WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the Titans Season 2 finale, "Nightwing," streaming now on DC Universe.
While most of the second season of Titans focused on Dick Grayson wrestling with the ghost of Bruce Wayne and him leaving the Robin identity behind after the team found out he was complicit in Jericho's death, Rachel recevied some much-needed screen time, in short spurts.
Admittedly, it was less than Season 1 which used her, along with Dick's guilt, as the catalyst for reforming the team, placing her on the run from her father, Trigon, and his cult. But by the time this outing wrapped, there are some red flags suggesting Rachel could be set up as a villain for next season.
After defeating Deathstroke and freeing Gar and Conner from the control of Cadmus, the Titans have dinner at the tower, where they pay tribute to the fallen Donna Troy. Kory thanks Bruce Wayne for meeting them in Elko, Nevada, and for getting them back on track as a unit, but he reveals he's never been to the location, leading to Starfire wondering who was there when she reunited with Donna, Rachel and Dawn. She and Dawn quietly discuss the incident, wondering if it was actually Rachel who manifested Bruce, because she desperately wanted the heroes to reassemble to rescue Dick.
Rachel's powers have been growing, even subconsciously, and this could be the next step in her evolution. Her purple demonic goo actually reanimated a gargoyle to kill a criminal without her even knowing so it's clear something is going on with her. Kory's powers have also been taken away, and while it seemed like this was linked to her feud with her sister, Blackfire, after the latter seized the throne of Tamaran, it could be that Rachel might have stolen them to keep Kory grounded. After all, Starfire vowed to go after Blackfire, and seeing as Rachel believes Kory is her sister and needs to be a leader with the Titans, this could be part of the young hero's ruse to tie her to Earth.
Rachel's dark half, plus her murderous tendencies, have even led the girl to question whether she should be trusted. She nearly killed Rose, and like in the comics, she could be in store for a heel turn. Rachel headed off to Themyscira with the Amazons and Donna's body in the final act of the finale, vowing to bring Wonder Girl back, but as this happens, Dick drops a key line about them not being able to change the world, no matter how powerful they are. Rachel says they can try, which suggests she might be adopting the mentality of Tony Stark from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where she wants to use the full scope of her powers to build an armor around the planet against cosmic and supernatural threats.
You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain, and Rachel might be acting thinking it's for the greater good. Whether she's mindful of this and willingly doing it remains to be seen, but with her godlike powers, it's easy to see her being corrupted and losing herself to the dark side.
This same scenario has led to conflicts in the comics, and on numerous occasions the Titans have had to rein her in, hinting the show might be angling for such a route. Unfortunately, if Rachel does turn bad, she could be returning with an Amazonian army and seeing as she might know the key to depowering her teammates, it's hard to see the Titans being able to stand up to her might.
Streaming now on DC Universe, Titans Season 2 stars Brenton Thwaites as Dick Grayson, Anna Diop as Kory Anders, Teagan Croft as Rachel Roth, Ryan Potter as Garfield Logan, Curran Walters as Jason Todd and Conor Leslie as Donna Troy, with Minka Kelly as Dawn Granger, Alan Ritchson as Hank Hall, Joshua Orpin as Superboy, Chelsea Zhang as Rose Wilson, Chella Man as Jericho, Drew Van Acker as Aqualad, Esai Morales as Deathstroke and Iain Glen as Bruce Wayne.