Hatem's writing this season. McGowan's direction was strong and he directed some great scenes in this episode.

The story arc with Church of Blood have been fantastic, mostly because of the change in Sebastian's backstory. He's much more three dimensional than I expected him to be and the time we spent with him was appreciated. The direction they took with Superboy's arc feels right for Conner, embodying more of Luthor's genes. The identity crisis have been done quite well, feels like the writers actually read about it of people's various of experiences, overall good writing.

I found the drama to be a highlight because of the build up and writing, but also the acting. There weren't much action as they saved it to the last and it was a scene with the whole team working together, as a family you could say. It have felt like Titans had a bigger budget this season and we have seen it mostly through the effects, notably Superboy and Beast Boy, the latter having been on the side line for too long. Here he's on the front and it's so fitting. I think everyone was great in this episode but Joseph Morgan as Sebastian Sanger / Brother Blood, Joshua Orpin as Conner Kent / Superboy and Ryan Potter as Gar Logan / Beast Boy stood out the most with their performances.

Episode 4.06 was about the anticipated confrontation and they didn't disappoint with it. This was the ending of part 1, a compelling and engaging mid-season finale, giving us a mid-season premiere to look forward to. Each character's character arc were great, even newcomer Jinx who I grew to like after her introduction episode. I think they could have improved the pacing though, that's my only criticism of the first half.