Nevermore

Nevermore
Episode Number	006
Broadcast Number	006
Season	01
Original Airdate	August 30, 2003
Production Code	385-906
Guest Characters	Doctor Light, Emoticlones and Trigon (Raven's Anger)
Written by	Greg Klein and Tom Pugsley
Directed by	Michael Chang
Chronology
Previous	"The Sum of His Parts"
Next	"Switched"

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"Nevermore" is the sixth episode of the Teen Titans series and the first season.

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

Raven takes on Doctor Light.

The villainous Doctor Light attempts to loot a gold transport, and even the Teen Titans seem helpless in stopping him. But Doctor Light makes the mistake of antagonizing Raven, who suddenly turns demon-like and draws him inside her cloak with shadowy tentacles. Robin manages to snap her out of it, and Doctor Light is released just in time, though severely traumatized. 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.

The next morning, Beast Boy tries his best, but achieves only the worst, trying to cheer Raven up again. He goes to apologize (with a little "encouragement" from Cyborg) but finds her room empty. Against Cyborg's advice, Beast Boy ends up exploring it and discovers a strange-looking mirror, which sucks him and Cyborg into another dimension, a strange void filled with floating rocks and blood-red stars inhabited by shadowy creatures; they presume that this is Raven's home and the mirror serves as a gateway of sorts.

Beast Boy and Cyborg are perplexed by Happy Pink Raven.

Right after their arrival, they are beset by a flock of shadowy ravens, and they encounter Raven, who is, to their astonishment, unusually giggly and wearing pink. She tells them of a forbidden door which would be the only way back to Earth. While Beast Boy and Cyborg make their way to the gate, they pass through a sort of dreamworld; the pink Raven vanishes and then pops up again, this time clad in grey and unusually timid and apologetic. She leads them through an indestructible maze, but at the exit they are attacked by a double-faced statue, which proves impervious even to Cyborg's sonic blasts. But just when all hope seems lost, Raven —this time in green and unusually bold —arrives and destroys the creature.

Raven's not-anymore-hidden selves

The confusion about Raven's sudden personality and coloration switches is swiftly answered: What Beast Boy and Cyborg have encountered were not one but three different Ravens, each one representing distinct but hidden facets of her personality. Then the real Raven, who has since noticed the intrusion into her room, clears the riddle completely: The strange void is really Raven's mind, and the mirror is a meditation device for tapping into her subconscious. At the moment, however, the inside of her mind is a very dangerous place because the dark heritage of her father, represented by the aspect Rage, had gotten loose the previous night.

Raven fighting her father's manifestation.

This aspect, in the form of her father, attacks Raven right after her elaborations, threatening to consume her completely. Even though she tries to get them back to Earth, since if she loses, both would be trapped inside her mind forever, Beast Boy and Cyborg remain by her side and take up battle against the Rage. Upon their suggestion, Raven fuses her remaining facets within herself, and, using their united power, defeats the Rage and reabsorbs her. This fight also creates a new sense of friendship between the three, and upon their return, Raven graciously accepts Beast Boy's offer to cook up dinner.

Characters

Main Characters

• Raven
• Cyborg
• Beast Boy

Supporting Characters

• Robin
• Starfire

Villains

• Trigon (Raven's Anger)
• Doctor Light
• Bird Monsters
• Stone Monsters

Other Characters

• Emoticlones

Credits

• Written by:
  • Greg Klein
  • Tom Pugsley

• Directed by:
  • Michael Chang

• 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 are aimed right at Beast Boy through gritted teeth.
• This is the first episode to feature Raven actually smiling.
• Trigon looks different in this episode - he doesn't 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.
• Throughout the episode, the button that holds Raven's cloak closed has a raven on it.
• Towards the end 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 in fact, the strongest member of the Teen Titans.
• When Raven enters her mind to confront Beast Boy and Cyborg, it is unknown if she simply taps into subconsciousness or if her actual body is teleported in as well. However, the former does seem to be the more likely case.

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, "Switched", 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.

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.

Goofs

• Before Beast Boy is convinced to "apologize" to Raven, Cyborg's left metal ear is human while washing the dishes.
• 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.
• When the Emoticlones are swirling very quickly around Raven just before joining her to form White Raven, a red one can be seen. 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.

See also

Nevermore (Transcript)