Recap / Teen Titans S 2 E 10 Betrayal

"She's not your friend. She's my apprentice."

—Slade (to Beast Boy)

Terra is finally adjusting to being a Titan and the team has accepted her wholeheartedly. Beginning to develop feelings for her, Beast Boy asks Terra out on a date, and she accepts, much to his elation- but everything's not as perfect as it seems. Slade crashes their date and unveils that Terra has been hiding her true allegiance all this time...

Tropes:

• Almost Kiss: Beast Boy and Terra, before Slade kills the moment.
• Becoming the Mask: Terra carries out her plan to assassinate the Titans but has grown attached enough to Beast Boy to get him out of the Tower before the plan goes down.
  Slade: (to Beast Boy) I guess she took pity on you. Perhaps she wanted to keep you as a pet.
• Beware the Honest Ones: Slade normally is a Consummate Liar about his plans, but this time Terra sadly confirms that he's telling the truth about her being The Mole.
• Break Them by Talking: Slade reveals Terra's betrayal to Beast Boy, which manages to egg him on into turning his back on her, in turn pushing Terra back to Slade.
• Bullying a Dragon: Though Slade succeeded in breaking Beast Boy and Terra up, he nearly got mauled by Beast Boy in various animal forms. Beware the Silly Ones indeed.
• Conveniently Empty Building: While running from Slade, Terra trashes a Ferris wheel and most of the amusement park surrounding it. Judging by Beast Boy's lack of response, there was no one else there (even though someone would logically be operating the rides).
• Deal with the Devil: Terra made one with Slade: in exchanging for learning to control her powers, she would spy on the Titans and sell them out to him.
• Death Glare: As Terra and Slade take their leave from the carnival, Terra's expression changes from shock to an absolutely bone-chilling stare in Beast Boy's direction.
• Deer in the Headlights: Terra tries to run away from both Slade and Beast Boy in the Hall of Mirrors, runs into a dead end, and is so aghast at seeing her own panicked face that she falls to her knees.
• Didn't Think This Through: Terra takes Beast Boy on an impulse date to save him from the massacre at Titans Tower. Even if Slade hadn't interrupted the date to break them up, Terra didn't consider that Beast Boy could still have his communicator on him, or that he wouldn't react to the truth well. It was fortunate for her that he left his communicator at the diner since he would have insisted on returning, but even that didn't buy them much time.
• The Ditherer: When Slade and Beast Boy fight, Terra can't decide who to side with and tries to get Beast Boy to run away with her. When Slade is about to kill Beast Boy, Terra stops him, but runs away from both as they continue fighting. Then Slade pushes Terra to his side by getting Beast Boy to push her away.
• Double-Meaning Title: Beast Boy felt betrayed by Terra working for Slade, and Terra felt betrayed by Beast Boy turning his back on her when she clearly felt guilty about her working with Slade.
• Downer Ending: Ends with the Titans alone in the half-destroyed tower, crushed over the fact that Terra sold them all out to Slade. And one of the last shots in the episode is a shot of Beast Boy in dog form curled up around the heart box he gave Terra.
• Driving Question:
  Cyborg: Somebody wanna explain how 200 armed robots got past my security?
• Easily Forgiven: Terra asks Beast Boy if he was willing to forgive her for whatever horrible thing she did. It's not until he learns what it was that he pretty much defies this trope and gives her the cold shoulder.
• Foreshadowing: If the skinny silhouette and blue eye didn't seal the deal, notice how Terra is the only Titan Slade doesn't have any data on.
• Green Around the Gills: Terra doesn't handle the Tilt-a-Whirl as well as she thought...
• Hall of Mirrors: The episode's climax takes place in one.
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: Terra starts to worry about her place in the team after hanging out with Beast Boy, and worries that her actions will drive her new friends away. While not unwarranted, Beast Boy does not take the news well at all, and pretty much abandons her.
  Terra: You said you'd be my friend, no matter what, remember?
  Beast Boy: Slade was right - you don't have any friends.
• Ignored Epiphany: Terra was feeling guilty for her actions as Slade's Double Agent and even apologizes to Beast Boy. His rejecting her apology convinces her to fully commit to being Slade's apprentice.
• Ironic Echo: Throughout the whole episode, Beast Boy keeps changing into a puppy who playfully licks Terra's face, as a way to shower her with affection. In the end, after learning of her betrayal, Beast Boy is a rather forlorn dog, curled up in Terra's old room with the heart-mirror he gave to her.
• It Meant Something to Me: Terra had started to fall for Beast Boy, and tried to save his life. Of course, she doesn't clearly state this when he asked her if she was "pretending" to like him.
• The Mole: Terra has been working for Slade.
• Mood Whiplash:
  • Cyborg comically wakes up in the middle of midnight grumbling about being hungry. He is about to joyfully dig into a huge sandwich in the fridge before realizing he is surrounded in every direction by Slade's assassins.
  • For a while the episode switches back and forth between lovestruck Beast Boy and Terra on their date and the rest of the Titans fending off about 200 of Slade's robots at Titans Tower.
• Mundane Made Awesome: Beast Boy eating pie at the diner. The face he makes and his reverent tone says it all.
  This is the greatest pie, in the history of pie.
• My God, What Have I Done?:
  • Terra breaks down in the hall of mirrors, apologizing for betraying the Titans and leaving them to die. She changes her mind when Beast Boy turns his back on her.
  • Beast Boy regrets turning his back on Terra by the end of the episode, not just because of his broken heart but also because he's left her to Slade's mercy, and to turn against the Titans openly.
• Mythology Gag: Terra's betrayal to the Titans, and her allegiance to Slade is similar to the classic The Judas Contract storyline. The main difference is that the romantic context is absent. Terra is simply Slade's apprentice. Nothing more.
