Since debuting on DC Universe before moving to HBO Max, Titans has had some mixed reviews. While some fans like seeing how the series diverges from the comic book source material, others lament that there are too many characters or storylines going on at the same time. IMDb gives a platform for fans in every corner of the audience to rate the individual episodes as well as the series as a whole to give an idea of just what fans do love about the show.
The highest-rated episodes on IMDb all range from 8.0 to 8.9, which is pretty high when the average score for the series is a 7.6 out of 10. Fans clearly have a preference for the first season of the show as the majority of the highest-rated episodes land there. Most of the episodes are also the ones that provide backstory for fan-favorite characters like Beast Boy and Robin.
Updated on December 12th, 2022 by Amanda Bruce: The fourth season of Titans being divided into two parts allows fans of DC properties who didn’t give the series a chance to catch up in between additions of episodes to HBO Max. The audience still clearly has a preference for early episodes of the show as those remain the highest-rated episodes, but with IMDb as a live site that allows for continuous ratings from users, those could continue to change as more people watch the episodes of season 4.
“Donna Troy” (Season 1, Episode 8) - 8.0
Though Donna Troy isn’t a huge part of seasons 3 and 4, it might be strange for the audience to realize that she wasn’t even introduced until late in the first season. This episode marks the character’s debut as Dick seeks her out for a little help as Kory, Rachel, and Gar take a trip together.
Donna, an original member of the Titans, has gone into law enforcement just like Dick. She also has a similar perspective on being a sidekick and the life of a superhero as him at the time, not really wanting to revisit the past. The audience doesn’t get the full backstory for that until later in the series, but this episode is where the cost of being a hero is truly teased. It’s also refreshing to see that Donna is just as good as, if not a better investigator than Dick while she translates texts that Kory has in storage.
“Aqualad” (Season 2, Episode 4) - 8.0
Aqualad is a big part of the reason Donna wants no part in superheroics anymore, and this episode finally gives the full story. This episode also helped to make Donna a fan favorite for the audience.
It’s here that the audience discovers that Donna was supposed to return to Themyscira and train after she fell for Garth. His
death at Deathstroke’s hand when he came to tell her his own feelings for her traumatized her. It led to her leaving the Titans, not returning to Themyscira, and trying to live a normal life while keeping everyone around her at arm’s length. Much of Donna’s treatment of other team members is explained with the reveals in this episode as the audience finally really gets to know her.
“Red Hood” (Season 3, Episode 2) - 8.0
Following the debut of Jason Todd in the second season of Titans, fans waited patiently for him to become Red Hood. The young Robin’s comic book storyline is one of his most famous, so there were definitely high hopes for it. The episode that reveals he’s taken on the name doesn’t disappoint.
In it, Most of the Titans reunite at their temporary base in Gotham - Wayne Manor. Even Dawn and Hank return to help despite the two of them being on the outs, because as Titans often reminds the audience, the group is more of a family than a team. With all the tension between team members, however, the biggest moments of the episode involve the Red Hood blackmailing Gotham’s mob bosses and revealing himself as Jason to Dick by the end of the episode. It kicks the rest of the season into high gear as the team has to go up against someone they care about.
“Lex Luthor” (Season 4, Episode 1) - 8.0
Titans does a great job at putting its own unique spin on characters DC fans might already know. One of those characters is Lex Luthor, who makes his Titans debut in this episode. Lex Luthor has already been played by so many actors that the shoes become very large to fill every time someone new steps into them. Titus Welliver is perfectly up for the task.
The episode sees Conner trying to get to know the man whose DNA helped to create him. The meeting leaves a lasting impression on Conner since Lex is killed off in the same episode that brings him to the show. It’s a pretty shocking ending to kick off the mystery of the fourth season.
Hank And Dawn (Season 1, Episode 9) - 8.2
As original members of the Titans, but not ones that always live with Dick and the rest of the team, Hank and Dawn come and go from the series pretty regularly in the first three seasons. The audience knows right away that they have a romantic history, but the audience doesn’t get the full backstory of how they became Hawk and Dove until this episode.
It details the heartbreak that they’ve both experienced and the traumas that bond them. It also offers an explanation for why the two of them might be a little more brutal in their initial vigilante encounters than the rest of the Titans as they work out their own grief and anger while masked. This episode goes a long way in making fans root for the duo, and helps them understand why Hank butts heads with so many of his teammates throughout the show.
"Koriand'r" (Season 1, Episode 10) - 8.2
Kory spends most of the first season not knowing as much about her Starfire identity as comic book fans would. She has no memory of who she is or how she ends up on Earth, but this episode gives the audience some much-needed backstory.
When Donna stops Kory from killing Rachel, Kory starts to figure out just who she is. The reveal that she's on a mission to stop Rachel from destroying both her home planet and Earth is a big one, and unfortunately, doesn't really go much farther since this episode also gives the audience another big reveal. Rachel's birth mother is busy trying to bring Trigon back, using Rachel to do it. It's a lot of information that the audience had been waiting for during the last nine episodes, so instead of feeling overwhelming, it was gratifying for the audience to finally get some answers.
