Of all the episodes of Teen Titans, I honestly consider Haunted to be an absolute disappointment. I know, a series that ended with Things Change, and that's not even close for me. I had reviewed this a while back, so why am I doing it again? Well, since then I've found examples of shows that incorporated ideas that I felt represented what I expected of this episode.
When it comes to Teen Titans, high expectations are had for it by default, because people put it on a pedestal. I don't want to go into the role it had in one of the more exhausting eras in cartoon history, because we all should know by now, but sufficed to say it lost a lot of good will with me. The show isn't terrible, but it isn't as great as it's poised to be, whether that label is forced on it or not. If a series takes itself seriously enough, typically it makes it easier to dissect it.
Now, Haunted, as a kid I thought it was an interesting episode in spite of not seeing the full context of it. Realizing the context after seeing it another time, okay fine, still not bad, now seeing other episodes to compare it to and realizing that Teen Titans has gone through a constant identity crisis and wasn't as daring as it was implied to be... this has to be the worst episode of the show I've seen, bar none.
The Episode
When going into why this episode proved to be a disappointment, it's important I briefly discuss the dynamic between the lead character Robin and often overarching villain Slade. Compared to others, Robin was deadset on exposing Slade, for the mystery I guess. The comics hold no grasp here because half the time the cartoon adaptations take liberties. Too bad the killer of Robin's parents (in Teen Titans it's confirmed that this iteration of Robin is Dick Grayson), and Slade are canonically different.
If there was a greater meaning behind Robin and Slade, I forgot all about it honestly. But I do remember Robin's focus on Slade slowly developed into obsession... and by the end of certain arcs things just happen to return to normal. Case in point, war with Trigon, an entire apocalypse is thwarted, and it's back to the 9 to 5, like an example of how the status quo of god can be a negative. Not to say Teen Titans doesn't have a serialized elements, it's just specific to a certain arc of episodes or individual characters.
I bring that up because this episode marks a point when Slade had been gone for a long while and Robin believes otherwise under suspicion of a grander plan being underway. Now, to go over Robin's obsession with Slade, it prompted him to don the vigilante persona Red X so he could hopefully get closer to the source, not the evil alien tofu, but, you know. There is a giveaway to what'll drive the episode herein, but I'm not gonna reveal it because that's gonna be crucial to the end.
For someone obsessed with a villain, it's fair to expect Robin to become a bit more paranoid, especially for a villain otherwise shrouded in mystery. Something like this you'd expect delusions of an ongoing plot, visions, being pitted against your friends under suspicion they're gonna heel-turn. Sure it's expected, but has a good impact when it's happening to someone with a strong moral compass, showing anyone can crack at anytime.
We get the first scenario, well, about 60/40. Slade does show up with a master plan, and cracks slowly begin to form. To sum up, Slade set up earthquake generators, it turns out there aren't any, Robin and Starfire confront Slade but Starfire claims she didn't see him, and Beast Boy has a cold. If it's not obvious, they rushed to establish something was wrong, and thus the mystery that could've been had was immediately suspended. The best way to keep people on their toes is to show that something that seems impossible has a kernel of truth. Perhaps have Slade claim that these generators are invisible to the naked eye maybe.
But what's wrong with Beast Boy, well aside from being sick? It's a case of comic relief where it isn't necessary. We all know the principle of comic relief, to relieve tension in a dark or dire story, which Haunted is poised to be. The problem, this episode isn't dark or dire, at least at first, or if you already figured out something was wrong and are just waiting for the bombshell to be dropped further than it has already.
Okay, maybe it's just a small oversight, it's early into the episode and maybe they wouldn't think kids would notice, which is kinda ironic since many fans of Teen Titans advocate cartoons aren't just for kids, but still, maybe one of the head writers had to go to the hospital or something and the rest scrambled to meet the deadline or get rid of that one script occupying the bottom desk drawer.
Things begin to crumble further when Robin confronts Slade in that old factory location he used to inhabit, and it is here this episode begins to lose me. If it wasn't already obvious something was up, we get a scene of Robin fighting nobody to spell out "Yes, Robin is crazy you dumb shit audience." In this situation it feels like the writers wanted us to immediately gravitate to one side, so they eliminated anything that could deliver some benefit of doubt, or keep us in suspense. Hyperbolic or not, that is good writing, because it allows the viewers to go beyond the intended experience an episode may have.
And, it's weird. The episode feels like it wanted to draw more on the mystery, but these extra clues were thrown in at the last minute, the scenes there and after would suggest so... but then one of the later scenes kill that thought before it could even see down the barrel. We're led, in theory, to be Robin has gone insane, but after Raven enter's Robin's head, it's confirmed he's telling the truth, just, keep in mind, people vouch for this series as one of many be all end all, great cartoons, and that makes this episode all the more insulting. Aren't we supposed to hate stupid shit in cartoons? I don't know what to believe anymore.
I do like how the realization is delivered through a punch in the face, at least symbolism is in good standing here.
