‘Titans’ Season 2, Episode 6 ‘Conner’ Review: The World Outside

Titans introduces yet another new character after a previous origin story. This time around, the events take place on the current timeline. The world of science is a tricky one, and navigating through it is an even more delicate task. As the pursuit of science gives birth to a new creation, human consciousness intervenes. Now, we have the world’s deadliest infant strolling the streets unguided and unprotected.

On Friday’s episode of Titans, Conner Kent/Superboy (Joshua Orpin) takes Krypto with him as they escape Cadmus Labs. Alerted to the sudden escape of her lifetime work, Dr. Eve Watson (Genevieve Angelson) picks up after her “son.” Meanwhile, Mercy Graves (Natalie Gumede) and her Cadmus troops hunt down the curious and confused clone of the Last Son of Krypton.

Mixed Memories

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The visions in Conner’s head give him two sets of memories. This split memory recall is a result of having two different sources for his genetic material. Now, Conner tries to make sense of the many memories he has. His self-discovery trip brings him straight to both Clark Kent and Lex Luthor’s hometown of Kansas. However, he takes a different turn as he heads to Lex’s childhood home, encountering Lex’s father, Lionel Luthor (Peter MacNeill). Unfortunately, his alone time does not reveal much about who he is up until Cadmus troops show up at Luthor’s home.

The show decides to mix the character’s origin stories from the comics, plus additional tweaks. Here, Conner is a hybrid clone of Clark Kent and Lex Luthor. Also, he inherited memories from both of his “fathers,” instead of having false implanted memories. The storyline maintains the first origin story where Conner is the 13th attempt at cloning Superman. However, Conner picks his name from a random security guard’s uniform instead of having Superman give him an adopted Kryptonian and an eventual human name.

Mom

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Dr. Watson is the person responsible for Conner’s creation. She has conflicted feelings about working in Cadmus, but when the cloning project came her way, Dr. Watson decides to stay for the result. Thinking maintaining decency despite working for Luthor makes a difference, Dr. Watson remains to work for Cadmus. By devoting her life to her research, Dr. Watson becomes Conner’s “Mother,” given everything she did for Conner. Throughout their time together, Dr. Watson marveled at the fruits of her labor, teaching Conner despite the little time they had. Also, Dr. Watson discourages him from living the life of a hero, wanting him to live his life as an average person instead.

Introducing Dr. Watson’s character is reminiscent of how Rachel’s mother, Angela Azarath (Rachel Nichols), came along in the series. In contrast to Angela, however, Dr. Watson has no hidden agenda. She is a decent human being who found herself working for the wrong people. Despite the motivation for Conner’s creation, Dr. Watson believed that she could make something good out of the Luthor-funded experiment. Thankfully, towards the end, Dr. Watson becomes the mother that Conner deserves.

Consequences

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One of the main lessons that Conner learns is that every action has a consequent reaction. Thanks to Dr. Watson, Conner has a semblance of self-control, something that he did not have initially. However, nothing could keep Conner from following his naturally good heart. He may be a clone from the Man of Steel and his Archenemy, but his good instincts prevailed. Conner saves Jason Todd/Robin (Curran Walters) from falling moments after Jason slips from Dick Grayson’s (Brenton Thwaites) hands. Sadly, the episode ends with Graves shooting Conner and capturing Krypto. Indeed, Conner is born to be a hero, much like Superman.

Thanks to Conner’s sudden appearance, the new Titans now have their own Aqualad Experience. Well, at least Jason does. While Conner likely does not die, seeing the person who saves you get shot in the chest is traumatizing, even for someone of the likes of Jason. Still, Conner’s transition from a Cadmus experiment to a new member of the Titans happens at a proper pace, fitting well with the series’ main plot. It may as well begin the upcoming episode that seems like it connects to the cliffhanger in this one.

‘Titans’ Season 2, Episode 6 ‘Conner’ Final Verdict

Titans has its particular brand of storytelling. While it runs on the main plot, it tells a character’s origin story using an entire episode. As the current roster of members expands, we can expect nothing less than quality storytelling matched with excellent fight choreography. This episode has extensive use of special effects along with fight scenes straight out of Wonder Woman. Each of these episodes could standalone well on themselves, but they connect to the main storyline, too. Given the possibility of having more members of the team, we can expect more episodes like these. After all, there are still some stories of new characters already present left untold.

Titans continues Friday, October 18th, with ‘Bruce Wayne’ on the DC Streaming Service.