"Jason Todd" (Season 1, Episode 6) - 8.3
Jason's introduction in the very first season really sets up his descent into becoming Red Hood in the third. After saving Dick Grayson from a threat, Jason teams up with the other Robin to investigate who is responsible for killing off members of the circus in which Dick and his family performed when he was a child.
This episode goes a long way in explaining just why Dick and Jason have such a hard time working together. Their approach to solving a mystery is very different, and the two never quite gel as a partnership. Dick being disturbed by how violent Jason can get also acts as some heavy foreshadowing. It's definitely an interesting episode for fans of the Bat-Family aspect of the series as they start to get a window into how Batman and his sidekick's work beyond Dick wanting to leave that life behind.
"Hawk And Dove" (Season 1, Episode 2) - 8.3
Yet another episode to introduce characters to the show, this time around, it's Hank and Dawn, or Hawk and Dove. Dick takes Rachel to see his two former teammates, and the reunion is pretty awkward, but also very entertaining for the audience.
Not only is it clear that Dawn and Hank are together, but it's also clear Dawn might still have feelings for Dick. Though the episode is really mostly introduction, it also sets up a lot of the character dynamics that go on throughout the rest of the show, like Rachel already seeing Dick as her family, and there is always being a slight conflict when it comes to Dick, Hank, and Dawn.
"Deathstroke" (Season 2, Episode 5) - 8.3
Deathstroke is like a phantom haunting the Titans throughout season 2. He is the ghost of the original team's past - and he kidnaps Jason Todd to get his revenge on them. This version of Deathstroke, however, is nothing if not a villain who pretends to be fair as he proposes to trade Jason for his daughter Rose.
The audience (and the Titans) know that Deathstroke will never keep his word, but that doesn't stop the episode from keeping them on the edge of their seat as Rachel stops Rose from running and Dick offers up his own life in exchange for Jason's.
"Dick Grayson" (Season 1, Episode 11) - 8.4
The season 1 finale episode wouldn't have initially been the finale, but production delays meant the season was cut short. As a result, the fans got this psychological thriller of an episode and a cliffhanger to close out the season.
Dick ends up living out events that he thinks are five years into the future, seeing some of his worst nightmares come true. In reality, Trigon is in his head and Rachel tries to stop him. The nightmare fuel for Dick is pretty fascinating for the audience though as he sees a family with Dawn - but also himself killing Bruce Wayne for what he did to him and the rest of the Bat-Family. The future Dick sees is pretty bleak but has a lot of fun Easter eggs for fans.
"Doom Patrol" (Season 1, Episode 4) - 8.4
Though some believed Doom Patrol and Titans would take place in the same universe, they appear to exist in different ones. This episode did, however, serve to introduce the audience to the Doom Patrol comic book characters that would appear in the other series.
Rachel finds herself an escape from a dangerous situation with the help of a tiger - in reality, Gar - and a trip to a mansion on the edge of the woods. The episode definitely acts as a preview of just what kind of "benefactor" Niles is for the people he takes in during the other series. It also hints at the connection between Gar and Rachel as the two hit it off right away.
"Jericho" (Season 2, Episode 8) - 8.5
This long-awaited season 2 episode explains exactly where the original Titans team goes wrong. Most of the episode is told in flashback, depicting the friendship cultivated between members of the Titans and Deathstroke's son, Jericho.
The audience knows going into the episode that it has to end in tragedy because most of the Titans team is so scarred from the experience. Jericho quickly becomes a fan favorite though, which is why this episode is so good. The audience is emotionally wrecked by Jericho taking a blow meant for Dick, even after Dick primarily used him to get information on Deathstroke.
"Together" (Season 1, Episode 5) - 8.6
By the fifth episode of the series, all four of the main characters of the ensemble have been introduced and the audience gets to see what they can do. Dick, Kory, Rachel, and Gar decide to make their team-up official in episode 5.
This is the episode that really cements that there's a new Titans team, despite all of the training and the headquarters that would come in season 2. It's here that Dick decides to tell them all that he's really Robin, and it's here that they all demonstrate their powers for one another, trusting each other completely. It's a preview of what the series could be.
"Hank And Dove" (Season 3, Episode 3) - 8.8
The only season 3 episode to make it into the top 10 is also one of the most brutal of the series. Though the show takes turns killing members of the Titans (Garth, Donna, Dick, and Jason all die at different points), the death in this episode is the only one the team truly races against the clock, literally, to avoid.
Not only does Hank embrace his death, but Dawn discovers just how far she'll go for someone she cares about. Gar and Conner both feel a large measure of guilt at not being able to save Hank as well. It's certainly one of the most powerful episodes of the show so far.
"Conner" (Season 2, Episode 6) - 8.9
Conner AKA Superboy is clearly a fan favorite. His origin story episode takes him out of Cadmus labs all the way to Kansas as he tries to figure out his origins for himself. Conner makes for a really compelling member of the Titans because he has the literal DNA of comic book rivals Lex Luthor and Superman in him. He finds himself conflicted as to whether he should be a good guy or a bad guy as a result.
His introductory episode does a good job of setting up that conflict, only for Conner to ultimately save Jason Todd's life in the final moments before getting captured by Cadmus. Conner saving Jason without thought is a good indicator of who he is, but his struggle continues into the next season.