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"Snowblind" is the fifth episode of season five and the overall 57th episode of the Teen Titans series.

Synopsis[]

While in Russia, the Titans face off against a radiation monster that is terrorizing a local town. The monster is extremely dangerous as the Titans aren't even able to touch it. Starfire goes off alone to track it down, but becomes lost a snowstorm, luckily she is saved by a man who goes by the name of Red Star. However, Red Star has dangerous powers that aren't controllable and that has forced to isolate himself so that he may not harm anyone. Could Red Star possibly be the monster the Titans are searching for?

Plot[]

In Northern Russia, a figure cloaked thick in green approaches a bear caught in a trap and frees it. The hunters responsible for the trap chase the mysterious figure to the edge of a cliff, where the mysterious person warns the hunters that he does not want to hurt them. When they ignore him and approach him to attack anyway, he glows red through his hood and the hunters recognize him as somebody specific. The hunters flee for their lives as the figure violently emits a red energy field and he explodes with energy.

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Starfire lying in the snow as the frigid temperature takes its toll on her.

The Teen Titans arrive in their T-Ship in response to a distress signal and find a devastated town. While searching for anybody with viable information, Raven finds some people taken shelter among the debris. A local retired general, Raskov, explains that one of them, an "abomination", is responsible for the destruction. Some of the locals are wary of Starfire (mostly due to her lack for the need of Winter clothes), but she is gifted with a wool winter hat and she assures them that whoever this outcast is, his reign of terror will be ended. The Titans see an ominous glow of red energy in the distance and the people dread it as the outcast's approach. The Titans refuse to let this be so and rush there in the T-Ship to investigate. While flying there proves to be a challenge with the snow coming down hard, an energy blast takes the T-Ship down. When they step outside, their attacker is in sight, but their initial best efforts are blasted aside effortlessly. Raven enshrouds them in a black dome to shield them from the attacker as well as the storm, winning the Titans a brief respite. The cover also reveals the severe damage done to one of the T-Ship's engines and the assailant attaches itself to the dome and shatters it. Just as the Titans are surrounding it for another attack, Cyborg picks up dangerously high radiation levels that break the scale, but Starfire deflects the next blast, informing the other Titans that radiation is near the top of the list of things she is impervious to. She pursues the creature into the woods and is soon lost in the snowstorm. Robin wants to go after her, but he knows that there no chance of finding her in this kind of weather. Starfire is trying to make her way through the storm, but is soon brought to the ground where the freezing temperatures finally take their toll on her. With nowhere else to go, she attempts to walk forward hoping to find shelter, but her temperature continues to drop as the storm worsens, leaving her shivering to the bone. Eventually the cold and the storm drains the last of her strength and she falls flat on the ground, unable to get up. Starfire makes a desperate plea to “Robin” before her face falls into the snow and she loses consciousness. Her situation appears grim as the snow quickly piles on her. However, before she is completely buried under the snow, guy cloaked all in green from before comes to the rescue. The red glow emanates from inside his hood once more as he carries her out of the snow.

Starfire shoulder carry

Draped over the stranger’s shoulder, an unconscious Starfire is rescued from the blizzard.

Sometime later, Starfire awakens inside a mysterious factory-like sanctum unable to reach the others on her communicator. Just as she ponders about her mysterious new location, the man who rescued her from the blizzard shows up, says that he has brought her to his home, and asks if she has recovered. Initially believing him to have kidnapped her, Starfire readies her starbolts and demands to know why he is holding her captive. However, the stranger calmly apologizes for the confusion of her circumstances, assuring Starfire that she is no prisoner. The guy removes his hood and introduces himself as Red Star, who also informs her that she is on the outside of the glass-lined radiation chamber he has confined himself to. While Starfire is free to leave at any time, it is him who must not.

Ready to begin their search for Starfire, the Titans dig themselves out of the igloo they built around the T-Ship for shelter and Raven assures Robin Starfire can handle herself. Meanwhile, Cyborg's sensors pick up a massive radiation source that he can track. Beast Boy declares that he wishes to search in their "warm comfy ship," which Cyborg regrets to inform him has a fried electrical system and a missing engine that they don't have time to repair. Seeing no other options, they track the signal and set on their way. They soon find a pool full of green radioactive isotopes baring the same signature of that thing that attacked them before. Raven deduces that this is where the creature came from and Robin declares that it's only part of the puzzle when he sees the green sludge streaming down the hill. As another storm moves in, the Titans make haste as they follow the stream back to its source.

