"Nevermore" is the sixth episode of season one and the overall sixth episode of the Teen Titans series.
Synopsis[]
When Raven becomes out of control during a fight with Doctor Light, the others become worried which leads Beast Boy to sneak into Raven's room with Cyborg to figure out what's going on with her. Beast Boy soon finds a mirror which sucks him and Cyborg into a strange world, now they must find a way out, but while doing so they come across Raven, but each time she appears, she acts differently than before.
Plot[]
One night in downtown Jump City, the Teen Titans are attempting to thwart a gold transport robbery from the villainous Doctor Light. However, his arsenal proves to be a match for even the Titans, such as one direct light blast at Robin, flash grenades at Beast Boy, a containment field for Starfire, and he even melts the armored truck containing the gold onto Cyborg, trapping him. Just before Doctor Light can make off with the gold, Raven is the only one left to put up a fight. When she finds herself outmatched against Doctor Light, he makes the mistake of antagonizing her and she turns all shadowy and demonic-like, drawing him inside her cloak with shadowy tentacles and sadistically watching him beg for mercy. Robin manages to snap her out of it, and Doctor Light is released just in time, though severely traumatized and his battlesuit wrecked. When Beast Boy asks her about what has happened, she snarls at him, her eyes glowing red, before she calms again and slinks into the shadows, leaving the rest of the Titans in fright.
The next morning, Beast Boy makes breakfast for his friends, but achieves only the worst when Cyborg realizes he substituted the scrambled eggs and milk with tofu. When Raven walks in, he tries to cheer Raven up after what happened last night by offering breakfast, but she lashes out saying she wants to drink herbal tea and walks away like before. The others insist he goes to apologize, but he protests, citing that Raven never respects him even when he's trying his best to be a good friend. However, they convince him anyway when they state that Raven is "complicated" and leave it at that since she's still their friend and don't need to know more. Beast Boy feebly knocks on Raven's door and declares that nobody's home. But before he can walk away, Cyborg encouraged him to knock louder and accidentally knocks the door down. When they find her room empty, Beast Boy ends up exploring it against Cyborg's advice, citing the fact that Raven perpetually and categorically forbids entrance. Beast Boy says that this provides the chance to find out more about her and picks up a strange-looking mirror and starts thinking he has a zit on his face. When he looks deep into it, four ominous eyes flash red on it and when he drops it out of fright, a giant claw pops out and snatches him up, when Cyborg tries to help, they get sucked into another dimension; a strange void filled with floating rocks and blood-red stars. While trying to make sense of where they are on one of the asteroids, Cyborg can't make heads or tails because his sensors are saying that they're still in Titans Tower. And so, while pondering how to find a way out of this boundless void, Cyborg decides they should start walking when the floating rocks come together to form a path. They set a course forward, all the while unbeknownst to them stalked by a black crow with the same four red eyes as when the mirror. After careful consideration, they presume that this is Raven's home and the mirror serves as a gateway of sorts. When their path takes them to a big stone archway, they are beset by a flock of tiny black birds with big sparkly glowing red eyes that repeat "turn back" in a cheery echoey voice. Cyborg expresses skepticism towards them given the creep factor, but Beast Boy shrugs off any notion of them being a threat since he claims to know a threat when he sees one, citing the word "Beast" in his nom de guerre. When he proceeds in attempting to ask for directions, they reveal their true hostility as shadowy raven-like monsters and they do battle. In the skirmish, a wayward blast from Cyborg's sonic cannon crumbles the path right under them and Cyborg is just barely able keep both him and Beast Boy from plummeting into the abyss of the void below them. Just when they believe things can't get any weirder, they encounter Raven, who is, to their astonishment, unusually giggly and wearing pink. She tells them that the big stone archway circling the path is the forbidden door which would be the only way back to Earth. She cryptically warns them that they don't want to go anywhere near it and runs down the path. Beast Boy and Cyborg walk through the gateway and find themselves transported into a cheery dreamworld mirroring the macabre void they were just in.