• Never My Fault: For all Terra's guilt, she is tragically incapable of taking responsibility for her actions. Even as she tries to apologize for betraying the Titans, she claims she had to go to Slade for training and pay him back for it. It comes to a head when, after Terra spends the whole episode running from her problems, she runs through the Hall of Mirrors and is paralyzed when forced to see herself in every direction.
• No Sympathy: Subverted. When the Titans hear the full story that Terra led Beast Boy away and he lost his communicator, they understand completely that he didn't know about the planned massacre, especially since Slade nearly killed him. The next day, Starfire expresses worry for him since Beast Boy is in Heroic BSoD. Robin and Cyborg say they'll give him space because it's a bitter pill to swallow, and comforting him would only make things worse.
• Not Helping Your Case: When Terra explains to Beast Boy why she betrayed all of them, she says she owed Slade for helping her control her powers, and reminds Beast Boy of his promise to always be her "friend" no matter what.
• Oblivious Guilt Slinging: The Titans do this when they offer the last slice of pizza to Terra, with Robin saying he's happy to have her on the team. This doesn't make Terra feel any better as she shuts down the security to Titan's Tower.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: The Titans managed to fight the onslaught of Slade bots while Beast Boy is fighting Slade.
• Oh, Crap!: Slade when Beast Boy suddenly turns into a bear and attacks him.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Beast Boy is rarely angry and his sadness is not Played for Laughs here at the end of the episode. Slade is shocked that Beast Boy channels his rage and puts up a magnificent fight against him.
• Pyrrhic Victory: ZigZagged. While the Titans were able to defeat Slade’s assault on the Tower, Starfire states that it doesn’t feel like a victory due to Terra’s betrayal.
• Rejected Apology: Terra breaks down apologizing for her betrayal, but Beast Boy doesn't consider it nearly enough. It doesn't help by Terra is rationalizing her decisions as necessary at the same time.
  Terra: I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen.
  Beast Boy: Then why did you let it?
• Sadistic Choice: Beast Boy is forced to turn his back on Terra and leave her with Slade, or reconcile her betrayal of the Titans, which almost killed them, with what he knows about her. He chooses the first option, though he regrets it later.
• Shout-Out: Beast Boy smashing the mirrors to find Slade is exactly what Baby Doll did to find Batman.
• Sixth Ranger Traitor: After managing to gain the Titans' trust in her last appearance, it turns out she has been The Mole the whole time.
• Stand Your Ground: 200 of Slade's robots invade Titans' Tower.
  Starfire: They are too numerous to fight! What should we do?
  Robin: Fight anyway.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Slade does this twice in the episode. First, Terra spots him in the reflection of a mirror at the diner, but when she turns around he’s vanished. Later, he suddenly appears in Beast Boy and Terra’s ferris wheel car without any warning or any real explanation as to how he got there.
• Subtext: Slade almost seems to get jealous of Beast Boy when he and Terra are on their date ("You think you know her. You know nothing. She never even liked you!"). Also when Beast Boy asks why Terra betrayed them, Slade gives us this:
  "Because you could never give her what she needs."
• Subverted Suspicion Aesop: Raven finds out her previously-abandoned suspicions of Terra were accurate.
  Raven: I knew it. I knew it. We never should have trusted her!
• Symbolism: Throughout the episode, Terra occasionally finds herself reflected in a mirror surface, looking either unsure or saddened. This is meant to reflect her guilt about betraying the Titans, even while sparing Beast Boy being first-hand caught in the attack. And perhaps, it's also significant of her being faced with who she is. This culminates in the Mirror House scene, where she's surrounded by shots of her scared reflection, representing she's facing who she is just underneath her confident exterior: an insecure, troubled kid and a traitor to the Titans. As such, she drops to her knees in shame, literally and metaphorically unable to face herself.
  • Also in the fun house, when Slade gives the Wham Line about Terra being his apprentice, his reflection appears from behind a humble and ashamed Terra, as though revealing that Terra was never a Titan so much as she was an extension of Slade.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: After Beast Boy shuns Terra, she fully embraces her position as Slade's apprentice.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Sandwich: Terra on seeing Slade at the diner drags Beast Boy out despite it being the "greatest pie in the history of pie."
• A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: In anger, Beast Boy plays into Slade's plans by rejecting Terra's plea to stay friends, and regrets it soon after.
• Vomit Discretion Shot: Terra seems to handle the Tilt-a-Whirl better than Beast Boy (who quickly passes out) and is having a great time - up until she suddenly turns green and covers her mouth as the camera pans away...although this turns out to be the least awkward moment for the two that evening.
• Was It All a Lie?:
  Beast Boy: (to Terra) So it was all a game? You were just pretending?!
• Wham Line:
  Beast Boy: We gotta get back to the Tower and—
  Terra: Beast Boy, I'm not going back. I can't.
  Beast Boy: What? Why can't you?
  Slade: Because she's not your friend, she's my apprentice.
• What Were You Thinking?: Slade delivers this to Terra, asking if she really thought she could leave with her "little boyfriend".
• Yank the Dog's Chain: Beast Boy was ecstatic on Terra going on a date with him, after she had turned him down earlier, and he's utterly angry and confused when learning she betrayed the Titans to Slade. To drive this point home, the episode ends with him in dog form.