E.L. .O.

## "E.L.\_.O."

"**E.L.\_.O.**" is the 11th episode of the second season of *Titans*, and the 22nd episode overall. It premiered on November 15, 2019.

## Synopsis

With Dick still in prison and Gar under the microscope at Cadmus, the remaining Titans are called together to save their teammates. Meanwhile, Jason and Rose grow closer in Gotham. As Mercy Graves has a breakthrough with her "Project Rakshasa," Dick has a revelation of his own.

## Cast

### Starring

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

### Special appearance by

* Esai Morales as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke

### Guest starring

* Natalie Gumede as Mercy Graves
* McKinley Freeman as Dr. Justin Cole

### Co-starring

* Sydney Kuhne as Dani
* Tameka Griffiths as Eriel
* Sistah Lois as Elko Diner Cook
* Oksana Zilinskas as Truck Stop Girl
* Paulyn Wei as Ticket Agent
* Cliff Saunders as Elko Joe
* Darrin Maharaj as Kane Jail Reporter
* Ric Garcia as SF Priest

## Plot

As Cadmus doctors operate on Gar's brain, he hallucinates confronting Rachel about her powers. They probe his brain, triggering Gar's emotions, while Mercy watches from the observation room. Gar loses control of his temper and his eyes glow green.

In Kane Prison, Dick lies on a bed in solitary, sick with the flu. He hallucinates "Bruce" visiting him, and Bruce congratulates him on finding the perfect place to find his penance. Bruce tells Dick that it's time to wake up, and notes that Adeline told Dick that he should find forgiveness with Slade. He notes that Adeline might want Dick's help, and Dick insists that Adeline wasn't thinking straight. Bruce tells Dick that he's missing something, and Dick mutters Jericho's name.

Rachel goes to a cemetery and walks past the mourners to Dick's grave. Dick appears behind her and tells Rachel not to give up, and Rachel takes his hand and gets a vision of a diner. Deathstroke runs a sword through Dick's chest, and Rachel screams in horror.

She then wakes up in the San Francisco tenement where Dani and the others are staying. She remembers the diner from her nightmare and calls Dick, but gets no answer.

Donna checks out the Titans Tower and calls to Gar and Dick, but gets no answer from either. Rachel calls, and when Donna answers, she gets static and Rachel saying for her to come to the diner.

In Las Vegas , Kory sits in an arcade spaceship and imagines going home to Tamaran. A young girl complains and Kory gets out, and then vomits into a nearby trash can.

In Wyoming, Dawn drives to San Francisco. She turns on the radio and hears an ad for Elko Joe's Diner. Dawn tunes the radio to another channel and looks at the box of Hank's things on the seat next to her. She stops near a dumpster, dumps Hank's things inside, and gets back in her truck. After a moment, Dawn goes back and takes a photo of the original Titans out of the box, then drives off.

Dani does a tarot reading for Rachel and says that Rachel's subconscious knows the way back to the light. Rachel's future is the Hanged Man, and Dani warns that Rachel must prepare to make a great sacrifice or suffer a great loss. The image on the card comes to life to Rachel, calling to her for help, and she jerks back. Rachel assures Dani that she's fine, and another of the girls, Eriel, comes in and tells Dani that her father Caleb is dead. Eriel says that it looks like something attacked him, and Rachel says that it wasn't her and offers her condolences. Dani tells them that she wanted Caleb to die because he beat her, and hopes he died screaming.

Later, Rachel tries to buy a bus ticket and remembers the vision of the diner by the name Elko's from her dream. She sees Elko on the schedule board and asks for a ticket there.

Kory picks up a man, Justin, and goes back to her hotel suite. Justin is a psychiatrist and as they kiss, he suggests that Kory is using him to escape her issues. He suggests that Kory talk to him because he's a professional, and Kory walks away from him. Kory says that she forgot who she was and it was the first time she wasn't obsessed over her destiny. She discovered new things like friendship, love, and freedom, and realized that she's stuck on Earth without a family. Kory tells Justin that he should go, and he objects but finally does so. The big-screen TV turns itself to an advertisement for Elko Joe's Diner, and Kory looks at it thoughtfully as Elko Joe shows off the diner's "world famous" doughnuts. Once the ad is over, the channel flips off.

Dawn is driving to Nevada and hears Rachel calling to her from the radio. The check engine light comes on, and Dawn pulls into Elko to have it fixed.

