Episode Reviews - Sisters
Episode #02 - Sisters
Original Airdate - July 26th, 2003
Starfire's sister, Blackfire, seems to click with all the Titans better than
she does but possesses a secret of which they are unaware. Deciding that her
sister fits better with the group than she does, Starfire decides to quit
the Teen Titans.
Review by Steel
Media by Bird Boy |
Titans Writers
Written by Amy Wolfram
Directed by Alex Soto
Producer Glen Murakami
Producers Linda M. Steiner, Bruce Timm
Asst. Producer Kimberly A. Smith
Music by Lolita Ritmanis
Casting and Voice Direction Andrea Romano
Animation Services by Lotto Animation
Titans Voices
Greg Cipes as Beast Boy
Scott Menville as Robin
Khary Payton as Cyborg
Tara Strong as Raven
Hynden Walch as Starfire, Blackfire
Ron Perlman as Slade
Rind Romano as Kai
David Sobolov as Cron
Note: Slade is listed in the credits for this episode even though he never appeared in it. |
Review
"Sisters" provided some interesting insight into Starfire and her
relationships with both her environment on Earth and her sister Blackfire.
While Starfire's awkward-sounding grammatical structure can often become
cumbersome and annoying, the episode generally does a good job of portraying
her as the innocent newcomer to Earth. From the casual dialogue that
revealed that she tried to eat balls of cotton to misinterpreting slang ("Diggin'
the scene?"), the episode helped us feel Starfire being shunted to the side
as her sister took center stage in a very organic fashion.
While the plot was completely predictable, the episode's primary strength
rested in the realistic portrayal of all of the characters involved and the
strong characterization in general, largely due to the very natural feel of
the dialogue. "Sisters" did an excellent job showing us the nuances of the
Starfire/Robin relationship, particularly in the opening fireworks scene,
the rooftop of the dance scene, and the final exchange at the top of the
Titans Tower. Blackfire was also used to full effect in developing the other
Titans. As we saw her play the Titans to keep them away from Starfire, we
got glimpses at the nature of their personalities and their interests.
Characters feel much more real when we know that they're video game fanatics
like us, have a fascination with martial arts, or have a favorite cafe where
they can recite poetry and be accepted (sort of reminds me of a place where
some of my friends frequent sometimes). Even amidst all of the character
development, the jokes kept coming ("betcha Cyborg can do the robot") and
the situations were still funny ("You wanna pass me... but you can't pass
me, you can't- you passed me!"). Also, the varying moods and tones of the
episode were supplemented by the variety of music, with the dance section
and the section where Starfire flies to confront Blackfire at the end being
the most notable.
Although the story involves aliens from other planets and intergalactic
crime, the message of the story hits close to home: The underlying theme
that runs throughout the episode is sibling rivalry. Children often feel as
though they have to compete for the attention and approval of others to both
their parents and in cases where their ages are close, also their peers.
While Blackfire's motivations for winning the attention and respect of the
Teen Titans were completely different (trying to keep them away from
Starfire when she got caught as opposed to self-validation), to Starfire the
end result remained the same. She felt as if she was being replaced by her
sister and was of no value to anyone, an issue that kids often have to deal
with. Essentially, the message of the story that every human being is
unique, important, and valuable, and everyone is worth knowing regardless of
their intelligence, skill, or personality attributes. Robin briefly touches
on this meaning when he's talking to Starfire, but the writer has enough
respect for the intelligence of the kids to figure this out on their own.
While the plot itself may not have merit, the important message that it
conveys by showing the importance of individuality most certainly does.
The episode also raises the question of why Starfire left Tamaran to stay on
Earth and why Blackfire was busy planet-hopping. In fact, many viewers may
leave this episode wondering what the "origin" of the members of the Teen
Titans are and how they came about to be in their current positions. While
some origins may be difficult to translate from their original medium (such
as Raven's conception which is a rather complicated and horrific ordeal
involving an entanglement between her mother Arella and a powerful
extra-dimensional being), many fans would demand that some form of a
background story must be told. However, while the episode prompts us to
think about the origins of these characters, it responds by telling us a
great deal about the nature of the main characters in their current
situation, possibly also conveying the message that it is not important
where an individual comes from but who they are now and how they treat both
people and life as a whole in the present.
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