So what's the deal here? Remember the giveaway I mentioned? This all began when Robin breathed in some dust that was on Slade's mask. Well, that dust happened to contain hallucinogenic material, and Slade would only appear before Robin in the dark... where Robin would feel every single hit landed on him... Okay you know what, screw the rest of the episode, you get one last lawl Beast Boy and a fakeout involving the mask which would've had potential, but everyone else was clearly too blind to see it.
After
I can forgive everything about this episode had they not worked so hard to establish the dynamic between Robin and Slade. There was an idea there, and they just gave up. It's like waiting in line for a roller coaster ride, you drum up the courage to wait in line, then by the time you get in front, you just chicken out.
Things Change was a dire episode, but I feel Haunted left me with a far worse feeling. It's one thing to completely miss an opportunity, it's another to throw in a half baked reason because either you're so afraid of putting your hero in a bad light, or you believed the audience couldn't handle it. You may say this was just for kids, no, don't give me that. The argument is often used to excuse dumb comedies, which I don't hate those shows, but as Teen Titans was poised as going above and beyond, what excuse does it have?
It's obvious, Robin finally cracks thanks to his ongoing obsession with Slade, he loses face with his team, we won't know for sure if Slade was actually out there or was gone for good with enough hints that won't conform either. Nah, let's have Robin trip balls and somehow get his ass kicked, now that's sophisticated writing, certainly justifies the praise this series gets on a regular basis.
The truth is, anyone can crack under pressure and become worse people for it. Rather than push for all perfect heroes, why not show that they're human like all of us? Or at least provide a good opportunity for a story? It could even lead to a satisfying defeat that sticks with you, or catch you by surprise and easily be fixed. The best examples of that lie with Chapel in Todd McFarlane's Spawn in Home, Bitter Home, where we see a badass killer broken beyond belief, and the Kookabarra in Koala Man, where the clues to his identity are subtle, and the surprise has some weight, and they managed to make a piss joke work with the right context.
But, I'm burying the lead here. Other DC cartoons had explored mental breakdowns, and a big example would be Batman: TAS' Baby Doll, where they're subtle about what's eating the main villain and fueling her obsession, and then it hits us hard by the end of it. There's The Batman's portrayal of Clayface, which of all things that series did, it was twisted in a good way, they certainly committed.. Oh, there's also Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker that sees Robin getting corrupted by the Joker, of course that is ruined by the fact that it turns out Joker planted a chip on Robin that would bring out the Joker personality.
Apparently there's some mandate in DC cartoons where Robin could never become twisted or evil unless there's a valid explanation and it's all just some form of mind control or hallucinogen. If it wasn't gonna happen, why spend so much time cultivating Robin and Slade's relationship if it would lead to something that would either be resolved by the end of an episode or two, why treat it like it has more weight than it would turn out to have? Anything that does happen, whether it be Robin serving Slade or becoming Red X is easily undone after some time. Slade dying is undone after some time. The apocalypse is undone after some time. It feels as though there's little meaning to anything that ever happened in the show, and I say it like that because, for the last time, it is heralded in such a way. If you give any idea that what happens is meaningless, you're left with limited mileage when you watch the episodes again.
At least with Avatar: The Last Airbender, the episodes were essentially a series of different chapters, happening in a certain order to build up to the conclusion of its three books. About the only things I'd still complain about that show is how empty Azula turned out to be as a villain and how they dropped the bombshell about Aang being the last airbender three episodes in when they could've dedicated the whole season to that and have him adjust to his role thereafter, show some more character building, more specifically, I want that as a benefit to that series.
The point behind that is to show events in that series weren't isolated or forgotten about thereafter, where Teen Titans could abandon certain elements at the drop of a hat. Nothing ever sticks to the characters in Teen Titans, as they would gradually or immediately slip back into their usual roles thereafter. Perhaps this is owed to it not being a straightforward action show.
Like, I get it, Teen Titans was made the way it was to capitalize on the growing popularity of anime in the states. A lot of anime series aren't always relegated to following one genre. However, it feels weird when Teen Titans does it, as if they just copied tropes and frameworks verbatim, with little thought to how a story would turn out. That isn't to say you should take my word on this, I could be right, I could be wrong, but this is just how I see the show.
The moments are there, but a lot of the time there isn't any real weight to them, sure, it feels like it but it doesn't really stick. Because Teen Titans is so well engrained in everyone's conscious, I think that contributed to the show's continued presence even years after it ended. They just took an idea and went with it without any thought to how they could go beyond set expectations.
I had gone on with this show without any idea what episode would best sum up my issues with it, but Haunted is a solid contender for representing what I consider to be wrong with this show. If they can't be bothered to put more into an ongoing hero-villain dynamic and just throw in a hokey reason to enable things to be undone by the end, it's a sign that they either don't care, or take viewers for chumps. And it gets to a point where you wonder if these more serious shows have people who genuinely want to tell a story or just seek to play to the crowd with little effort, and Teen Titans is far from the only show to give me that feeling.
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