Dick wakes up and Bruce says that Jericho needed special attention. He suggests that maybe Dick didn't give Jericho enough attention, and warns that there are lives in the balance and they don’t have much time. Bruce tells Dick that it's time to get out, and notes that he's moping like a coward. Dick isn't interested, and Bruce says that Slade killed Jericho, not Dick. He figures that Dick just wanted an excuse to give up. Dick flips over the bunk in a fit of anger, and when a guard comes in to investigate the noise, Dick knocks him out. More guards come in and beat up Dick.

Outside Gotham City, Jason sleeps in a cabana at a house they broke into. Rose is with him, and Jason wakes up and greets her. He kisses her and Rose points out that they busted three drug rings the night before. Jason takes photos of them together, and Rose tells him to stop being a creeper. She tells him not to post it, and Jason wonders if she's just slumming it with him. Rose says that she might, noting that he knows nothing about her, and complains that he's never taken her to Wayne Manor. Jason says that it isn't the real him, and Rose tells Jason to show her the real him then. He agrees as long as Rose does the same. Rose doesn't, and Jason sits back.

Rachel dreams of being in the cemetery with Dick standing nearby. Deathstroke approaches Dick from behind, and Rachel shouts a warning. Dick doesn't respond, and Deathstroke kills him. She then wakes up on the bus as it pulls up to the diner. She has the driver stop so she can get off.

Inside, Kory is pounding on the bell to get some service. The cook finally comes out and says that they have pie or cake. Kory explains that she's having a shitty day and demands doughnuts. The cook isn't impressed, and Kory says that her sister killed their parents and stranded Kory on Earth. The shocked cook looks at the bell that Kory has melted, and then goes to make doughnuts.

Rachel comes in and wonders why Kory is there. Kory says that she isn't sure, and Dawn comes out of the restroom and stares at them. Donna comes in and says that Rachel called her to go there. Dawn and Kory explain why they're there, and the real Bruce comes in and says that he's glad they could make it.

That night, Donna tells Bruce what she found at the Tower. Rachel says that she never talked to Gar and Conner, and Bruce tells them that lies tear a family apart and is sorry they've been living in the aftermath of it. He says that the Titans are a family of choice, and breaking apart was a choice. Bruce asks them to make a choice to come together because that's what families do. He warns them however, that if darkness comes when they're cast apart, none of them will survive. Bruce asks who will protect them if they don't protect each other, takes a jelly roll, and leaves.

Kory wonders how Bruce arranged for them to all meet there and then mansplain them into putting the Titans together. The TV comes on and then switches to a newscast about Dick helping two prisoners escape. Donna goes to her car to drive back to San Francisco, and Rachel says that they need to do now is save Dick. When Donna says that Dick is on his own, Rachel wonders what's wrong with her. Donna tells her that Dick crucified himself and will have to take himself down. Dawn agrees, and Rachel says that she's having dreams again. She explains how she saw Deathstroke kill Dick, and insists that Dick needs her help and she needs theirs. Donna leaves, and Dawn tells Rachel that Rachel should find them when she's done. Dawn leaves with Donna, and Kory tells Rachel that she's staying with her.

Dick crouches in his cell and calls to Bruce, and a crow lands on the windowsill and then flies off. Lying on the floor, Dick shivers with a fever.

Jason takes Rose to the rafters of an auditorium and says that it's his home. His dad got himself killed and his mother was an addict, and Jason grew up on the streets and in juvie. Jason found the auditorium and lived in the rafters while the theater kids lived their best lives. Rose tells him that he's not as shallow as he seems, and jokingly says that he's a theater nerd. Jason asks what her problem is, and says that she tries to push him away every time that he tries to get close. He figures that she's searching for an excuse to run, and says that every second with her is like a new lease on life. Rose warns him that she's bad news, and Jason tells her that there's a place for them somewhere. He offers her his hand and Rose takes it, and they kiss.

Dick hallucinates seeing Bruce, who appears and tells Dick that he needed to build up his strength to escape. The hallucination of his former mentor says that Deathstroke has taken hostages, and points that Dick was with Slade at Adeline's but there was no killing. Bruce suggests that there's something inside of Slade that Dick needs, noting that they both loved Jericho and got him killed. As long as they're both alive, they can blame the other. Bruce isn't impressed that Dick admitted his mistake, and Dick swings at him and misses. Blocking Dick's next blows, Bruce grabs Dick by the jaw and throws him across the cell.