When Red Star tells Starfire he found her outside when his proximity alarm sounded, she asks what the purpose of his quarantine is. He explains that it is to protect her and everyone else from the radiation he self-generates, but Starfire assures him she is immune to radiation, so he invites her in. He also reveals that Starfire's communicator will not work inside his house because the walls isolate any and all radio waves. She requests his help in finding the others, but he refuses, believing it will not be safe for him. Believing he speaks of the dangerous creature that has been wreaking havoc, she tells him that she and the others were sent to apprehend it, but Red Star reveals he is the creature. He explains that the destruction caused was a long time ago and it was an accident. However, confusion arises when Starfire explains that whatever they have been hunting, they faced in combat yesterday and Red Star claims he has not set foot outside his sanctum, at least not long enough to cause any of the destruction she bore witness to. After all, the whole point of his isolation far away from the city is so that he doesn't hurt anybody, and he knows for a fact that there is nobody else like him. Starfire is skeptical of this, but the only way she knows she will solve this puzzle is if she reunites with the Titans. However, Starfire fears the treacherous landscape ahead that will make her chances of finding her friends difficult. Red Star reassures her that her friends will be fine if they are as resilient as her. Empathizing with her that it is difficult not knowing, Red Star says that it's why they have faith and offers her dinner.

She scarfs down her delicious steaming bowl of pokhlebka (which is not something a lot of people are fond of) and are interrupted by a proximity signal. Red Star advises them to stay inside and he seals down the complex rather then go out and face the dangers outside. Starfire confronts him over his cowardice and Red Star's eyes begin ominously glowing red, then he runs off to a containment chamber to release his energy into two glass storage capsules. He shows her the jars to prove his point as to why he must never leave. However, Red Star releases her and opens the complex when she explains that whatever this creature is, she must pursue it before anybody else is hurt. She opens the door to find the Titans waiting outside. They come in and share more pokhlebka, where Robin questions him about why his villaige believes he's responsible for the attacks. Red Star makes things clear by explaining how he came to be:

Many years ago, he lived a difficult, but manageable, life in the military. He was chosen as part of an experiment orchestrated by Professor Chang as part of the Russian Security Force to create perfect soldiers. Initially, the experiment succeeded, increasing his stamina and muscle mass exponentially. But what nobody could have prepared for was the unexpected side effect; he cannot stop self-generating the energy that makes him so powerful and its production rate increases with activity, which proved disastrous during his showcase when his combat demonstration caused the energy within him to reach critical mass, unleashing an explosion that completely destroyed the city like a nuclear bomb. He has had to contain himself inside the facility ever since and loneliness is a price he was willing to pay if it meant keeping his people safe.

Red Star also reveals that he must vent his energy into glass capsules every day and keep it safe in a vault inside the complex. Starfire offers her help in controlling his powers, but he declines, sticking to the belief that he is contained and safe within his fortress. However, just before Robin can reveal something to him, they are interrupted by the proximity alert and the radiation creature breaks into the facility, bigger and stronger than it was before. All of them attack but the creature is resistant to their long-range powers and they cannot touch it without exposing themselves to the deadly radiation it emits. Starfire pleads to Red Star for help and when the creature charges for Beast Boy, Red Star declares that the beast will not harm his friends. He pummels the monster senseless, but just as he has it on the run, he is overcome with unacceptable pain while his energy builds up again. Unable to continue, he rushes into the containment chamber to bleed off the radiation. The radiation creature feeds off the storage capsules, growing even larger and renewing itself. As the creature then flees into the snowstorm, Red Star stubbornly sticks with his belief that he is contained as long as he cannot control the energy within. Robin finally reveals to him that there is a leak in the complex and the creature was created in the green isotope stream. In other words, to Red Star's horror, it came from him.

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Red Star releasing his energy and exploding in space.

