page_title: Titans (season 1)
section_title: Reception
hierarchical_section_title: Titans (season 1) / Reception
caption_attribution_description: English: Brad Anderson at the Berlin Film Festival, 9 February 2008
context_page_description: The first season of the American superhero television series Titans premiered on DC Universe on October 12, 2018, and concluded on December 21, 2018, consisting of 11 episodes. It was executive produced by Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Greg Walker, with Walker serving as showrunner. Created by Goldsman, Johns, and Berlanti, the series is based on the DC Comics team Teen Titans. Featured in the main cast are Brenton Thwaites, Anna Diop, Teagan Croft, and Ryan Potter. The season also introduces Alan Ritchson, Minka Kelly, Curran Walters, and Conor Leslie, who would join the main cast in the following season.
  In the first season, vigilante Dick Grayson leaves Gotham City for Detroit in an effort to distance himself from his mentor Bruce Wayne. When the mysterious Rachel Roth comes to Dick for protection from dangerous forces pursuing her, Dick finds himself thrust into action as he struggles to distance himself from his Robin persona and control his violent urges. Joined by Kory Anders, an amnesiac woman with solar-based powers, and Gar Logan, an animal shapeshifter, the four battle a threat that puts the entire world at risk.
context_section_description: On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a "Certified Fresh" approval rating of 80%, with an average rating of 6.66 out of 10 based on 45 reviews. The site's critical consensus states, "Despite a few tonal growing pains, Titans does justice to its source material and truly shines when its titular ensemble finally assembles." Metacritic gave the series' first season a score of 55 out of 100 based on eight critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
  Susana Polo of Polygon praised Titans for "tempering brutal violence and dark subject matter with humor—and by giving its characters plenty of time to stretch, breathe and become attached to one another". Describing Anna Diop's performance of Kory Anders as the strongest aspect of the first three episodes, Charlie Ridgely of Comicbook.com wrote that "she conveys so much wonder and intrigue with her subtle and genuine expressions, but there is a consistent fierceness and tenacity that is always lurking just beneath the surface." Rosie Knight of Nerdist wrote that the "cast is at the core of what makes Titans so enjoyable", while giving praise to the script as well.
  Forbes contributor Merrill Barr compared the show to The CW's Riverdale, describing it as "a dark and gritty series very far removed from the image the Teen Titans have garnered through a variety of animated outings over the last decade". Barr found that viewers "that take the tone in stride are going to find themselves in the middle of a series dialed directly into their interests". Rob Salkowitz of Forbes wrote that Titans "somehow managed to deliver on the dark-and-foreboding tone that the early DC movies so conspicuously got wrong".
  Kevin Yeoman of Screen Rant was critical of the show's excessive violence, writing that Titans "doesn't put forward any new or particularly compelling thoughts about its characters or about superheroes in general". Similarly, Vinne Mancuso of Collider said, "If you're just a fan of some good old-fashioned ultra-violence and moody storytelling, this simply isn't a well-done example of that".
  Evening Standard reviewer Guy Pewsey stated that the series was "enjoyable and watchable" and although questioning if Brenton Thwaites could "pull off the role of leader of a group of crime-fighters" as Dick Grayson, called Diop's performance a "highlight" of Titans.
  The season finale "Dick Grayson", which was originally intended as the penultimate episode, drew criticism for its cliffhanger ending and not resolving the main storyline of the season. IGN's Jesse Schedeen gave the finale a 4/10, writing that after "Titans got off to a surprisingly good start this year, especially considering all the baggage the series was carrying when it first debuted", the episode "manages to derail that momentum and goodwill with a head-scratching and extremely unsatisfying final chapter". Den of Geek's Mike Cecchini called the episode's cliffhanger "anticlimactic and feels like a cheat". Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Christian Holub said, "The journey to Nightwing is gonna take a lot longer than I thought. But I was really impressed by this season overall, and I'm excited for season 2".
caption: The first two episodes of Titans, directed by Brad Anderson, had a mostly positive reception
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