Dick finds himself on a stage in an empty auditorium, and he attacks Bruce. Bruce fights back and easily catches the batarang that Dick throws at him. He tells Dick that he keeps fighting the wrong fights and throws the batarang back, and Dick dodges it. The two men fight, and Bruce knocks Dick down. Bruce tells Dick that he worries about his conscience instead of helping his friends, and tells Dick to open his eyes. Dick continues fighting, and Bruce dislocates his shoulder and tells him to grow up. Bruce punches Dick to the floor, and Dick slowly gets up. His mentor tells him that he's stronger and faster like a bird of prey, and swings at Dick. For the first time, Dick blocks Bruce's blows.

Bruce finally stops Dick's strike, and Dick finds himself standing on an empty stage. TV screens appear showing images from Dick's life, including Slade saying that he won. Dick sees Slade's right hand, the fingers making a "J" in sign language, and turns to see Bruce sitting on the stage in a chair, his fingers in the same position. He says that it can't be, and realizes that he's been in the cell the whole time. Wings appear on his shadow on the floor.

Back at the "borrowed" home, Rose looks at the photo Jason took of the two of them. Donna texts to ask Jason if he's okay, and says that the Titans need him and Rose. Rose deletes the text and turns off the phone, and goes out to the pool. She calls and tells Slade that she's out of the game he's playing with the Titans. Rose says that there's nothing he can do to stop her, hangs up, and tosses the phone in the pool. In Adeline's home, Slade scowls in anger and the glass in his hand shatters as he squeezes it.

Rachel and Kory break into the prison, take out the guards, and Kory tries to summon a starbolt to burn open Dick's cell door. The starbolt fizzles, and Kory summons a second bolt to blast the door open. They find no sign of Dick but writing on the wall: "Jericho is alive".

Gar is initially seen back at the Tower where he is sitting playing video games. Rachel comes in and they hug. He explains what happened to her, and at Cadmus, Mercy tells a scientist taking Rachel's place to move closer to Gar and participate fully in his hallucination. The scientist recites the lines Mercy feeds to her, and Mercy turns on some music. Gar stares into space, then turns into a tiger, breaks out of his restrictive clothing, and kills the scientist as Mercy looks on and smiles.

## Notes

* Some of this episode's Easter eggs include:
	+ Slade used sign language when Dick confronted him in "Atonement", the previous episode. But the idea of Jericho being trapped inside his father’s body after death came from 2003’s *Teen Titans* #3.
	+ Like their live-action counterparts, Slade and his son fought for control of the body, and it took the Titans years to finally learn about their friends' true fate.
	+ After Dick helped two inmates escape, a guard left Dick a dead rat for a meal. Which isn't the first time Grayson has been instructed to dine on rodents since it also happened in *All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder* #4.
	+ While Rachel was having nightmares about Deathstroke killing Dick in a cemetery, some interesting names on the other tombstones were those of the Titans crew! We found art director Andrew Berry and set designer James Usas.
	+ While journeying to Elko, Dawn stopped to throw away some of her old memories of Hank, but couldn’t bring herself to throw out a group photograph. That same photo was hanging on the wall of Hank and Dawn's apartment in the season 1 episode "Hawk and Dove".
	+ Coincedently, at the time that episode aired, it was a first look at Conor Leslie playing Donna Troy.
	+ When Kory burst into Elko’s Diner demanding a donut, she was confronted by a cook who wasn’t amused by her menu choice. The cook was played by an actress named Sistah Lois, who has some experience in helping Kory order food and drinks. Sistah Lois previously played a liquor store cashier named Jan in the season 1 episode "Together".
	+ While Jason was trying to bond with Rose, we got some more details on his background, and some of it was a bit different than what we learned in season 1. In the episode "Jason Todd" the new Boy Wonder told Dick that both of his parents were in jail, but this week he told Rose his mother had died of a drug overdose and his father had been killed. The new piece of backstory for Jason is more in line with what comic book readers were told in *Batman* #408-409.
	+ When it comes to Jason and Rose’s romance, the couple sang a song from *West Side Story* to one another.
	+ *West Side Story* is a modern-day version of Romeo and Juliet in which a boy and a girl tied to rival street gangs fall in love. Their relationship is heavily complicated by the war between their friends and families. Jason and Rose are pretty much the black sheep of their families, struggling to make their relationship work while Slade and the Titans fight one another.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Watch Titans Season 2 on DC Universe" - DC Universe
2. ↑ All the Easter Eggs in TITANS Episode 2-11: “E.L.\_.O” - DC Universe