Beast Boy cracks one of his witty quips and the Pink Raven cracks up to his astonishment, citing that Raven is laughing and at one of Beast Boy's jokes no less. She confesses that she's always thought Beast Boy was funny and the boys decide to just roll with it from this moment on. Back at Titans Tower, Robin and Starfire head up to the roof to inform Raven that her bedroom door has been knocked down, and she spontaneously bursts out laughing. Deeming this as a bad omen, she heads downstairs and Starfire is the first to note that while many Earth customs remain strange to her, what she and Robin just witnessed from Raven was just "plain freaky". When Raven returns to her bedroom, she uses her telekinesis to fix the door and then notices her mirror lying on the floor and realizes in horror that it had been tampered with. While Beast Boy and Cyborg continue down the cheery path, Beast Boy is griping about Raven ditching them again and when they walk through another stone archway, they find themselves transported back to that same demonic bird void. Just then, Raven pops up again, this time clad in gray and unusually timid. This time, Beast Boy is the one lashing out at her for ditching them, but quickly takes it back when she cowers in fear with tears. Cyborg sees yet another forbidden doorway, but when he tries making a run for it, a huge inescapable labyrinth pops up from right under them and leaves them trapped inside. Raven says that she can show them the way out but warns them they won't like her anymore once they make it, leaving the boys further confused at the sight of Raven's inexplicable behavior. Along the way, she apologizes for literally every insult she ever threw at them, much to their frustration, and when they reach the exit, the eyes of two statues glow red and join together, coming to life and draw two broad swords. Now beset by Janus, another monster, Raven reveals that this is what she meant when she cryptically stated before that they wouldn't like her anymore when they made it out and she vanishes, leaving the boys at the mercy of Janus. Back at the Tower while Robin is channel surfing, Starfire asks him if now would be a good time to see if Raven is feeling better, but he says no, citing that she said she wanted to be alone. Janus proves itself a formidable foe since Cyborg's sonic blasts are ineffective. Beast Boy doesn't stand a chance either, but just when all hope seems lost, Raven — this time in military green and bravery to match — dives in and makes quick work of the monster with nothing but a swift diving kick and her two left front fingers. After a humble boast on her part, Beast Boy finally snaps under the pressure of their adventure and demands to know exactly who he's looking at. Just then, the grey and the pink incarnations appear and all three of them introduce themselves as Raven.
With all three of them together, Cyborg figures out the pattern and the confusion about Raven's sudden personality and coloration switches is swiftly answered: What Beast Boy and Cyborg have been encountering all day were not one but three different Ravens, each one representing distinct but hidden elemental facets of her personality, meaning the strange black and red void is really the environmental representation of Raven's mindscape (which also accounts for Cyborg's sensors saying that they never left the tower). Just then, the real Raven appears and explains that the mirror they found is a meditation device for tapping into her subconscious and says that it’s a portal into her mind and not a toy. At the moment, however, the demonic birds roosting on the dead trees behind them fly away and Raven orders the boys out of her mind immediately. All she tells them is that as of last night, something bad has broken free. Fed up with Raven's "mystery girl" routine, Beast Boy demands to know exactly what she's talking about and right there and then, that something appears before them; the facet embodying her anger in the representation of her father is on the loose in her mind.
While the emotion of anger in the form of Trigon attacks Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg while trying to make a break for the forbidden door, Robin continues his channel surfing while repeatedly telling Starfire not to bother Raven, continuing to cite her saying she needs to be along. Raven manages to barely keep an energy shield stable to keep the three of them safe and she demands their exfiltration from her mind at once, but Beast Boy and Cyborg refuse if it means leaving her alone with an all-powerful demonic colossus. Raven insists, stating that she shouldn't have to burden her friends with her own problems and warning them that if she loses this battle, the two of them will be stranded forever. Raven puts up a good fight against the Rage, but ultimately succumbs to one of its eye blasts. Just as it prepares to finish her off, Cyborg and Beast Boy remain by her side and take up battle. Cyborg blasts the monster off a cliff while Beast Boy saves Raven from plummeting to her doom. However, their efforts only buy them time to recuperate as the Rage rises from cliffs. During the battle, the three of them find shelter long enough to come up with a new plan. Raven comes to the conclusion that even with their help, she cannot defeat her own rage head on and Cyborg and Beast Boy suggest they summon the other Ravens they encountered during their adventure (especially the brave). Raven dismisses the idea, stating that none of her other sides have the kind of power they need to guarantee their victory, but Beast Boy corrects her, stating not individually, but rather all at once since they're all part of who she is. And so, their battle plan is set in motion; Cyborg and Beast Boy keep the Rage occupied long enough for Raven to perform her spell. She summons all of the incarnations representing the seven core elements of her personality and fuses them within herself. With their power united as one, Raven transforms into a white-cloaked colossus and easily defeats Trigon. With the Rage returned to its natural state as a red-cloaked incarnation of Raven, she ends this nightmare once and for all by reabsorbing the red Raven into her and regaining control over it along with the rest of her emotions. With the stability of Raven's mindscape finally restored, their adventure also created a new sense of friendship between the three of them. Back at the Tower, Starfire finally loses her patience in wanting to check up on Raven and Robin has to hold her back from knocking on the door. Just then, all three of them return and greet them at the door. Robin asks where they've been all day and Cyborg simply states they've been getting to know each other better. To commemorate, Starfire declares they should prepare a new breakfast feast. However, Beast Boy is hesitant since it's late for breakfast and suggests to settle for herbal tea. Much to his surprise, Raven graciously agrees that breakfast for dinner does sounds delightful and he gets right to work. The episode ends with Cyborg not too far behind since he wants to make sure there will be actual eggs this time around instead of tofu substitutes like last time.
