WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Titans Season 3, Episode 13, "Purple Rain," available now on HBO Max.
One of the biggest flaws of the Titans TV series is that the show just couldn't stick the landing in the first two season finales. They felt rushed, convoluted and undid the great setup work done before. Sadly, as Nightwing (Brenton Thwaites) and co. try to wrap many arcs, especially breaking Scarecrow's grip on Gotham, the show endures the same fate again in Season 3.
The season 1 finale had all the Titans getting mind-controlled by Trigon, all while failing to balance Raven's big reveal that her mom was playing her all the time. Season 2 then kicked it up a notch by rushing the main arc of Dick taking Deathstroke down with the help of his kids, all in the first act, to then barrel into CADMUS unleashing Beast Boy and Superboy as weapons. Throw in Donna Troy's death, her body being taken to Paradise Island with Raven in tow, and Jason Todd wanting to leave and become Red Hood, and the episode just felt too packed.
Season 3 doesn't fare any better, as it comes off like the type of incoherent finale we'd expect to see on the CW, if anything. From the Hail Mary play of creating resurrection rainfall via the Lazarus Pit, to Jason being redeemed and aiding Dick, to Donna and Tim's revolution on the border, to Nightwing infiltrating the Wayne manor and Tim punching Scarecrow out, it's way too much for one episode.
To make it worse, some things don't feel organic, like Jason fleeing the scene when it's clear to Gar he's helping out; or Bruce coming back home without addressing his suicide attempt or abandonment of the city; or Tim's parents leaving him to watch Gotham, only to then impulsively leap to join the Titans in San Francisco; or Superboy parting ways with Blackfire, who's apparently getting a ship rebuilt; or Dick and Raven breaking bad to punish Scarecrow in jail.
These are all things that needed a couple of episodes to properly tie up, as the rushed resolution does a major disservice to all the care and attention shown all season long. This idea is best summed up by Vee and A.R.G.U.S. being chucked in at the end, spying on Barbara and Gotham, yet not sending agents over to help out with Scarecrow's coup.
These interlocked pieces barely flow, coming off cosmetic at best. Even with the deeper arc of Donna opting to drop out the team and head to Paris to tend to Dove, it's all coming out of left-field, with Dick not even acknowledging he should visit too and help Dove heal from Hank's death.
It feels like the finale is quickly trying to position folks in place for Season 4, when some of these items would have been better served by being tackled during the next season. Ultimately, these creative decisions undercut a lot of the narrative, relationship building and more so, the emotional connections that feel like superficial sparks now rather than the nuanced slow burns the previous episodes strove for.
To see yet another finale get butchered, all 13 episodes of Titans Season 3 are available now on HBO Max.