Red Star expresses his regret in being the cause of the situation and realizes that every time he vents his energy, he releases his own anger and fear as well. Now, it has gained sentience in the form of this deadly beast that has been laying siege to the village. Cyborg explains that the monster is not his fault since he could never have known about the microscopic breaches in the power conduit. He wants to help, but fears that he cannot since he cannot control his energy like Starfire can. However, she explains that his struggle against his power is exactly why he can't control it. Instead, he should embrace what he has within and allow it to become him. Only then, will he finally achieve his equilibrium. Red Star gains the confidence needed to offer his help and directs them to some snow mobiles he had built in his solitude. Before they head off, Robin tells Red Star that just because he has to be by himself doesn't mean he has to be alone and hands him a Titan's Communicator, declaring him an honorary Titan they'd be proud to be fighting beside. With his newfound warrior spirit restored, they head off into the storm to catch the creature. The radioactive monster is attacking the nearby city and Red Star is reluctant to proceed. Starfire convinces him to go in as the beast has set its sights on the Power Plant. The villagers are afraid of him and General Raskov demands for him to leave, not willing to forgive him of the destruction he caused so long ago. But Starfire defends her friend and declares that whoever seeing to run him out of the city will answer to him. She also reminds the general it was him to authorized the experiment that made Red Star what he is, making him just as responsible for the destruction Red Star caused. The Titans pursue the monster and Red Star apologizes for his failure and General Raskov has the decency to wish his former captain nothing but the best. As the monster makes its way towards the power plant, Raven throws down a barrage of boulders to block it off. Red Star engages the creature while the other Titans hit it from a distance, but the creature sends them flying with a single energy wave attack. Red Star sends Starfire away while he holds off the creature's energy ray. As the attack continues, both him and the monster's energy reach critical mass, and in that moment of weakness, he defeats the monster once and for all by punching it through the back, compromising its outer layer and destroying it for good by triggering an explosion. Red Star survives unscathed but finds himself overflowing with his energy. All he is able to understand is that something inside of him is changing, but in order for his transformation to be completed safely, he orders Starfire to take him far away. He bids his new friends farewell and she fulfills his request by flying him into space and launching him out into the cosmos. Red Star, happy that he has finally found brief companionship, explodes with the energy trapped inside his body. Starfire watches the explosion and returns to the village. The people and the Titans see the explosion from the ground and Beast Boy (who has been shivering to the bone the entire mission) even says that he is no longer cold. Robin commends Starfire for helping him the way she did and as the magnificent red star twinkles out, she expresses her belief that he will return their kindness...someday.

Characters[]

Main characters[]

Supporting characters[]

Villains[]

Others[]

Trivia[]

  • It is revealed that radiation cannot hurt Starfire.
  • The hat that Beast Boy was wearing was called an "ushanka" and is traditionally made of rabbit or muskrat fur. So if he was looking for a fake fur hat, he did not get his wish.
  • Red Star's story is very similar to Terra's in Season 2: both have a destructive power they cannot control, both are distrusted because of it, and both end up being destroyed by their power to prevent it from hurting anyone else.
  • In this episode, all of the Titans (except Starfire) have cold-weather outfits.
  • Raven creates a much bigger force field in this episode. She also shows us the inside of it, which blocks out any and all light.
    • At the very split second the radiation beast begins gnawing away at Raven's force field, there is a code inside of a storyboard window imbedded across the image that reads "735a 131tk3" - "01 08 72" which was most likely left over by mistake during the episode's production.
  • Before Starfire passed out in the storm, she desperately called out to Robin, further showing how she has feelings for him.

Continuity[]

  • Despite being able to withstand the extreme coldness of space at the end of the episode and in "Transformation", Starfire freezes when caught in the blizzard.
    • This could indicate that her tolerance of extreme temperatures can be limited to some extent.

Cultural references[]

  • While in the nuclear power plant, Red Star offers Starfire a bowl of Pokhlebka. This is a traditional Russian soup made with barley and several vegetables, the most common ingredients being potatoes and cabbage.
    • Starfire likes Pochlebka, but not Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy. It is not shown whether or not Robin likes it.

Gallery[]

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Transcript[]

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