Characters[]
Main Characters[]
Supporting Characters[]
Villains[]
- Trigon (Raven's Anger)
- Doctor Light
- Bird Monsters
- Stone Monsters
Other Characters[]
Credits[]
- Written by:
- Directed by:
- Starring:
- Greg Cipes as Beast Boy
- Scott Menville as Robin
- Khary Payton as Cyborg
- Tara Strong as Raven
- Hynden Walch as Starfire
- Also featuring:
- Rodger Bumpass as Doctor Light (First appearance)
- Keith Szarabajka as Trigon (First appearance)
- Tara Strong as Emoticlones (Only appearance)
Trivia[]
- When Raven says that the mirror is a portal into her mind and not a toy, the last four words were aimed at Beast Boy through her gritted teeth.
- This is the first episode to feature Raven actually smiling.
- Trigon looks different in this episode - he does not have horns and his eyes are yellow instead of red. This is probably because he is a part of Raven's mind and is not the real thing. Plus, as the living embodiment of the very concept of evil, it would stand to reason that his physical form is not set in stone, but rather malleable to the point where it can change in an instant, which in this case would just be what he looks like in Raven's mindscape.
- Throughout the episode, the button that holds Raven's cloak closed has a raven on it.
- At the dawn of the epilogue when Robin is trying to hold Starfire back from knocking on Raven's door, Robin is clearly using all the strength he has, but Starfire seems much more relaxed. This was one of the early clues that Starfire is actually stronger than Robin and is in fact, the strongest member of the Teen Titans overall. Even more so than Cyborg by a long shot.
- In this episode, Raven has her tassels in her first scene where she attempts to attack Doctor Light with a spell, and when the Green Brave Raven delivers a diving kick onto Janus, and again when she is about to slice Janus in half with her fingers, then in the shot where Beast Boy and Cyborg run from Trigon, when she lands and creates a darkness shield to protect Beast Boy and Cyborg, when she is blasted by Trigon’s eye beams and when she is subsequently released from Trigon's grip, and in several shots where White Raven appears and does battle with Trigon, and finally on Red Raven herself when she appears after Trigon is defeated.
- Despite her Emoticlones all appearing to help Raven defeat Rage, only her Pink, Green and Gray versions have speaking roles.
- Although Beast Boy states throughout the series that he is a vegetarian, this episode hints that he could be vegan as he serves tofu eggs and synthetic milk.
- At the very infinitesimal moment when the theme song ends, a white screen reading "Reel 1 and Reel 2 Align at this frame" can be seen for a nanosecond, which could most likely be a storyboarding note that was uncorrected for the final cut of the episode. Oddly enough, there is a similar phenomenon in Snowblind during the scene where Raven conjures up a dome to find the radiation monster and a "secret code" can be faintly visible in the empty black void of the negetive space created by Raven's dome.
Continuity[]
- This episode features the first appearance of Doctor Light and Trigon.
- In this episode, Trigon is voiced by Keith Szarabajka; however, in all subsequent appearances, he is voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.
- This is the only episode to feature the Emoticlones in Raven's mind.
- In this episode, Starfire says that Raven is complicated and there are things the others are not meant to understand. Ironically, the very next episode is about her getting to know Raven better and vice versa, making them better friends.
- This is the first episode to have its theme song sung in Japanese.
- In this episode Beast Boy complains that Raven has “not once laugh at any of his jokes,” yet in the episode "Go!" this is shown to be not the case, as Raven did indeed laugh at a joke he told her. It could just be that Beast Boy simply doesn’t remember this or is upset that she hasn’t laughed at any of his jokes since.
Cultural references[]
- Raven's mirror as a portal into her mind may be a subtle reference to Charles Horton Cooley's "Looking-Glass Self" theory of socialization.
- This episode's name was a reference to a line in the famous horror poem by Edgar Allan Poe entitled "The Raven", wherein a raven repeatedly utters the phrase.
- Although the double-faced statue was conjectural in the animated series, it was named "Janus" in the Collectible Card Game, derived from the Janusians race.
- The creepy musical score playing when Raven slinks into the alley after vanquishing Dr. Light has since been remastered as the theme song for the gritty live action 2018 take of the Teen Titans called "Titans"
Goofs[]
- After the intro, a message can briefly be seen reading "Reel 1 and Reel 2 align at this frame."
- Before Beast Boy is convinced to "apologize" to Raven, Cyborg's left metal ear is human while washing the dishes.
- After Beast boy lightly knock on Ravens door, he says “Oh, well, nobody’s home.” his nose disappears for a few seconds.
- As Beast Boy and Cyborg are walking out of the beautiful field, we can see that there's no circuitry in the blue part of Cyborg's robotic head.
- When the scene cuts to act three, we can see Cyborg's left ear is human again.
- As Raven and her Emoticlones first get in place and then rise, Raven's cloak is blue, but just before swirling and during so, the centered Raven's cloak is red. However, Red is Rage. This is probably an animation goof.
- When the Emoticlones are swirling very quickly around Raven just before joining her to form White Raven, the Red Raven can be seen instead of Green. However, Red is Rage. This is probably an animation goof.
- When Pink Raven says "You forgot Dopey", her chest disappears for a brief moment before appearing back.
Gallery[]
Click here to view the gallery.
Transcript[]
Click here to view the episode transcript.